Chennai, India ! Experience Exhilarating Culinary Creativity and Architectural Ingenuity

I was super excited about my trip to Chennai, India and it exceeded my expectations on two major fronts- food and architecture.

As you all know, I am a huge foodie and when taste, mindfulness and creativity are combined, it simply invigorates me ! And that is what happened at the Madras Pavilion at ITC’s Grand Chola in Chennai. The theme when we visited was ‘The Painter’s Brunch’ which was a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds.

In full disclosure, I was invited to review the themed Sunday brunch, but my opinions are my own.

Executive Chef Badri and Manager Deepanshu create an amazing dining experience keeping in line with ITC’s branded theme of Responsible Luxury and Local Love Cuisine.
There are over 200 local, Indian and international dishes that are a gourmet’s delight and are presented spectacularly!

Allow me to give you a short tour with just a few of the highlights! Starting with Van Gogh inspired salad, with freshly made roasted pumpkin savory ice cream topping greens, peppers, tomatoes, olives, pomegranate arils and more. This unique salad is not to be missed!

Look at yet another eye-catching and scrumptious salad-

Check out this Pablo Picasso inspired Rainbow Fruit Salad with chaat masala … I wish I could eat this rainbow everyday as I love eating local fruit.

The chaat cart was another favorite-

For Da Vinci’s sliders, I was happy to see that the bread buns are colored with natural foods like spinach, beets , squid ink and turmeric.

There were 4 of Madras Pavilions signature biryanis and even when stuffed, I could not resist the Gosht Dum Biryani. I am a self proclaimed biryani snob so believe me when I say that this biryani  in itself is worth going to Madras Pavilion for!

Another highlight was M. F. Hussain’s Idiappam jar portrait. How imaginative is that? You could get hot steaming iddiappam ,topped by your choice of Indian or Italian sauce!

There were so many more irresistible entree dishes! I wish I could sample them all. And can you imagine eating dessert after this ? But how can anyone resist this innovative extravagance by gifted chefs?

Come take a closer look…The eye for detail really blew me away!

Above all, we cannot say enough about the warm hospitality and excellent service by the entire staff at Madras Pavilion! I look forward to visiting them again soon.

When traveling to Chennai, I also looked forward to seeing The Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram as I had studied this temple as an architectural student. Reading the history of Indian architecture and then getting to experience it, is indeed a treat.

I stood there spellbound, enraptured by these edifices built in 8^th century AD!

Also in Mahabalipuram are the Pancha Rathas –

Can you believe that these are monolithic structures? That each structure is carved out of a single rock? Take a closer look at the details on these walls-

I am still wrapping my brain around the fact that these structures are from the 8^th century! In my book, it is simply ingenuity personified !

Hope you all enjoyed glimpses of my food and architecture travels!

Have a fabulous weekend,

Love,

❤

Sandhya