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Restaurant in Alwarpet
Rated: Good
based on 14 reviews
Benjarong
146, TTK Road, Alwarpet, Chennai
24322640, 42110061
| Locality | Alwarpet |
|---|---|
| Place Type | Restaurant |
| Food Type | Thai |
| Timings | 12:15 PM to 2:45 PM, 7:15 PM to 11:45 PM |
| Price |
  Expensive
|
- Additional Information
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Credit cards accepted
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first reviewed by dhiraj
- User Reviews (14)
Jan 07, 2009
Authentic Thai? Not really!
If you've never been to Thailand, Benjarong could impress you, no doubt! Nice cozy ambience and an exotic menu, but the food is not quite as authentic as the one served at Bangkok's swanky restaurants and night markets.
Nov 07, 2008
Fried wah!?
That's right, fried ice cream! That's my number one reason for coming here.
Sep 30, 2008
The Thai Experience
Here’s my chronicle of a visit to Benjarong, Chennai’s best Thai restaurant. It took a considerable walk for Us to reach the place from near Woodlands Drive-In where we disembarked. But the experience more than made up for it.
We were greeted at the door by the Maitre’D who checked the register for our reservation. A pretty oriental lady sat facing the door on a low stool carving vegetables.( We got her to pose for a picture in the end).
We were led to our table and soon we were served mein kam, which are, i believe, starters. We have to wrap an assortment of ingredients including dried prawns, peanuts, green chillies, chopped ginger & onions and a sauce ,that i believe was made from dates, in a leaf (resembles betel leaves in shape, but tastes different). This mouthful is the way to start a meal the Thai way, so we learnt.
We had considerable difficulty in deciphering the menu, considering that most of it was written in Thai. The English descriptions were helpful, but the size of the menu had us frustrated and finally we rushed into an order.
The perusal of the menu taught us that gai meant chicken, and goong meant prawn.
We settled for Tom Yam soup (gai flavour), the in-house speciality, chicken wrapped in pandana leaves, (gai hor baitey), and a goong flavoured rice(khao phad gratiem).
The soup had a distinct lemony flavour but the boiled chicken pieces in it tasted bland. I swear by the chicken wrapped in pandana leaves (I really don’t speak Thai!). It was accompanied by sweet chilli sauce and was heavenly. The rice, though labeled very pungent on the menu, didn’t live up to expectations.
Lemon Grass Tea was served during the main course, but it turned out to be just hot lemonade without salt or sugar.
For dessert, we ordered Banana Pancakes with Coconut Icecream. The icecream i figure, was made from the white flesh found inside tender coconuts. The banana in the pancakes had been deep fried.
On the whole, a trip to Benjarong is a wonderful experience. The service is excellent & the ambience even more so. The restaurant is tastefully furnished with silver figurines in display cases. The waiters are smartly dressed and are willing to explain what we can expect from each dish. The prices are a bit on the steep side though. Its perfect for executives who want to impress clients, but the middle class should be cautious here & order with care.
I must admit that my first brush with Thai food (Taj Malabar, Kochi, over 5 years ago) hadn’t impressed me all that much and only several rave reviews led me to try it out again. But with Benjarong behind me now, its a case of Once bitten, twice smitten.
Cheers!
Sep 17, 2008
Great Thai
Awesome Thai food. Definitely one of the best places in Chennai.
Prepare to give your palate a very different taste. I have been very happy with the food every time I have eaten at Benjarong.
The waiters are not very knowledgeable but good ambiance compensates for it. Also, I have not seen too many changes in their menu (which can keep things interesting) , but the food remains good nonetheless.
Aug 07, 2008
Between average and good
The word exotic conjures metaphors of mystique, so does Thailand and so does Benjarong. The place housing this fine eatery has a very uncluttered look to it and makes it look snug and old world. You enter and are met by a round blazer toting file noting concierge, who keeping in mind mystique doesn’t quite give you an elaborate smile, just a gentle nod of the head, knowing that by now most of them who drop into this place are already in awe of the substance they heat up. So what if I was'nt after the meal...
The entry has a small feel to it (it literally is mighty small) and the entire place is a section of split diners. The staff are friendly and quickly usher us to a corner at the end and we’re quickly served with the younger cousin of benaarsi pann like looking green leaf. With it comes coconut, a few sweet syrups and something else. We greedily stuffed the leaf with the ingredients and go ‘Ummmm.. ‘
(You’ll have to forgive me here. I don’t remember any of the Thai names. In fact that only thing uniquely Thai I remember is Paradon Srichapan and the poor guy is not to be seen anywhere now). So for starters we had something like Fish Satay which was ok. Wait a minute, just Ok? Er.. well.. U’ll have to come up with some thing really out of a world to impress ‘Bengali me’ when it comes to fish. You could try ‘Succulently Fried Bhetki’ or ‘Bhapa Elish’. Anyways, the fish was good and I’d recommend it. We went in for the chicken drumsticks next. Courtesy banana leaves, they were very well made and you could feel the aroma as your teeth sunk in the soft meat. Meanwhile the pineapple fried rice arrived and along with a mix of boneless crabs we had a nice hearty chomp. Sadly, the crab meat was too finely chopped. You almost lost the flavour of it. Shell crabs are best eaten steamed and slightly garished.
Rounded up with my fried ice creams and I still can feel them courting my tongue :) My fried tried a payasam kinda thing with cherries which was ok.
Over all good food.. but not great food. If you've tasted Thai food before and have not been to this place dont worry, you aint missing nothing. And mister, the prices are ridiculous! Ok ok ok.. fine dining and all that but if I avoid going to this place say 4 times over the next 1 year I can fly down to Bangkok for a quick lunch and be back.
Net net - decent food, over priced and the fried ice creams are great.