ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Restaurant Name: KoKoMMo Tiki Shack, Mahabalipuram, Chennai
Phone: +914471720101
Address: Inter Continental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort, 212, Nemelli Village, Mahabalipuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu India
Time: 04:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 1,800
Cuisines: Finger Food, North Indian
Facilities: Full Bar Available, Live Sports Screening, Outdoor Seating
KoKoMMo Tiki Shack, Mahabalipuram, Chennai: Decor
Showers could’ve played spoilt sport to my KokoMMo visit. As would have a private party booking. My luck held out as I make my way towards the edge of the ocean, admiring the tiki-ness of KokoMMo, complete in its rustic appeal. The wind welcomes me wholeheartedly. It tries its best to blow every object away, but the people here are prepared. They use heavy crockery, mostly made of local stone and marble. Sand-filled bottles keep table linen anchored, and I sink into my wicker chair quite happily as I listen to carefully picked hits from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, making the ambience one of familiar romance.
KoKoMMo Tiki Shack, Mahabalipuram, Chennai: Food
The food, while simple, is very interesting. Chef blends different flavors, giving the dishes a new identity. South Indian food gets a Cantonese touch in Bao With a Twist. It arrives in a shell-shaped marble diya. Encased in the bao is Chicken Chukka, with smoked yogurt, vinegar and tossed veggies. Hand pulled, the chicken happily absorbs all the flavors and the bao is soft enough to hold all the flavors together, unobtrusively.
I have sips of the Ginger and Curry Leaf Martini in between and find the two balance each other nicely.
Plated interestingly, the Paneer Chakri arrives in red stone hands in Jnana Mudra. Thin strips of paneer, smeared with garlic paste, mashed green peas and mint chutney are then rolled, coated with batter and rolled again in bread crumbs before being deep fried. The result is impeccable flavors in a crisp coating.
Our Take on Shorshe Mach is a wonderful blend of salmon with mustard paste. On the side, there’s fennel salad with white asparagus, cherry tomatoes and roasted pumpkin. The vinegar tang does its bit to lift the salad out of blandness. I enjoy the crisp salmon skin even more with the bold mustard flavors.
Tres Biase is chef’s interpretation of a French dessert with three elements: camomile cremo, raspberry sorbet and honey shoot crust. Nicely presented, with a few fresh berries adding colour, I like the cremo with its soothing chamomile flavor. The raspberry sorbet, although nice and refreshing by itself, is quite misplaced on the platter, especially when I eat it with the cremo, like I’m supposed to.
Plus & Minus:
The path leading to KokoMMo is quite dark. But once you get there, brightness prevails and the mood suddenly lifts to sway with the upbeat music. Food-wise, there are many hits and a few misses.
