With festival season and monsoon lashing across the city, its time when families dine in for an exquisite meal. The newly inaugurated Marina Sands at Ramada, Egmore might be the best option if you are planning to eat the finest seafood. Offering a plethora of dishes ranging from fish, lobsters, shrimps, salmons, prawns, among others, the restaurant boasts of several mouth-watering starters.
As I basked into the brightly lit ambience, I was offered some light pre-meal dishes; soup and juice. The soup here was, unfortunately, a letdown, and so was the watermelon appetizer but nevertheless the starters were top notch.
I started with the Phuket fish and I was told its Chef’s special. The dish was saucy and soft, mixed along with chopped crunchy vegetables. It felt fantastic to chew the soft fish along with flavour of the hot veggies and masala. It sent my tongue to a bliss. Then I tried the nethili fish fry, a french fries like tiny thin fried fishes that are crunchy. The karuveppilai yera is deep-fried prawns marinated with curry leaves. I could smell the essence of the leaves that wrapped the prawn in a sumptuous cocoon.
The chef’s special lobster fry was another delicious meal you can’t afford to miss. The lobsters were boiled to a point that makes the shells ‘crunchable’. It was yummy to chew through the steaming hot crispy seafood. Tulsi aur nimbu wali macchi as the name suggests is chunks of grilled fish marinated with fish herb and lime juice.
It was ridiculously super soft. If you poke the fish with a fork, it gracefully breaks like a marshmallow. Later I ate the calamari roast; calamari rings pan-fried and drenched in onion and tomato gravy. The best dish I ate that night was the pomfret fry served hot with finely chopped veggies. The masala sent my tongue into blissful euphoria and the chef was kind to serve it twice.
By the time I was done with starters, my tummy was nearing full capacity. And I still had to eat the main course. I dove into naan and fish curry. The curry was thick and the vegetables – onions and greens – were fresh and juicy. The tiny chunks of fish made the curry a perfect dish. For deserts, I had gulab jamun which tasted usual. If you are opting to try out the best seafood in our city for this festive season, the Marina Sands will be the best option.
(Marina Sands is located at Ramada, 2A, Pooniamman Koil Street, Egmore, Chennai. For reservations, contact 98410 47006, 4610 4777 and 6600 4777.)