People familiar with Kolapasi, the cloud kitchen, know what sort of dishes it offers. The food is simple yet tasty, and the dishes stay true to their South Indian roots. Having expanded its presence overseas, in countries like Australia, and the USA, the brand has gone from strength to strength over the past 11 years.
Bit by the expansion bug, the founders of the cloud kitchen recently opened their first dine-in outlet, named Kolapasi Indian Canteen, in India, and their preferred location to set up shop was none other than Chennai.
Situated close to the famous Tower Park, the Kolapasi Indian Canteen is unassuming. The interior décor is minimalist, and there are inviting phrases about food and foodies on the walls. But one can’t miss the bright sign inside the shop that reads: ‘See-TasteOrder’. The concept is similar to that of an ice cream parlour, Adithya Jothi, co-founder of the brand, tells us.
Guests can sample offerings before making their selection, which we are told will minimise food waste. Then there is ‘Plan Your Portion’, a concept that goes hand-in-hand with See-Taste Order, as diners can choose from dry and wet curries , rice bowls and special combos as per their liking. The dry and wet curries are offered in portions weighing 100g, while the rice bowls and special combos are set items on the menu. We began with the veg biriyani rice bowl and we were suggested that the Chicken chukka will go well with it. The warm biriyani rice had a nice glaze on top and a mild taste, while the spicy chukka was a good combination. The meat was done well, and the aroma of the dish filled the room.
We also got the Prawn chukka and realised that this should have been suggested for the biriyani, as this went well together. The prawns were cooked to perfection and were not bone-dry, very rare in chukka-style dishes.
Then, we opted for the ghee rice with Nilgiri chicken, and since we wanted to try vegetarian dishes too, we got 100g portions of the Brinjal perattal and Paneer tawa fry. The rice was nicely prepared, but the vegetarian sides were disappointing. The paneer was very dry, and the oily Brinjal perattal did not appeal to us. The saving grace was the Nilgiri chicken, which was as good as it gets, so we went for a second serving.
It is at this point that the 100g portion made sense, for we did not waste any of the dishes we were served, and we could see that it allowed diners to try different dishes on offer without the fear of filling up their stomachs really quickly. We also tried a few other dishes, but one offering that stood out was the Slado, a drink that contains only coconut nectar and water. Adithya tells us the drink contains no preservatives. It was very refreshing and had the taste of nectar through and through. It also cooled our bodies down, which is very welcome at this time in Chennai. It is not easy to open a dine-in outlet, especially so when a brand has established itself well as a cloud kitchen. But Kolapasi seems to have pulled it off. Be sure to try their signature dishes and Slado in particular.
INR 600 for two. 11 am to 11 pm. At Anna Nagar
