Wok to China - a workshop

Ever wonder why your Chinese fried rice never looks like how they make it at restaurants? Or why your noodles clump up into a mess of overcooked dough and keep breaking as you try to separate them?

What you need is to come with me on a Wok to China and learn the secrets of cooking restaurant-style Chinese food at home. 

On the menu:

* Chicken wantan soup

* Steamed chicken parcels

* Prawns with dried chillies and cashewnuts

* Gold coin tofu with assorted vegetables

* Stir-fried chicken

* Fish in chilli garlic sauce

* Fried Hongkong noodles

* Pineapple fried rice

* Lychees with almond jelly   

On Saturday July 16, from 10.30 am - 2.30 pm at Kottivakkam. 

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Gossip Bistro

Rumour had it that a new fusion bistro-dessert bar had opened up at Uthandi on the ECR. Well, this bit of news needed to be checked out so that's where we headed out that Sunday. It's easy to locate - the last staging post before the tollgates!

Orange cheesecake; banoffee & apple crumble pies, muffins

Gossip is a quirky, colourful space. A pastry counter sits to one side, there are pretty desserts and breads to ogle at. American road signs and artwork hang on the walls, cute little bulb-shaped planters with creepers dangle above. The light fixtures are interesting, there are some that have dials on them! The glass-walled kitchen lets customers look into the food prep area. The service crew look sharp in their hats and we are seated immediately, considering we're the only customers there at that time. Menus are handed over and recommendations made. It's still in its soft launch stage we hear!






We're served a welcome drink in glass bulbs - iced lemon tea. There's mint and apple slices in the drink, that big hit of citrus is so refreshing.

Prawn tempura; batter fried calamari 

Our starters were prawn tempura with wasabi and batter-fried calamari. The minute they were served, a business of flies showed up. The bug zapper clearly was no match for them. In between swishes, we chomped on the prawns - fresh and well-coated with batter. The dips are served separately - there's wasabi mixed with mayo (there have been times when customers couldn't handle the pungency),  spicy salsa, honey and a tangy gingery onion dip. The calamari was a tad chewy and served with a sweetish mayo dip and an even nicer one that had chopped black olives in it. Not a trace of oil on any of the fried stuff.

Bread and accompaniments

There's a complimentary bread basket with slices of multi-grain bread, a carafe of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and herb and garlic butter. The butter had been piped into tiny pats. The thought that has gone into plating a bit of butter is surely commendable. All the breads are baked in-house.

The menu has quite a few choices, some European, Indian, a smattering of Mid-Eastern, Asian, pasta, pizza and vegetarian as well. There are also salads and I noticed a larger Indian selection that was going to be added soon.

Grilled beef steak

We ordered 3 main courses and when they arrived, the flies departed. Grilled beef steak was a tender steak coated with mushroom, pepper and wine reduction. The pepper added a hint of warmth to the sauce.

Roasted beef chops

Pot-roasted beef chops was a hearty dish. Cooked in a red wine garlic sauce, it also had potato and peppers and the hint of rosemary was quite subtle. The meat, served on the bone, was tender.

Peri-cardium!

Peri-cardium (yes, the name called out to me) was breast of chicken stuffed with  peri peri basil butter. It had been grilled perfectly as when sliced, a stream of hot butter flowed out. And the sauce it was served with was exquisite. All kinds of flavours - that of butter, basil, shallots, chilli flakes and cheese made for a beautiful combination.  All the main courses were served with  grilled vegetables and peanut-flavoured rice.

Tender coconut mousse

By then, Hari Prasad, one half of the team that runs Gossip came around. He told us the idea of the restaurant was conceived during the floods that hit the city last year. He has plans in hand to make the space more engaging (I'm not revealing anything more). Anyway, he seemed to be the right person to ask for a dessert recommendation and there were plenty. He suggested baklava but by then, I had seen tender coconut mousse on the menu. Served in the shell, it had a sprinkling of coarse brown sugar over the top, creamy coconutty mousse within. The taste of coconut milk was quite pronounced while the tender coconut flavour had taken a backseat. I would have loved it even more if the mousse had set a bit more. The crunch of sugar was a really good idea.

Baklava tart

The baklava was an open tart, smooth cream cheese filled the cavity. The pastry could have been a little more crisp, the combination of cheese and fruit provided contrasting textures. Beautifully plated with honey drizzled around, it was crying out for one more element - the crunch of chopped pistachios.

Gossip is well worth the drive for the food. It's been quite a while since I've had a meal that delivered what it promised and then some more. This is a team that understands ingredients and how to treat them right, fusion or otherwise.

Our bill came to 2000/, the baklava tart was on the house. Portions are generous and and service is commendable. I'm told the issue with flies has been taken care of. Time for the next visit I guess.

Gossip Bistro
191/141 Uthandi Village ECR
Chennai 600119.
+91 9940244569.
Open from 11 am -11 pm.

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Eight Treasures at 5 Sen5es, Westin Velachery

Of all the regional cuisines in China, there are 8 that are very popular. These cuisines are from the regions of Sichuan, Guangdong (Canton), Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangsu, Fujian, Shandong and Anhui. Except for Sichuan and Hunan (known as the "spicy provinces), the others are located along the east of the country. The cuisine of each province varies with the geographical location, climatic conditions and ingredients.

Westin Velachery Chennai is promoting the "8 Treasures" Food Festival at 5 Sen5es, their Pan-Asian restaurant - quite an ambitious project for a city which loves its heavily Indianised version of Chinese food.

Fried dough strips; kimchi

Things do taste different when an executive chef who has worked in China is in the kitchen. We had crisp fried dough strips tossed in a tangy garlicky sauce to nibble on (not a dish from any of the 8 provinces)! That ensured we went straight into the meal even though the chef did offer to get us sushi!

Red Cooked Chicken

We were served a few specialities from some of the regions. We started with Anhui's Red Cooked Chicken, more brown than red! Red braising is a unique style of cooking where food is cooked in a mix of sugar, water, wine and soy, along with aromatics resulting in meat that has a reddish colour. In this dish, the chicken was tender and the sauce was heady with the flavour of Shaoxing wine. The dash of chilli oil gave it a sharp bite and that was interesting.

Dezhou Stewed Chicken

Dezhou Stewed Chicken is a Shandong cooking technique. The chicken had been stewed in an aromatic broth but the flavour of star anise was strident in an otherwise mellow dish.

Crispy Aromatic Duck

Zhejiang is famous for its duck dishes, Westin's take on it is the Crispy Aromatic Duck. Served with pancakes, the meat had been roasted and then shredded for service. There was also hoisin sauce and juliennes of leeks and cucumber. The pancake was a tad dry and the meat stringy but flavours were good.

Tai Chi Prawns

Fujian province is located along the coast and the cuisine features plenty of seafood dishes. We had Tai Chi Prawns, minced prawn shaped into dumplings and lightly fried before being tossed in a dark soya-based sauce. Chinkiang vinegar gave the sauce a delicious tartness. A friend was a little sceptical of having them but then decided to give it a try and wasn't at all disappointed.

Sichuan Shredded Potatoes

Eight treasures also has vegetarian dishes on the menu. My vegetarian friend was served Sichuan Shredded Potatoes. The potatoes were cut into finger lengths and had been tossed with some wickedly red chillies. There was also Cantonese-style Stir-fried Cabbage with Minced Garlic - napa cabbage slices tossed in a light garlic and soya-based sauce. Delicious! The winner was Eggplant in Hot Garlic sauce. Even if you don't like the taste of eggplants, this one dish will convert you.

Fried rice

All these were served with sticky fried rice, a very simple dish with diced carrots, beans and egg. The grains of Jasmine rice were small and lent a wonderful fragrance. There was also steamed rice which is actually a better accompaniment to the main courses. Presentation of each of the dishes was disappointing.

Other specialities are Lamb with Snow Peas (Cantonese), Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish (Hunan), Braised Spare Ribs (Jiangsu) and Mapo Tofu (Sichuan).

Pumpkin Pudding

There is no festival dessert so we all opted for the pumpkin pudding that is on the restaurant's a la carte menu. A delicious serving of smooth pumpkin puree lightened with coconut milk. Pure bliss!

The 8 Treasures Food Festival is on till 30th June. A meal for 2, without alcohol, would cost about 4000/++

Five Sen5es is open only for dinner, from 7 - 11 pm.

Westin Chennai Velachery
154, Velachery Main Road, Velachery
Chennai 600042.

Do call 044 66333777 for reservations.

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Tea from Place of Origin

A couple of weeks ago, I received a message from a fellow blogger asking me if I would like to sample products from www.PlaceofOrigin.in and write about them.



It took about 2 weeks for my parcel to reach me. A small, sturdy cardboard box with Chamong printed all over the sticky tape and no indication if it was sent by Place of Origin. Inside was a box of Chamong Organic Darjeeling Green Tea sachets.

There was also a sleeve with a sachet each of Tulsi green tea and Lemon Splash, a flavoured green tea. All the tea bags are packed in individual foil-lined envelopes. Instructions to brew the perfect cup of tea are printed on the back of each packet. The manufacturing date is March 2016.

The packaging was perfect, not even a crease on the tea box. When brewed, the tea is golden coloured and slightly opaque. I liked the mild flavour and it's a refreshing drink. And I love my green tea with no additives and the convenience of using a tea bag.



A few days later, a second box landed up. This time, "Place of Origin" was printed across the box. This box too held a packet of tea which arrived in perfect condition.

This pack was from Bohag, an organic green tea company from Assam. Shipped from Guwahati, the label stated it is a weight loss tea though there was nothing to substantiate the claim (everyone knows the benefits of green tea). Packed in a plastic-lined zip-lock pouch, there was a little window at the back which showed really long tea leaves. The organic certification number was printed on the pack and the manufacturing date is June 2016.

Once again, the brewing method was printed on the back. Since the leaves are loose and long, it's quite difficult to measure out a teaspoon. The resultant liquor is a pale gold in colour and clear. It had very little flavour, infusing it for 2 minutes resulted in an over-brewed tea with slight tannic notes.

A little online reading revealed that the company, which describes itself as a "marketplace for speciality food" puts products from a geographical location in the hands of the end customer who could be located anywhere in India. For example, if you are at Chennai and have been craving chocolates from Ooty or Cherry Swiss cookies from Flurry's, Kolkata, all you need to do is go to the website and order it. There are options for vegetarians, those with gluten intolerance or nut allergies. There are also a whole lot of products called "Ramadan Foods". Just type in your pin code and you will know if delivery to your location is available. You can also find out the costs involved and how long it will take your parcel to reach you. Payment has to be made in advance and if you order stuff from 3 different places, you might receive them as 3 different shipments perhaps on the same day!

The next time you long to have authentic sweet mango pickle from Gujarat or some delicious soan papdi from Jammu, do go on to Place of Origin's website and place your order.

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Kunal Vijaykar and the Food Guide to Phoenix Marketcity

Phoenix Marketcity at Velachery is the largest mall at Chennai. All of 3 years old, its 1 million sq. ft of retail space houses several international and national brands of clothing, footwear and other products. There are also several stand-alone restaurants like Mainland China, Jonah's and Rajdhani, as well as chains like Burger King, Starbucks and Baskin Robbins.

Kunal Vijaykar 

The Design Hotel is also located within PMc and at Cafe Annam, a group of us met food show host/ actor/ director/ cookbook author Kunal Vijaykar. If you have watched "The Week That Wasn't" on NDTV or its spin-off "The Other Week That Wasn't" on Comedy Central, you'll know exactly who I'm talking about. His shows are satirically funny and what was even funnier was his impersonation of various personalities, both male and female and mimicking their dressing, speech and mannerisms.

As host of  "The Foodie", Vijaykar has travelled abroad and across the country, cooked with the likes of Masterchef Australia's Matt Preston and other celebrities. That's quite a CV, right?

At Design Hotel's Annam Cafe, Vijaykar talked about growing up on street food in Mumbai and developing a stomach of steel! On his first trip to Chennai 20-odd years ago, he ate at Dakshin (Crowne Plaza) and was surprised to know South Indian food was not wholly vegetarian. That led to his discovery of Chettinad and later Kongunadu cuisines with their spicy, robust flavours.

Most malls have a food court and Phoenix Marketcity has a food court as well as restaurants located on different levels and between stores - a good way to take a break between bouts of shopping. There are 29 outlets and the diner is spoilt for choice between Indian, Oriental, European, South African and American cuisines. There are also a slew of dessert and juice parlours.

How many times have you stood near the escalators at the mall wondering where a particular restaurant was? To help diners locate these outlets, PMc has brought out a food guide which was released by Vijaykar. As he pointed out, food guides list restaurants across a city but given the size of PMc, it makes sense to have a food guide just for the mall. The 60-page colour booklet lists every one of the food outlets, along with their location, signature dishes, hours of operation and the price range. And it's free!

Copies of the food guide are available at the information desk.

Part of the high tea at the event

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At the Delicious Dimsums workshop

Small talk and nimble fingers - the perfect recipe for a well-made dimsum.

On the menu:          

Fried wantan

Chicken & prawn siu mai 

All steamed up

Prawn har gao

Cosy in the steamer

Goutie on a hot pan

Pan-fried pot-stickers 

Yam puffs

Chicken & prawn toasts

Pretty as a picture and all done by the ladies, these dimsums do certainly touch the heart!

* Photo credit: Rishika 

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Treasures from an Andhra Kitchen @ Aloft

Andhra food is known to make grown people cry. Tears of happiness, no doubt, if you fancy spicy food. We were told the management preferred that we go for the food festival at lunchtime. That sounded ominous so I did the next best thing - took along a large box of tissues!

Aloft Hotel sits at the Sholinganallur junction on the Old Mahabalipuram Road. The 6 year old 3-star property has become a landmark of sorts over the years.  We had been invited to review the ongoing Kitchen Treasures - Andhra Food Festival at dot.yum, the buffet-style coffee shop.

Strings of marigolds hang across the doorway leading to the cafe and it's a nice way to announce the presence of a food festival - sort of puts one in the mood. There are also blown up posters of a young and dashing N.T. Rama Rao from his acting days. Later, he went on to become the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

dot.yum cafe is a comfortable place to be in on a summer afternoon. The staff were busy setting up the buffet counters but not too busy to bring me a cold and refreshing glass of watermelon juice while I waited for a fellow blogger. We were soon joined by F&B Manager Karthikeyan and Executive Chef Ashokkumar who took us around the buffet. 70% of the dishes on the menu are festival-based so someone who wants to have a bite from the regular buffet will not go hungry. Some of the names of the dishes sounded familiar - I had lived at Hyderabad a long time ago. Nostalgia hit me and I decided to concentrate only on the Andhra fare.

Chef Suguna Rao

Chef Suguna Rao is the culinary expert behind the festival that features star dishes from Vijaywada, Guntur and Tenali. She was not very comfortable speaking in English, so Chef Ashokkumar doubled as translator. I have yet to meet a more self-effacing person and the adage "let the food do the talking" could not be more amply demonstrated. The chef told us that to keep the food authentic, she had sourced all the ingredients, right from those deadly chillies, tamarind and turmeric from AP. In addition, she and her husband are entrepreneurs who make  podis, pickles and pachadis at home which are used by many star hotels in the city.

Andhra chilli chicken;  royalla vepudu

There are 6 veg and 3 non-veg starters. Royalla vepudu, a classic fried prawn dish was a good way to start - it brought on tears but was oh-so-delicious and I finished my portion. Loved the freshness of the prawns, the bite from the chillies and the zesty freshness of coriander leaves. The Andhra chilli chicken was not as spicy and the cubes of chicken were very tender. Gunpowder squid, while not an Andhra dish, was another stunner. The rings had been coated with red, spicy masala and fried crisp. Of the 6 veg starters, 2 were food festival specials - aaku vadalu - tiny little vadais and oats masala punugulu, deep fried lentil and oat balls that were served with a peanut chutney. Surprisingly, none of the starters were oily and and were light on the stomach.

Oats masala pungulu; aaku vadulu; gunpowder squid

Peethala charu

We were served peethala charu - a crab and pepper soup, almost like a rasam. Just the thing if you have a stuffy nose. Perfectly balanced flavours of crab, pepper and other spices which only enhanced the 2 main flavours - that of the crab and pepper.

Bobbarla guggillu  which is quite like a sundal. Healthy too!

Thottakura mamsam; miryala kodi kura; chepala pulusu

There were three meat based main courses - miryala kodi kura - the Andhra version of pepper chicken, a delicious thottakura mamsam - super-soft pieces of mutton with amaranth leaves in a thick gravy. Amaranth leaves added a tinge of astringency but they worked well together; and chepala pulusu - a  pleasantly tangy fish in gravy. Each one of the dishes was made with distinctly different spices. The fish gravy was so delicious that you could pour it into a bowl and drink it up. And lick the bowl clean.

Munagkai pulusu; bangala vepudu; dondakaya kobari kura; mamadikaya pappu

The vegetarian side was equally brilliant - munagkai pulusu - a delightful dish of drumstick in a thick gravy, bangala vepudu - stir-fried potatoes with chilli and dondakaya kobari - gherkins cooked with coconut. Gherkins are a very popular vegetable in Andhra cuisine. There was also mamadikaya pappu - a deliciously tangy lentil and mango dish.

Pulihora

We had pesarattu - a dosa made with green gram that had diced onions as a filling. It was served with ginger chutney and the combination was delightful. And do not miss another classic Andhra speciality - pulihora (tamarind rice). Plenty of peanuts in this one. In case you like Indian breads, don't forget to order the one stuffed with cheese.

Perugu vadulu - the batter for the vada is different from the ones made here; also, the vadas are not soaked in water but directly into beaten curd, allowing the flavours to permeate 

Gongura, gooseberry, mango & ginger pickles; podis; pachadis

What's an Andhra meal without pickles, podis and pachadis? The gongura chutney was a pleasure to eat, and the Andhra mango pickle was finger lickin' good. So were each of the podis. Chef Suguna's husband told me to sprinkle some of the coriander-based podi on the curd vada. As predicted, it was ethereal. Special mention must be made of the dosakai pachadi - if you like the taste of cucumber on a hot summer's day, you will lose yourself in the flavours of this one. Help yourself to some fragrant steamed rice, a spoonful of ghee and any of the podis. Bliss!

Pooterakulu; bandar laddu; poornam boorelu; jeedi pakkam aka cashew chikki

More desserts: paalakova; gummidikaya payasam; layers of pooterakulu

Six Andhra-style desserts are on offer. Only the pootarekulu had been outsourced. Loved its flaky, ghee-laden layers. Everything else had been made by Chef Suguna and all of them were delish. I'm nitpicking here but the only one I didn't enjoy was the pumpkin payasam as it was far too sweet for me.

When you cook with love, it shows. Every single dish had been crafted with care. Except in a couple of the dishes, the spice levels were tolerable and that was because the chef had been asked to keep local palates in mind. For me, none of the food tasted like it had been made in a commercial kitchen - no excess use of oil or seasoning. In fact, it tasted like a good home cooked meal. And that box of tissues - I took it back home unopened.

F&B Manager Karthikeyan, Executive Chef Ashokkumar,  GM Krishnakumar

Kitchen Treasures - Andhra Food Festival is on till 19th June at Aloft Hotel and possibly beyond for both lunch and dinner. Cost of the buffet is 850/++ per head.

Aloft Chennai OMR-IT Expressway
#102, Rajiv Gandhi Salai,
Sholinganallur, Chennai 600119.

Do call 9551691676/ 90947 83123 for reservations.

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