Thalassery Restaurant @ Anna Nagar, Chennai, Food Review

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Thalassery Restaurant is a new entrant for Kerala type foods, houses the taste of Malabar. Thalassery can be located from the front entrance of Anna Tower, the next road to Connexions, which leads to the arch of the Anna Tower close to Hill Greens Restaurant, The restaurant can be found on the first floor on that same lane.

It is a small joint, Currently working on interiors and even on pricing and quantity of food. The place is neat, decently spacious, clean, service is good, Currently improving on all possible directions.

The starter was Chicken 65 ( with bone) the main course ordered was Parotta, Talasery special biriyani and gravy was Naadan Chicken curry.

Naadan Chicken curry has the same preparation of Egg curry except the difference is Chicken, the number of chicken pieces are quite less. It tastes good, the portion can be served for 4 parottas max.

The Chicken 65 is bad experience, I had been to a small road side hotel at Mallapuram once, and ordered for a half portion of Chicken 65 when served it was a full bowl with lots of pieces. At least 4 people will be happy. Considering the kerala tradition they are following it is big disappointment for me, The taste was OK, just that few tissues where gripping on the bones, out of 6 or 7 pieces served most pieces were mere bones. The price is quite high for the quantity served. Don’t try chicken 65 over here.

Parotta the usual ones as you can find on any good restaurant, and now to the Thalasery Special biriyani, what we ordered was little special it doesn’t have chicken or mutton pieces. Just plain Biriyani aka Kushka. The taste was good with variety of spices, still medium spicy. We all loved it.

3 stars of out of five.
Service courteous
Food quantity too less, pricey
Price: 150/Head approximately.

((tag: Restaurant, Chennai, India, Kerala, Kerala food, Photography, Photoblog, AnnaNagar))

City Chennai, for some lighter side of life

My Grocery store at villivakkam, funny

The second line should have contained this word “parcel”. This sakthi store is at villivakkam, Annachi is a very friendly guy, but cannot help you with delivery, only parcel.

Technorati Tags: chennai, grocery store, store, funny, city

know, Howto – about A/C servicing

Well buying an A/C is simple, it is about some thing like buying an Elephant, and worrying about maintaining it.

Here are few things about our A/C servicing guys in Chennai during AMC – Annual Maintanance Contract usually happens to be free for the 1st year when you buy an A/C. You need to renew the AMC periodically before it gets expired. It is good as the A/C compressor are costly to be replaced.

What covers in an AMC?
It varies from vendor to vendor. The common ones are listed below

1. 4 free regular check up of A/C and cleaning of the same.
2. Compressor gas filling comes under warranty, so filling charges are free
3. taking them to their service centers are usually free with in so many KMS radius, usually free if you have large number of A/C s under AMC.

Some offer more packages to attract customers, by bringing the compressor under warranty if the A/C are new, so replacement is free.

How to service the A/C the usual method?
The below points are going to referred for the Window A/C unit

1. Outside panel and controls to be wiped with mild detergent
2. Air filters to be washed with mild detergent and water
3. Hot coils the one at the back side of the A/C unit to be cleaned using mild detergent and brush to remove mud particles
4. Cool coils the one just behind the Air filter to be cleaned using mild detergent and brush to remove dust particles
5. water hose outlet to be cleaned, and the water outlet pipes to be cleaned with detergent, to remove of dust particles which have been duly collected over a period of time.
6. The last ones to check, is for the stabilizer to have the wires intact and to have proper conductivity. Usually these wires get in bad shape due to low voltage supply, when a surge of power is draw by these stabilizer to feed the A/C unit.

There are little variation as far as the split A/C is concerned. The outside unit has to be properly cleaned, which usually doesn’t happen as some one in your family needs to supervise the entire operations.

What is that they are supposed to offer during that 1 year?
4 free regular checkup and cleaning of the A/C machine. Yeah for name sake to get their charge sheet signed. Except for the Air filter, nothing else gets cleaned up. If you ask them they will insist, this is more than enough.

What happens when you don’t get the required output from the A/C?
They start cleaning the coils, NOW

My personal experience:
I have a 1 ton Window A/C unit of the make LG 6 yrs old and 2 ton split A/C of the make carrier 1 yr old

I would rate the LG better in terms of servicing they did some decent job, where as the Carrier guys where just behind the money. They would pour a bucket of water on the outside unit which was at the roof top and just cleaning the Air filters of the inside unit of the Split A/C.

Heard from my friends that Samsung is also good in terms of servicing.

The only problem I currently face with my 1 ton LG window A/C is for the loud noise.

Would be glad to hear some constructive comments and suggestions. If you need more info please let me know. If possible I will respond to the comments and suggestions.

Technorati Tags: airconditioner, air conditioner, A/C, chennai, india, store, offer, mela, guide, window A/C, split A/C , window, split

Beware of Ticket collectors – Chennai MRTS

I had been a mute witness to this incident as I myself was shocked to see what these ticket collectors were up to. This happened few days before.

Things I noticed

1. Ticket collectors boarded the train at Mylapore station
2. Ticket collector not wearing uniform, and not even the badge. (I have seen one friendly ticket collector at Velachery Railway station in white uniform with the badge containing the name.)
3. Harsh language towards commuters, looks at everyone as a suspect. Truly, this ticket collector behaved like a super cop.

The ticket collector asked for the ticket with all the passengers, I showed him my concession pass. While my co passenger said “Pass” when he showed to the ticket collector, the concession pass was already expired.

And two other Big adult looking school children were asked for the same. Guess there were doing the +2 in some school. One with the school uniform showed the pass and the other friend didn’t have anything in hand.

It was time for the one with the school uniform to get down at the station, Our friendly ticket collector said, well how could let you friend alone. If you leave him now, he will be in jail. Poor kid, just for the bad friendship he had to tag along and be part of this wild party.

Our super cop ask all the ticket less guys to pay the fine of 1000 and odd Rupees or end up in jail kind of story.

The “concession pass” guy had enough of embarrassments

Now comes the best or heights of invasion in to privacy.
So our super cop asks the school kids for the fine amount. The ticket less traveled school guy had empty pockets and now our ticket collector ask the school uniform kid to depart with all the money he has. He ask him to pull out the wallet and asks him to open and show the same to him and the other ticket collector and he tells the kid to open the secret channel of the wallet to depart with the reserve money.

I was like shocked to see and all other commuters were all in the same state. Didn’t know what to do?

I have one silly question, if any one can answer it will be great
How much is the maximum fine which can be levied, if I did a ticket less travel?
Now I have been setting reminders on my mobile for three long days to get the concession tickets. Well there can be genuine cases that people could forget to renew their passes. I just want to avoid that embarrassments.

I can understand the way ticket collectors talk to embarrass the ticket less traveler, so as not to repeat this offense. But asking to depart with their money, was too much.

BTW (by the way) does anyone know how to apply for request to the Railway board to increase the number of trains between Beach and Avadi. I have been getting tired of looking in to the watch all the time so as not to miss the beach train or the Avadi train.

Chennai MRTS – boon or bane Software professionals

click on the image for a larger version of the photo

chennai MRTS was launched up to velachery last monday 19th of November 2007.

Well I commute to my office by using Chennai MRTS from Villivakkam ->Beach-> Velachery and back home

Things which I want to communicate to the Railway officials.

Most software companies have open office timing and most members come to office by 10.30 AM and leave late in the night back home (say average time of 8:00 PM). The train timings which have been currently offered will not meet the expectation of software professionals, who work in IT park and some more IT offices at velachery.

Connecting trains are a major problem, say Villivakkam has more trains to offer, but to the beach. It is less. Well from beach to velachery is most inconvenient, connecting trains don’t wait if the ones reach little late.

click on the image for a larger and clear version of the photo

above chennai MRTS train timing from velachery to beach station

Why Chennai MRTS amuses me?

1. Savings
2. Cost factor
3. Organized
4. Traffic
5. Pollution
6. Health

Savings – I usually commute by car or motor cycle. On an average I do 45KMS a day home->office->home. If I choose Chennai MRTS from villivakkam to beach and beach to velachery is 9RS (INR) and from velachery to beach and beach to villivakkam it is 8RS(INR) so a total of 17 INR when compared to 1& 1/2 litre of petrol on my bike and whooping 4 litres of petrol for my car say around 200 INR/day. 4000 INR for 20 days

Cost factor – If I buy a season ticket for 3 months it is only 375 INR which is close to 2 days the price of petrol for my car.

Organized – well I don’t want to be late to my office. I have to plan my day. I wake up little early than usually. My company vice president prefers to travel by bus or train or even a cycle (well he could afford to buy the expensive car and have chauffeur at his disposal, well something I am missing) . If he could manage time. I should learn, how to manage my time.

Traffic – Rain or too hot, no more worries staying in the signal. Don’t have to worry any more for the scratch on your new car. Nor have to bite the nails and carry tension. Nor get stranded for long time on signals.

Pollution – What? Unless the train passes over the coovum river or near the Petro chemical refineries
Health conscious – Because I plan my day, I drop my son to school early. Now I do little bit walking, how?

If I have walk to villivakkam station from home and from velachery station to office and back that is about 20 minutes of walking a day. Well a good exercise which I was missing all these days.

Apart from that I have started listing to some podcast or my favorite radio while traveling using my Nokia N70 mobile.

The only worry is that, will I not get more options from the Railways.

Final words: I believe chennai MRTS needs to do some kind of marketing to attract the software professionals, most probably they need to increase the number of trains plying during after peak hours and provide adequate support/connecting train timings at all the main stations (returning to home is a big problem now). Once done, they could possibly see the increase in the traffic in that route.

Do let me know your thoughts and comments, Will MRTS will be of help.

Here is a southern railways  site which has the suburban train timing. It has information about the connecting trains time table

http://www.southernrailway.org/sutt/index.php 

Sunday meal & dinner ruined

People Help…
What is the specialty of chettinnadu restaurant?

I might be completely wrong, but for the taste for food at most chettinadu restaurant have completely ruined my love for food
WHY?
The moment you step in to the restaurant, you will get a foul smell of fish. Believe me I am mallu, and supposed to be ardent lover for fish.

Last Sunday afternoon

we were at this Paramakudi restaurant at Annanagar near Ayyapan temple for lunch. We ordered for Butter naans, Biryani (kuska/ plain) , Chettinnadu chicken curry and Dragon chicken, 1/2 tomato soup.

Our experience -

1. tomato soup does have some odour of fish
2. Kuska arrives before Naan
3. Chettinadu chicked curry has chicken bones and not any option of flesh and half bowl servered
4. and finally Dragon chicken has non fried cashew nuts and non crispy chicken pieces the best part of dragon chicken was that of the greens which smelled when you wanted to taste the chicken.

I called upon the waiter who was already been troubled by another customer who was taking him for a ride, for not taking his order correctly. I requested him, that I would like to talk to the chef. The chef came, I asked him why is the dragon chicken is not so crispy?

The immediate answer was, Dragon chicken is meant to be like that as they treat them with the gravy.

We left the table with the left over food, payed the bill unwillingly.

So our lunch was ruined. The next was our evening snacks time, we had just returned from shopping so we thought we could have some thing yummy and ordered for Pizza at Pizza corner. So our sweet lady picks up the call took the order and I reminded her for the few sachets of ketchup and oregano.

Now our delivery guy from Pizza corner comes home, gives the package, I find no oregano, when requested he says the store has out of stock for oregano.

The delivery guys just ruin the user experience. Just for some tips they serve the posh customers with the goodies, and finally when they have to deliver at the not so posh area… Hmmm..n

So I called up the Pizza corner hotline. Our lady says I was not the one who picked up your order it is the other lady, so told her about the incident.

Well I crib, how many customers will care to crib. The next time they will loose the customer.
Technorati Tags: chennai, food, restaurant, crib, problem, pizza, pizza corner

Electricity Board – What happens when you forget to pay bill?

What happens when you forget to pay bill?

Here is my own personal experience, which just happened at 1:55 PM, May 25th 2007.
I am supposed to pay the Electricity bill for the month of March 2007, which I didn’t pay due to this reason below

My wife usually keeps the electricity bill book, in the showcase so that I don’t forget to pay the bill. To my luck while cleaning up the place she kept the Electricity document inside the cupboard (alamari), thinking I have payed the bill.

So our poor Government servant, reached my residence in this hot sun and complained that he is about to pull the main fuse carrier as I have not paid the bill in due time. Kindly note: All this happened at 1:55PM

My wife called me up and she called upon him to attend the call, I asked him What do I need to do immediately to avoid pulling the Main fuse carrier. He said I have to pay the amount at the office by 2:30 PM, if not by 2:30 PM he would pull the plug.

What on earth do the electricity board doing customer service?
I am happy that this Government servant had come down to my place informed me that he would pull the Main fuse carrier, at the same time don’t you think there can be genuine cases where people would have really forgot about paying their bills and should there be some grace time of atleast a day.

On top of that, My situation is – my residence at villivakkam and my office at velachery and at 1:45 PM, I being at office. How can I ever dream of coming down to pay the electricity bill before 2:30PM. I had to request my wife to pay the Electricity bill. (Imagine with no electricity in this hot summer) Oops!!!

High Drama at the Electricity bill counter: When my wife reached to pay the bill, she just got humiliated by the employees referring “April month bill ipa tha pay pana varaga” Well I am sure I will have good time when I reach home. She just started to blast me over the phone, saying “see I had to hear, all these lame comments”

There are/can be genuine cases which can happen, A friend of mine just said to me that, he had been on long leave and returned back to find the Fuse pulled out.

1. What if both the family members working?
2. What if no family member available during the day time

Closing notes: Why can’t they think of providing better customer service. Can’t they extend atleast one day grace period. In the private sector we say “Customer is the King”. When will we make the change the Government rules and Government people’s mind.

There is a saying
“If you need to remember your Wife’s birthday, you have to forget it once.”

Technorati Tags: government, electricity board, customer service, customer is the king, customer, bill, chennai, India, EB, electricity, fuse