ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Address: G4, Ground floor,Gee Gee Emerald, 151/4 Valluvar Kottam High Road (@ Village Rd – Sterling Rd – College Rd Signal Junction), Nungambakkam, Chennai
Time: 7:30 AM to 11 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 550
Cuisines: Cafe, Desserts, Italian, North Indian, Thai
Facilities: Home Delivery, Wifi
Tea Trails, Nungambakkam, Chennai: DECOR
Glass frontages mean you can see through into the restaurant and decide whether you’d like to go in or not. I do like what I see, which is a white wall with teapots projected in different shapes and sizes, in 3D. Below, a comfortable looking green and black sofa beckons. This is the perfect place to enjoy a cuppa, I decide, and walk right in, and notice the walls have paintings made by students from an art college. “We do this so the students get a chance to showcase their work,” says Biju Balan, franchise owner of Tea Trails, Nungambakkam.
Tea Trails, Nungambakkam, Chennai: FOOD
Over 85 varieties of tea need a special menu, naturally, as India is the second largest producer of tea in the world. But first, the eats. I begin with the snacky all-day breakfast, Poha. Roasted, halved peanuts add crunch, while the poha itself is moist, flaky. Does fall a little short of salt, but a dash of the green mint-and-vinega chutney makes up for that by adding flavor and tang. Burmese Tea Salad is topped with fermented tea leaves, has sesame, and chatpata fried dal for the crunch. Fermented tea leaves leave a bitter aftertaste, reminding you it is tea, after all, while the channa dal lifts the salad to a multi-textured level.
Tea Marbled Eggs has the tea element, too.
Boiled twice, once with the shell intact, and the second time, in a tea decoration with the shell cracked, for the marbled effect, the halves come to your table topped with tea dust salt. They are different, but not irresistible.Thai Red Curry with coconut rice seems to have become a favorite comfort food in these parts of the world. The coconut-milk base does it, I think.
Then, there’s the added flavour of lemongrass and basil that enchants taste buds. At Tea Trails, they serve it with coconut rice, and the curry itself is thin, but distinct.
From the vast list of tea, do try White Bliss With Rose Petals offering a pleasant, mild rose flavor. Another favorite is the Kashmiri Kahwa with its delicate saffron sweet bitterness, rich golden colour and almond shavings. Chocolate Waffle, crisp, dark and topped with Amul’s vanilla ice cream is the perfect way to end your meal.
Tea Trails, Nungambakkam, Chennai: PLUS AND MINUS
With recipes, tea sachets and sauces coming in from the central kitchen in Mumbai, the food is predictable. Tea Trails Nungambakkam does its bit to encourage talent with community events like the OpenSkySlam, etc.
