On your way to Bessie, you would have surely noticed a brand new joint next to Karaikudi and above newly-opened Amadora branch, namely MadrAsian. Well, we did spot it a couple of times over the last month and decided to give it a shot. We were quite impressed!
As the name suggests, the restaurant serves Pan-Asian cuisine which includes Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indonesian and Japanese. It is a cozy 35-seater with great emphasis on creating eco-friendly setting. The place is the brainchild of young and passionate foodies, Satish Rajasingam and Nikitha Selvakumar. Satish has been a part of the hospitality sector, been a part of several restaurant properties in the city and was looking towards launching his own place for a while. Once they got the strategic property and a good chef on board last December, along with his partner, he decided to work towards setting up MadrAsian.
The interiors deserve a special mention. There are two beautiful wall-arts that run along the place, which Satish informs was commissioned to a local artist. Not just that, the wooden pots shaped like pineapples, wicker lanterns, bamboo chairs and wooden tables have all been sourced from local vendors and artisans. They even have handcrafted cushions for the chairs stuffed with vettivar, a plant root that has cooling properties. Even the cutlery and packaging material is biodegradable and plastic-free. “We even encourage customers to get their own dabbas for getting food packed and offer a 5% discount to those who do it. This way we avoid using the harmful, single-use plastic,” informed Satish.
Coming to the food, they have a wide set of choices and Satish told us they have steered clear of using Ajino Moto and other preservatives, often associates with Asian cuisine. We started our meal with a soulful bowl of vegetarian Tom Yum soup rich with flavours of lemongrass, kaffir leaves and chillies. This was followed by the refreshing raw papaya salad with tangy Thai dressing. They offer a variety of steamed buns in a basket. However, we jumped head on to the starters and ordered a Mushroom with Lemongrass and Basil and Chicken Satay. The perfectly grilled chicken goes well with the peanut sauce, which accompanies it. The mushrooms were stir-fried in Thai chilly paste, along with basil and lemongrass but we found it tad bit salty.
For the main course, there is a bit of everything – from Ramen noodles, Rendang curry, Nasi Goreng to Pad Thai, Massalman curry and Khow Suey. But owing to our love for Thai, we went for the Chicken Pad Thai, which was served along with some condiments and tasted quite flavourful with the crunch of peanuts that topped the flat noodles and generous chicken slivers. We also tried the Thai yellow curry with white rice and found it quite satiating. If you want desserts, just step downstairs and devour the ice-creams and sorbets at Amadora (this branch franchise has been taken by Satish).
MadrAsian stands out for its inclination to serve healthy and clean Asian food in a sustainable ambience.
Location: Annai Velankanni Road, T46 A, 7th Avenue, Besant Nagar
Tiimings: 12 to 3 pm and 7 to 11 pm
