The Diabetic Food Trail Experience at The Flying Elephant, Park Hyatt Chennai

Hotel Address: Park Hyatt

39, Velachery Road, Guindy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600032

Restaurant: The Flying Elephant

Phone: 044 7177 1234

Food Menu: The Diabetic Trail

The two inseparable things I have come across are human beings and food. And thinking, what would be the state of weddings, functions, festivals, etc. in India (or worldwide) without food. Unimaginable! Food prevails in every place and brings people together. I could never imagine about the state of my life if I give up eating tasty food. And being familiar with more diabetic people in my life I always hope for restaurants or food places to offer separate menu for them. As it’s hard letting people watch everything I eat. I was excited to know that “Diabetic Trail” is happening in India just to answer my diabetic food quest.

Park Hyatt Chennai

With an unimaginable extent of effort, research and time spent, by Dr. Wasim along with big medical heads, Chef Vamsi and Chef Greg in collaboration with Park Hyatt, Chennai, to create menu for the diabetic food guests is commendable. They go by the mantra “Diabetic doesn’t mean deprivation; it only means eating a tasty, balanced diet that will also boost energy”. I was happy as well as hesitant when I got the invite for “The Diabetic Trail” tasting session. I am a person who is more favorable to the taste and I never compromise with that. I didn’t want to letdown the honor so I mentally prepared myself for the tasting challenge.

The Flying Elephat - Park Hyatt

As I reached the place, I was awe-struck by nuances and effort put at building a beauty called ‘Park Hyatt’. It just wasn’t the outer look; their elegance speaks volume with beautiful decors, lighting, art work, etc. We (my husband and I) grabbed our way to ‘The Flying Elephant’, one of their fine dining ventures. The restaurant looked grand with detailing in every tiny piece of décor. As we greeted and spoke to the chefs to know more about the food preparation; Chef Greg grabbed our attention by making some delicious fresh pizzas that is part of the diabetic menu. I went through the menu they have built and they seemed interesting but the taste verdict is yet to be made. The menu comprised everything your meal needs starting with, Soup-Mocktails-Starters-Main Course-Dessert as a finale! It’s time to explore the food:

Soup

Veg: Turkish Lentil and Bulgur Soup, Chickpea, dried mind, coriander – The soup consistency was great and lentils elevated the texture and flavour of the soup. Though I found them a little bland for my palate; they did serve a clever option that is healthy without any compromise in taste.

Veg  Soup

Non-veg: Chicken Soup, Spring Onion, Pay Choy, and Sesame Oil – This was a brilliant dish! They have managed to produce a soup that gives the balanced chicken and vegetable flavours. The soup was top-notch.

Non-Veg Soup

Array of Mocktails – Bello (celery and cucumber blend), Detox (combination of carrot, tomato & ginger), Melon Bell (green tea, pineapple and melon puree), Flue (carrot, spinach, orange, celery and beetroot blend), Papaya Cooler (papaya, ginger, green chilli blend) and Avocado Bitter (avocado, raw mango, iceberg lettuce, orange juice blend) - It is difficult to serve something that tastes good with natural sugar substance and no other artificial ingredients. Just that the Mocktails were diluted way too much; besides that each mocktail had its unique taste. It is your palate that may play magic here and decide on the best one! I loved the DETOX and FLUE; they were well-balanced ones for me as well as didn’t compromise in taste.

Mocktails

Salad: Quinoa and Pomegranate Salad, orange, spinach, zucchini, celery, and passion fruit dressing – I am not a salad person so I end-up not eating them even if they taste good. But the salad lovers enjoyed the salad bowl.

Salad

Starters

Veg: Chargrilled marinated vegetables with miso dressing and roasted oat crumble – I was bit startled seeing another plate of salad until I noticed the difference in presentation and veggies used. The char-grill and crunchy oats crumble made the difference by elevating the taste of the veggies.

Chargrilled Veggies - Starter

Non-veg: Tandoori Lasooni Prawns, Garlic Flavoured Prawns cooked in tandoori oven served with Mint Sauce – I am going by my husband’s verdict as I didn’t taste the dish. He did enjoy them: (a) prawn were cooked perfect (b) the tandoori flavor was great (c) delicious mint sauce.

Tandoori Prawns - Starters

Main Course – Vegetarian

Brown Rice Congee, stir fired Asian greens, shitake mushrooms, ginger, and spring onion – Even when I am sick I starve but never take a spoonful of congee (rice porridge). And I know they are definitely a healthier option with brown rice for anyone. As I sadly took the spoonful of congee along with greens, the strong flavour of the ginger and garlic elevated the dish to whole new place. And that ended up being a delicious bowl of congee. Now, I know there is a way to make anything and everything (I hate) taste better if I know the right flavour balance.

Congee - Veg Main Course

Whole Wheat Pizza, ricotta, rocket, parsley, sumac, quinoa, apple salad – One of the best and fresh pizza I ate in recent times that gave me just 294 calories. The apple salad and ricotta put together was a perfect match. The pizza crust was light and crunchy.

Whole Wheat Pizza

Main Course – Non-vegetarian

Braised lentil, poached egg, steamed, Swiss cheese, onion escabeche, parsley pesto – It was the delicate flavour of parsley pesto that added the punch to the not-so-appetizing braised lentil and poached egg. The dish made more sense when each separate element on the plate was tasted together.

Braised Lentils 

Steamed Chilean Seabass, tomato fennel broth, edamame, carrots, and cress – I don’t enjoy steamed fish especially when they don’t have the spice marination. I was holding back whether to taste or not. And I found the fish-hater (my husband) requesting for more fish and broth. That gave me the courage to grab a spoonful of broth with tiny chuck of fish; I was blown away by the phenomenal broth, they have extracted the flavour so well. Yes the fish tasted good with broth but I couldn’t convince myself  much  being a hater of steamed fish! And kudos to that brilliant presentation.

Chilean Seabass

Dahi Methi Murgh - chicken with yogurt, fenugreek leaf, steamed brown rice, salad – Been quite a time I happily enjoyed biting into chicken piece. This juicy rich Dahi Methi Chicken with brown rice tasted “YUM”. And we ended up requesting for the recipe:-P

Chicken with Brown Rice

Desserts

Lemon Cheesecake Mousse with Berry Compote and Papaya – The dense texture of the mousse being the only issue and there weren’t much taste difference with the cheesecake. Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt Cups with Oats, Granola and Pomegranate – I was quite surprised that they tasted brilliant without a tiny pinch of sugar in them, the oats & granola took care of the crunchy texture in the dish.

Desserts

As I was experiencing their dining place for the Diabetic Trail invite, I don’t have a say about ‘The Flying Elephant’s’ food experience here. 

Location, Parking, Ambience: Biggest Positive. Spot-on! They shined their way through each of this element. Ambience is sheer brilliance!

Diabetic Trail – Food Variety, Taste, Quantity, Quality and Service: To serve a healthy and a tasty meal isn’t easy. And trust me, I know the difficulty as I cook. But they scored consistently in every area; they served an array of dishes that varied in flavour as well as tasted and presented good with decent food quantity for one person. Park Hyatt team does the finest when it comes to service.

Pricing: The pricing goes as per the international restaurant dining standards, definitely heavy on the pockets.

Park Hyatt’s Diabetes Food Trail at Flying Elephant started on the 14th Nov (World Diabetes Day) and goes on till the 30th November 2015. Embrace yourself to healthier food with no compromise to taste. To know more about their food trail reach them here.

A Big Applause to Park Hyatt – Diabetic Food Trail. There wouldn’t be a better time to compose and present food that is healthy and tasty. And it’s all about balance. Serving good food isn’t tough but a balanced meal is a definite challenge!!