CHENNAI: Dressed in turquoise blue and adorned by golden lights, Al-Hafa, the two-month-old multicuisine restaurant is a palace out of ‘Arabian Nights’. The long stairway embellished with cactus plants leads to the hall of small food cabins divided by wooden walls and united by Turkish ceramic tiles. The lavishness is not only restricted to the decor but also extended to the menu.
Spaced on the top floor of a two-storeyed building in Ashok Nagar, Al-Hafa offers food lovers flavours from various cuisines — Arabic, Italian, Chinese and Indian, with an emphasis on popular Arabic foods. The soups, kebabs, fish varieties, salads, biryani, ice-creams, sweets and mocktails reiterated the restaurant’s slogan “We treat our customers like kings. For kings, we provide royal feasts. ”
A customer-friendly approach
Skipping my breakfast, I arrive here for an early lunch. The place welcomes me with a lot of mirrors, probably to make me capture my hungry look. CEO, Dinesh Kumar, greets me with a smile and a glass of water. “Most restaurants start with their business as soon as the customer walks in.
They will ask what they prefer normal water or mineral water, thereby forcing them to make decisions rather than giving them time to relax. My policy is to keep the glasses filled with water as soon as the guest comes in,” says Dinesh, who has been in the food industry for the past 17 years.
Into the cuisine
Dinesh likes to understand the needs of the customer. Rather than sticking to the usual preferences, he motivates them to experiment with new items on the menu. Lunch began with a plate of hot chicken wings. The mildly sweet flavour of the tomato sauce blended with the tenderness of the chicken urged me to take another bite. The grilled chicken, the next item, had a subtle heat and spice and was oozing ghee.
I slowly graduate to the next dish Chinese chicken rice with the chef’s special garlic sauce. The chicken hangs on to its crunchy texture even after it’s been tossed in a sauce of garlic, tomatoes and onions. The rice mixed with the sauce seemed like a perfect companion. As I feel my senses opening up, thanks to the fresh spices and flavours, the showstopper chicken dum biryani makes its way to my table. The golden yellow rice bowl with hidden pieces of chicken garnished with cashew nut and spices was quite intoxicating (minus the liquor).
It also seems like the perfect time to allow my palate to hug some dessert charms. I reach out to the pineapple kesari which doesn’t impress me much. The gulab jamuns garnished with badam shavings are soft as a fluffy pillow, giving me some drool-worthy experience. I am ready to call it a day, but the creme caramel pudding loaded with coffee, nuts, caramel and chocolate flavours makes me delay my decision.
Preserving authenticity
Dinesh, an encyclopaedia of Arabian cuisine, takes delight in the variety of the Arabic meals in his kitchen. He spent more than ten years working in Arab nations. He claims that his competitors fall short in three crucial areas of food preparation: they overuse spices, make do with fewer ingredients, and don’t spend enough hours meticulously putting together a meal. “We do everything patiently with prayer. We deliver the exact authentic taste because we take raw materials from faraway places — the semiya for Kunafa from Kerala, mozzarella cheese from high range areas, and biryani masala from Dubai.”
Besides their usual meat dishes, the restaurant also has a range of options for vegetarians including salads, veg biryani, Chinese soups, spring rolls and North-Indian curries, which can be customised according to the customer’s preference, says Dinesh.
A chef himself, Dinesh admits that the taste of the biryani lies in the dedication of the chef. “If we cook the biryani in a hurry it won’t taste good. It’s a dish that requires patience to prepare. Luckily, the chef here is very dedicated.” Chef Alam has an experience of more than 25 years in cooking Arabian cuisine.
In the upcoming days, Dinesh hopes to launch more Al-Hafa outlets around the city. “I want to make good food accessible to everyone at a fair price. We want to feed people’s hearts with our kai pakkuvam (gifted in cooking),” sums up Dinesh.
A weekday lunch special with one appetiser, two entrees, a biryani, a mocktail and dessert is priced at less than Rs 1,000.