The Flying Elephant — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

The first important information front desk gives me at the time of my check-in in Park Hyatt for a stay is about the closing timings of The Flying Elephant. The buffet or a la carte was available till 3.30 pm. And it was 1.30 pm when I was checking in at the elegant Park Hyatt. On the way to elevators to go to my room on the second floor, I could see a massive renovation going on in one if the halls. "This is our 24-hour The Dining Room," tells me the young chap accompanying me to my room. "It will be operational after 2 days," he adds. That means I was in no position to see the new avatar of The Dining Room. Because I was there for a night's stay during my short business trip to Chennai this July end.

Even during my very short stay here, I had a chance to experience The Flying Elephant for all the three meals during this stay. This is a Multi-cuisine restaurant offering Asian, Chinese, Continental, Desserts, European, Indian, Indonesian, Italian, Tandoori, Thai, and Turkish dishes. International designer George Wong is the designer of this classic restaurant. In fact, from different angles and locations within the restaurant, it gives a different kind of experience. To add to its beauty, there is a fascinating water body adding a phenomenal grace to it. In fact, you can enjoy it sitting inside. Or take a table outside around the water body. It was a fabulous and royal experience of elegant food and fabulous hospitality & service. After getting a quick shower I decided to go for lunch. Firstly, ignoring a massive buffet lunch, I decide to go for A-La-Carte.

To start with, I ordered Rich Fish and Seafood Soup (saffron rouille, garlic bread) because in buffet it was Truffle Potato Soup with condiments that I don't like. The soup is exotic and one of their signature dishes. By the time I finish my soup, I decided to for buffet. It is a grand buffet, indeed. Let’s see what all is there in the buffet. You get one veg and one nonveg starter. I had Fish Tikka and Baby Corn Tempura. Each has two well-presented pieces in it. Among the main course at The Flying Elephant, you have a wide choice. All you have to opt from is Steamed Rice, Jeera Pyaaz Pulao, Dal Tadka, Kadai Vegetable, Paneer Kubam Ke Kofte, Ricotta and Spinach, Potato Lyonnaise, Grilled Fish with Tomato, Kari Anam, Gosht Rogan Josh, and Chicken Biryani. Then there is a wide range of Salads.

Among Salads at The Flying Elephant, you have Asian Chicken Salad, Raw Mango and Peanut Salad, Tomato Avocado Arugula Fiesta Salad, and Cucumber Zatziki. Among Curds, there is a choice between Curd Rice with Pickle, Curd Bense, and Dahi Bhalla. Finally, it comes to Desserts. There is again a wide and diversified variety to cater to different kinds of likings and choices. We had Fresh Fruit Tart, White Chocolate Raspberry Cake, Honey and Peanut Tart, Salted Caramel Orange Chocolate, Cut Fruits, Pops, Mango & Coconut Delight, Purappu Payasam, and Warm Chocolate Pudding. This is the story of my first meal at The Flying Elephant at Park Hyatt Chennai, a sumptuous and grand buffet lunch. This is, in fact, a fabulous experience to have. So, if you are in Chennai, on a trip or otherwise, grab a chance to visit there to have a lavishing lunch.

Dinner is always A La Carte at The Flying Elephant, Park Hyatt Chennai. I was quite full with my buffet lunch. Therefore, I decided to cut down on regular starters, main course, and desserts. Instead, I curated a different kind of meal for myself and I am happy that it was again a superb experience. A meal at this restaurant, as a matter of fact, is a super satisfying experience. I had Mushroom Risotto having Shallot, White Wine, Parmesan Cheese, and Parsley, to start with. After that, I had Caesar Salad that has Romaine Lettuce, Croûtons, and Parmesan Cheese. Finally, I had Cheese Platter that contains Assortment of Artisanal Cheese, Dried Fruit, Walnut Bread, and Fruit Chutney. The four in this platter are Parmesan, Edam, Bocconcini, and. Camembert....

Flying Elephant recently had their Italian festival with the chef who flew all the way from Naples, Italy to show Chennai what Italy really tastes like!

Ambience and service

The restaurant is located at the first floor of the hotel and has complex dishes curated by the Chefs. We have people giving us the royal treatment and making sure we’re comfortable at all times.

Starters

Pappa la pomodoro, mozzarelline fritte e maionese al basilico—Crumb fried mozzarella balls served with tomato compote and basil mayonnaise. The mozzarella balls were crispy on the outside with soft cheese on the inside. The dish doesn’t have a flavour of its own and acquires the taste from the cheese and the flavours from the sweet and spicy tomato sauce and the sharp taste from creamy basil mayonnaise.

Carpasio d’anatra affumicata rape misticanza arance e polvere piccante—Smoked duck is sliced and served on top of fried bread. The dish is beautiful plated with orange and beetroot compote. The art on a plate tastes so good when you eat all the elements from your in a single bite!

Pizza

Zuccotta—Thin crust pizza topped with pizza sauce, goat cheese, pumpkin cream, toasted hazelnuts, parsley and onions. This isn’t your usual pizza and first time I’m tasting pumpkin cream and goat cheese on my pizza.

Pasta 🍝

Lasagna verde ai fungi e tartufo—green lasagna sheets layered with a combination mushroom and truffle oil. Beautifully blended flavours 💖

Main course Peperoni ripieni con coponata—Red pepper stuffed with vegetables (olives, zucchini, pine nuts, onions and tomatoes) and baked in an oven. Sweet flavours from the pepper and the vegetables go well with the herbed vegetables. The dish is plated with croutons.

Branzino al guazzetto e zucchine alla scapece— beautiful piece of sea bass grilled and served with tomato, olive and caper sauce, topped with fried zucchini.

Dessert 🍨

Caprese con crema al limoncello - limoncello is Italian lemon liqueur produced in Southern Italy. Cocoa powder and almond flour are whisked together to make a bitter chocolate cake. The cake is served with limoncello whipped with fresh cream.

Overall it was one of the most beautiful dinners I have had. Must visit with your...

I went there 1st time with my friends. We were meeting after a long time and enjoyed our time. The drinks were good, food was good, staff tried their best to make us comfortable and our experience good, but they were just not groomed well for their duties and how to take well care of their guests. Some red flags:

1. they dropped some things, that too twice. Once while serving starters, dropped chutney on the table, to right side of my plate. Second time, while clearing the table after we finished our meal, a big amount of leftovers got thrown on my leg, my trousers, it became dirty.

2. We were two of us, and our thrid friend joined us after 10 minutes from us. The restaurant staff never cared to give us an extra glass for water, when we needed it at the end, I myself went to the bar nearby and got it from there.

3. What I also didn't like was that, for a place of such known name, Hyatt group, all the staff was wearing good Pinky color themed shirts, but the lowers, many had different, some with jeans, 👖, some trousers, different colored. It didn't look good actually.

4. Starters were good , drinks and food too. But Roti (breads) was not, we had ordered tandoori roti and it was served cold, difficult to break into pcs, simply didn't like it.

5. When we were ordering, my friend told her in non-veg we only want chicken, nothing else, and then he asked about some starter called .... bhati, the staff said yes ok, this is good chicken. They noted the order. Then my friend read the lines below the name of the fish and pointed out that it says it has lamb, then the staff said, oh, sorry, yes it's lamb 🐑 and then we ordered some other dish from the menu.

I wish I could share all these observations with some senior person there only at that time, but I was busy with my friends, we were meeting after a long time, and I was quite tired too after a long day, but I feel now that I should have done that.

I belive the hospital management has to take care of these things. They need to groom their team well. Best wishes, to be honest, I am never gonna go there again, told my friends there and then only, after paying our bills, that next time we should go some other...