CHENNAI: Having tasted and relished seafood in Kolkata, Kerala, and Mumbai, I was excited to dig into the seafood delicacies in Chennai. Being brought up in a land of sea food, I have tasted quite a variety of fishes and prawns. But, I was in a shock, when chef William at Kayal, Le Royal Meridien, announced that octopus and crab would come first in the menu. “A seafood festival without octopus and crab is incomplete,” reassured chef.
While the dishes were being prepared, chef William posed to the camera with large lobsters dangling from his hand. I thanked God that it was off the menu. I’ve seen octopus in Discovery channel and most recently in newspapers — Paul, the octopus, the fortune-teller in Fifa Wold Cup last year. Probably, chef understood my predicament and served a baby octopus. He made it even easier by taking the first bite and said, “It’s delicious.” With much expectations, I forked into one of the baby octopus’ legs. It tasted like a chewing gum. But it definitely tasted better than I had imagined to be.
But what gave me a kick was when I had a bite of a mud crab. The chef guided me again here. I was surprised how delicate the crab was because it cut into two halves easily, as the chef passed a knife over it. Holding on to the leg, I took the first bite. “Yummy!” I said to myself and took another bite immediately. The taste of flesh coupled with bits of shells made it an interesting combination. The chef then asked me to bite the leg. I wondered for a while and followed his instructions. The legs were crunchy and easily chewable, making the dish a complete success.
“Hey, wait! The special item of the sea food festival is still to come,” said the chef. He forwarded Mahi Mahi and Talipia towards me. I had a first bite of Mahi Mahi, a typical fish found in the city. The dish was even more delicate than the crab and was so soft that it jelled effortlessly in my mouth. Had never tasted a fish so soft in my life. On the other hand, another typical fish Talipia was a bit hard, but tasted just the opposite to Mahi Mahi. While Mahi Mahi was soft and sweet, Talipia was spicy and hard. A two contrasting dish made an eventful day. I took one bite of each dish one by one. I longed more of sea food such as these, as I finished each morsel of the dish on offer. I promised chef that I’ll be back again to have another palatte of seafood offered by him. The seafood festival is on till February 28.
