Navaratna — Restaurant in Zone 12 Alandur

Hotel Le Royal Meridien Chennai has unveiled its new concept menu which has brought the best of the cuisine from 9 places. The concept of Navaratna is all about bringing 9 gems together in one place.

The welcome drink was splendidly done with Indian Spices - Solkadi whose origin is from Goa. I’m a teetotaller and was happy to drink a great beverage from Goa which is known for its alcoholic delicacies & yes, the drink was rejuvenating. This is followed by Chettinadu Nandu Charu(Crab Soup) which had generous amount of crab flesh and the soup was so well prepared.

We then ordered starters which includes Gosht Ki Galouti - a delicacy prepared by twice minced tender lamb flavoured with cardamom, clove and saffron

Kozhi 65 - Chicken 65

Shakarkhand Ki Galouti - smoked sweet potato patty flavoured with clove, saffron and cardamom

Bharwan Khumb Anjeer - Mushroom stuffed with stewed figs, cream cheese grated ginger & chillies

I must admit each of these starters be it veg or no -veg were so good that you would want to keep eating them.

We then moved to main course where we ordered dishes from Dakshinse We had Madurai Kara Karri Kuzhambu - trust me the lamb in this is so tender and tasty. We had this along with Lal dosai, idiyappam & Ceylon parotta.

We also had a portion of Military Hotel Bendakaya Saaru which is nothing but okra/ladies finger prepared in military hotel style which was unique.

We finally ended up with couple of desserts:

Iruttu Kadai Halwa - a famous delicacy of Tirunelveli district - wheat halwa that was carefully placed and wrapped inside banana leaves, served with clarified butter &

Coconut Mysuru Pak - insulted by the delicacy served in the Royal Kitchen of Mysuru Maharaja Palace which has three main ingredients ghee, jaggery & kadala maavu served with a twist of coconut.

I loved the ambiance of the restaurant which had some great live music performance, the cutleries which gave royal look and feel, the lighting which was so vibrant and ever smiling staffs. Most importantly I loved the way these dishes were presented which were so elegant and inviting.

Please note that this is a-la-carte menu. #Navaratna...

Le Royal Méridien Chennai launches the reimagined Navaratna, an elevated dining experience dedicated to celebrating The Royal Indian cuisine symbolizing the cultural significance and Gastronomical wealth of nine Indian states- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Goa, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh with a new,...

Amazing hospitality by the staff in this restaurant- especially the restaurant manager Mr Ramanujam and the staff members Gayathri and Priya. They took great care of us and were very warm and extremely customer focused! Good food , Mr Ramanujam arranged for custom Thaali for us , on request....