KooX recently launched a brand new festival menu and is all set for a menu overhaul soon. We visited the terrace restaurant at Novotel Chennai Chamiers Road for a preview and amid the unexpected and unseasonal downpour, we were taken on an oriental gourmet journey that left us pleasantly surprised and wonderfully satiated as gusts of breeze created the perfect ambience. “We’re always trying to take as much feed back as possible from our diners to incorporate it in all of our new experimentations,” says sous chef Umesh Singh as we began the meal.
This new selection of izakaya dishes we tried; some of them, part of the ongoing Shichirin Matsuri festival; and others, previews from the upcoming menu — traversed through meat and vegetarian options paired with beverages from their new Synergy cocktail menu. We began the meal with a piquant Tuna Tartare in a subtle yet creamy ponzu sauce that surprised us at the absolute lack of rawness, credits to the chef. Pairing this with a Honey Pomelo cocktail with pomelo peel infused vodka, orange bitters and pomegranate nectar was near perfect. The citrus notes matched beautifully and paved the way for the savoury Chuka Wakame Salad that featured avocado, iceberg lettuce, cucumbers and slivers of wakame in a light sesame dressing. This paired wonderfully with the kaffir lime-infused Gin & Juice that has a Vietnamese blue pea shrub.
We then shifted focus to two plates of sushi, a Tuna Ninja Sushi and an Asparagus Salmon Sushi; and while we loved the tuna variant more, our table had takers for the salmon variant too. Paired with Some Like It Spicy — a Mexican tequila camino with Thai bird eye chillies — the cocktail created by mixologist Hiramon Paul added just the right kick of spice. Next up, was the braised Kakuni Pork that was a little too savoury for our taste, followed by a delicious Koshihikari Rice and Katsu Curry with Chicken Tempura — a much needed starchy respite after all that protein.
We ended our delicious meal with a Duck Breast Robatayaki and a silken Robata Tofu — which was the highlight of the meal. Smaller plates of Pork Tenderloin and a yet-unnamed Sichuan jumbo prawn dish also kept us occupied in between. The night came to a perfect end with Herbs & Sugar — dark rum shaken with a cold brew and herbal liqueur — the best nightcap we could have ever asked for!
INR 3,000 for two.
romal@newindianexpress.com
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