Asia kitchen by Mainland China — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

This Pan Asian Restaurant is the newest addition to the Somerset’s block of Luxury Service Apartments. The place is breathtaking and boasts a rich, chic and a contemporary look with a splash of greens, yellows and reds! It is a hassle-free, fine dining restaurant indeed.

Their pre-set menus are very promising and are currently the talk of the town. This was indeed, the drive and the pull that I needed!

To start off, we were served with the salad of the day. I definitely enjoyed both - prawn and chicken. It was a beautiful burst of flavours.

We quickly moved on to the second course, which was the gorgeous Lemon Coriander Soup! We tried the Chicken I could also feel the flavours linger on my palate for a minute or two!

For the Third course, we had an option of Spring Rolls and Wontons. The Chicken Spring Rolls were perfectly crafted and very delicate. They were flavourful and tasted excellent. The Wontons were great - crunchy and crispy!

Moving on to the next course, we tried the Crispy Tofu Bao and Chilli Fish Bao, served in bamboo baskets over a banana leaf. I personally loved the Tofu variant for its freshness, taste and crunch. The Fish variant was no less either. The buns were also warm, smooth and delicate.

Next came the much awaited Satay. The Chicken variant was soft, juicy and was brilliant with a hint of peanut sauce! The Vegetarian one had a beautiful, yummy sauce on it, but, I really expected a better choice of veggies.

We moved on the main courses and I slurped down some brilliant Chicken Khow Suey! I loved this one! But, I found the lemongrass flavour to be a bit overpowering though!

The Pepper Fried Rice and Prawn Kung Pao Curry are not to be missed either. The prawns were mildly flavoured and well-cooked.

We were almost full but had one last course to complete - Desserts. These looked quite interesting.

Tim Tom Grob, the name by itself is super catchy and got me curious. One spoon and I was impressed. It is a Thai dish made with coconut milk and pomegranate. It felt like a coconut-y custard though.

The Japanese Cheesecake with Vanilla Ice cream was the clear winner. It felt like a beautifully made ghee/tea cake, considering our palate. Nevertheless, it was rich and tasted brilliant.

This was quite a sumptuous experience with some brilliant, scrumptious food.

Are you ready to indulge yourself in a 7 course? If not, you have the options of 4 course and 5 course as well.

They also have a few signature, chef’s special dishes in the À...

Hawkersan a Panasian restaurant is located in the ground floor of the Somerset Hotel, so there's no dearth of parking space. You do have valet service too.The restaurant has beautifully decorated and well lit interiors with comfortable seating and interesting wall art.

They have set meals with 4 course meal for 495, 5 course meal for 795 and a 7 course meal for 999 and the menu is changed everyday.

We opted for the 7 course meal and in addition also ordered a couple of starters from the limited Alacarte menu. The Soy Chilly Chicken and the Ginger Soy Coriander Prawns, were tasty morsels ideal to accompany drinks which is also available,both Indian and Imported.

The set meal started with Corn salad with Prawns which were kernels of boiled corn tossed with a sweet and spicy dressing with prawn. Iam not a big fan of corn but I found this quite appetizing.

Then came the Lemon Coriander Soup which was interestingly presented with the broth being poured into the Glass Jar of Vegetables and quite big pieces of well cooked Chicken from a kettle. The tanginess of the lemon combined well with the diced vegetables. It was quite good.

Followed by mini Chicken Spring Rolls which were served on top of some fried Noodles which were one biters. Loved the crispiness of the spring rolls and the varieties of dipping sauces. The Chilly Fish Bao was quite soft but the softness of the fish and the filling were not in consonance with the dish. The Chicken  Satay was served with peanut sauce. The Chicken was well marinated and quite succulent and just quite of melted in your mouth variety.

The main course was a choice between Soupy Noodles - Khow Suey which is a Burmese one pot dish with a coconut milk based broth and Kung Pao Chicken which was served with sticky rice. I had the Kung Pao Chicken, which on its own quite good but pairing it with the sticky rice was not to my liking.

For Dessert you have a choice between Thai Jewel which is a sweetened Coconut Milk with diced water Chestnut and Japanese Cheese Cake served with Ice cream. Both the desserts were not cloyingly sweet which is more to my liking. The Cheese Cake had just a subtle hint of cheese and was more like a sponge cake.

All in all a good Pan Asian meal with the choicest dishes  food being showcased from  different parts of Asia.  And the advantage of opting for a set course is that you don't have to rack your brain too much on what to order and just concentrate on making simple choices like Veg or Non Veg,...

I love Asian food and I do have a few favourite restaurants in Chennai city already. The new kid in town is Hawker San and how could I miss visiting this place. Will start with ambiance and decor, since it really fascinated me! Bright , colourful and beautiful. I fell in love with the place and first impression is always the last impression or should I say it lasts!

They have an amazing set menu that consists of 4, 5 and 7 course. For me who loves Asian food offcourse I would go for the 7 course meal. And the good news is you could get a 50% discount for the 7 course meal till month end if you book your meal through GIRF Unplugged - Chennai #dineout #monthofmore.

What I really appreciated was before each dish came to our table we were well briefed about it and we knew exactly what to expect.

Started our evening with sour coconut mocktail ( this is not part of the 7 course meal)

The 7 course meal started with the salad ( note they have a different menu every day)

Course 1 -Salad for the day was crispy noodle salad we could choose from vegetarian/ prawn/ chicken.

We also got to try the colour changing glass noodle salad this one was fascinating. It changes colour when the sauces is added from violet to pink ( this one too was not part of the 7 course meal)

Course 2- Moved on to Tom yum soup that had a choice of vegetarian/ prawn / chicken.

The starter's were yummy and small, just right for one person.

Course 3-Choice of lamb wonton or vegetable spring roll. Course 4 -Chicken and baby corn Satay. Course 5 -Soft and yummy Bao stuffed with chicken.

Course 6- The main course had a choice of vegetarian and chicken soupy noodles

OR

green Thai curry with a choice of vegetarian and chicken curry.

Course 7 - The desserts Thai jewel made with cubes of water chestnuts and fresh fruits ( I loved the inclusion of fresh jackfruit) in coconut cream. OR The chocolate mousse with a mild dash of ginger was refreshing.

The Japanese cheese cake was my most favourite ( it's not part of the 7 course meal) but you could order...