Grill Nights at the Madras Wok

Green Meadows Resort at Palavakkam is one of those places that doesn't need to advertise its existence. It's an almost well-kept secret that its restaurant, The Madras Wok, serves some of the best South East Asian food this side of, well, South East Asia!
Grill Nights is the latest addition to the ethnic resort's dining experience and we were invited to review it.

Grill Nights on the lawn

Every Saturday evening, tables are set on the lawn and fairy lights twinkle. The outdoor grill is fired up and an array of marinated meats, seafood and vegetables laid out, chafing dishes hold gravies and rice and there's an appam station dishing out hot hot appams! There's even a live band but on the day we went, the band had not turned up and but there was music via the system. It's breezy and the mosquitoes have been kept at bay  

Ready to be grilled

Marinated meats included chicken drumsticks, chicken fillets, whole pomfret, fish fillets, Syrian beef fry with coconut, squid rings, cottage cheese, baby potatoes and corn cobs. Choose your meats and/or veg combination and the chef will grill it for you and that's it - start tucking in. By the way, it's unlimited!

Pork shashlik; chicken & veg skewers; Syrian beef fry; cottage cheese sticks

We chose mutton shorba over the cream of veg soup. The Madras Wok's version is a tame one but flavourful enough.
We asked the chef to grill us a mixed platter. Squid rings, fish fillets and the pork shashlik (ask if available) were outstanding. So too the cottage cheese though the cheese was a little dry. The beef fry could do with more salt and that's why it didn't make it to the outstanding list. The curry pastes that coated the meats had a wonderfully earthy and aromatic flavour, one that a mix of pepper and spices impart, definitely a "nadan" touch. Quite a change from the usual grill marinades.    

Salads

  Fish moilee

                                                                                 Making appam

For the main course, it was appam and fish moilee. While the appam was delicious and its lacy edges a visual delight, the bland fish curry was a let down.

Corn au gratin; bhindi masala

For die hard bake lovers, there is a cheesy corn au gratin. It's a nice combination with the salads but I did wish there was some bread to go with it. Pad Thai was disappointing in terms of flavour and sitting in a chafing dish made things worse. The team is open to feedback and when we brought it to their notice, it was corrected but by then, we had stuffed ourselves to the gills.

Chicken saagwala; lamb biryani

The lamb biryani was the culprit. It was fabulous - long grains of basmati rice enveloped by the fragrance of the spices and tender meat. It was so moist that it didn't need any accompaniment.

Bun parrota & chicken saagwala

We were urged to try a bun parrota - a parrota that looked like a bun -  a tall fellow, crisp and flaky around the edges, soft in the middle and probably worth a zillion calories as it had been deep-fried! But it was so good though I wish there was a thin curry to dip it into, I tried it with the chicken saagwala but then realised it tasted better on its own.

Watalappam & banana crumble; malpua; carrot cake

There was smooth and creamy wattalappam for dessert that tasted like a cardamom-infused caramel custard. Cardamom is not a spice I am on particularly good terms with but the hint of its presence in this dessert was lovely. The one that took the cake was not a cake but the malpua. Unlike its usual flat shape, the ones made at Madras Wok were puffed up. It had soaked in the sugar syrup but the edges were crisp and the inside soft. Served with rabdi, it was the perfect way to end the meal.

Grill Nights at The Madras Wok is on every Saturday from 7 - 11 pm and costs 999/- per head (inclusive of taxes). They have a liquor package at 1599/- (inclusive of taxes) that offers 4 glasses of domestic liquor or 4 glasses of beer.

Green Meadows
4/364, Anna Salai, Palavakkam
Chennai 600041.
+91 9944990955
+91 9940471113