CHENNAI: Amid the bustling streets of Egmore, inside the Ramada Hotel is where land ends and sea begins. The exclusive seafood restaurant, Marina Sands, inaugurated recently, is a paradise for seafood lovers and a perfect tribute to the coastal city of Chennai.
Overlooking the pool on one side and the city on the other, the all-glass indoor restaurant boasts a diverse menu featuring fish, lobster, salmon, shrimp, crab and prawns. The menu features a mix of cuisines.
You can also opt for your own choice of seafood from the ones available on display and the in-house chef will cook it according to your preference.
Start your meal with the seafood soup. Cooked with shrimp, fish and lots of vegetables, this is a perfect winter warmer. Other tasty options include creamy lobster bisque, tom yum goong, which is a creamy coconut prawn soup finished with lemon grass and the traditional style nandu rasam or crab soup.
Followed by this are a chic selection of starters which are sure to take your taste buds on a delectable journey. The options range from tawa fried fish, Phuket pomfret, fish tikka, tulsi and nimbu wali macchi to roasted calamari, Thai grilled prawns, karuveppilai yera and sea food basket.
The Phuket fish, which is an Indo-Chinese style spicy fish coated with finely chopped onions, ginger and garlic tossed in sticky sauce, is a clear winner. If you are looking to refresh your palate, go for the tulsi and nimbu wali macchi consisting chunks of fish marinated in a mint base and served with a dash of lime.
For fried food lovers, schezwan fish, shrimp basket with fries and karuveppilai yera (deep fried prawns marinated with curry leaves) are the best options. They are all crispy, salty and just greasy enough. Their main course mostly celebrates Indian cuisine including dishes like Malabar fish curry, Chettinadu masala, Chennai fish curry, Goan fish curry and prawn tawa masala.
If you like exotic options, you may opt for the traditional Thai curry, fish in Malaysian chilli sauce or cajun salmon with pineapple salsa. All the dishes are cooked to perfection with just the right amount of spice.
And if your vegetarian friends are accompanying you, they have some delicious options, too. You have six dessert options including gulab jamun, fruit tart and almond brownie, with which you can end the sumptuous meal.
Cost for two is `1,500. It is located at Ramada Hotel, No 2A, Ponniamman Koil Street, Ansari Estate, Egmore.