Chennai 365*

(This post was originally written in October 2012 for my Reflexions blog.) *The moment I thought of this title it reminded me of Chicken 65-a preparation I had never heard of before I landed in this city and now I love it!

I had never thought I shall actually complete 1 year in this city. Some of my friends back in California even had a bet with me which by the way I have now won by a margin of 4 months 😛 And I gotta say this–when I landed in Chennai for the first time on October 15, 2011-I had lot of apprehensions and not very high expectations from this city. In fact I was dreading the very idea of living and working here, ironically thanks to most of my Tamil friends (and of course the non-Tamil ones too!) who had scared the heck out of me saying I shall never survive in a city like Chennai which is slow, conservative, entrenched in traditions and rituals, not half as cosmopolitan as Bangalore or Delhi forget Mumbai, where I cannot speak the language, where the weather is possibly the worst in the country, where it is so hard to meet young people and make friends and hence impossible to have a decent social life yada yada yada. And 1 year later I sincerely feel, if one has the energy and enthusiasm and takes the time out to explore all that this city has to offer and does so without any pre-conceived notion, then Chennai will not disappoint. In fact this city never ceases to surprise me now!

Over the last several months, I have explored this city-its different neighborhoods, plethora of restaurants, cafes, boutiques, theaters, etc quite a bit, and some of it deliberately to figure out whether it is indeed possible to lead a ‘good life’ in a city where language, customs, rituals, food, fashion, music-everything is so different from what I am used to and where I started off not knowing a single soul. It has been quite an adventure for sure! And I think I can safely say now that I have indeed discovered a Chennai that is very different from the image with which I had first landed here 🙂

One of the memorable visits/experiences I have had in the last few months was a trip to Mylapore–some say the cultural/religious hub of Chennai (as opposed to TNagar which is easily the shopping hub!), wondrously encapsulating the age-old traditions and rich heritage of this South Indian city. One of the oldest neighborhoods of Chennai, Mylapore is dotted with temples-the most remarkable being the 7th century Kapaleeshwar Temple. It is a Shiva temple and Lord Shiva’s wife Parvati is worshiped here as Karpagambal (“Goddess of the Wish-Yielding Tree”). The majestic temple itself is a fascinating example of Dravidian architecture with intricate designs and sculptures.

The sheer energy inside and around the temple premises with hundreds of devotees everywhere is astonishing. To anyone who wishes to get a flavor of authentic Chennai, I would totally recommend a visit to this place. Also notable in Mylapore is the Universal Temple or the Ramakrishna Math–beautifully calm, quiet, and serene; it is like an island in the middle of the crazy and crowded clamor of the neighborhood in general.

One place I am yet to visit in Mylapore is Ratna Cafe about which I have heard a lot from several local people, especially its delectable idlis! Hopefully sometime in the next 12 months!

Talking about food-one of my favorite topics (:D) -Chennai has totally impressed me in this one department and there is still so much left to explore. In my last post I had talked about 2 awesome restaurants–Teppan at Benjarong and Tuscana Pizzeria; the former serving Japanese and the latter Italian cuisine. These aside, my most favorite restaurants so far are Ente Keralam in Poes Garden (would highly recommend the sumptuous Rajakeeyam Thali or King’s meal–highlights being fried squid, mutton stew with Appam, grilled chicken, prawn moilee, spicy fish curry and payasam-all authentic Kerala style!)..

With Sharon, V and Azhar at Ente Keralam in Poes Garden

Delicious Appam..the Queen of Kerala cuisine

The fabulous Rajakeeyam Thali at Ente Keralam

and Dakshin at the Park Sheraton in Alwarpet. The traditional temple-like yet classy ambiance at Dakshin replete with a big traditional brass lamp (Velaku), and a vessel with flower petals floating in water (Urli) at the entrance, ceiling lights in the shape of temple bells, pre-set tables with silver and brass-ware, live Carnatic music and fresh jasmine garlands to welcome female guests perfectly compliment the mouth-watering medley of South Indian food of which the Iyer’s Trolley (a live trolley named after Chef Paramasivam Iyer, which serves small adais, and banana flavoured dosais along with an an array of freshly ground chutneys served on banana leaf placed on a silver plate), Chicken Chettinad, Nadu Poriyal (Crab meat), and Idiappams with Masala Stew are a must try!

Live Carnatic music at Dakshin

Food from the Iyer’s Trolley @Dakshin

Another restaurant that serves delicious, authentic Kerala cuisine (including my favorite Karimeen Pollichathu or Pearl Spot fish fried in banana leaf, Duck Roast, Kerala Porotta, Appam and Mutton Stew), but has a much more modest ambiance is Kumarakom in Adyar. Apparently the fish cooked here is brought in everyday from the backwaters of Vembanadu lake in Kerala. However the Meen Vekichatu or spicy fish curry is clearly not for the faint-hearted!

Spicy Kerala fish curry…it’s yummy but takes a lot of courage!

Last but not the least, a stellar culinary discovery I have made over the past few months (thanks to my  friend Azhar who introduced us to this place!) has been an authentic Korean restaurant named InSeoul in Alwarpet. This place is sheer awesomeness personified for all foodies esp. those who love real Korean food. Best part–they serve Soju! The ambiance is very cool, casual and unassuming and the food-outstanding. You can smoke inside the restaurant, watch Korean soaps on a big screen TV, yap and make friends with a Korean at the next table or just focus on the Bibimbap (servings of rice, egg, veggies and beef, and a spicy sauce), Beef Bulgogi, Shin Ramyun noodle soup or Korean sushi rolls!

Authentic Korean Bibimbap

Inside InSeoul

By now I also have a couple of brunch favorites and it seems Chennaites are quite a brunch-y bit, especially the women!

One is the Eco Cafe or Chamiers Cafe in Alwarpet–spacious, and pleasant, this is a lovely place for long conversations, simply hanging out or reading a book, or even working (it has free wi-fi). The coffees are good, the salads and bruschettas are very nice, the fruit juices fresh but pricey, and one of my favorite items on the menu is the Pan-grilled Basa fish. An additional frill that comes with this cafe is the nice Anokhi boutique downstairs which is a better and more upscale version of Fab India–a bit of ‘window’ shopping after a lazy Sunday brunch makes it so much more worthwhile! 🙂 The location of this cafe is also fantastic (only second to Latitude!)-bang opposite is Oryza Spa  (another recent favorite of mine; it’s a mini-paradise when the mercury keeps soaring up!), diagonally opposite is Park Sheraton Hotel (with all its wonders like Dakshin, Dublin pub etc), and within walking distance are awesome restaurants like Tuscana Pizzeria, Kryptos, Benjarong, InSeoul and Momoyama.

Inside Chamiers Cafe

This one’s my fav wall-art inside Chamiers Cafe! 🙂

The other nice brunch place is Latitude cafe within the premises of the Good Earth store in Nungambakkam. They have lovely fish and sea-food preparations (such as the Carom roasted white fish and Grilled prawns), different varieties of pasta dishes, and the usual soups and salads. The adjacent Good Earth store is also worth visiting especially for women who enjoy decorating their houses with all kinds of nice and fancy/artsy stuff! 🙂 The location of this cafe too is unbeatable–within walking distance from Latitude is the happening Khader Nawaz Khan road and hence lots of coffee shops, restaurants, spas and of course independent boutiques (this is where Louis Vitton opened their first store in Chennai–nothing impressive though :P).

Since I wrote at length about brunches and dinners (reserving the booze bit for another post!), how can I not write about desserts !

Although I don’t have a sweet-tooth myself, my husband does and hence we have explored a few dessert-y/chocolatey places in town, favorite ones being Amadora Gourmet ice-cream parlor in Nungambakkam (started by San Francisco return NRI Deepak Suresh it serves exotic flavors such as Salty caramel, Belgian chocolate, Kerala vanilla, Sri Lankan strawberries etc with deliciously crisp waffles!) and Le Chocolatier on Harrington road in Chetpet, that looks like a chocolate museum and is perhaps a dream come true for every chocolate lover!

Amadora- ice cream parlor

Le Chocolatier–walls lined with all kinds of chocolates!

Finally, the one aspect of Chennai’s social and cultural life that I have gotten completely hooked on to over the last few months and that I find quite impressive is its yearlong culture of theaters and plays! I knew that the city is famous for its December Carnatic music festival or the kacheri season or the non-stop classical dance performances; but what has pleasantly surprised me is that this city also boasts of a very vibrant and active theater culture.

Still from the play Green Room

Still from Evam’s play 39 Steps- a mind blowing adaptation of the original Hitchcock one

The 39 Steps group

Throughout the month of August, the Hindu newspaper group organized a series of excellent plays (Metroplus Theater Festival)  such as The Snow Queen,  the famous Korean play Woyzeck, the Green Room etc performed by both international and national theater groups and staged mostly at the massive Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall in Chetpet.

Then in September and October, Chennai’s very own theater group Evam, celebrated their 10th year by staging 7 wonderful plays as part of their Evam Omnibus performance. I went for a couple of their shows and loved every bit of it–especially their award-winning play 39 Steps-a recreation of Alfred Hitchcock’s famous movie by the same name which was also staged in Broadway. It was absolutely fascinating to watch how only 4 actors managed to play 149 characters through brilliant usage of props, lights and sounds. Looking forward to enjoying many more such plays in the months to come!!

All in all, this city is a bastion of culture, cuisine and character-all captivating in their own ways. I am sure there’s a lot more to explore and discover here–I haven’t even touched the entire gamut of pubs and bars, wellness centers and yoga studios, historical monuments and museums, beaches and beach-resorts etc! I hope to do all of this and some more in the next several months and am already getting a feeling that once I leave Chennai, I shall miss this city a lot. Never thought I would actually say this 🙂