Cascade at Besant Nagar

After reading a couple of rave reviews on burrp!, I absolutely had to try out Cascade. According to both reviews I came across, they served copious amounts that you couldn’t possibly eat more. That was what attracted me in the first place. (I’m a sucker for large quantities of food). It also said that prices were moderate. So I dragged a friend along & we wen’t last Friday.

Its situated in the same building as Spencer’s Daily in Besant Nagar (Funny how all my recent reviews are from Besant Nagar. Well, its a cool place, with a beach and all!). But the only hitch is that its on the 4th Floor. But they have a lift that works (luckily) & we were up in no time. The waiters are really courteous & we were shown to a very nice table for two. The decor is quite good & tables are neatly arranged. Frankly, after the usually antiseptic decor in most Chennai hotels,it was a sight for sore eyes.

Cascade offers Oriental fare which is to say that the menu is filled with gibberish from Malaysia, China, Singapore & what not. Well, we weren’t complaining. We were given a Starters menu (First time I’m encountering that in a Chennai restaurant). The menu had choices for DimSum & Momos and also options for dessert. We passed on the starters & skipped the soup. A certain review I had read mentioned that one soup is enough for three. That turned out to be a Fondue & cost Rs500. Well, since we were only 2, we decided we’ll pass soup too. (As an aside, I’ll point out that soup bowls are placed on the table when you’re seated. They didn’t look too big. So I’m not too sure about the portions).

Well, we settled on Mai Kwa Cho Fan which was advertised as prawn & crab meat fried rice. Sounded good & I hadn’t tasted crab in a long time. So that was it. We also ordered Deep Fried Crispy Chicken (Not very Oriental sounding, but the description sounded tasty & it had a “red pepper symbol” next to it.So that was our second dish.

Service was quite fast and we got our order in no time. I’d like to differ with those who have reviewed saying that the amounts are copious. I’ll agree that portions are large, but not THAT large. A bowl of rice serves two. No more. Unless you’re a bunch of anorexic girls on a diet. I could comfortably down the entire bowl on my own (I didn’t as I had to leave some for my poor friend). So I would disagree that food portions are very large. I’d go with regular.The fried rice was alright, but it tasted slightly bland & the prawns & crab weren’t marinated well enough. Coming to the crispy fried chicken, it was a complete let down. It tasted exactly like the onion bajjis you get in roadside stalls. There were quite a few pieces, I’ll grant that. Enough for a family of 4 to share. But I will not stand for such an Indianized flavour from a restaurant that advertises Oriental specialty. We finished it though. I’m a firm believer in the “Don’t waste food” maxim.

We called for the bill & we were presented a complimentary dish of fruits. I appreciate the effort. I’d say service here is splendid & our waiter was very friendly and smiled all through the evening. Prices aren’t what I’d call moderate for a middle class family.Of course, software engineers might find it moderate. A dish costs about Rs 150-300 on an average depending on what goes into it.

On the whole, my experience wasn’t all that to talk about, but I’ll admit that maybe our choices weren’t all that original & diverse enough to brand the restaurant as bad.So I’ll be visiting the place again & choosing some truly oriental dishes next time. I did see a few interesting ones from Malaysia including a fish wrapped in a banana leaf. I’ll give that a shot next time.

For my first impression rating, here goes:

Ambience: 4
Food : 3
Value for Money: 3
Service : 4

Overall : 3.5

I’ll reserve my final judgment till my next visit. Till then,
Cheers!

Taste of Kerala at Tharavad

Another restaurant review. Guess burrp! has really influenced me.Now its about cuisine from Kerala. I’ve spent 11 years there & its only fair that I write something about it.Not exactly typical traditional Kerala food, but its Kerala food made in Chennai.There are quite a few Kerala hotels in Chennai – Kumarakom, Naalukettu, Ende Keralam being few of them. But right now i’ll focus on Tharavad, mainly because I haven’t been to the other places, yet.

Tharavad essentially means ‘ancestral home’ in Malayalam. Tharavad is located on the road to Besant Nagar bus stand, quite near Cool Cats. Its not a fancy place. I figure, the owner probably started it as a small place (slightly better off than a thattukada and was surprised at how popular it became). This shows from the fact that the furniture is bare (no table cloth, cutlery) & there exist a couple of old air-conditioners which work if its your lucky day. In fact, the only good part of the decor is the front door, intricately carved & inviting. The interiors aren’t much to talk about. The tables-for-two are solid immovable ones plastered with ceramic tiles for easy cleaning (like I said, the owner didn’t really expect it to be a hit. He probably started it for the lower middle class. Surprisingly, a lot of families come here, almost exclusively Malayali). They have an extension, which I figure wasn’t there when the joint started. It is slightly better off with cane furnishings & dimmer lighting. But basic characteristics remain. The entry to this extension is via a unlighted stairway that is hard to find. If you’re going for dinner, do watch out.

Coming to the food, Its awesome. Typical coconut oil & milk laced curries, soft steamed rice cakes (puttu) , fluffy parottas feature on the menu. A friend tells me that the Fish Curry meals are a good option for lunch. Costing about Rs 50, they fill your stomach quite well. The parottas are the cheapest I’ve seen so far in Chennai (barring thattukadas) & are really fluffy. These people offer beef & the Syrian beef fry ( a regular of the Kottayam Catholics) is quite tasty. Chicken roast is quite interesting with a coconut based paste smeared on the chicken. It can’t be called gravy & it can’t be called ‘dry’. As you can see, the names aren’t too fancy. The focus is on practicality rather than on showing off. A chicken dish costs about Rs 70-80 & the seafood items come to about Rs 100-130.A wide selection of seafood is available ranging from prawns, pomfret (karimeen),seer fish (nei meen), mussels (kallumakaye) & squid. Vegetarian dishes are available for about Rs 30-50. The taste is good, and all are very spicy. So you might want to watch out if you suffer from indigestion or ulcers.Portions are quite large & a single dish will suffice for a couple of people. They don’t offer a lot of desserts but we have Cool Cats to remedy that don’t we?

If you’re a Malayali stuck in Chennai, dying to eat some Kerala food and aren’t willing to pay the earth for it, you can visit for it. Foodies looking for a change from the usual fare can also drop in. Most people come here for the non-veg. So obviously, thats tastier. I had the kadala curry(chick pea) once, and though it was tasty, the chickpea wasn’t cooked properly. I’ve heard the Egg curry is great & I’ve been told to avoid the Chicken Stew (Cheapest chicken dish available. Apparently they don’t encourage people buying it). The service is ok, though I had a problem with them billing me for something I hadn’t ordered (Hence they lose a point on that)
For the rating
For the rating,
Ambience: 2
Food : 4
Value for Money: 4
Service : 3

Overall : 3.25

So go ahead & give it a try.Do post comments here if you have a different opinion on something.Till next time,
Cheers!