Next time you are running or walking around the Chetpet Eco Park you can grab a cheat meal right on top of the green coloured carpark building that now houses the new Food Zone. Unlike the numerous options found in food courts in malls (think Planet Yumm), there are only nine lesser-known brands inside Food Zone, making it a kind of a treasure hunt in disguise for people not knowing what to expect when they enter the place. With a range of different cuisines, the outlets here offer everything from South Indian and Malaysian dishes to desserts and fruit juices.
Arokiyaraj, manager of the month-old outlet, tells us that the main reason to launch it at the park is to offer ‘quick meal’ options for their patrons. “Earlier, our visitors would have to walk quite a bit to reach the nearest restaurant,” he informs. Before the Eco Park came up, residents in the area might recall that the only options nearby were chains like Rasoee and Subway, around two km away.
After a long wait, we start our lunch with a nasi lemak from the Malaysian food stall,Sedap. Though a fragrant rice dish, it failed to impress in terms of flavour, and we did struggle to slice a piece of the meat off the leg piece. However Mansatti, an Indian food chain, same to our rescue with usual suspects such as Squid Fry, Nethili Fry, King Fish Fry and Chicken Biryani. The highlight of their menu was the pepper turkey curry — with sizeable chunks of well-cooked meat and the right balance of spice, this is an ideal accompaniment for the biryani and chicken kebab from Lucknowi Mughalai Kebab.
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We then decided to cool ourselves with a delicious kambu koozh (porridge) from Steam, where we tried other regional items such as sweet coconut kozhukattai and kizhangu (palm sprouts). A plate of Uttar Bhojan’s dahi samosa later, we wound up with a malai kulfi from Kulfi King and watermelon juice and blue curaçao soda from Juice King. The calories consumed definitely warrants at least two rounds at the park!
Approx. Rs. 200 for two.