Wednesday, August 18, 2021

A Chettinad Buffet Dinner At Chidambara Vilas - Heritage Resort

#itaste #chettinadfood #chidambaravilaheritageresort A Chettinad Buffet Dinner At Chidambara Vilas - Heritage Resort Resorts Google Maps Location; google.com/maps/place/Chidambara+Vilas+-+A+Luxury+Heritage+Resort/@10.2369742,78.7818179,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m8!3m7!1s0x3b0064d70000001f:0x46d9c48d0337b5c1!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d10.2369551!4d78.784006 Keep your dinner light, is what they say... but with a buffet dinner like this at Chidambara Vila’s heritage resort near Karaikudi, who could resist the temptation.

                                   

The room tour of this resort is in another video which you can check out on the channel. The breakfast and lunch videos will also be separately uploaded soon, so don’t miss out on them.
                                   

The buffet dinner at Chidambara villas heritage resort is included in the package which cost me 8000 INR for a couple and a kid below 12 years of age. You could also go for the half board with bed & breakfast and choose extra dinner, then the dinner alone will cost you around 600 to 700 per head.

                                  The buffet dinner had numerous items lined up, starting with Sundakka ( Turkey berry) soup, some salads, potato with Mayonnaise, beetroot salad, Gobi 65, Kulli paniyaaram, fulka, idiyappam mixed with coconut and sugar, coriander rice, white rice, dhal, veg noodles, veg kurma, rasam, sambar, coconut chutney, tomato chutney, curd, fried chilies, pappad, mutton curry, chicken chukka, crab masala, and for desserts cut papaya & musk melon, vanilla ice cream, Gulab jamun, and sweet cuvium. That’s exactly how the buffet lineup was...
                               
So I started dinner with the Chettinad sundaka soup.., this is the first time I am having this sundaka soup, which I felt was like rasam. Maybe I am more of a nonveg soup fan. Next, I tried the salads, the potato with Mayonnaise was good, but need a little more salt which would have given it a lovely taste, yes they were served as salads and no salt in them justifies.... the kuli paniyaram with chutneys were ok, no complaints to them.

                               
I then tried the veg noodles with veg kurma and mutton curry.., the mutton curry tasted fantastic The fulka was hot and so soft and it went along so good with the mutton curry. Though the chicken chukka was just ok, nothing special to tell about it the mutton curry was the star, it also went along so good with white rice. For desserts, I had the gulab jamun with vanilla ice cream. Would the gulab jamun had been served hot with the ice cream it would have been a perfect dessert but they weren’t. All the items were hot and my vote for the best dish would definitely be the mutton curry. A lovely dining experience that you wouldn’t miss. Resort Room Tour; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBzh3Pha-ZM




                           

Saturday, August 14, 2021

A Stay At Chidambara Vilas - A Luxury Chettinad Heritage Resort Near Kar...

#iTaste #ChidambaraVilas #chettinadresorts A Stay At Chidambara Vilas - A Luxury Chettinad Heritage Resort Near Karaikudi - Part 1 Built-in the early 1900s this TSK villa now stands as Chidambara heritage resort run by the Trichy Sangam hotels. Chidambaram Villas Resort is situated in a village called kadayapatti that’s 25 km between Pudukotai and Karaikudi town. Google maps location; Chidambara Vlas Heritage Resort


Chidambara Vilas - A Luxury Chettinad Heritage Resort

We booked a full board package for a couple, that costs 8000/- INR including a kid below 12 years old. The Bed & Breakfast package will cost around 6000/- INR
Chidambara Vilas - A Luxury Chettinad Heritage Resort
The usual check-in is at 12 pm but since the rooms were occupied we were told to come a little later, so we drove past kadayapatti to Karaikudi to have our lunch at Sri Priya mess, an excellent Chettinad cuisine. Check out my YouTube & Blog link for Sri Priya mess below ; Youtube; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JjuObXfOV8 Blog; http://i--taste.blogspot.com/2021/08/authentic-chettinadu-cusine-at.html After lunch, we traveled to Chidambara villas at kadayapatti 25 km from Karaikudi town. We arrived around 2 and were welcomed by resort staff. The welcome was kind of traditional by putting an angavastram (a shoulder cloth worn with veshti around our necks) and with a ginger health drink.
We were then taken to our rooms.
The first thing that caught my eyes as I entered the room was the large manual fan hanging above the bed. Attached to a string that runs above our heads when we sleep, the fan operates when we pull the string. These types of fans were available in those days when there was no power nor a mechanical working fan. The hotel has maintained the same style so that the customers can feel how it was during those days.

Chidambara Vilas - A Luxury Chettinad Heritage Resort

The air condition is available but stays hidden behind the TV cupboards, this is mainly to avoid the AC in plain sight. The study table and dressing table all in the wood had excellent craftsmanship to them. Small draws in the study table to keep jewels and a lid that draws from inside to close these small drawers... they were amazing.
Chidambara Vilas - A Luxury Chettinad Heritage Resort The curtain that they had used in the room was an old Chettinad pattu saree which was stitched to a curtain that can be rolled up or down.
Chidambara Vilas - A Luxury Chettinad Heritage Resort
The room also had a kettle, tea, coffee & milk powder packets. The wardrobe had a safe, two bathrobes which in no way could have fitted for me, and two pairs of use & throw slippers. I haven’t seen slippers like that before which was kind of different. The washroom also had a lot of woodwork. Clean towels, toiletries, bathtub, shower cabin... At 4 in the evening, we got our coffee in a flask along with a brass Dabara set. The brass dabara is a cup and saucer made of brass metal and is the right way of drinking authentic filter coffee... you can see this in a lot of places in Kumbakonam. They also gave some complimentary snacks like murukku and adhirasam sweet.
Chidambara Vilas - A Luxury Chettinad Heritage Resort There was a small cookery class conducted in the evening where they showed us how to cook Chettinad chicken gravy and a sweet with kowni rice which had a sweet Pongal taste. The cookery video will be posted on my itaste- food talks youtube channel. We also had a house tour where the manager talks about the history of Chettiars and how they built this villa and also about the details of the mansion which will be in another video and blog A good resort stay with excellent food, which I will post in detail soon.


                          

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Authentic Chettinadu Cusine At KARAIKUDI SRI PRIYA MESS - Best Savuroti Fry & Mutton Brain Fry

               #itaste #sripriyamess #karaikudi


Karaikudi is the Chettinad land famous for its Chettinad cuisine. So when I planned a trip to Chettinad, I enquired where I could have my authentic Chettinad lunch and many suggested Sri Priya mess in Karaikudi. Google maps location link; Sri Priya Mess - Karaikudi Started in the year 1968, Sri Priya mess was started by Shivakumars parents and now is taken care of by him and his wife. To my surprise, there was no biryani and they cater to only lunch. There is no lunch that can be fulfilled without a Biryani.., that’s what I thought till I had lunch at Priya mess.

sri priya mess karaikudi
Their meal plan is a little different... in other hotels and Eateries you can either Order for a veg lunch or a non-veg lunch... with non-veg lunch you get few non-veg gravies but here at Sri Priya mess, there is no veg lunch. The customer has to order a non-veg dish be it chicken, mutton, fish ( either curry fish or deep-fried fish) mutton liver, mutton head curry, mutton brain fry, mutton spleen fry, fish head curry, prawn, crab .. there are about 14 to 15 non-veg dishes to choose from.

sri priya mess karaikudi So after the customer orders, he gets the non-veg dish with rice served on a banana leaf with two veg dishes. The gravies that come with this rice are a specialty here.., all the gravies are thick and went so well along with rice ... you get all the gravies like the country chicken gravy, Chettinad chicken gravy, mutton gravy, fish gravy, crab gravy, prawn gravy, mutton bone kulambu which was like rasam... My preference was the country chicken gravy and the Chettinad chicken gravy. It was thick, loaded with flavors, and tasted extremely good...
sri priya mess karaikudi
In the non-veg dishes, I tasted mutton, fish, mutton brain fry, mutton spleen fry. Mutton spleen or suvaroti was the best. The suvaroti was so soft, and the masala was extremely good. I could definitely say that this is the best suvaroti that I have tasted. The best and I truly mean it. The mutton brain fry was also good, the brain melted in my mouth and it’s masalas tingling my tastebuds... Wow-what a meal is all that I could say...
A true Chettinad food in Karaikudi that I have craved for a very long time was fulfilled with this lunch at Sri Priya mess. Yes, Sri Priya mess not only successfully filled my stomach but my heart too !!!!

Watch Full Video here..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JjuObXfOV8

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

PRAWN MASALA - ERAL THOKKU With PRAWN TAWA RICE


PRAWN MASALA - ERAL THOKKU With PRAWN TAWA RICE This prawn masala or eral thokku is a simple dish that can be cooked in minutes. The cleaning of the prawn might be a tedious job that needs to be done carefully.


A lot of small onions and big onions are used which are sauteed till golden brown. Then two tomatoes are used. They are cooked well till the oil separates from them.

                                   
The prawn is drained of water and added and cooked for 5 minutes. The prawn masala is ready after adding a hand of coriander and curry leaf.

                                  

The prawn from the Tawa is transferred to a bowl. Hot white rice is put on the Tawa and mixed, mixing the rice with the remaining masala in the Tawa.

                                  

This Tawa rice is very tasty and has an excellent flavor to it. Do try this and home. Don't forget the prawn Tawa rice

                                  


                   

Monday, June 21, 2021

Biryani Masala Chicken Fry - A New Kind Of Chicken Fry With Home Made Bi...

Biryani Masala Chicken Fry - A New Kind Of Chicken Fry Marinated With Home Made Biryani Masala This is a chicken recipe where the masala for the chicken is that of biryani masala. All the masala used in this recipe is homemade.

For the masala, the following ingredients are first dry roasted.. Bay Leaf -1 Star Anise - 2 no Cardamom - 3 no Clove - 4 no Cumin seeds - 1 Tablespoon Corriander seeds - 2 Tsp Fennel seeds -2 Tsp Peppercorns - 2 Tsp After dry roasting the ingredients, they are then finely ground to powder.
For the Green masala paste 2 green chili 1 inch Ginger 4 Garlic cloves some coriander leaf are ground to a fine paste. The chicken is then marinated with the dry roast biryani masala powder, green paste, chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, curd, 2 Tsp oil, lemon juice. The marinated chicken should be kept in the fridge for 2 to 8 hours. minimum of 2 hours. It is highly recommended if kept marinated overnight. After 2 to 8 hours of marination, the chicken is cooked in a pan with little oil. Cooked dry for 20 min, your Biryani Masala Chicken Fry is ready.                

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Village Style Pigeon Roast - Roasting Pigeon in Fire At A Farm



You may wonder how can someone eat a pigeon? but let me remind you that pigeon too is bred for its meat just like chicken, mutton, beef, or pork. So no hard feelings.

We did catch these pigeons though,they were nesting inside our factory making the place dirty and feeding on our raw materials (long story) anyway I had to eat those pigeons in order to prevent them from eating the raw materials that I have stocked in my factory . Hope you got the point.

At first, the feathers are cleaned and the remaining feathers are burnt in a flame. Washed with turmeric later , it is then cut and the interiors cleaned. Washing in turmeric is essential , because they kill germs.

The masala is applied , for the masala its just chili powder, salt, ginger garic paste. 

Iron rods as shown in the video is inserted into the pigeon. I have used two rods as such because it would be easy to turn the pigeon while roasting. Fire is made and the pigeon is roasted slowly in the flames. This is not the barbeque because barbeque is cooked in the heat of the charcoal, instead i have used fire so i guess we could call it roasting ...


                 

3X 🔥 Extremely SPICY Korean Fire Noodles Eating Challenge - SAMYANG FIRE...

We ordered these 3x spicy Korean noodles through amazon.in. Yes, the food challenge was on between me and Krishi.

3x spicy noodles

The noodles were cooked in boiling water and excess water drained. The table was set for the challenge. A packet of soup or sauce and a packet of chili flakes was given along with the noodles. we mixed the spicy sauce with the noodles and then mixed the chili flakes.

3x spicy noodles
It was a 140 grams noodles packet and each of us had a packet of 3x spicy Korean noodles to eat. And so the food challenge finally began. As we continued to eat, the spiciness in the noodles began to work its nasty magic not only on my tongue but on my lips too. I could feel my lips burning due to the spiciness of the noodles. Taking each bite was scary now because of the burning sensation on my lips, but as the heat of the noodles got reduced, it was a little easier to eat them Finally with the help of Lassi, Coldwater, Ice cubes, and a packet of chocolate we both managed to finish the bowl of 3x spicy Korean noodles. The spiciness was too much for Krishi. The chili somehow got into his eyes which made him shout and run around the house. This was a great experience and yes we succeeded in completing the 3x spicy noodles eating challenge.


                  

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

BIRYANI EATING CHALLENGE - I Lost To My Kid - Food Challenge

BIRYANI EATING CHALLENGE - I Lost To My Kid - Food Challenge



Monday, March 15, 2021

MR.PORC - A Restaurant In Coimbatore Exclusively For Pork - Excellent Po...

MR.PORC - A Restaurant In Coimbatore Exclusively For Pork - Only Pork Dishes Available Mobile - 9043050036 Google Maps Location; https://www.google.com/maps/place/MR.PORC/@11.045684,77.0137959,17z/data=!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x3ba857393af86e5b:0xe8e70409777c225e!2sMR.PORC!8m2!3d11.0456339!4d77.0134507!3m4!1s0x3ba857393af86e5b:0xe8e70409777c225e!8m2!3d11.0456339!4d77.0134507 A restaurant in Coimbatore that’s exclusively for pork only. You won’t get any other meat here. So if you are a pork lover then this is the place for you. Booking the table is mandatory so make sure you call them and discuss the dishes that you like to have. Mr pork is a concept-based restaurant and a first of its kind in Coimbatore. Run by a couple, the cooking is also done by them. I tried dishes like pork biryani, pork 65, crispy pork, green chili pork, pepper pork. The green chili pork fry was outstanding. The other dishes were good too. They use pig fat ghee in all their dishes that give an extra taste. They have used chicken masala for their pork 65 so the taste of pork 65 is similar to that of the chicken. The biryani also was a regular biryani that you have at any restaurant. A definite try-out place for pork lovers.

Sunday, February 14, 2021

SWEET RASCAL - A Resturant With Good Non-Veg Food, Lovely Ambience, Craz...

#sweetrascalyercaud #itaste #yercaud NO Deliveries - NO Takeaways - NO Walkins and definitely NO Vegetarian food. These rascals are sweet in a different kind of way. Google Maps Location Link; https://www.google.com/maps/place/SWEET+RASCAL+-+on+appointment+only,+pure+non-vegetarian+only./@11.7809358,78.2106612,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3babf54f80dab0e3:0x2ceaf120260b58fe!8m2!3d11.7809306!4d78.2128499

SWEET RASCAL, Yercaud

This Restaurant is definitely different from all the other ones. There are NO walkins, NO takeaways NO deliveries, and definitely NO vegetarian dishes.

SWEET RASCAL, Yercaud

I did not find the place crowded, rather there were no customers because it was a Saturday afternoon. The sweet rascal takes customers in limited numbers only. So if you want to dine here, make sure to go in person to this place and order your meal.
SWEET RASCAL, Yercaud
They prepare fresh. I personally loved the softness of the rice and the chicken curry, because it was like a home-cooked meal. The octopus fry was also good but the octopus was a little chewy. The ambiance was very good, full of trees and plants with funny & bold captions.. they could have cleaned and maintained the place a bit.
SWEET RASCAL, Yercaud
The birds and dogs make the wait for food worthwhile.. The Cockatoos can say “ hello “ if you must know. Altogether a different kind of experience. You should definitely visit this place for its experience.

                       

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Let Birds Come And Sit On You - A Lovely Park For Bird Lovers At Yercaud...

#iTaste #peekupark #yercaud Let Birds Come And Sit On You - A Lovely Park For Bird Lovers At Yercaud, Tamilnadu - PEEKU PARK Google Maps Location Link; https://www.google.com/maps/place/PEEKU+PARK+YERCAUD/@11.7713246,78.2321357,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3babf518c0da1209:0x9b0b6b2a8266f825!8m2!3d11.7713194!4d78.2343244 The Peeku Park is a park that is specifically for the birds. Situated in Yercaud of Salem district, Tamilnadu, the peeku park is on the way to pagoda point. Situated in a two-acre land, this peeku park has a small game area for kids, ostriches, fowl varieties, and the highlight of this park is the hand tamed birds.
PEEKU PARK, yercaud

The park opens at 10 am and closes at 5 pm. So plan your visit accordingly. They charge 250 for an adult and 200 for kids. This bird park has hand tamed birds that are let in a huge area where we can walk and go.
PEEKU PARK, yercaud
This section is divided into 3 parts. The first part or section has rainbow lorikeet birds. These birds specifically eat fruits, so fruit is given to us by the staff so that we can feed the birds. The birds come and sit on us and feed on the fruits they are hand tamed so nothing to worry about, it might feel as though they are biting us but that won’t be a problem.
PEEKU PARK, yercaud
The next section is for the conures, mostly sun conures. They too sit on us, the staffs give us seeds. Here they have sunflower seeds. The next section is for the bigger birds like the macaw, cockatoo, and African greys. These birds are a little sensitive and so we have to be a little careful not to touch them. They too come and sit on us to feed on the seeds in our hands.
PEEKU PARK, yercaud

The staffs here are friendly and explain about the birds.., they also guide us on how to handle these beautiful birds. Feeding these birds was an amazing experience, though Singapore too has a park-like this the feed they provide is to be bought by us for a price from them but that’s not the case here. The bird food is free. Worth the money. And a good spot to visit.

                

Sunday, February 7, 2021

Best Chicken Leg Piece Biryani & Chicken Pepper Fry At Thambi Prabhakara...

#itaste #thambiprabakaran #chickenbiryani
Best Chicken Leg Piece Biryani & Chicken Pepper Fry At Thambi Prabhakaran Hotel - Yercaud Google Maps Location Link; https://www.google.com/maps/place/Thambi+Prabakaran+Hotel/@11.7860575,78.2089938,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3babf5d19b1d3069:0x71363ae9d3aabb8a!8m2!3d11.7860523!4d78.2111825
Thambi parabakaran hotel
Thambi parabakaran hotel is the best place to eat in Yercaud (a hill station that is 25 kms from salem city). The reason I say the best places is because it suits all kinds of people and the rates are nominal not like other hotels at a tourist place.

Thambi parabakaran hotel
The thing I found fascinating about this place is that there are people eating at any time. You visit the place at any time of the day and you can see customers having their food. The only downside I observed is that the whole of this town yercaud goes silent around 9.30 to 10 pm. That’s the reason they shut the shop early around 9.30 pm. So if you are in town and plan to grab dinner here make sure you go here before 9.30 pm. I myself went at 9.30 and wasn’t able to have my dinner because it was closing time.
Thambi parabakaran hotel
The food here is great.., the biryani which they say is their specialty is amazing. Their biryani is a chicken leg piece biryani, so that means only chicken leg piece will be available in all of their biryani portions .... so the biryani is a must-try at this place The special and all-time available pepper chicken was also good but I personally felt that the masala didn’t penetrate the chicken so it was kind of bland on the inner side of the chicken pieces.... There are separate gravies available for parota and rice. For meals, they provide fish and chicken gravies with sabjees and many more for just 70 inr which is less than 1 USD. This hotel opens at 7.30 in the morning and closes at 9.30 pm .. A great place to have Sumptuous food so don’t miss it when you are in Yercaud......


                   

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

A 45 Year Old Eatery Serving Chettinadu Style Non - Veg Food In Karur - ...

An Excellent Chettinadu Style Non - Veg Food At Karur Shanthi Mess. Shanthi Mess is situated in Jawahar Bazar area. Google Maps Location Link; https://www.google.com/maps/place/Shanthi+Mess+(VEG+%26+NON+VEG)/@10.9584704,78.078748,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3baa2fba389658ed:0xd34d6ac92fd9c3a5!8m2!3d10.9584651!4d78.0809367 Shanthi Mess Mobile- 94432 62195.

Chettinadu Style Non - Veg Food At Karur Shanthi Mess
This Chettinad style mess in Karur is been serving its customers with its excellent non-veg food for 45 long years. They serve Breakfast, lunch, and dinner at their mess. Dishes like mutton biryani, chicken biryani, chicken chops, country chicken( naatu Koli) chukka, mutton chukka, kaadai, fish fry, mutton intestine, chicken 65 are some of the dishes that are available for lunch and dinner at this family-run mess.
                                      Chettinadu Style Non - Veg Food At Karur Shanthi Mess The Seeraga samba rice used in chicken biryani had a lovely flavor, wasn’t too oily and the biryani masala had penetrated the rice well, so the taste was good, but The chicken pieces in the biryani wasn’t to my expectation. Other dishes like the mutton chukka and naatu koli chukka was good, the spiciness was a little less to my taste.
                                     Chettinadu Style Non - Veg Food At Karur Shanthi Mess Overall it was a good experience, the cost of all the dishes seemed normal to me.., some of the cost as follows Mutton biryani- 150/- inr Chicken biryani- 100/- Chicken chops- 100/- Naatu koli chukka- 130/- Mutton chukka- 140/- Kaadai- 100/- Overall a good experience that shouldn’t be missed especially when you are at the Jawahar Bazar area in Karur.

Saturday, January 2, 2021

A Visit To ADISHAM BUNGALOW In Haputale - A Monastery Built In The Year ...

#itaste #adishambungalow #srilanka The house was built in 1931 by an English aristocrat and planter Sir Thomas Villiers, former Chairman of George Steuart Co, a trading and estate agency based in Colombo.
ADISHAM BUNGALOW In Haputale
Sir Thomas was a grandson of Lord John Russell and a descendant of the Dukes of Bedford. Named after Adisham, it was designed by R. Booth and F. Webster in Tudor and Jacobean style, on 10 acres of land.
ADISHAM BUNGALOW In Haputale

ADISHAM BUNGALOW In Haputale

Adisham Hall played host to many prominent personalities of the colony until the retirement of Sir Thomas, after which it was sold to Sedawatte Mills owned by Vimala Wijewardene in 1949. In 1961 it was purchased by the Roman Catholic Church and was subsequently converted to a monastery. The house is well preserved along with its period fittings and furniture and is open to visitors on weekends, public holidays, and poya day only.
ADISHAM BUNGALOW In Haputale

There are 18 rooms which are open to visitors, who can take up the full board with the full board tariff being 4000 SriLankan rupee. You will have to book your rooms two weeks in advance. There’s a small shop selling produce like Jams, Sauces, Cordial, etc., some raw material for the jams are sourced from the monastery’s lovely gardens and orchards. Buy some wild guava jelly or soursop cordial to pep up your next guesthouse meal.

ADISHAM BUNGALOW In Haputale