One of Chennai's most exciting restaurant Desi D, which was stuck far away from the city (and I have no idea why they opened it there in the first place), has made a comeback after a year. This time though, in one of Chennai's poshest localities, the Poes Garden. Everything about the restaurant has been re-created, right from the fun ambiance, the quirky menu, but most importantly, the young chef, Aaron is also back.
A bunch of four, two of us have been to the earlier avatar while it was new for the other two. My friends started off with the shorba, but the moringa (drumstick) soup caught my eye and I was glad I picked that over the shorba. With a hint of saltiness and the unmistakable flavour of moringa, this is my kind of soup.
Another signature, the chicken kebab on sugarcane, is back on the menu. One of my favourite dishes at the erstwhile restaurant, the succulent kebabs are juicy as they are, but as you keep chewing on the sugarcane, those juices and the comforting feeling of chewing on the cane, makes these even better. The Boti kebabs are another fascinating dish. Literally melt-in-the-mouth, the amazing naans make them even better.
I cannot say the same about those corn cutlets and the spiced corn-cobs. No, I am not cribbing about veg dishes, because the paneer topped masala pappad, a star performer in the old restaurant, is back too in all its glory. This puts the classic masala pappad to shame, to the extent, this version needs to be named differently.
Stuffed with the starters, we got only one main course to share. Dosa batter waffles with an outstanding chicken gravy arrived. While the waffles made with dosa batter was rather gimmicky, the flavours were intact. However for the gravy, a well made dosa would have been just fine, maybe even better as it would have been easier to scoop the awesome gravy.
Dessert was a mixed bag. While the classic gulab jamun cheese cake was fantastic, the green apple jelebi was toeing the middle ground. Again, this dish didn't do much to enhance the original, but is a one time try for me. The gulab jamun cheese cake is way better and can compete with some of the best desserts in Chennai.
A bunch of four, two of us have been to the earlier avatar while it was new for the other two. My friends started off with the shorba, but the moringa (drumstick) soup caught my eye and I was glad I picked that over the shorba. With a hint of saltiness and the unmistakable flavour of moringa, this is my kind of soup.
Another signature, the chicken kebab on sugarcane, is back on the menu. One of my favourite dishes at the erstwhile restaurant, the succulent kebabs are juicy as they are, but as you keep chewing on the sugarcane, those juices and the comforting feeling of chewing on the cane, makes these even better. The Boti kebabs are another fascinating dish. Literally melt-in-the-mouth, the amazing naans make them even better.
I cannot say the same about those corn cutlets and the spiced corn-cobs. No, I am not cribbing about veg dishes, because the paneer topped masala pappad, a star performer in the old restaurant, is back too in all its glory. This puts the classic masala pappad to shame, to the extent, this version needs to be named differently.
Stuffed with the starters, we got only one main course to share. Dosa batter waffles with an outstanding chicken gravy arrived. While the waffles made with dosa batter was rather gimmicky, the flavours were intact. However for the gravy, a well made dosa would have been just fine, maybe even better as it would have been easier to scoop the awesome gravy.
Dessert was a mixed bag. While the classic gulab jamun cheese cake was fantastic, the green apple jelebi was toeing the middle ground. Again, this dish didn't do much to enhance the original, but is a one time try for me. The gulab jamun cheese cake is way better and can compete with some of the best desserts in Chennai.
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