601 @ The Park Chennai

During my stay in Chennai ..Samir ( our Chennai Franchisee) treated us to 601... Chennai's hot and happening place to be on a Sunday at the Park . The gang that set out to rape the buffet brunch consisted of Cedric (ops head - mocha) , Andrew (exec chef - commissary Kitchens -mocha), Samir( our Chennai Franchisee) and Janak Merchant aka.Janak Bhai (our Bangalore Franchisee).

The place was flooded with people ... whole load of Firangs( a synonym for Foreigners) as the Chennai Open was under way .

Andrew and my self headed straight to the sushi bar ..and started hogging at the counter itself... The spread had a sushi counter , Indian Chaat Counter, a Veg / Non veg cold cut counter(which had terrines ,diff types of ham ,salami and sausages . A visual Treat .

Samir stayed safe with the Indian Chaat but pushed himself to some sushi . Janak Bhai stayed safe with the veggies . Ced, Andrew and myself were on the prowl.

Once seated we sipped on the the unlimited champagne and beer .

After the initial starters ... we headed to the grill station which was buzzing like any noisy kitchen . Chefs screaming from one end ,pick up staff screaming for their orders from the other end ...Was fun to watch cause after a long time I was on the other side of the kitchen ...

The Pizza section withs its wood fire oven was next to the grills . Meat offered to grill were lamb chops , chicken breasts & beef steaks . I asked if they had some pork ribs but no ....

Never the less the pizza orders ...Extra thin crust with toppings of anything pork ... we got 6'' pizzas loaded with pepperoni and regular streaky chopped Bacon .( would have preferred some smoky bacon instead).... The grill station also had a fish section with Ghole steaks , squids ,prawns and cray fish . I opted for the classic Butter Garlic squids and lemon butter grilled crayfish .

For the meats we ordered lamb chops ....

Whilst piggin on the pizzas we were treated to a magic show . Andrew watched keenly and related every move to the Tele series "secrets of magicians"... but was eventually conned into all the tricks .....

Our grill Platter arrived ...disappointingly all was loaded on to one plate .... lamb and fish and just thrown on the plate .. marinades not seeped into the meats nor the fish ... squids overdone and rubbery .. I just had one cray fish and left the rest ....

The buffet had a whole spread of main courses ..The Indian section had biryani's and meat gravies , while the Conti section had Grilled fish and Parmesan crusted Chicken...( I had seen the similar menu the previous night at the Award Function ... so refrained from having anything cause the mind said that it might be recycled .

The dessert spread was almost over when we went cause we kept on drinking ... the pastries were over and the was left with Gulab Jamuns with rabdi , Baklava and another Indian dessert called Barfi...

A stuffed afternoon ...lead us to a quick snooze on our drive to the Airport for our flight back home .

The Food Oscars -Chennai 2010

The Food Oscars happened in Chennai last week . Well we at mocha have been nominated and kinda been on the winning spree for the last few years in the category "Best Coffee Bar". We have already received this award in cities like Delhi , Bangalore ,Pune and of course on our home turf ..Mumbai. Our office wall dons about 16 such awards won in the above mentioned cities.

The other brands that compete are Barista ,Cafe Coffee Day , Costa Coffee , Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Coffee World ... All nominees are judged on level of service , ambiance, menu offerings and consistent guest feed back ... Well luckily we head all ...hehhehhehahahaha.

Winners are announced 2 weeks in advance. and all award winners are supposed to display their best at the award function. This function also has the Launch of the Times Food & Night Life Guide for that particular city . So actually on the day of the awards one can taste the best food of the city and bump into all the leading chefs & Restauranters.

So Chef Andrew (our Executive Chef of Commissary's) and myself flew down to Chennai to receive our priceless possession. Along with our props we had some of our mise en place done in Mumbai itself so that we don't waste time in Chennai.

We were to do an extremely simple menu ...nothing lavish as we had o be in Chennai for only 1 day before the awards . So out menu comprised of

Cup Cakes

Carrot Cake

Cake Lollies

Lemon & Apple Pie Shooters

Strawberry Canapes

Air sprayed Chocolate Mousse

Gooey Walnut Brownies

Brownie & Krischwasser Pears

Blue berry Cream Cheese torte

Strawberry Canapes / Air Sprayed Chocolate mousse .

Cup Cakes /cake Lollies/Apple & Lemon Pie Shooters /Strawberry Canapes .

j 2 mousse cake /Brownie & Kirschwasser Pears /Cup Cakes / Carrot Cake with Cream cheese Frosting .


60% Dark Chocolate Ganache torte /Walnut Brownies /Blueberry Cream Cheese Totre

A lot of of other restaurants did showcase their food ...but I remained busy for the rest of the evening entertaining guests at our counter ...

The Better news is that I just got a call yesterday that we had won the best Coffee Bar in Mumbai too and also our Italian Restaurant "Delitalia" won for the best stand alone restaurant .

To the Mumbai Star studded food Oscar night will be with full gusto and I shall be back with more pics ....

Congrats team Mocha....

9 Ft High - Chennai

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Went to this beautiful looking restaurant in Chennai yesterday night . Was out with my colleagues and my Franchisee Sam. The only options to drink in Chennai is to go to either a 3-5 star hotel because serving alcohol in the state of Chennai is banned . So Sam suggested he take us to a really beautiful place..

Driving to the crazy Chennai's traffic (wasn't missing mumbai's traffic much) was peace full cause I was driven around vis -a -vie me driving bck home in mumbai. Went past Adyar ( a suburb of Chennai) we we driving on the famous ECR ( East Coast Road) ..this road lines the second longest Beach stretch in the word .5-6 km driving sam took a detour towards the beach.. went past beautiful bungalows of the affluent of Chennai. then drove on a sandy stretch past Krish Shrikanths house ( famous Indian Cricketer) to this beautiful beach front place called Tangy .

It was drizzling in Chennai and the weather was beautiful.

We were guided by the restaurants manager who obliged us by giving us a table on the upper deck .

The crowd surprisingly was 98% male (which was a downer) and some kiddie females . But we were here to drink ;) .

Music played by a Dj was techno and house with a lille retro thrown in . After getting a table we were hurriedly asked to place the order as 2230 hrs is the last order for the food. You could get your booze till 2330hrs. We were suggested by the order taker to indulge in the non -veg and veg platters ... Portions were good but nothing really fancy about the food . The Non-Veg platter had 2 crumb fried chicken wings , crispy honey sesame chicken threads( over loaded with honey) , 4 small triangles of sesame prawn toasts, chili chicken and Fish Fingers.

The Veg Platter had a spring roll cut into 4 , batter fried corn , Paneer(cottage cheese) chilli and some more which i didnt have because it was polised by hungry hounds (lol).

for the main course we ordered Chettinad chicken with buttered rice , Asian Noodles with chicken and Rodehouse Steak .

The chettinad chicken gravy was good and the best of all that we had ordered. The Asian Noodles was like any other Bastardised Chinese Noodles that we would find in a Grade A restaurant. The Roadhouse steak is avoidable . It was a lump of unevenly minced meat pan fried to a patty ...served a peppery brown sauce ,buttered rice ,some buttered veggies and some french Fries.

Prices were like 300INR for the Steak ,INR250 for the Chettinad Chicken & the Noodles .I did not see the menu for the beverages so don't know the price of the booze as I was not allowed to pay.

I would definitely go back for its ambiance and most importantly to click some pics as I had forgotten to carry my Cam from the Hotel.

Strawberry Fields Forever.............

An Easy recipe that can be whipped up in no time ... Try variations like using mango , kiwi ....

White Chocolate & Strawberry mousse
Serves 2 prep time : 30 mins Setting time : 3-4 hrs
Ingredients :
White chocolate : 200 gms eggs : 3 nos milk :120ml , sugar : 60 gms Vanilla Essence :3ml Gelatin : 25 gms , Whipped cream : 150 ml Strawberries : 8-10 nos
Method:
In a stainless steel vessel break the eggs and add in the sugar , milk and vanilla essence. Place this vessel on a double boiler and stir continuously till it forms a thick custard . the custard is thick enough when it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Cool this mixture. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave till smooth . chop 3-4 strawberries and puree the rest. Hydrate the gelatin (as per the manufactures directions). Add the pureed strawberries , chopped strawberries and white chocolate to the custard . pour the hydrated gelatin on a thin stream stirring continuously and fold in the whipped cream . Pour in moulds and set for 3-4 hrs . Demould and serve
Hint: a dash of reduced balsamic vinegar drizzled over the mousse will give it a gourmet touch.

Hotal Guru Mauli .... :)

Had visited this restaurant en route to Goa . Was driving down with wifey and my lille son. No doubt the location of this restaurant was kickass. It was on a small hill lock towards Malwani (a small coastal hamlet famous for its sea food and spicy gravys). I initially stopped because it over looked the vast beautiful Arabian sea . Zeke my son was just a year and a half old and we had to do a pitstop for his afternoon feed .

As soon as we entered we were greated with warm smiles . Plastic chairs were wiped before we sat ( a behavioral pattern shown in some village restaurants as a sign of welcomeness) .

When the menu arrived I was glued ...must be knowing why by now..... Carolyn (my wife ) had already started the motherly chore of feeding Zeke and she suddenly looked at me and asked why was I starring at the menu ...was there something interesting that I would want to implement the restaurants I worked for ...I just could not stop gigling but had to control as the restaurant's manager (i guess was also the owner) was hovering above me to place the order .

This multi cuisine restaurant had everything ...from the bastardised Chinese we get in India to the Local fare . The sweet dish section had Navratan Korma ( a dish classicaly recognised as nine jewels ..veggies in a medium spicy Gravy ) , Aubergines , Mushrooms and Lady Fingers .

The Tanduri section (Tandoori) had Chikan and you could have that Hap or Ful.

Amlette (omlette)was also avaliable . We didnot want to try any Chines cuisine and opted for the safest - Thali .( a large plate with an assortment of dishes in it )(more like a buffet in a plate).

Suprisingly the my Chikan Thali tasted good ...had to just pour the 1/2 litre oil that floated over the gravy out . Hot Chappaties (flat Indian Bread) straight from the griddle plate to eating plate went down smoothly . Carolyn (my wife opted for the Fish Thali (under the category Deluxe thali) was served 2 slices of batter fried surmai(king fish) the size of my palm. She being a fish lover just kept feasting .... so much so we even Parceled away 3 plates of the fried fish home to Goa. What kept intriguing me through my onward drive to Goa on how I had judged the restaurant on the first look of the menu. A lesson to be learnt .... the look of your menu could sell your restaurant ....but not always ......

My Love for HAZEL......

I have a kink for hazelnuts. its an obvious marriage with chocolate . Here is a quick recipe to satisfy a Hazelnut and chocolate craving............

Chocolate & Hazelnut mousse

with toasted hazelnut and vanilla ice cream
Ingredients :
Serves 2 prep time : 30 mins Setting time : 3-4 hrs

Ingredients :
Dark chocolate : 200 gms

Eggs : 3 nos

Milk : 120 ml ,

Sugar : 60 gms

Vanilla essence : 3 ml

Gelatine : 25 gms ,

Whipped cream : 150 ml

Hazelnuts : 50 gms

Nutella : 150 gms

Method:
In a stainless steel vessel break the eggs and add in the sugar , milk and vanilla essence. Place this vessel on a double boiler and stir continuously till it forms a thick custard . the custard is thick enough when it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Cool this mixture. Melt the Dark chocolate in the microwave till smooth and add in the nutella. . chop 5-6 hazelnuts and add it to the chocolate and nutell mix .Hydrate the gelatine (as per the manfactures directions). Add the chocolate mix to the custard . pour the hydrated gelatine on a thin stream stirring continuously and fold in the whipped cream . Pour in moulds and set for 3-4 hrs . Demould and serve with chopped hazelnuts and vanilla ice cream on the side.

Waffle Time ..........

There is nothing like a breakfast in the morning. But some times it just gets a lille to lazy to make one ...The recipe posted here is when there is that sometime you just feel like whipping up your breakfast just to please yourself or to just showoff that you can whip something different. there are a million waffle recipes available but I can vouch for this one as its tried and tested ..

Its not that I always liked cooking from scratch..Using convenience foods also help. So along with my Food Technologist Amigo- Bhavin (who we at my kitchen also refer to as the Mad scientist aka. Dexter ) lol ..are in process of developing a waffle premix which will help all of us to make kick ass waffles without any hassles .It will take some time to crack the waffle code but till then this recipe should wade you through.


Classic Breakfast Waffles
with strawberries ,cream & maple syrup

Serves 1 Prep time : 20 mins cooking time : 7-9 mins
Ingredients :
Flour: 200 gms Baking Powder 3 gms salt :a pinch Grain Sugar : 50 gms Egg yolks : 2 nos egg whites: 2 nos Milk :150 ml Cooking bream 50 ml oil :60 ml Vanilla essence : 5 ml Whipped cream : 50 ml Strawberries : 3-4nos Maple syrup : 15 ml

Method :
Separate the yolks and the whites . Sieve the flour ,baking powder and salt. Add the sugar ,yolks ,cream , milk and vanilla essence. Stir well to make a thick batter. Beat egg whites separately till soft peaks. Fold in the whites into the batter . heat a waffle iron and bake till golden brown. Remove and serve with whipped cream, strawberries and maple syrup and a gorgeous dollop of butter.

Tale of Two Mousses

Was brainstorming for an on the spot photo shoot and was running outta ideas ...Standing at the pickup station at one of our restaurants ,was hit on my sleeve by one of our signature desserts VERTIGO . The 4 layered mousse cake smeared my sleeves but whilst wiping out the mousse thought of a quick simple mousse idea.


Tale Of Two Mousses

Serves : 4 Prep time : 40 min setting time : 1 hr
Ingredients :
Dark chocolate : 100 gms
White chocolate : 100 gms Cooking Cream : 100 ml
Whipped cream : 200 ml.

Method :
Melt the dark and white chocolates in the microwave separately . to that add 50 ml cooking cream in the Dark and the rest 50 ml in the white chocolate. Stir continuously on a slow flame till you reach a thick Ganache consistency . Whip the cream till soft peaks . Add a quarter of it into the dark ganache and quarter in the white ganache . pour these mixtures into 2 separate piping bags . Pour the remaining whipped cream into another piping bag .
Now pipe the white chocolate ganache into the base of a shot glass. Over it pipe the dark chocolate ganache . Pipe the whipped cream over the ganaches . Refrigerate the glasses till serving time . To serve crush ice and place it into a wine glass. Place the shot glass into crushed ice in a wine glass and garnish as desired.