“Chao”.. well, it means hello in Vietnamese and to think Ciao means Bye in Italian.. One word, so many meanings. Similarly, Chao, the restaurant has many faces, many avatars so to speak. It offers an eclectic blend of interiors, a menu that takes us on a journey from Vietnam to Singapore, China to Thailand….
Spending a few minutes exploring the venue, I discovered it was on two levels, the basement bigger than the ground floor. it also included a Lounge-a private dining area… The walls are adorned with various figurines and pieces made of wood, a tree stump leading to a light fitting under which sits a majestic Buddha. A narrow winding staircase tucked away in a corner. The ground floor offers a few cabin like settings, two small and one large. Glass, wood and light is what catches your eye as you step into this swanky restaurant that is just a few weeks old.
Situated on north Boag road, almost opp the Singapore Consulate, adj to Coffee Central, the restaurant belongs to Ramesh & his partner Jagadish. Ramesh, being an architect has spent quite a bit of effort in decorating the place and it is quite visible.
Greeted with a cup of hot Lemongrass tea, I chatted with Shalini Muthukumar [Ramesh’s sis in law] who also owns the label “spice dip”. Pretty soon, the table was full, and Chef Dhiraj started bringing out plates of food… not only did they look good, but tasted delicious as well. He was kind enough to remember the vegetarians from the non veg clan and patiently answered my 1001 questions.
Starters:
Green Mango Salad
Corn Tartlets – Tartlets filled with crispy corn kernels
Devil’s potato – Crispy fried and sauteed potato wedges
Veg Dim Sums served with garlic sauce
Mushroom Pepper Salt – Crispy & juicy mushrooms tossed in pepper, chili flakes and garlic and served on a bed of fried noodles’
Rice wrap rolls served alongside Lemongrass dip – Rice wrap sheets stuffed with raw vegetables and tofu rolled up.
Devil’s
chicken
Chao Thai Grilled Fish – Boneless fish fillets marinated, grilled and served on skewers
Wasabi Prawns – Crispy fried Prawns tossed in smooth Wasabi mayo.
Satay Prawns – Juicy prawns marinated, grilled and served on skewers
I spent quite some time sampling the dishes, trying to figure out the spices, method of cooking, sorting through my curiousity and i noticed another array of dishes coming towards our table. They were the main dishes announced Shalini.
Thai Veg Green Curry- It was very different from what i’ve had, was surprised to find Brussel sprouts in the gravy
Jasmine Rice- A rice cooked with jasmine infusion though with no jasmine flavour[thank god]
Singaporean Bee Hoon – Fine Rice noodles with bean sprouts[ this was the best of the lot]
Cashew Garlic Garden greens – Stir fried vegetables mildly cooked with Garlic sauce and cashews
Sambal fried rice- Non veg
Basil Chicken – Fine Minced tender chicken served in hot basil sauce
And finally, as i flipped through their extensive menu card [which has been beautifully separated into 2 sections- Veg & Non veg], i spotted quite a few familiar desserts. The ones we got to taste were
Tub Tim Grob
– Water chestnuts in coconut milk served with crushed ice
Pumpkin custard with Coconut ice-cream- This was an afterthought of sorts. I noticed it on the menu and requested Shalini to serve us a plate or so. and no sooner there were more than one plate of this dessert served up, but they kept disappearing…
It was one fun evening… As always…. If you are driving down the road, and feel hunger pangs kick in, then pull over and do try the restaurant.
Price- A meal for 2 will roughly cost around Rs1500 – 2000
Address:
#49, North Boag Road,T. Nagar address 044 65555553, 044 65555554
[Opp Singapore Consulate and Adj to Coffee Central] Drive down from Residency towers/10D towards GN Chetty road, and you will spot this restaurant on your left.
This was part of a CFG Showcase that I attended and was conducted by Chennai Food Guide.
Disclaimer:
The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience.
Also remember that restaurants and eat outs sometimes change with time,
so does their food and service. So, kindly consider these factors while
visiting the places. Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit 🙂
