Once Upon a Pirate - Besant Nagar [Chennai]

We weren’t too happy the first time we dined here because the food was unimpressive and the service pathetic. However, we stand corrected. Our second experience was worse, if possible! The moment one enters “Once upon a Pirate”, the thing that strikes you that it is a little hot for an AC restaurant. And indeed it is! Because only one out of the three ACs work (or were working on the two occasions we visited!)

We ordered for “Crispy Lamb” and “Golden Fried Prawns” and we liked the lamb and were okay with the prawns but what bowled us over was the mayo sauce. It had a complete homemade touch to it. So the next time we went, we ordered the same starters. But we were in for a surprise when a different sauce was served and on asking them about the mayo, they denied having served it earlier!! The table next to us had ordered Sizzlers and we became a little enthusiastic about it. Thus, the main course order stood at “Chicken Tikka Sizzlers”, “Egg Fried Rice” and “Hunan Chicken”. Our experience with the food can be summed up in one word – DISASTER! The Chicken Tikka thing was anything but a Sizzler apart from the fact that it was placed on a wooden platter with a cabbage leaf! The Sizzler smelt as if someone had burned it down, the tikka gravy separate and the chicken tikka pieces dry and that was it. Four pieces of chicken served with some Biriyani on the side!! That’s the Chicken Tikka Sizzler” for you! The Hunan Chicken was hot! And that was all I could make out of it because apart from the taste of red chillies, there was no other taste in the dish. It lacked aroma, flavour or “edibility”. We failed to understand as to how can one pour such copious amounts of chilli and yet render a dish so unpalatable and tasteless!

Unfortunately, we had to leave a major part of the food uneaten and ask for the bill. What amazed me at this point is that while the waiter cleared the table, none of them bothered to ask as to why such huge portions had been left behind or if we were unhappy about the food (Something that one finds at most restaurants!)

After an almost painful culinary experience, we came out and opted for a roadside kulfi. Other things unknown, one thing is for sure – we are never going back again!

OUR RATINGS:

Ambience: 3/5

Food: 2.5/5 (Only for the Lamb and the past awesomeness of the mayo that they later denied!)

Service: 1.5/5

Price: 3/5

Overall: 2.5/5

OUR TAKE:

VISIT AT YOUR OWN RISK. If at all you take the risk, stick to the Starters – you will be able to eat them at least!

Hot Pot China - Perungudi [Chennai]

We managed to spot this one accidentally – it’s just near the Perungudi signal (close to Hi-Style) and reasonably close to our home.  For non-Chennaites, Perungudi is located in South Chennai. And with my love for Chinese cuisine, we decided to try this one out at the earliest opportunity, which was this week. Hot Pot China (HPC) has a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of entrance. But once you enter, one realises that the place is not as small as the entrance looks like. It has a rather swanky decor for a place that has been in business since the last 2 weeks! However, it is evident that the place is new and has room for further improvement before it goes full swing. But that is probably the good part – since they are so new in business, they are ready to learn fast.

We decided to try a little bit of everything but as the food came in, we realised out mistake – the quantity was mammoth! A unique feature that I noticed about this place is that HPC allows you to order half portions of everything apart from the dim sums. In fact, our waiter was decent enough to suggest us that half portion of the “Konjee Crispy Lamb” (starters) shall suffice for both of us. And having said that, let me say that this is one area were HPC leaves even good brands behind – extremely prompt service. The waiters are decent, attentive and eager to please. Thus, what may be a trifle lacking in the food or decor etc, is more than made up for in the behaviour. I can go so far ahead as to comment that the service here is one of the best that we have received in the various restaurants that we have dined in over India. 

Now for the food. We ordered “Chicken Wontons” and “Konjee Crispy Lamb” for starters. The wontons were crisp and the lamb was delicious. And true to what the waiter had suggested – half portions of both was enough for both of us! For the main course, we decided to order 3 half portions – one from each section so that we could give most of it a try.  We ordered “Corn Fried Rice”, “Sea Food Fried Rice” and “Chicken Hakka Noodles”; with “Sliced Fish in Butter Garlic Sauce” and “Prawns in Oyster Sauce” as side dishes. If there is another thing that I have to say apart from the food being good – the food was too much. With ordering half portions of each, we ended up wasting most of it (still feel bad about that!) because we soon realised that 1 plate of the rice/noodles will more than suffice for 2 people – and that comes from foodies like us! The fish was good and did not smell – something I had thought could happen only in Kobe Sizzlers. The food isn’t too spicy – just the authentic Chinese way. The only thing that we did not enjoy in the whole experience is that the noodles were a bit undercooked and thus lacked proper taste.

The prices are what are unbelievable. The Veg starters range from Rs. 54/- for half plate to Rs. 125/- for a full plate. The Non Veg starters begin at Rs. 100/- for half a plate and go up to Rs. 225/- for a full plate. The Rice varieties vary between Rs. 70/- to Rs. 135/- (half to full) for the Veg section and Rs. 80/- to Rs. 185/- (half to full) for the Non veg section. For the side dishes, the Veg section prices are Rs. 75/- to Rs. 150/- (half to full) and Rs. 110/- to Rs. 265/- (half to full) for the Non Veg section. But then, when one plate is enough for two – who is complaining?

OUR RATINGS:

Ambience: 3.5/5

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 5/5

Price: 4.5/5

Overall: 4/5

OUR TAKE:

We loved both the side dishes in the main course and would recommend any of them.

We usually limit our posts till this bit, but since this is such a new place, we have a few suggestions for them:

(1)    Once the restaurant starts running in full swing, HPC is grossly understaffed.

(2)    The tables definitely need to improve.

(3)    The menu card is huge which makes navigating a cumbersome task. Also, it shall be difficult to maintain.

(4)    Should start a home delivery section – almost all restaurants have this.

(5)    The entrance must be a little more lit up/spottable so as to attract more attention.

(6)    Good place; deserves proper marketing strategies to make it popular.

White Pepper - Thiruvanmiyur [Chennai]

Today being Saturday was our standard day to eat out. We were in Thiruvanmiyur and decided to check out this restaurant “White Pepper”. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that we were taking a safe bet because the place had once been recommended by my husband’s colleague as a good Chinese joint. I however, wasn’t too sure; because my limited exposure to Chinese food in Chennai had left me in much regret. However, we decided to give it a try.

“Friendly” wouldn’t even begin to describe the ambience; “warmly welcoming” would be a more appropriate word. No sooner did we enter that two waiters came forth to us. Despite the place being half filled, they were generous to give us a table close to the television (Keeping in mind that the IPL Finals were being telecast). We placed an initial order of “Prawn Pepper Celery” and “Dragon Rolls (Chicken)” as starters with fresh lime soda and were pleasantly surprised to have been given “Wonton Fried Dim Sums” as a complementary. The Prawns were by far one of the best of what I have had till date and the celery brings in a special twang to your taste buds. The fresh lime soda happened to be just the right mix – a welcome change from most Chennai restaurants. The dim sums were awesome but that would be expected because White Pepper proclaims itself to be a Dim Sum delicacy specialist. For the main course we ordered “Dragon Prawns” and “Corn and Pepper Fried Rice”. Here too, we were in for a surprise - the quantity of a single plate could feed two people and still have some more left! The Dragon Prawns were good enough but a little on the sweeter side. But then, after you have had the “Prawn Pepper Celery”, I doubt if anything at all will measure up to it! The fried rice we ordered was a chance that we took, but as it turned out, it has been one of the better variations of rice that we have tasted in the recent times. For dinner, we took the waiter’s recommendation and ordered for a “Sizzling Brownie with ice cream”. As often happens with this dish, it is very difficult to mess up this one; but making it yummier than yummilious is not an easy task either. White Pepper managed to do just that.

Satiated, we came back home with a full stomach and a fuller heart. The concerned Indian, we were happy about the fact that the prices are pretty reasonable. For two people, the bill came up to approx Rs. 800/-. The non vegetarian starters range somewhere between Rs.90 and Rs. 160. The Sea food platter would cost you anything between Rs. 180 to Rs. 300 depending upon your choice of food.  All in all, a great place to try out Chinese.

OUR RATINGS:

Ambience: 3.5/5

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 3.5/5

Price: 4.5/5

Overall: 4/5

OUR ADVICE:


Stick to the Chinese and sea food platter. As a basic look of the menu card shall tell you, the Indian cuisine section is just fillers.