It was a pleasant Sunday evening in Chennai, and a calm stroll by the Elliot’s beach in Besant Nagar is the best thing one could have asked for. It was a day-off for me and my friend, and we wasted no time in getting to the beach to get some good sea-breeze, and to drink in the beauty of the sea shore. We chitchatted for a long time over a couple of roasted corn bought from the beach, and finally decided to do what we do best – have our dinner!

I have heard a lot from my friends, of ‘The Cascade‘ in Khader Nawaz Khan Road, and it was always on my yet-to-be-explored list. The Cascade has a branch in Besant Nagar, and I thought it would be a good idea to give it a try. My friend was ready too, and soon both of us were walking down the street towards Cascade, the chinese restaurant.

The Cascade is housed in the fourth floor of a tall building (much similar to ‘Mainland China‘ in Sterling Road). I don’t know if this is some sort of a custom in China for restaurants to be located in tall places. Anyway, there was an elevator that took us straight to the restaurant on the fourth floor.

The ambience inside the restaurant was good, if not excellent. There was quiet music playing, and the walls had some subtle decorations. Unlike other Chinese restaurants, there was no Chinese flavor in either the music or the artifacts on display. Everything seemed to be neutral and agreeable. The restaurant was quite spacious, and there were also steps that led upstairs to an adjoining dinig hall. The walls were fitted with mirrors, which added to the perception of space inside the restaurant. I and my friend occupied a small table for two in a corner.

One thing disagreeable with the Cascade is the utterly slow service. It took at least 10 minutes after we were seated, for the waiter to come to our table and offer us the menu card. Not to mention, the dishes themselves arrived much much later. The person who took our orders was polite and friendly, and I have no complaints in this regard. But it is the time they take to do things that left me longing. I have to mention that though all tables were occupied, the crowd there wasn’t too much or pressing. Still, I don’t understand why the delay. (I shall compliment the Wang’s Kitchen in T.Nagar for its excellent service in contrast to this restaurant).

The menu was what can be found in any Chinese restaurant in the city. There were non-vegetarian as well as vegetarian varieties of fried rice and noodles. Though I have a weak memory as far as the exact names of the dishes are concerned, I remember their descriptions. There was this interesting noodles which was thrice cooked, and marinated in a sauce of vegetables, or a meat of our choice. Then there were the usual plain and schezwan varieties. There was an extensive collection of poultry and lamb dishes too. I remember chopped chicken in garlic sauce, and if I am not wrong, there were lamb and vegetable versions of the same too. Then as a rule there were dragon prawns and tiger prawns.

I ordered one hot and sour chicken soup, divided between the two of us. Then, I asked for Schezwan chicken noodles and mushroom fried rice with grated chicken. (My friend has an aversion towards lamb). Then I ordered stir fried chicken which was long pieces of chicken fried in special sauce, and chicken spring roll. It was chicken, chicken, and completely chicken. The waiter was kind enough to suggest that one portion of rice and noodles would be too much for two. So, he asked if he could serve small portions of them. Both I and my friend are greedy eaters, but still I decided to go with the waiter’s suggestion, which later proved useful.

We waited and waited for ages together, when finally the soup arrived. One look at the soup, and I knew what the guy meant by large portions. I have dined at quite a lot of Chinese restaurants, but this was really too much. The soup came in a large bowl, whose size was the same as the vessel in which my mom makes sambar for the family everyday. The waiter divided it into our bowls, and we took our time relishing it. It was quite good, nothing exceptional.

And then came another era of waiting. The waiter brought the noodles, fried rice and the other dishes in one go. The Schezwan noodles tasted fine, though the fried rice was average. (I describe everything in the scale of Indianized Chinese dishes. I have little clue if it is authentic or not). My friend had some difficulty gulping in the hot and fiery schezwan noodles, nevertheless, I showed no mercy to them.

The dish I thoroughly enjoyed was the stir fried chicken, which was a class apart. The chicken just melted in my mouth. We finished the dish squeaky clean, and wondered if we could order another one of that. But, my zeal for variety made us order the spring rolls. Unlike what rolls I have normally taken at other chinese restaurants, these were tiny ones independently fried, instead of one large one. The spring rolls came with a cup of sweet sauce, and tasted only average.

Again for the bill, I had to endure a period of dormancy. (These people are not eager even to collect money from the customer). The bill came to a little more than Five hundred rupees, for the two of us. Even in the bill there was some error, and was hand-corrected.

Overall, in my opinion, the food was good – no disappointments. I shall revisit the restaurant for giving the other dishes a try; probably I might visit the Khader Nawaz Khan road branch this time. It is needless to say the dishes are overpriced. I could get the same dishes with the same taste elsewhere in the city, and of course for a cheaper price. The final verdict is, ‘The Cascade’ gets a neutral ranking.

If you are yearning for some yummy kebabs and hot parathas, the place you would have to go will be the Mughal’s Zaika Restaurant in Kilpauk. This place has for long been one of my most preferred restaurants. This is the place that gave me a taste for mouth-watering kebabs, in contrast to the spicy and greasy varieties I have always gulped down at Ponnusamy or Anjappar. Their mutton biriyani is something to talk about, and the Shahi Thukda they serve for dessert finishes the course in style.

If you are not much concerned about ambience when thinking of the taste of food, you are of my kind. The place is ideal for a cool and breezy evening treat, since they have an open dining hall and of course, no aircon. But there is something cozy and attractive about the place that I have never felt the need for aircon in Mughal’s Zaika. There is ample space for car parking available all around, and the bhai who waits on the customers wears a friendly smile on him.

Their menu is pretty comprehensive with a generous splash of varieties in all sections. There are Chicken Tikka, Sheek kebab, Reshmi kebab, and a hoard of other kebabs to choose from, and most importantly none of them disappointing. Then the parade of Indian breads! I have mercilessly savored most of the naan, roti, kulcha and stuffed paratha varieties. Of the side dishes, you must not miss their especially impressive Chicken Tikka masala. The dish has taken me completely into command ever since I first tasted it here. The mutton varieties are a charm, my favorite being the mutton kofta masala. The Afghani chicken on the list of kebabs is one I never miss ordering.

The biriyani may not be the best available in the city, though the mutton biriyani is commendable. Nevertheless, I would recommend the breads rather than biriyanis. There is a unique taste to the whole pile of dishes they make, and that is what pulls me time and again to this place. The place is popular among the locals who always carry out parcels from here. There is a constant crowd at the parcel counter in the evenings.

Now, the location. While coming down the Chetput bridge towards the Poonamallee High Road, take the road just adjacent to the Ega Theatre. Then take the first right, and bingo! Right there is the Mughal’s Zaika Restaurant. The menu is pretty light on the wallet, but strong in taste

Mughal’s Zaika Restaurant, Rajarathinam Street (behind Ega Theatre), Kilpauk, Chennai. Ph: 42170901

We were a group of around fifteen members, and our colleague was giving us a treat. The task of choosing a restaurant fell on me, and after much research and hearsay I decided on ‘The Dhaba’. It was about a year back that we dined at the Dhaba, and we were ready to experiment how it had grown in these days.

The moment you enter the Dhaba, you get a strange feeling. I do not know if this is the feeling you get on entering a real Punjabi dhaba, but I should say the interiors are feebly inspiring, if not immaculate. The walls are styled like those of a dhaba built with stone bricks, and given a yellowish hue. The area is lit with bulbs fixed inside lanterns. A huge picture of Juhi Chawla smiles at you as you savor your dishes, and in a distant murmur you can hear the golden Hindi melodies of yesteryear blockbusters.

One thing I like about these kind of restaurants is the ‘jaljeera pani’ and pappads they make available to you as soon as you are seated. We were seated in a makeshift arrangement of a long table, and as a rule I always spring to grab the centre seat for obvious gastronomic motives! The jaljeera pani was already making its way in.

As is common with our group, we always place a magnanimous order for the starters. And this day was no exception. We never let alone any of the chicken, mutton, prawn, fish or subji items. If it is on the menu, it will be on our plate. The Ghosth (mutton) kabab was enchanting, the murgh kabab soft as butter. My favorite was the fish tikka, which I had never tasted before, and the Pisces immediately took me in into their fan following. The baby corn kabab was exceptional, and should I say we had a blast?

I have dined at a lot of restaurants, and this one was one degree better than most of them. Of course, I have my own favorites, but in a group you tend to forget individuality, and I liked the menu as a whole. The dishes might not be the best available in Chennai, but it was worth every penny we gave. We took generous helpings of parathas, naans, rotis, kulchas, fulkas, biriyanis and what not. The Indian breads were soft and yummy. About the side dishes, it is always a matter of personal opinion, though I would rate high their Chicken Mughalai. The taste still lingers in my mouth.

Their service was average, but they gave us no disappointments. The portions were huge, and it will be difficult savoring the meat without a good company. And we had no problems. They had a limited list of desserts. The kulfi was below average, and the sweet lassi no exception.

The Dhaba on Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai is an up-market restaurant says the ‘Chennai Metroplus Food Guide’ and no wonder their menu is slightly overpriced. But, it left a feel of satisfaction as we finished our meal, struggling with the buckles of our trousers.