CHAO - Pan Asian

Yet another CFG showcase; only this time the sole vegetarian (that's moi) was treated with great respect. That's one thing I constantly look for these days. After a miserable experience at another restaurant earlier last month, this was a refreshing change.

The ambiance was soothing and calm; not to mention the plethora of Buddha statues everywhere. We were guided to the private dining room in the basement.

The dishes served for this meal are not on the menu and you'd need to make reservations earlier and mention that you'd need the chef's special. This would be for a group of 10 or more, priced at 1500 upwards depending on the dishes.

And so the dinner began - Soup Sayur - a rasam kind of soup with lots of ginger - a perfect beginning to a rainy evening. It was spicy no doubt, but that spice is something you'd want to savor.

The crispy corn and spinach was crisp and delicious. It's the usual crispy corn but there was something to it that I couldn't really put my finger on. This was a clear winner even with the non vegetarians.

This was followed by poached Pok Choy with garlic and when they said garlic, you'd hope to see some bits of garlic here and there. But boy, this was doused in garlic, enough to feed an army. And no, there was no pungent taste and was quite mild on the palate. How? The chef wouldn't say!

Broccoli is my favorite and I've said that so many times on this blog. The braised broccoli with Tofu was excellent (notwithstanding the fact that I don't like tofu much). Next up was the drunken noodles with bang bang salad. Yes the noodles had a bit of alcohol, a teeny weeny bit. And the bang bang salad was a chicken salad. A variation without chicken was served for the lone vegetarian. This gesture is much appreciated. A variation of coconut rice was also served to round up the meal.

The portions were just right; the plates were wiped clean and that says a lot about the food.

Finally, chocolate mousse with orange chantalay and strawberries in reduced red wine - well what can I say! The berries in red wine was just too good. We even got a small bowl of dark chocolate to smell and taste. The chef explained how the red wine reduction was made and even suggested a couple of recipes to go, as I discussed how I made this at home a few weeks ago.

Overall, a double thumbs up and another visit is in order soon.

CHAO is located in North Boag Road, TNagar, Chennai 17.