Golden Dragon, Taj Coromandel Chennai - Restaurant Week India

What: Restaurant Week India (RWI)

When: 22^nd April 2016 to 1^st May 2016

Where: Golden Dragon at Taj Coromandel

(RWI also happens at 12 other hotels at Chennai)

Cuisine: Chinese

Stepping into their successful third year at Chennai, Restaurant Week India is one of the largest pan-India culinary event where diners have the choice to dine at India's finest restaurant at a fraction of the A La Carte rates. As they flare into the third year associating with Ola Prime and Burrp, the event is getting bigger and better with 13 participating restaurants that offer three-course prix fixe menu. For more details about the diners at your city and reservation click here.

As I was finalising the restaurants to visit this season, I was overwhelmed when invited to dine and share my thoughts on the food at Golden Dragon at Taj Coromandel Chennai for RWI. Extravagance, royal and elegance would be the ideal words to describe the Taj dining experience. Standing with majestic grace on the high roads of Nungambakkam every Chennaitian would know the location. And the Golden Dragon welcomes you with astonishing and grand decor, each nuances in the design holds back a story and an intense thought-process that would leave you awe-struck. Glancing through the intruding A La Carte menu for RWI, I was overjoyed.

Glaring our way into the food glory, the bite of Water Chestnut with Chilli Garlic sauce was a fascinating welcome to the dinner. The selection of delicate sauces, pickled cabbage and kimchi to complement the meal is a deliciousness by itself. And remembering back, it is one among the few times I have enjoyed Soup at a Chinese restaurant at Chennai. The refreshingly light and clear soup 'Chinese Parsley and Minced Water Chestnut' was show-stopper and the 'Chef Ho's Spicy Lung Fung' soup with chicken, shrimp, vegetables and eggs were packed with flavour, a dream bowl. 

Sauces, Pickled Cabbage & Kimchi

As I warmed up for the appetisers, like a diamond, the Dim Sum arrived in the bamboo box. The shrimp dumpling topped with caviar, Prawn Har Gao is perfection and they were a delight by themselves. The wheat and rice-flour dim sum with vegetables, Imperial Dim Sum, was great but the ultimate winner was prawn. Though mustard and sweet-salt ginger dip were recommended for the dim sum my Indian palate settled for the Chilli sauce. And there arrived Barbecued Pork Ribs, the smoky ribs were tender, juicy and delicious (though I am not fond of pork that was for my partner and he was in absolute awe!).

As I sipping through the cup of Monkey Picked Tea (which wasn't part of RWI and we ordered separately), the Main Course continued to fill the plate. Both the staples from the Cantonese cuisine was brilliant but for the garlic love I would definitely choose Stir Fried Vegetable Rice with Golden Garlic. 

The soft and velvety Singapore Rice Vermicelli with Chilli and Onion paired perfectly with the Stir Fried sliced Lamb in crushed Pepper Sauce, an authentic Sichuan style lamb preparation. And the vegetarian gravy, The Ultimate Trio, a triple bonanza with baby corn, snow peas and lotus stem in the sticky spicy gravy is bang-on.

Desserts doesn't play a major part in Chinese cuisine, at least the number of desserts is definitely less. But the two desserts presented before us were finger-lickingly good, the homemade Litchi and Basil Seed ice cream is a delightful experience which you ought to eat and feel. Finally that Chocolate Terrine, BEST and blindly choose this if you love chocolate.

And that choice of one appetiser, soup, main course, staple and dessert for Rs.750++ for lunch and Rs.900++ for dinner is a perfect way to experience the royal treatment at an affordable price. Learning the intricate details and understanding the complete menu handcrafted by Chef William (Hong Kong) from his own words is a pleasure; the Chef is associated with Golden Dragon from 2010 and the brain behind creating an exclusive tea menu.

Monkey Picked Tea

Breaking Down Points

Location & Parking: Positive. TAJ Coromandel, center of the city and valet parking.

Ambience: Positive. Imperial China at Chennai.

Food Variety: Positive. Perfectly designed for the RWI week.

Taste: Positive. That stays with you, pure bliss.

Quality: Positive. Excellence.

Quantity: Positive. Perfect portion size.

Service: Positive. Royal pampering.

Price: NA. Taj Hotels at affordable price so I would say that as a Positive.

So my Verdict!

Golden Dragon! The menu is as rare as a golden and the food screams as majestic as a dragon. The RWI menu brings together 'Royal Dining + Affordable Price'.

If you have been longing to dine at Golden Dragon and money was the only concern then here's a chance also you have 12 other luxury diners on the list so grab them, Check www.restaurantweekindia.com. and reserve you table now, also you will get code for Ola Prime to experience a luxury drive to-and-fro from the restaurant.

Confused which restaurant to choose for RWI? Check out posts on few other listed restaurants here:
Lotus Thai - The Park by Muskaan Dutta
Benjarong by Subhiksha Venkat
Focaccia - Hyatt Regency by Gopinath Rajendran

P.S. This write-up is based on my food palate & dining experience during my restaurant visit. On-the-house invite of RWI for tasting session. Remember, no two person's food palate can be same.