Skip to main content

Royal Repast at J Hind - Grand by GRT

Occasion:     The Royal Repast
Location:    J Hind, Grand by GRT Hotels, T Nagar
Duration:    The entire month of July 2017

J Hind is a restaurant that I’ve frequented a number of times after falling for it the first time I visited GRT for a night stay when they reopened after renovation. I was lucky enough to be one of the first to check out the restaurants in this amazing property. Do check out my take on J Hind and Bazaar as they’re some of the best our town has to offer. Even though the subsequent visits were good and ironically – paid ones that I went as a regular customer and not as a food blogger, I didn’t write about it. But this time, I was once again bowled over by their latest menu that’s got ‘royal’ written all over it.

The Royal Repast can be called as the glorification of one of the best cuisines of our soil. Nawabi food is known for its rich opulence and when a hotel has ‘Grand’ in their name, we know we’re in the best hands. As I’ve already spoken about their ambience and more in my original J Hind post, I’m diving (nose first, following the explicitly incredible aroma) into the food part.

Soups and Drinks

Everything starts with a drink and so did our exuberant feast. As an amuse-bouche, we kicked off with sweet shots made with a fruit base and a nut base in the process of spherification. They were extremely good and so was the portion of the classic Rose milk. We also got a Nariyal Doodh Ka Shorba with shrimps as our soup. The spices were tied up in a bag similar to that of a tea bag which was immersed in a hot portion of stock.  Rich and creamy, the soup also packed a punch. Apart from this, I also tried their regular cold pressed Pomegranate juice which was refreshing as always.

Starters

I’m personally a huge fan of their starters and I was more keen to check them out than the rest of what they had to offer. And boy, they lived up to my expectations. The Machi Tikki Kali Mirchi, a perfectly cooked fish fillet was a lovely dish to start with. Then we tried the Murgh Dahi, which was served in a mini grill which was rekindled with a torch gun. The sizzling chicken fillet isn’t something that words can describe.

I also sneaked a piece of Dungara Paneer Tikka from the unsuspecting veggies and the soft and yummy paneer chunks are sure to leave you to fall in love in the first bite. The Kekada Vada could be called as the least favourite dish of the lot, as the lamb dish Pattar Ka Ghos stole the show. Not to mention the Noorjahani Ghost Tikka which was smoked with wooden chips right before being served. Talk about eating like a king.

Mains

By this time, as you would’ve realised, we were full. But the list of items landing on our table and then our mouth didn’t slow down. As I expected, they had a splendid collection of Indian breads ranging from the humble roti to grander variations. Since I enjoyed the paneer starter, I tried a dash of Paneer Tikka Kacha Lanka Lababdar and unlike the name – which is a mouthful, a bit of this dish is enough to tingle your taste buds.

 

The Rangooli Lal Machi Tawa Masala was an excellent dish that went well with the breads but what I waited for and then relished at my own slow pace is their Arcot Ghost Biriyani. Simple, subtle yet lovely, a biriyani lover like me would love to have such a dish after trying a number of overly masala-ed biriyanis. Only when we thought things can’t get grander, they presented us the Anda Jinga Tamatar – A dish with king prawns and whole cooked eggs on a tomato curry base. It was nothing short of a lip-smacking finish.

Desserts

And of course, the finale has to be lofty and impressive right? They had a good list of tricks up their sleeves for the desserts too. It started with jackfruit cream which was mixed with liquid nitrogen to make the freshest batch of ice cream one can have. The fruit on its own is amazing and in this form, it was heavenly. The spoonful of Badam Peach Halwa was scrumptious. The Nawabi style Shahi Tukda and Gulabi Kesar were the icings on the cake (pun intended)

At the end of the day, it was yet another mind blowing experience at J Hind and we felt like a royal family having their everyday meal. The service, as always, was fantastic. All try different seasonal menus but very few hotels get the authenticity, liveliness and the perfect taste right and J Hind once again pulled it off with their classic touch.

Address:Grand by GRT Hotels, 120, Sir Thyagaraya Road, T. Nagar, Chennai
Telephone:+91 44 28150500 – 71
Timings:
Lunch: 12:30 PM-3:00 PM
Dinner: 7:30 PM-11:45 PM

[fb_album id=”830940067081493″]

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi shoulder a mediocre film: Master Review

A flawed protagonist and a powerful antagonist have always proven to be successful tropes in the world of cinema. The hero, when being anything but perfect, makes way for a beautiful story arc as he convalesces and a strong villain makes the hero’s triumph at the end larger. Despite having both of these, Vijay’s Master feels far from a perfect flick thanks to succumbing to irregular pacing and a middling screenplay. Master follows the trials and tribulations of JD (Vijay), an alcoholic college professor whose valiant effort towards the student community plants a belief in his colleague Charu (Malavika Mohanan) that he would be able to do the same to the kids in a juvenile correction centre that needs… correction. Armed with a just kada, a classic four-wheeler, a Persian cat and a cool pair of sunglasses, JD embarks on a journey that will collide with that of Bhavani’s (Vijay Sethupathi). On paper, Master looks like a failproof star vehicle – the story of a man out there to teach lesson
Post a Comment
Read more

Munna Bhai Dhaba, Sullurpet, Andhra Pradesh

  This time, we rode almost 100 kms to discover this hidden gem. Located at the ever busy NH16, Munna Bhai Dhaba is one of those places that dishes out some delicious food for you to cherish en route to your destination. Just that, this time it was our destination. After starting at 8:30PM from Chennai, we reached here around 10ish and by that time some items were unfortunately sold out. Out of 10, 6 of us were hardcore carnivores while the rest of them were Eggetarians. We opted for a couple of Chicken dishes which included Munna Bhai special chicken (a yummy starter with sauteed chicken and cashews) and a couple more Chicken dishes which are named after the states of our country. One such dish was the which had an egg base with piping hot Chicken curry on top which was the star of our dinner. A surprise show-stealer was the Onion Pakoda which looked bleh but tasted great. Rotis were so warm and fluffy that we finished 40 of them in no time. Egg Bhurji was apparently good too. Obvious
Post a Comment
Read more

InterContinental Mahabalipuram

After visiting InterContinental many times to meet people who were staying there, for events & functions and for, of course, dining in, I decided it was high time I experienced a stay at this property. A while back, it happened and here I’m chronicling that experience.  Location, Reception and First Impressions InterContinental Mahabalipuram stands among a handful of star properties that are located close to Mamallapuram but not exactly inside the bustling town. It’s situated on the ever-busy East Coast Road and is a cool 42kms away from Central Chennai and almost the same distance from the Chennai International Airport as well (yes, I checked). Post the ‘vanakkam’ by the security personnel who greets you right at the gate, the first thing one would notice about ICC is how simple and elegant it is. Once you get past the security checks, you’re welcomed by the sky and a long pathway and standing on the edge of it gives us a bird’s-eye view of the property. The reception is a high ro
Post a Comment
Read more