Being an only child, has it’s perks, but having to make the choice of the restaurant to dine in every time we go out is definitely not one of them, in my opinion. So this time, I insisted that it was my dad’s turn. He suggested that we try something new. I, being the fussy critical one, wasn’t very enthusiastic to try something new, as to me, 'new' more often than not ends up being 'bad'.  We decided on going to Chap Chay, Raintree a Chinese restaurant.. But my expectations were merely a dot compared to how marvelous the dining experience was.

My dad and I, were greeted into the restaurant with wide, pleasant smiles. This is one of the things i look out for personally when I enter a restaurant.  We were then seated with the menu’s in front of us. We decided to try the chap chay. In Chinese chap means stir fried and chay, vegetables.

The waiter, then lead us to a table, which had an assortment of vegetables. So basically, we had to fill our bowl with the veggies of our choice and then the noodles. There was tomato noodles, whole wheat noodles flat noodles and spinach noodles and next to it, an assortment of proteins. Next, we had to pick out the sauces according to our taste, spicy or not too spicy. This was then stir fried.  When we got back, there was a little surprise waiting for us at our table. Crispy banana with vegetables. It was a delicious explosion of flavours. Finally, the stir fried food was sent to our table.

The idea was that we could different combinations and, Oh did we!1 The taste was spectacular, one reason being that it was  freshly made. The different flavours of the elements worked in harmony, creating a burst of flavour. I absolutely  loved it, an empty plate being proof enough.

Next was desert. I was eagerly waiting to order the jellied water chestnuts in coconut milk, having tried it before. Needless to say, i enjoyed every bit of it.

The check was given to us, accompanied with two complementary heart shaped chocolates, which i think was a very cute idea. At the end of it all, we were left with pot bellies and well content.
 It was a wonderful dinner and i wouldn’t mind going again, or rather, i would love to. To anyone who wants to try something new or even to go out for a bite, i would honestly and highly recommend chap chay, as personally, i loved every minute of it


Review by Aishwarya

Southern Spice at the Taj has been included among the Top 100 restaurants in the world by a couple of food guides. 
 
The best way to savour a wide variety of their exclusive dishes from the cuisines of the southern Indian states is to opt for the 'Maha Virundu' Thali. In this blog I try to catalogue the Thali which was paired with exquisite french wines by the Chefs and the Someliers of the Taj.
 
We were welcomed with a glass of Champagne from Moet & Chandon. When your Evening starts of with such a delicious 'bubly' you know your evening is likely to be special !

This was followed by 'starters' which was served on their signature plantain leafish silver thali. With gold and silver plated cutlery, you tend to feel rather 'royal'.

The starters were then rolled out one by one..

The Veg starters were a mini idly, melagu adai, banana Dosai (served with the Chutneys) followed by the Injipuli Koshambri, which was a salad

The Non Vegetarian starters were then rolled out....

The main Course consisted of Kerala parotta, String hoppers and a soft and fluffy Ada. Side dishes for the main dishes  were the Pookose urlai kurma, Asparagus Paruppu usili, Zucchini kaara poriyal, Pachakari ishtew and Kadala gassi

We were then served  Plain Rice with parippu podi.

The non-vegetarian dishes consisted of  Royallu Iguru (prawns flavoured with a special Andhra spice mix and simmered in coconut and cashew gravy). The next dish was Mangalore Yetti Curry  then the ‘Scallop Pepper Stew followed by Kozhi Malli peralan, a traditional kerala dish which consists of Chicken cubes gently stewed in coconut milk flavoured with cilantro.We were then served another speciality from North Kerala, the Thalasserry neimeen biryani (an very different fish biryani served with mango and chilly chutney).
This was followed by another Biryani called the Bhejwada Kodi Biryani, from Vijayawada, which is like the Hyderabadi Dum biryani but has green chilly paste with yoghurt.

This meal would have to be the 'Grandest' Indian meal I have ever had. Every dish that was served was exquisite. The Wine pairing was excellent too, because I guess you can never go wrong with Champagne, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Burgundy.
How would I rate this meal ? I feel that this particular meal should be on the 'Bucket List' of every foodie who likes south Indian food. Wah Taj !!!!