Don't wear flowing sleeves. I repeatedly dip mine in the sauce, delicious though it is. “We are serving a lot of sauces that we have imported from Thailand and Hong Kong,” explains Chef Ashok. There is a food festival on at The Residency, and it is called Fiery Far East.
Half apprehensive, we watch as we are served the egg plant starter. Glasses of water are kept at hand. It is not so fiery after all, and quite delicious. We polish it off, along with the other starters, baby corn fritters. They are served with the Szechuan dip. Still, not too fiery.
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The festival is well timed. Coimbatore weather at the moment is just tailor made for spicy, steaming cuisine. And, what better than food from the far east. Galangal, basil, lemon grass, add the invigorating flavour — exotic enough, but not too unfamiliar to be uncomfortable. For the next ten days or so, Chin Chin will offer the special Fiery Far East menu to its guests, for both lunch and dinner. So, gear up to tuck in.
The non vegetarians will have some trouble making up their minds as there is plenty on offer. From Okaido tiger prawns, to Singapore crab, fresh red chilly squid, puo pad fish, crispy whole pomfret, Sakinaro lamb and the Chef's special Far East Hot Chicken.
I love the Oriental Greens, though my non-veg colleagues watch in pity as I relish the crisply cooked broccoli, Chinese cabbage and other vegetables in a delicious gravy, while they feast on spicy lamb. But, having tasted the vegetables, they confess it is worthy or ordering, so what if they are only vegetables. We are urged to taste the Kon Cin Walnut and Mushroom. We were glad we did. Chef Ashok explains the painstaking process of preparing the walnuts. It involves soaking the walnuts coating it with caramalised sugar and so on. The unlikely marriage of the walnuts and the mushroom was surprisingly delicious and quite a hit. Thai flat noodles and fried rice accompanied the accompaniments.
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By now, fed to the gills, we can only nod mutely at the offer of dessert.
Sweet conclusion
Fried ice cream arrives and is consumed in silent appreciation. A choice of mango, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, frozen hard is dipped into batter and deep friend in smoking hot oil. The sensation of biting into a crisp outer skin only to have your teeth sink into luscious ice cream is a tad difficult to describe. Let's just say it is delicious. Darzaan Honey Noodles, Golden Fried Stuffed Litchies, Sizzling Brownies are the other honourable contenders in the dessert menu.
The Fiery Fast East is available to you till August 29 at the Chin Chin restaurant. It is an a la carte menu you can either lunch or dine on. For reservations and details call: 0422 2241414.