Chennai, Bombay Blues in Chennai

The much hyped launch of Bombay Blue in Chennai took place yesterday. The occasion was by invite only and yours truly was one of the lucky few thanks mainly to one of my Mother's friends - Ms. Ranjana.

The restaurant has indeed managed a plum location. Though situated on the one way side of College Road, just before the Met Dept. office, it is an area bereft of quality dining options while still being in the centre of the city. The neighbouring Subba Rao Avenue and other residential areas would finally have an interesting meal option worth "walking in to".

The interiors are bright - typically Bombay Blue - with generous use of the house colour Blue, well hued with Yellows, Oranges and Reds. The wood is dark and used quite evenly. To go with the colors, the lighting too is quite bright and all in all, presented a happy picture.

A major irritant through the evening was the music - which restaurant today plays Air Supply of everything!!!!! After having lived through 40 mins of Russel Hitchcock and fellow artists, the damn CD just repeated itself! In addition to this was the freezing air conditioning with a direct blast on to the guest seats. The restaurant has preferred going in for individual split units which cool alright but aren't tactically and ergonomically, the most suited.

The staff were courteous but seemed a little jaded and under prepared for the launch. Quite a few items ordered were not served (one was forgotten, another had run out in the kitchen, etc) and over all, service was a tad slow. But then again, being the inaugural, I did have my hard hat on.I was willing to work with the boys :-)

The menu is quite elaborate. It has everything from:

* Bombay's famous road side chats to
* Pasta and Pizzas
* American Junk
* Mexican finger food
* Salads & Sandwiches and
* Decently long Sizzler list.

Being a group of ten (very hungry) people, we ordered quite a bit.

Appetizers:
* Cheese Amigos
* Bombay Blue falafel
* Corn & Cheese Balls
* Onion Rings
* Chicken & Mushroom Croquettes
* Chicken Fingers Remoulade
* Cheesy Fish Fingers
* Reshmi Tikka
* Puerto Rican Chicken Tikka (!!)
* Kodi Vepudu (An Andhra speciality fried chicken)

Yes! We did order every single item on the Non Veg side of the appetizer menu!

Entree / Main Course
* Hearty Meat Sizzler with the option of Noodles or Rice (seemed a favourite on every table)
* Paneer and Vegetable Shashlik
* Mutton Biriyani
* Goan Fish Curry with White rice (which we were told after the others had finished, was unavailable)
* Pav Bhaji (was mine, HAD to try it!)
* Three Cheese Pasta (Penne)

Most of the food was good. The sizzlers were both appetizing while the mutton biriyani might not find favour with the Chennai palate since its more the flavoured rice variety. The Pav Bhaji is highly recommended and is not your usual rich, overflowing with butter and spices style Bhaji.
All the appetizers except the onion rings were a treat.

The 2 most popular desserts on every table that evening were the Nut Fudge Crunch with Ice Cream (might have got the name wrong) and the Sizzling Brownie. I did try the latter and the brownie was quite nice - not too soft, slightly gooey (as it should be!).

I was quite impressed with the pricing, though we didn't need to pay! - it seems to have slotted itself somewhere in between fine dining and fast food and created a category which probably could be referred to as casual dining. An average meal per head here should cost Rs. 250 - 300/-. Alcohol is not served.

It's now left to see how Chennaiites lap up the fare from this latest addition to Chennai's growing eatery scene. One thing's for sure, the options are definitely opening up.

Bombay Blue is a brand of Blue Foods which has given Chennai Copper Chimney and Cream Centre till date. More details of their other brands are available on their website.

I was handed a menu at the time of leaving which purported to be a Home Delivery Menu. I just checked it to post a phone number and cannot believe that they have a menu without a number on it! They have numbers for all the other cities that Bombay Blue is present in but don't have Chennai in it! Relax - Home Delivery is not yet open for Chennai. I will post up the details once it is open. Scanned version of the menu coming soon.

Price per head- Rs. 300/-
Website - www.blue-foods.com
Reviewed by: Harish Anand Thilakan
Date: 20th June, 2008

Address & Phone - Bombay Blue, College Road, Chennai - 600006. Ph: NA
Driving Directions - Turn in to College Road from the traffic flow side (Good Shepherd school end) and travel down 200 metres. It falls on the left side, just after the left hand bend in the road after the school.

Chennai, First Day Blues at Bombay Blues

Blue Foods launched its flagship brand, Bombay Blue in Chennai today. Yours truly was indeed there and savoured the moments.

Review coming shortly!

Bangalore, Vaayu - Setting new standards in the Lounge scene

I was having one of my best breaks in a very long time. Not more than a total of 40 hours, this break was one where I got to spend a significant amount of time with myself and cut off from the rest of the world, thereby giving me a great break.

Saturday night and we were advised to visit the new lounge in town - Vaayu. Located in the Croma building on Brigade Road (next to HM Tower), the Vaayu is a Sky Lounge located on the 5th level with a clear view of Bangalore city on 2 sides. The view is quite surreal and unexpected.
The place as such had a very urban appeal and ambience - the music being played was a combination of Hindi and English popular but never really got to us - it was there. Period.

Vaayu does indeed have some very talented mixers - the drinks dished out were of a very very high quality and did indeed push some of us to drink more than we normally would have. It was impressive to note the array of Vodka on stock which included my all time favourite Finlandia as well as a rare Russian vodka. I personally did a large shot of the latter and loved how smooth it tasted. Most of us ordered Vodka based drinks and they were all a major hit. Pricing was normal for a Lounge.

We ordered a Veg platter and it was quite elaborate and the food was enjoyable.

Although most of Bangalore shuts by 11pm, for some strange reason (and we were NOT complaining), Vayu was open even while we were leaving which was just before midnight. Probably because it was Saturday.

Weekends attract a cover charge per couple and entry is strictly for men with women.

A definite must visit whenever in Bangalore.

Weekend Entry Fee - Rs. 1000 per couple (Full cover included)
Average Cost per person (only drinks) - Rs. 1000
Website: http://bjngroup.in/restaurants/vaayu.html
Address & Phone: Eva Mall, Level 5, No. 60, Brigade Road, Bangalore - 560001, Ph: 080 - 41118477

Reviewed by: Harish Anand Thilakan
Date: 14th June 2008