It’s the ducks that welcome you first at Green Meadows resort. Then come the turkeys and then the hens, and by the time you walk across the lush lawns to Madras Wok, you’d have passed a rooster, and a clowder of cats preoccupied with their paws. Step into the Wok though, and you shut out the sounds and smells of this flourishing animal kingdom; although, you can still gawk at them going about their business through the Wok’s expansive glass walls. This is Meadows’ latest pan-Asian restaurant, and the sound of silence, soaked in enticing smells from the kitchen, is its best aspect.
We’re offered two menus — an elaborate Asian one, and an Indian one as well, just in case we’d like some curd rice with our noodles. The exclusive Asian menu too plays to the gallery, featuring continental pastas, Italian bruschetta and even American cajun fried chicken. The highlights though, are Wok’s signature Singaporean and Malaysian dishes. For instance, there’s the char kway teow, classic Singaporean street-side fare of stir-fried rice strips, and the Malay speciality, mee siam, rice noodles doused in gravy served with chicken, egg and tofu.
We decide to keep it simple and opt for the asparagus rice with stir-fried toufu (sic) to begin with, but we’re informed a few minutes later that neither is available at the time. So we plow through the menu again and settle for stir-fried vegetables instead, alongside cauliflower manchurian and beef with hoisin chili sauce as starters, with the staple nasi goreng rice and mandarin fish as main course. If you’re vegetarian though, do peruse your orders carefully, for the menu makes a few unwatchful slips, such as listing stir-fried pok choy with oyster sauce as vegetarian. Madras Wok is also testament to just how warped technology has turned one’s dining. While we wait for our food, placards in the restaurant encourage you to ‘check in’ on Foursquare, Instagram pictures of the food, and instantly review it on Zomato — all compulsory preludes, apparently, to a satisfied stomach.
Our cauliflower arrives first, with all the sizzle, spice and zing of sautéed spring onions, ginger and garlic.
While the batter has absorbed this splendid marinade, it hasn’t quite reached the cauliflower yet. The mandarin fish and beef turn up next, before our rice does, so we tuck into starters and partial main course together. While the fish is far too similar in flavour to the cauliflower manchurian, the beef, sprinkled with sesame seeds and laid on a bed of lettuce is beautifully mild, well marinated and done to just the right amount of chewy. Each bite oozes rich with thick gravy. Though, as with the cauliflower too, the ginger and garlic are not included as pastes, so be prepared for that occasional chomp of sharp flavour.
It’s with the nasi goreng that we realise what a real walk on fire might be like. Chock full of chopped green chillies, and spiced again with chilli powder, you’re hit in the back of your tongue with a powerful, yet addictive, aftertaste. Slurp some water, though, and go for it again, for it’s worth it. Or better yet, douse the rice in the stir-fried vegetables’ gentle cornflower gravy, and grin and bear it. By the meal’s close, we’re too stuffed for dessert, but if you’re wise enough to pace out your portions, do try the ice kachang, a colourful pyramid of ice, jelly and palm fruit.
Madras Wokis within Green Meadows resort at 4/364 A, Anna Salai, Palavakkam. A meal for two will approximately cost Rs. 750. Call 30853586.
