Chennai Weekends

It’s been a while since I documented my explorations in Chennai. Primarily because I have been traveling a lot lately and when I am not on a trip, I am basically planning the next one! However this also means that in the last several months, I have been to quite a few interesting places in the city, discovered new restaurants and pubs, watched new plays and attended stand-up comedy shows, figured out more enjoyable ways to spend the weekends and spent a lot of time in nice cafes 🙂 And as I keep saying, Chennai never ceases to surprise me, mostly always in a pleasant way!

Where do I start? Since I love eating and am a self-proclaimed foodie, let’s start with the new restaurants I have visited over the last few months, especially the ones I liked a lot as well as some of my usual haunts.

One restaurant I would love to visit again and perhaps one of my most favorite ones in Chennai so far is Spectra in the newly opened Leela Palace Hotel. The Sunday lunch buffet spread at Spectra is more lavish, extravagant, and diverse than any buffet I have ever seen in India-for a foodie, it is quite exquisite! From Mexican and North American to Japanese, Korean, Italian, Mediterranean, North and South Indian-it is a spectacular spread. And a heaven for dessert lovers-tiramisu, mud cake, gelatos, fruit pies, cup cakes, pastries of all colors, shapes and sizes, mouses, icre-creams..the list goes on. I went there on a certain Sunday afternoon with my Canadian and American girlfriends-forever curious about new places opening up in the city yet feeling apprehensive about what we would find. Needless to say all three of us were in for a nice surprise. We had a long, relaxed and sumptuous lunch for about 3 hours till we couldn’t stuff ourselves anymore with all those delectable food items!! 

The Leela Palace is in MRC Nagar which also boasts of another nice restaurant named Burgundy’s. It is by the same Chef Willi who owns my favorite restaurants-Tuscana Pizzeria and Kryptos. Burgundy’s offers a weekend buffet as well-the food is good but perhaps not worth visiting a second time. However we were lucky to get access to the service apartments in the same building as Burgundy’s courtesy a common friend staying there, who took us up to the roof. The views from up there, of the Bay and the city, are lovely. They also have an infinity swimming pool which is super tempting!

Being a die-hard Bengali, I have of course been on the look out for a good Bong restaurant in the city. My wish was granted when I found Bay Leaf off Cathedral road. It serves authentic, flavorful, and delicious Bengali cuisine as well as north Indian stuff for those interested in variety. During my first visit I ordered only Bengali food and was heartily satisfied at the end of the meal. Their Dab-Chingri (Prawn curry served in a coconut), Aloo-Posto (Potatoes cooked in a poppy seed paste), Bhapa-Bhetki or Shorshe-Maach (Seer fish slow-cooked in mustard sauce), Kabiraji Cutlet (Fish cutlet) and Malpua (sort of a Pancake) are easily the signature items.

I have gone there twice more since then and have had a finger-licking experience in every visit 🙂

For salad-lovers, the best place to visit in Chennai is Kryptos by Chef Willi. They have 2 branches-one in Nungambakkam on Khader Nawaz Khan Road and one in Alwarpet on Chamiers Road. Their salad bar has lots of varieties-from fresh veggies with different kinds of dips and spreads to fruit platters, bread baskets etc. Recently they have also introduced a mini buffet with main course items, mostly of continental types. Overall a nice lunch experience especially during weekdays if one needs to grab a quick bite with colleagues or official visitors.

These three would be my top picks for this blog. Other than that I also visited and would strongly recommend Chao-a Singaporean and Malaysian restaurant in TNagar which is quite decent, Chap Chay in Raintree Hotel on St. Mary’s road which serves good Chinese, Malaysian and Thai-they also have a live counter where you can pick what you want from a wide assortment of proteins, veggies etc and it will be cooked in a sauce of your choice, Prego in Taj Coromandel known for its delectable Italian spread, 601 in The Park on Nunganbakam High Road which stays open 24 hours a day and serves everything from salads and sandwiches to pastas and and pizzas, and Azulia in GRT Grand Hotel in TNagar which serves authentic Turkish and Greek cuisine (do not miss their mezze platters!).

One other restaurant in Chennai that deserves a special mention here is Benjarong-the fantastic Thai chain restaurant on TTk road in Alwarpet. Before the start of every meal they serve an amazing array of complementary appetizers called Mein Kam which is a plate of spinach leaves accompanied by little pots of various fillings – small pieces of lemon, peanuts, onion, red chilli, ginger, flakes of dry roasted coconut and a base paste made of palm sugar. It is almost like eating paan wherein you wrap the ingredients with the leaves and pop them in your mouth for a refreshing taste! Their Gai Hor Baitaey described as succulent morsels of chicken wrapped in pandanus leaves and deep fried, Pahd Pong Kari which is red snapper cooked in Thai curry, and Thai sticky rice with mango are among the many delicacies I absolutely love-some captured in pics below.

For those who enjoy their alcohol, contrary to popular perceptions, Chennai does not disappoint! My favorite places so far have been Zara’s Pub off Cathedral road-they serve a wide variety of cocktails, though at times this pub can get very crowded and the music can get too loud, High rooftop lounge in Raintree Hotel that gives a fantastic view of the city from up above especially in the evenings, Tranquebar in the new ITC Chola Sheraton that also boasts of a Malt and Cigar bar, and Leather Bar in The Park hotel on Nungambakkam High Road. The the best part is they all serve liquor till midnight!

Having visited Amethyst and a few other cafes in town, I have finally concluded that my favorite cafe in Chennai is Chamiers Cafe in Alwarpet, also sometimes called Anokhi Cafe since it is in the same building as the Anokhi boutique. I have lost the number of times I have been there! They serve different flavors of coffees and teas, have a nice breakfast menu that includes sausages, bacon, pancakes with maple syrup, omlettes with various fillings, fresh fruit juices etc as well as a lovely lunch selection consisting of pastas, sandwiches, salads and grilled stuff. They used to offer free wi-fi the whole day but recently they have begun charging for this service. The cafe primarily caters to a large expat crowd mostly from nearby embassies and consulates. One of the walls of the cafe is lined with black and white pictures of random people from all over the city-gives quite an interesting character to the place.

Another place close to the Chamiers Cafe that is like an urban oasis is the Madras Club. It’s become a favorite of my husband who has visited it way more than I have but I enjoy spending an occasional evening there as well or maybe go for a walk amidst all that greenery or just have a lazy coffee by the pool. Their library is a nice place to hang out and their bakery is perhaps one of the best in town! Visiting the club is easy even without being a member, if you have reciprocal membership from any other club outside Chennai. It is truly a world away from all the humdrum of the city.

Finally, for those women who love to pamper themselves with an occasional spa visit, I would highly recommend Oryza Spa in the Raintree hotel on Mount Road (would strongly recommend their frequent-flier anti-stress full body massage for 2 hours!), Ananta Thai Spa in Nungambakkam or the Senza Spa in Besant Nagar-the latter specializing in foot reflexology massages!

Well, this in a nutshell is how I have been spending my weekends discovering Chennai-especially it’s culinary side! I have also been attending several events such as stand-up comedy shows, music concerts and dance recitals, as well as plays. The months of July and August are especially exciting for theater lovers as this is when the Hindu Metro Theater Festival comes to town. So this weekend for example, I am off to one of their plays called The Circus which is a take on Charlie Chaplin’s movie of the same name. I shall talk about all these events in my next blog..so watch out for this space 🙂