We found him!! The biggest surprise was that he was just a street away from our home.
I'm talking about Chef Shivajee who makes hungry and homesick Singaporeans feel a little less hungry...and homesick! He tells me he's got all the authentic Asian ingredients in his store cupboard and what he cannot bring in a package or in a bottle, he grows in the little garden adjoining the restaurant.
Green Meadows (
www.greenmeadowsresort.com) is a lovely resort at Palavakkam, Chennai. It doesn't face the sea but the greenery more that makes up for it. The cottages are built in the style of Kerala homes and with swaying palm trees around the property, it looks like a slice of Kerala that has been lifted and transplanted in Chennai. We've been to the resort's restaurant a few times and on a scale of 1 -5, the food has always been meh. The resort has a party hall and I've found the food served at functions way better than that at the restaurant.
But not any more. The restaurant has undergone renovation and is now called The Madras Wok. Large bay windows overlook the lawns where geese wander about. The garden is a riot of flowers and shrubs and there are tables arranged under canopies that one could dine at if one prefers to dine alfresco. Must be pretty romantic at night!
Chef took us for a walk around the grounds. Pandan and lemongrass leaves swayed in the gentle breeze and clumps of basil filled the air with their distinctive aroma. A gaggle of geese sunned themselves on the well tended lawns.
We chose to sit in the restaurant, a room that is awash with light and is an oasis of tranquillity. Multi hued upholstery add splashes of colour around the room and a wall of glass between the kitchen and the dining area allows you to see the food as it is being prepared.
As they are still in the soft launch phase, we were the only occupants that afternoon though a few of the outdoor tables were occupied and plenty of cooking was going on. I guess some of the guests had chosen to dine in the privacy of their cottages.
The menu indicated not only Asian specialities but also popular Indo-Chinese fare and some Continental as well which includes pasta.
Chef Shivajee suggested I order
mee siam. The husband preferred hawker style
char kway teow. We left the choice of starters to the chef and what he brought us were these-
Tahu goreng or deep fried cubes of beancurd with a peanut sauce and cucumber. The peanut sauce tasted flat and I missed the beansprouts it's usually served with. The vegetable spring rolls more than made up for it. The wrapper was home made and the roll, stuffed with finely shredded vegetables was fried to a beautiful golden crispness. The dip was equally tasty.
For mains, Chef remembered I liked
mee siam - thin vermicelli rice noodles in a spicy, tangy gravy with plenty of prawns and chicken strips, tofu cubes and a boiled egg. The noodles were cooked perfectly and all the bits and bobs added to the flavour. Yummy, and you can drink up all that gravy in the end.
It was served with a
sambal that didn't have
belachan (prawn paste). [Chef, do add it for your hardcore S'pore diners please!!]
The husband doesn't like food floating in gravy so his plate of
char kway teow had
flat rice noodles with prawns, chicken, egg and
lap cheong (dried Chinese sausages). Here again, the noodles were cooked perfectly and the dark sauce and the toss up in an extremely hot wok gave it a slight charring and a smoky depth of flavour. It was so delicious that it would have given my neighbourhood hawker stall a huge complex.
Dessert was
ice kachang, a concoction of shaved ice, red beans, jelly squares and
attap chee (palm fruit) in a bowl. Coconut milk and date palm sugar syrup are poured over the top. At hawker stalls and food courts in Singapore, each serving of
ice kachang has a measly 2 or 3
attap chee( I swear they must be counting them out) but here, there was plenty. Chef explained that since he loves
attap chee, he's generous with them. We shared a bowl and it was plenty for 2 people! In case you're wondering what the fruit tastes like, it's bland, but it has a certain texture that pairs well with that colourful sugary icy concoction. It's the perfect way to finish off a spicy Asian meal at any rate.
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| Happy diners = happy chef |
There's plenty more on the menu including Singapore's famous chicken rice and dim sums. And Chef has another claim to fame - he is a master in hand pulled noodles.
Service was very good, There have been issues in the past but here's hoping it's now water under the bridge.
A meal for 2 at The Madras Wok will cost about 2000/++.
Green Meadows
4/364, Anna Salai, Palavakkam
Chennai 600041.
+91 44 24515555
+91 99449 90950
