Michelin star restaurants

In the increasingly competitive world of fine dining, the Michelin star is gaining
 totemic status in India’s hospitality industry as a gastronomic imprimatur.

Varuni Khosla, ET Bureau | 30 Nov, 2013, 06.26AM IST 

NEW DELHI: In the increasingly competitive world of fine dining, the Michelin star is gaining totemic status in India's hospitality industry as a gastronomic imprimatur that doesn't just ensure delectable food but also confers bragging rights.

The Leela Palace in New Delhi got in the game early, when it opened the Indian outposts of Le Cirque and Megu, both widely feted New York restaurants, over the past two years.

The Capital saw two more Michelin-starred restaurant launches last week — Yauatcha at Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj and Akira Back at the JW Marriott hotel in the Aerocity hotel district near the international airport.

There's similar activity in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata, where such restaurants have either opened or are in the process of being launched. Besides this, hotels are also organising one-off promotions featuring top chefs who have won Michelin stars.

"Indians are increasingly becoming extremely well travelled and are demanding high quality of service. Bringing in Michelin-starred chefs is a new fad and while the return on investment may not be very high, the recall value among customers becomes important," said Kumar Shobhan, director of food and beverages at Hyatt Regency in Chennai.

The hotel held a two-day cooking demonstration and dinner with visiting Michelin star chef Marco Cavallucci of Italy last week. The dinner was priced at Rs 12,000 for two.

While an economic slump has forced most people to rein in spending on non-essential items, India's growing affluent class doesn't seem to mind paying a premium for some best-in the-world products and services.

That's encouraging hospitality companies to bring to India restaurants and chefs featured in the Michelin Red Guide, widely considered the bible for gastronomes across the world. Costs for Michelin-star restaurants are higher than average and profit margins do tend to get squeezed because food imports are costly, said Rajiv Kaul, president at The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts. "But an average spend of Rs 5,000 per customer helps recover costs," he said.

The Leela Mumbai plans to launch a Le Cirque Signature restaurant next month. Setting up a specialty Michelin-starred restaurant costs 20-25% more than establishing a regular restaurant in a five-star hotel, according to people in the trade. A Michelin star chef needs to be paid about 10-15% more than the industry average.

Labels such as Michelin, "help give greater credibility to food and beverage outlets", said Shane Krige, general manager of The Ritz Carlton, Bangalore. The 277-room hotel, which opened last month, has hired Michelin-awarded Anupam Banerjee as executive chef.

The extra spending involved in setting up a specialty Michelin-star restaurant is worth the price as this gives it added cachet with the substantial expat crowd in Gurgaon and Delhi, said Rajeev Menon, area vicepresident, South Asia and Australia, Marriott Hotels.

Organising short-term promotions needs advance planning, said Soumya Goswami, executive chef and chef de cuisine at The Oberoi, New Delhi. "To plan a Michelin star chef 's visit, we need at least a year," Goswami said. "A lot of times, a hotel will do a promotion like this not for money, but to get world-class restaurants and chefs here."

The Oberoi's Travertino restaurant is currently hosting Michelin star Chef Francesco Apreda until December 1. KA Hospitality, which has opened Yauatcha in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, now plans to take the London restaurant to other cities such as Kolkata. As a rough guide, a concept restaurant could have a margin of about 30% if it serves 500 people a day, said Prashant Issar, vice-president of operations at KA Hospitality.

Tyre maker Michelin began publishing its guide for French motorists in 1900 and now publishes the Michelin Red Guide for several countries and cities. Around the world, a Michelin three-star ranking is considered the ultimate hallmark of quality in fine dining. Michelin doesn't have an India guide.

Eating out: Raintree at Taj Connemara ,Chennai

Shonali Muthalaly : The Hindu :26 Oct 2013

For the past 25 years, Raintree at Taj Connemara has been experimenting with Chettinad cuisine without straying from its core taste

Another Chettinad meal. Meh. Let’s be honest. You need to be in a certain zone to enjoy this style of food: a meat-heavy cacophony of spices, amplified by lashings of chilli powder.

On the bright side, our reservations are at the mother ship — so to speak. About 25 years ago, Taj Connemara opened the city’s first serious Chettinad restaurant, expanding the Chennai culinary stereotype beyond idli-dosa-pongal. (Though over the past two decades, another stereotype was born — idli-dosa-pongal-mutton chukka-prawnvaruval-pepper chicken.)

The old Raintree celebrated traditional Chettinad cooking with outdoor dining, loud music and folk artistes. A bit over the top for mid-week dining to be honest, so I’m relieved when I hear they’re resigned into a ‘contemporary’ space. We enter through a dramatic walkway lined with century-old carved stone pillars. For everyone under 30, I suppose the best description is — it looks like a scene from Temple Run. There’s the obligatory lady-frying- murukku outside, and knots of fresh jasmine inside. The standard chic indoor water body set against old-fashioned murals. Table vadams and chutney trolleys.

But then there are also charming coconut wood floors, exaggerated windows that open up the restaurant and jasmine martinis. Yes. Jasmine martinis. The Raintree’s new line of cocktails is the first of a string of welcome surprises. Fresh ingredients combined with skilful blending result in flavours that are subtle, refreshing and unique. We try karuvepillai martini, a fragrant muddle of vodka and curry leaves. And Raintree mace twist, with an unexpected hint of paan, despite the mace, gin and apple juice.

Under Chef Chandrassekaran the menu makes an attempt to go beyond clichés. So while popular Chettinad staples are available — and they should be since they’ve grown to define the cuisine — he doesn’t limit himself to hearty meats, loud spices and fistfuls of chilli. We eat juicy tiger prawns tossed in a dozen spices, including the cuisine’s distinctive Marathi mokku and kalpasi.

The delicate vegetarian dishes are particularly appealing. Fluffy idlis green with curry leaf powder, and redolent with the scent of ghee. An almost meaty mushroom curry, steeped in spices. Okra tossed with raw mango ginger, a bowl of big bold spices. And the ubiquitous mandi — a tasty casual blend of vegetables cooked in rice water and tamarind.

There is of course plenty of meat too. We gingerly taste crisp brown lady fish thorny with bones, then bland chewy scallops followed by delectable fish curry spiked with mangoes.

Country chicken, velvety with rich marinade. And mutton pulao, gleaming with ghee and big on flavour. Finally, we wallow in the simplest of pleasures — hot rice topped with a spoon of golden ghee and grainy garlicky podi.

Other than a brilliant banana appam topped with creamy cinnamon ice-cream, the stylish new-age desserts can’t stand up to Raintree’s classic elaneer payasam.

On the whole, this is a successful reinvention. Its greatest triumph is that the team has managed to create a format offering something for everyone. Food that’s chic, light and beautifully presented for the hipsters. But also food that doesn’t stray too far away from the core of Chettinad cuisine, which should make the traditionalists happy. 

An added bonus: they offer Samayal Thali cooked by honest-to-goodness real aachis for lunch. And yes. You can order a jasmine martini with that. Raintree is at the Taj Connemara. A meal for two costs roughly Rs. 3,000. 

The Aachi Samayal lunch thali costs Rs. 800 for vegetarians and Rs. 900 for non-vegetarians.

Eating out :1947, a culinary story

The Hindu : Bangalore : Bumika  K : 3 oct 2013

From soups and starters to dessert there is a surprise hidden in every category of the menu of 1947. Now go find yours

Finding “pure vegetarian” fare in Malleswaram is never a challenge, but finding diversity in vegetarian fare, most definitely is. Moreover most new restaurants only seem to open up in the upmarket Indiranagar and Koramangala, leaving Malleswaram to the mercy of its nearby malls, where a picking is available.

1947 has opened up with its promise of fine Indian cuisine, and of course, the perfunctory Chinese, Thai and sizzlers all bundled up. While the restaurant’s name builds an image around its association with the country’s freedom, and the restaurant was started with the hope of offering “culinary freedom”, the presence of Chinese goes off that freedom trail. It’s apparently there because diners demand Chinese, we are told!

We ignore the non-Indian selection and start with their signature makai ka shorba. It is our own spicy, light version of sweet corn soup, sans pasty corn flour. The makai lends natural aroma, and the blended chilli fired up the otherwise sweetness of corn. So much so that I had to down their zesty fruit punch to cool off a bit.

A selection of starters were offered, but the cheese palak kurkure is a welcome innovation. Cheese is rolled in a leaf of palak and dipped in batter, then crusted with fine vermicelli. The fried concoction lets you revel in the crunchiness of the crust, then hit the evergreen and unfailing combination of melting cheese with spinach. Kurkure, it seems, is the texture of the season and the veg kurkure doesn’t disappoint either – minced veggies and paneer patties that and crunchy-fried doesn’t leave any room for error.

A bite of heaven On earth

Paneer is one of those comfort foods that we willingly take refuge in, and a staple in the north Indian retinue, apart from the ubiquitous aloo. Also, one can never really go wrong with a paneer dish unless it’s not soft, or well-marinated. And so both the starters and main course features a multitude of paneer recipes.

The bread basket with a motley selection of steaming hot rotis beckoned us to the main course. The subzi lajawab was a welcome change from the standard fare oily north Indian heavy onion-y gravy one comes to associate with it. This one is cooked in a tomato gravy and is garnished with, surprisingly, spring onions. While the base and garnish were offbeat, there was nothing exceptional about the veggies that were dunked into it, rather casually, so I would think it’s a bit of a lost opportunity there.

The Lahori kofta, meanwhile, is made for those who love their paneer and like something to spice up their dinner. The paneer was soft and blended well with the minced vegetables and soaked itself to an adequate succulency in the gravy. For those who want to play it safe, there’s always dal tadka — effortless and homey, laced with just the right hint of garlic. Again a fail-safe dish.

The subzi tawa biryani was a pleasant surprise, because one would think there isn’t too much you can proffer there, except veggies thrown in with rice and sizzled up on a tawa. But it’s here that 1947’s masala sets in — never overpowering, with a heartening taste of home-ground masala, it added just the right lusciousness to a dish that would have otherwise been too dry. Very pleasant.

Rabdi with kulfi is their sought-after dessert, apparently, and was highly recommended for anyone with a sweet tooth. I second that. The thick oh-so-sweet rabdi and the icy kulfi deluge your senses with a potency only Indian milk desserts can!

1947 is on the 4th Floor, 

above Girias, 

15th cross, 

Margosa Road, 

Malleswaram. 

Call 41314321.

Eating Out : Jalpaan, Chennai

FOOD Jalpaan, a new vegetarian restaurant in the city, offers an unusual combination of North Indian and Italian food

Iam not sure if the Moulin Rouge in Paris is as crowded. Elbowing our way through a flight of steps we reach a waiting area that’s swamped with people. “Table for two please,” we ask sweetly, only to be drowned out by three other women who shake their fists. 

Soon we are ushered in and seated. 

We are at Jalpaan, a new vegetarian restaurant in the city. It’s a week night, but the place is packed. 

All the noise levels and the brightly lit up interiors can make you feel as if you are part of a chaotic stage production — children squealing, waiters trying to keep pace with the flurry of orders, impatient diners making numerous trips to the mocktail counter...

Jalpaan offers a mix of North Indian and Italian cuisine. 

For starters, we order a karara paalak chaat, a cheese fondue, and a baadam thandai that has crushed almond, cardamom and saffron but tastes much like the instant badam mix that comes out of packets. The chaat has a large crunchy chunk of paalak fried in besan and immersed in a pool of sweet curd. This is probably one of those rare occurrences when greens make us reach out for second helpings. 

The cheese fondue on its arrival causes many a head to turn in our direction. It takes two waiters to put the fondue set and its many accompaniments on our table. Croutons, potato wedges, salad, olives and a piping hot pot of molten gruyere, emmental and cream cheese — this is a filling meal by itself.

Time to flip through the menu again. It’s cleverly designed with tempting food shots on every page. We order the lazeez kumbh (mushrooms stuffed with spinach and cheese) based on its photo, along with sarson ka saag, butter naan and their speciality potli biriyani.

 Unfortunately, the lazeez kumbh is a disaster. The glistening butter naan is fine and as for the saag, well, for someone used to sarson ka saag fresh from the farms in Punjab, this comes as a disappointment. 

Doused in butter, it’s fine taste-wise, but lacks rich flavour.

The potli biriyani comes sealed within something that resembles a bhatura. The waiter dramatically slashes it open and serves us the mixed vegetable biriyani. Spicy, tasty but the amount of oil in it is worrisome. 

We offset the spicy meal with litchi ki teheri. Finely shredded bits of litchi in rabri — this dessert is divine and doesn’t let you put your spoons down easily... just don’t let your trainer know about this meal.

Jalpaan is located on 21, Greams Road. For details, call 2829-1181

PRIYADARSHINI PAITANDY :The Hindu:22 June 2013

Eating out :Ashvita Nirvana...new restaurant in Besant Nagar,Chennai

The Hindu :Anusha Parthasarathy :May 28,2013

With its range of veg and vegan options, Ashvita’s new restaurant in Besant Nagar gives foodies a taste of Nirvana

At a Glance Address:

Ashvita Nirvana

5th Avenue,

Besant Nagar.

Tel : 4269 9026

What to Try :

Mock meats

Cake Shakes & Pastas

Price Range :

Rs 90 - @s 250

It’s Nirvana, but specially for gourmets, because this one is all about food. That’s why as we step into Ashvita’s new restaurant on Besant Nagar’s 5 Avenue we expect food for the soul. And we discover that the restaurant-cum-bistro offers vegetarian and vegan fare with options for a quick bite and a relaxed meal.

One half of the space is brightly-lit with interactive walls and low seating, catering to those who want loud music and louder chatter. To others, the feeling of fine dining, is created by the European staple — yellow and white walls, wooden cupboards and ceramic wall mounts. We decide to spend time in the intimately-lit room over a quiet meal on a balmy evening.

Delicious starters

Dynabites, Sweet Potato Fries and Roasted Jalapeno Potatoes for starters — we’re high on starch! While we wait, we decide to play Funskool’s Battleship, fighting over our cruisers and carriers like we did as 10-year-olds. The Dynabites are crumbly on the outside but mouth-wateringly molten inside. Even if their shape isn’t perfect, you can’t complain when your mouth is full of warm cheese and jalapeno bits.

The Roasted Jalapeno Potatoes are all right; the fried jalapenos complement the crispy, roasted potatoes. We’re not impressed with the Sweet Potato Fries; they are a tad soggy and lack salt.

We do try a mock meat; of course, it is called BBQ Chicken Sandwich and comes stacked with soya pieces and hot BBQ sauce. The result is a good mix of smoky sauce, vegetables and chunky bits of soya.

The Penne with Pesto and Vegetables is al dente with a generous sprinkling of grated cheese (the accompanying piece of brown bread, though, seems stale). The pesto sauce is fresh and the seasoning, perfect.

The hero of the evening, though, is the humble ‘Cucumber, Sweet Peppers, Lettuce, Dates and Tomato with Olive Oil’ salad. The dressing is minimal and the sweet, chewiness of the dates goes well with the crunchy lettuce and cucumber.

The restaurant staff recommend the cake shakes. We order a Chocolate Hazelnut Shake (vegan) and Chocolate Fudge Cake Shake. The hazelnut shake is thick and creamy, and the usual strong taste of soymilk is reduced by the chocolate. The hazelnut, of course, adds a nutty sweetness to it. The fudge cake shake is grainy and oozes rich chocolate — a perfect substitute for dessert!

The Golden Dragon restaurant at the Taj Coromandel in Chennai

Soya rice at Golden Dragon


Archana Achal:The Hindu:1 June 2012

The Golden Dragon restaurant at the Taj Coromandel in Chennai has been regarded as one of the finest Chinese cuisine dining options in the city for decades. This reputation looks like one that is going to stick on, especially with the changes the hotel has made at the restaurant over the last few years. Late last year, they introduced a tea-pairing menu which was well received and now, they have added new dishes to the menu to lure health-conscious gourmands.

Contemporary move

The decision to add new dishes to the menu was made to make the restaurant more contemporary. Plus, Chinese styles of cooking are quite suited to good health, since it involves a lot of steaming and quick stir-frying with minimal oil. Chef Ho Chun Kee (William), who has close to forty years of culinary experience researched the recipes back in China before bringing them to Golden Dragon. Cantonese cuisine was a perfect choice and the dishes were made to represent both home and street-style cooking from the area. The ingredients used are quite seasonal and being paired with teas from their tea menu, the dining experience attempts at being a light yet satiating one.

The Ultimate trio of vegetables.

Starting off

Two bamboo steamers arrive filled with dumplings that are paired with a subtle, green silk tea. The Chew Jao dumpling is a delight for mushroom-lovers, filled with straw and shitake mushrooms, bamboo shoot and cashew nuts. The soft mushrooms are given an edge with the crunchy nuts, creating contrasting textures. The chicken and chive dumpling is lighter in flavour and steamed to perfection. A contemporary condiment placed on the table is mustard sauce, very un-Chinese but popular with diners. The dumplings are followed by Drunken Tofu – firm tofu that is soaked in hot garlic sauce is garnished with sautéed onions. The spicy starter is offset by the Green and White tea with peaches and chamomile aroma. The wok fried chicken with sour plums and shitake is less forceful in flavour, with a subtle tang from the plums. A ginger and mushroom soup is served next with cinnamon roll-looking, fried garlic bao or Chinese bread. The soup has a consistency between thick and thin and is surprisingly sweet, attributed to palm sugar used often in Cantonese cooking. A vegetable soup with tomato is also available if you prefer clear soups. Aromatic white tea with fruit and flower overtones accompany the soups and is a good choice to clear your palate.

The Tea bar

The main idea

The sides to the rice and noodles are varied and made with imported ingredients like lotus stem and bamboo shoots from Thailand. Sometimes, scallops with roe intact are brought in from Ukraine. The Ultimate Trio, a dish with crunchy snow peas, crisp lotus stem and baby corn stir-fried with chilis had balanced flavour and aroma, while the Hunan chicken in black bean sauce with earthy greens carried the familiar taste of sour black beans. But the aromatic soya rice was the star attraction. A mix of sticky and normal rice is steeped in soya sauce (that is fermented for ten days) and served with stir-fried cashew nuts. The dish is delicious enough to be eaten on its own with its dense soy flavour. Served with the light Fortune Ball tea, it is a great addition to the menu. Pan fried flat Hofan noodles are steamed and served in bamboo shoots which impart a deep, earthy flavour to an otherwise subtle noodle dish. Seafood-lovers can try the Prawn Cantonese, where the flavour of the fresh prawns is not overpowered by the garlic sauce.

Toffee bananas at Golden Dragon

Flambéed fruits are a clear choice for dessert after the substantial main course. The chefs use brandy, triple sec or other liquors for the flambé. Fresh, flambéed peaches were served for this review and were not too sweet, which was perfect with the vanilla ice cream placed alongside. But if you have a proper sweet tooth, do not miss out on the litchi and basil seed ice cream. Made entirely in-house, this sweet concoction was polished off quickly. Fresh slices of litchi and crunchy basil seeds added great texture to the smooth ice cream. Pu-erh tea is served with the desserts and one hopes its famous slimming properties kick into action straightaway.

Chef William

The additions to the menu are light and delicious, and will not have you reaching for table condiments. Always a sign of a good meal.

What: A new menu

Where: Golden Dragon, Taj Coromandel, Chennai

How much: Rs 4,000 for a meal for two without wine

The latest to hit the Chennai sizzler scene is Yoko,

Ameeta Agnihotri, TNN | Apr 23, 2012, 12.00AM IST

A trip to Chennai's latest sizzler joint will have you say "yo" to Yoko

Indian sizzler joints have Japanese sounding names. The latest to hit the Chennai sizzler scene is Yoko, a joint with its origins in Mumbai - the sizzler's Indian hometown. A hip joint called Touche (I know, I know, Touche is French), introduced the chain. Kobe branched out and was followed by its sister Yoko.

Chennai's branch is located on Khader Nawaz Khan Road. We walked into the building through a passage that leads to the lift, via which we landed straight at Yoko's doorstep and into its single hall dining space done up in red, black and beige. Set in rows are steel-based moving tables with long sofas on one side and no-nonsense steel and plastic chairs on the other. We made the mistake of choosing a table right outside the kitchen door, heard kitchen cacophony and walked out smelling like sizzlers ourselves.

Our first order arrived. Cold coffee, a few sips later, it lay discarded - too sweet. My heart sank. Grilled Mushroom with Cheese came next in a nondescript plate with Yoko's famous French Fries. What a dream in a plate those fries turned out to be. A great idea is to douse them with home-made tomato sauce and mustard.

For the main course, we chose to opt for Chicken Sashlik and Fish Satellite. The verdit? Delectable. The veggies are fresh, oil and salt free in a virtuous way. And the feeling of loving the body continues when the waiter tells us all steak is grilled. The pomfret was divine. Produce comes in fresh every morning around 10, he divulged the staff member serving us. Much later, when we had paid the bill, we learnt something that would entice the weight watchers, "If you are on a diet, let us know and we will hold the oil," informed the staff.

For our sweet ending, we chose to opt for Yoko's signature dessert, the caramel custard, is a light finish to a filling meal.

20B, 2nd Floor, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Contact: 42180888
Timings: 11 am - 11 pm
Price: 1,000 Meal for two
Credit cards accepted

Rating:
Food: 2.50
Service: 2.00
Decor: 3.00

Dive into South Indian food fare

TOI :Jui Mukherjee | Mar 31, 2012, 12.00AM IST


If you thought that spicy is all there to South Indian cuisine then think again! The chefs at Bhojanam are out to prove you wrong. 

The menu at this restaurant nullifies this common misconception even as it presents lip-smacking fare from the four southern states. From the famous Chettinad dishes of Tamil Nadu and the Udipi and Mangalorean cuisine from Karnataka, to the popular Malabari fare of Kerala and our own cuisine from Telangana,Rayalaseema and Andhra, this place has it all. In fact, to ensure that justice is done to this unique menu comprising of dishes from these varying regions, the restaurant has chefs from these four states too! 

The most popular dishes here are the meen varuval, appam and stew, kodi vepudu, kodi pulao and natu kodi shorva. Another exciting thing about the menu here is the exclusive sea food fare, complete with lobster, jumbo prawn and squid. 

Even the vegetarians are spoilt for choice with a wide variety of vegetable, corn and mushroom preparations. The buffet too consists of a delectable spread at a price of `299*. The authentic south Indian interiors and music make the dining experience all the more enjoyable. 

Where: Bhojanam, Road No. 12, 
MLA Colony, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 
www.amoghhotels.com 
For reservations : call 23545578/ 9666688168 
* Taxes applicable

Eating out : Madras Kafe at Isbahani Centre, Chennai

Shonali Muthalali:The Hindu:9 Feb 2012

EATING OUT Madaras Kafe gives a modern twist to desi platter

They're so naïve it's sweet. And admittedly a little frightening. Like watching Bambi being released in Masai Mara. It's certainly a refreshing change from the slickly marketed restaurants and cafés of today, where advertising and PR budgets rival investments in the kitchen.

‘Madaras Kafe' at Ispahani centre tries to be many things — sassy, fresh and desi-chic. You know the style — chai kadais instead of yacht clubs. The whole ‘Global Indian' philosophy. Wearing tee-shirts with Patialas to work, drinking Bloody Marys spiked with chillies and coriander in the evenings, dancing all night to yet another Bollywood track featuring Akon. Restaurants are quickly responding to the trend, creating menus that boast strong local roots.

At Madaras Kafe, the whole effort is so indisputably blithe it's almost endearing. Garlands at the entrance, and a menu on the wall that spells out ‘P-o-n-g-a-l.' Untiringly earnest waiters, and a visiting card designed to be hooked on your thumb. In fact, that's how it's handed to me. The lady at the counter says, ‘wait' in the manner of a scarlet-caped magician who's going to pull a fluffy rabbit out of her hat. “Show me your thumb,” she states

. A little unnerved, I obey. She slides the card on, like a particularly eccentric cocktail ring, and stands back, utterly delighted. The waiters around her look like they're going to break into an appreciative dance routine to celebrate the moment. It's all very Bollywood-dream-sequence. If only I was wearing more sequins.

Where does Ma-da-ras come from anyway? Well, clearly the same place that Kaapicino originated. Yes. You read that right. Thankfully it's a filter coffee served in the regular steel davara-tumbler set up. Fantastic coffee by the way. Dark, strong and rich with an aroma that hits you afresh with every sip.

In the Madaras website — yes they have a website. Doesn't everybody these days? — the owner claims to have been inspired by the finest chef in France. Oh here we go again, I can almost hear you groan. Michelin, Cordon Bleu, Joël Robuchon… The whole ‘I'm so inspired I could cry' saga. Well, not really. His poster boy is Remy, the — wait for it — rat from “Ratoutille.” Apparently the movie is what inspired him to get into the restaurant business.

 For all the cynics who are grinding their teeth, he adds “It doesn't matters how it looks to the world, all that matters is how it looks to you…” Rat philosophy again? Actually that's Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky”.

We order the fried podi idlies: The ‘friedli' — a name that may or may not have been inspired by a gifted rodent. They're dangerously addictive: hot, spicy and crisp, served with a chutney of coriander and green chillies. There are Urulai Kuchi Chips, their version of French fries, and you can opt to have them topped with cheese. We choose the spicy vada holes, little fried buns, spongy inside and crisp outside, which arrive liberally dusted with chilli powder.

Up for more ‘fusion'? Try the Barottizzas, their version of a pizza. A fairly cutesy paratha of sorts covered in paneer and served with a couple of papads. You can also choose to top it with potatoes or tomatoes. Or of course ‘Manjurian Chinese.' 

We try their Vadawhich, their version of a sandwich. Shaped like a bagel, it tastes like the classic pav-bhaji bread, and its spongy interiors are liberally slathered with butter. As with the Barottizza, you can choose you topping. We can't resist trying the Chinese, with crunchy slivers of stir fried carrots, cabbage and onions.

The Barotta roll is neat, but fairly uninteresting. The fluffy potato filling doesn't seem to work with the bland cheese and chappati-style wrap. It's served with sachets of tomato sauce but would work much better with a chutney. Another disappointment is their tomato idlis, a mess of mini idlies with randomly hacked and tossed onions and tomatoes. 

We skip dessert, and order a choco kaapicino instead. It's restrained, so you get the flavour of chocolate along with the taste of coffee. So much nicer than just dumping syrup in a cup.

Madaras Kafe is in Ispahani centre, 123/124 Nungambakkam High Road. Call 42010809 or 42010838 for more detai