New menu: C Salt, on ECR in Chennai, has fresh offerings that are pretty exciting!

The al fresco beachside restaurant at the Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa, has a brand new menu that pays homage to their love story for reimagined South Indian cuisines
Goat cheese stuffed kuzhi paniyaram at C Salt
Goat cheese stuffed kuzhi paniyaram at C Salt

As you seat yourself in this beautifully located restaurant, you’re immediately transported to an island paradise holiday; thanks to the warm sea breeze that gently teases you with the sound of waves crashing in the distance. Lit to elevate the colours of the evening sky and the setting sun; and with live music that whisks you away to a classier time, C Salt’s new menu is the perfect excuse for a gastronomic getaway from the city, down ECR. The 70-seater restaurant, that launched in February 2020 and boasts a diverse menu that focuses on reimagined local flavours, was a hit with these reviewers even on our previous visit, incidentally our first.

Chef Keerthirajan K (with roots in Kanyakumari), who has helmed the restaurant since it opened, keeps the heart of the restaurant intact with a familiar coconut-water based welcome drink and a pickle, papad and podi trio waiting for you at your table. This time around, we were served tapioca and sweet potato chips paired with a bunch of dipping sauces and chutneys that were intriguingly original. We weren’t disappointed when we tasted a familiar mango-based chutney, a favourite from the previous menu, and were wowed by a subtle but perfectly-spiced chilli guava dip bursting with local flavours.

Uttapam tacos?
Soon enough, we were munching on vazhaipoo vadais that took us back to the celebrated kitchens of Kongunad while we also tucked into piping hot kuzhi paniyarams stuffed, interestingly, with goat cheese. The next entrée was steaming uttapam tacos stuffed with processed cheese and vegetables — that brought back childhood memories of packed lunches and tiffin boxes — washed down with a spicy takkali murungakkai rasam (tomato drumstick rasam).

Rasam at sunset
There’s something magical about sipping on hot rasam while you watch the sun set at sea. And so, we did just that, taking a break as we imagined ships docked on these ancient coasts transporting spices and luxuries from exotic lands far, far away.

It was the smell of a perfectly done recheado pomfret that brought us back from that beautiful reverie. We tucked into the Goan-inspired dish and followed it up with some kothimir royyalu (coriander prawns), a coastal Andhra take on saltwater prawns; and both the dishes did justice to their original cuisines. The chef’s expertise in South Indian culinary fare beyond Tamil Nadu was now well-established. It was now time for our main course and we chose to pair Malabar parottas with ulli theeyal (a shallot curry) and an Alleppey fish curry. The chef proved that his skills were on point with Malayali cusine too. For dessert, we slurped quite loudly on a palm jaggery and green coconut payasam, unashamedly; while the live music band played a few more retro English hits, drowning out our delicious savagery, as the waves slowly lulled us into a state of blissful satiation.

Meal for two at INR 3,000+

romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal

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