“…his mom personally watches over when the masala is being prepared.” A running comment I heard from a friend of mine who invited us to this soft launch of Nellai xpress on RK salai.
The restaurant is located two buildings away from the novelty tea house and quite easily locatable (if they had a larger signboard in English.)
Finding a parking lot here could be the worst nightmare, but they’ve got a valet that is prompt enough, so that’s where they start getting brownie points.
By the name of it and the type of cuisine, anyone would expect a parotta master and a few waiters shouting out “master naalu kalakki,” this one takes us by shock. The decors were amazing, effective and efficient usage of lighting, and ambient usage of space. The wallpapers, sofas, chandeliers, and the whole thing looked girly with pink dominating the furniture and flowers in the wallpapers, and it goes out to match with the food very well. I never knew warm lights with a black false roof would go so amazing. It provided the required cozy feel and enough luminance at the same time. Round of applause to the interiors designer!
Service was too good. I could not be completely right about this because it was their soft launch, but the waiters were awesome in the whole. It doesn’t require much of a skill to know of what the dishes are, because they would’ve obviously grown up with these. Service was prompt and food was served hot.
FOOD
We were served with a variety from the four course menu, starting with the welcome drink.
Nannari shorbet- Well done, tasted natural unlike the syrupy versions we get on the streets.
Tomato melagu Rasam- Thanks to my mom I was the only person in the whole table who felt salt was just right. Though others found it a little salty, the blend was amazingly done. It had flavors on the higher side but spices weren’t too hot to kill the palate. Since they’re served as a soup, reduction in the oil added for garnishing could be reduced. Both oil and salt was spot on if it was part of the meal with rice, but a little high for a soup.
Onion Pakoda- Just the previous day I stuffed all my cravings with pakdas at home and I was more than overwhelmed to see them here. It was all fine, but with a pudhina chutney along (or any other chutney,) I could have it as the main course
Butter Beans masala- This is one of those legumes I never used to eat as a kid. The masala part was spiced up enough, but the beans never take in or absorb the flavour. If you take out one bean from the really spicy masala and taste, it would be all bland on the inside, I wonder if there is a way to cook it different of it’s the property of the material. As a whole, went awesome with dosa and Parottas.
Veg Kuruma- They had the right amount of everything other than spice. Having lesser spice is better for family restos but that can’t come in the cost of losing the best part of the cuisine. I’d really love to see with more green chillies and pepper. The consistency was good, potatoes could be cooked and mashed up a little rather than cutting em out.
Dosa- We were served with normal dosa that mom makes that is all so yummy. A chutney or sambar on the side is recommended in addition to the gravy.
Parottas- I didn’t taste them, thanks to my physician, it looked awesome. I can brag about this parottas to my bratty Madurai folks. It was crispy on multiple layers well cooked and wasn’t floating with oil all over. They have practically overcome every threat in making parottas, applause to the chef!
Idiyappam Biriyani- First time I’m coming cross this stuff. Flavour was all so light and little bland, but the quality was super good. It was little too dry for a biriyani and I could hardly find green peas and idk, what else. I used to detest this as a kid and I now remember why! They have three variants of this veg, mutton and chicken. To my surprise folks felt veggie version to be better than the others.
Masala Kalakki- If there’s one thing Coimbatore has taught me, kalakki. It was just like the Madurai ones done with a tinge of gravy inside. Smaller onion strands could do wonders.
Phirni- After a discussion on whether it’s kesari or payasam we asked the waiter who revealed the true identity. Made out of roasted rava in a base of sweet condensed milk added with almonds and other nuts. They went a little soft on the nuts, which is calorifically (?) very sensible, you can enjoy more of it without feeling too full.
Bread Halwa- My awesome college mess introduced me to this innovation, which I dread most till date. But to my fellow college mates or people who’ve had bad experiences with bread halwa, do try them here before anywhere else.
To end the course with was the panneer soda. I’ve witnessed soda losing all the gas by the time it reaches the table on the fancy glass, take my word this is the best paneer soda I’ve had. I could feel the kick of aeration in my palate!
This is one awesome start, and a great idea to show the folks of Chennai what the rest of Tamil Nadu eats, way to go!
The restaurant is located two buildings away from the novelty tea house and quite easily locatable (if they had a larger signboard in English.)
Finding a parking lot here could be the worst nightmare, but they’ve got a valet that is prompt enough, so that’s where they start getting brownie points.
By the name of it and the type of cuisine, anyone would expect a parotta master and a few waiters shouting out “master naalu kalakki,” this one takes us by shock. The decors were amazing, effective and efficient usage of lighting, and ambient usage of space. The wallpapers, sofas, chandeliers, and the whole thing looked girly with pink dominating the furniture and flowers in the wallpapers, and it goes out to match with the food very well. I never knew warm lights with a black false roof would go so amazing. It provided the required cozy feel and enough luminance at the same time. Round of applause to the interiors designer!
Service was too good. I could not be completely right about this because it was their soft launch, but the waiters were awesome in the whole. It doesn’t require much of a skill to know of what the dishes are, because they would’ve obviously grown up with these. Service was prompt and food was served hot.
FOOD
We were served with a variety from the four course menu, starting with the welcome drink.
Nannari shorbet- Well done, tasted natural unlike the syrupy versions we get on the streets.
Tomato melagu Rasam- Thanks to my mom I was the only person in the whole table who felt salt was just right. Though others found it a little salty, the blend was amazingly done. It had flavors on the higher side but spices weren’t too hot to kill the palate. Since they’re served as a soup, reduction in the oil added for garnishing could be reduced. Both oil and salt was spot on if it was part of the meal with rice, but a little high for a soup.
Onion Pakoda- Just the previous day I stuffed all my cravings with pakdas at home and I was more than overwhelmed to see them here. It was all fine, but with a pudhina chutney along (or any other chutney,) I could have it as the main course
Butter Beans masala- This is one of those legumes I never used to eat as a kid. The masala part was spiced up enough, but the beans never take in or absorb the flavour. If you take out one bean from the really spicy masala and taste, it would be all bland on the inside, I wonder if there is a way to cook it different of it’s the property of the material. As a whole, went awesome with dosa and Parottas.
Veg Kuruma- They had the right amount of everything other than spice. Having lesser spice is better for family restos but that can’t come in the cost of losing the best part of the cuisine. I’d really love to see with more green chillies and pepper. The consistency was good, potatoes could be cooked and mashed up a little rather than cutting em out.
Dosa- We were served with normal dosa that mom makes that is all so yummy. A chutney or sambar on the side is recommended in addition to the gravy.
Parottas- I didn’t taste them, thanks to my physician, it looked awesome. I can brag about this parottas to my bratty Madurai folks. It was crispy on multiple layers well cooked and wasn’t floating with oil all over. They have practically overcome every threat in making parottas, applause to the chef!
Idiyappam Biriyani- First time I’m coming cross this stuff. Flavour was all so light and little bland, but the quality was super good. It was little too dry for a biriyani and I could hardly find green peas and idk, what else. I used to detest this as a kid and I now remember why! They have three variants of this veg, mutton and chicken. To my surprise folks felt veggie version to be better than the others.
Masala Kalakki- If there’s one thing Coimbatore has taught me, kalakki. It was just like the Madurai ones done with a tinge of gravy inside. Smaller onion strands could do wonders.
Phirni- After a discussion on whether it’s kesari or payasam we asked the waiter who revealed the true identity. Made out of roasted rava in a base of sweet condensed milk added with almonds and other nuts. They went a little soft on the nuts, which is calorifically (?) very sensible, you can enjoy more of it without feeling too full.
Bread Halwa- My awesome college mess introduced me to this innovation, which I dread most till date. But to my fellow college mates or people who’ve had bad experiences with bread halwa, do try them here before anywhere else.
To end the course with was the panneer soda. I’ve witnessed soda losing all the gas by the time it reaches the table on the fancy glass, take my word this is the best paneer soda I’ve had. I could feel the kick of aeration in my palate!
This is one awesome start, and a great idea to show the folks of Chennai what the rest of Tamil Nadu eats, way to go!