On The Rocks
ITC Sheraton Park Hotel and Towers, TTK Road, Chennai.
Tel: 24994101
Meal for two without alcohol: Rs 3,500
Napoleon Bonaparte nibbled on sugared violets. The Moghuls loved the fragrance of roses. The Egyptians sip a pleasantly pink-tinged hibiscus tea in the markets of Cairo.
So, when On the Rocks, the macho grill-thrill restaurant at ITC Sheraton Park Hotel and Towers, Chennai, announced that they would launch a festival of floral cuisine, it was a pleasant surprise. The regular menu calls for some serious do-it-yourself cooking on a fiercely hot tablet of lava stone, heated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
‘Cuisinez avec des fleurs’, which means cooking with flowers in French, is Chef Nimrat Pahwa’s contribution to the hot-rock option. Long after the festival is over, they have kept some of the best items on the menu. What can you say of a starter of Camembert, enamelled with a glaze of caramelised rose petals and garlic that you might like to wear on a silver chain around your neck?
They also do a wonderful line in dinner rolls and breads, tiny individual oval tins of Focaccia baked just for you. The main course arrives in the form of a white chocolate hand-grenade, surrounded by pink Carnation petals and mint leaves. The maitre d’ pours a hot Mexican sauce, or mole, that has been combined with a clear stock over the grenade. It melts slowly, releasing tiny chunks of chicken. The whole combination creates an irresistible explosion of tastes in your mouth.
There’s just enough space for a trio of chocolate mousses. Heaven on a daylily spoon!