A group of bloggers from CFG were invited for the Showcase today, as Peaches' were revamping their menu. Chef Kaushik (aka The Mad Chef of Eatitude Consulting) has been the culinary consultant for Peaches'.
After we'd all settled in, the chef explained how this evening'd progress.
The evening began with some coolers - scooped watermelon in some condensed milk and elaichi & nuts, and a blue curacao flavored cooler (the blue curacao will always remain a personal favorite of mine, for various reasons). These were right on the spot.
To follow, was supposedly hot tomato basil soup, but as it reached the table, it was less than lukewarm with an overdose of basil flavor and aroma. Perhaps, if this had been hot, would have been a yum soup for a cool evening. (I personally favor the French Onion Soup here)
The starters saw a parade of paneer in various avtars floating to the table - Malai paneer with cashew marinade, achari paneer (marinated in satrangi achar), and angora paneer. There were also an assortment of vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower & zucchini steamed and soaked in sauce. (If you are a broccoli lover like me, then you'd be appalled at the way this broccoli was bathed in sauce). The phuket paneer completed the parade. This was a vegetarian take on the phuket fish - lot of spring onion and soy flavors and quite spicy.
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| Malai Paneer Tikka |
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| Achari Paneer |
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| Broccoli Steam and Doused in sauce |
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| And it's fairer counterpart - the cauliflower |
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| Phuket Paneer |
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| Angoori Paneer (Stuffed) |
My pick was the achari paneer, and the malai paneer was a tad chewy.
The next dish on the table was Cream and Cheese Mushroom Tortellini. This was terribly bland on the first bite, and the next bite saw a rush of flavors zipping across your tongue.
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| Cheese & Cream Mushroom Tortellini |
To give us a break from paneer, the chef brought a round of Chennai kuchi varuval - a local take on French Fries, with loads of curry leaves flavor and some crispy fried corn. This was paired with bovonto with vanilla ice cream - Wow, Really Wow. Who'd have thought the humble dark colored bovonto could team up with the fair maiden vanilla ice cream and produce such brilliant flavors! Quoting Raghu here - This is not a beverage, it's a rage! :D
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| Chennai Kuchi Varuval |
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| The Beve"rage" - Bovonto + Ice Cream |
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| Crispy Fried Baby Corn |
Interval! Time to walk around a bit, and settle the food, so you make space for more. The evening had just begun!
And 2nd half begins.
The main course consisted of varieties of rotis - pudhina, lacha paranthas, kalonji, and the til kulcha. The Til Kulcha was a tad salty.
The gravys comprised of bharwan tamatar, Subz Kohlapuri and Dhaabawale Dal. Subz Kohlapuri was supposed to be very spicy but apparently my taste buds didn't seem to mind the spice.
Dhaabawale Dal is my favorite and when eaten with Shahi Jeera Zaafrani pulao, is a pathway to heaven. Truly delicious.
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| Subz Kohlapuri |
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| Bharwan Tamatar |
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| Shahi Jeera Zaffrani Pulao and The Dhaabawale Dal (I was too busy eating that I forgot to shoot the dal) |
This was followed by the quintessential biriyani - the kofta biriyani, where the rice, vegetables and masala are kept in a pot, covered with the dum and put inside a tandoor. There was an overpowering taste of elaichi and cloves, and nothing else!
As we thought we were nearing the climax (the desserts) one more main course was set on the table - I quite forgot its name, but this was a pasta with lots cheese. The pasta was slightly hard (a tad more than al dente) and after all that, I really couldn't do justice to this in terms of taste.
In between all this, a green colored liquid called lime mint cooler was served. It was so watery, I was cursing myself for not ordering one more round of the bovonto.
Finally, the plates were cleared and the desserts were brought. First one - carrot halwa samsa (rabdi rolls) was filo pasty filled with carrot halwa, fried and dipped in rabdi. This was delicious. The next one was Oppa Gangnam - a combination of banana, pineapple, butter, served on a sizzling platter with honey sauce and sesame. My taste buds did not do a gangnam dance. This one was a thorough let down.
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| Carrot Halwa Stuffed and Fried - Rabdi Rolls |
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| Do you see the halwa inside? :) |
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| Oppa Gangnam |
It's heartening to see the restaurant improve on a lot of aspects, yet if there's one thing that still needs major improvement - it's the service. The waiters were confused, harried, and didn't know what to serve whom. My table was constantly missed out, and had to ask for dishes multiple times. Some dishes were placed in one corner of the table, while the other corner waited impatiently. A wrong dish was served in between - a sev raita - about which no one had a clue.
Peaches' is a great place to dine with family / friends / colleagues. It's located on Velachery 100 ft bye-pass road, above Andhra Bank, opp Murugan Kalyana Mandapam.
The menu is available here
*This blog is part of CFG Showcase.
