A good catch: City hotel organises seafood festival

CHENNAI: Above Sea Level by The Raintree, St Mary’s Road is organising ‘Feast from the Sea’, a seafood festival displaying a variety of fishes like anchovy, black rekti, white pomfret, eel, mackerel, parrot fish, pearl spot, etc, prawns, lobsters, crabs, squid, clams, octopus and lots more.

Patrons can choose seafood from this spread and ask for starters, curries, and sides. The team of chefs have ready-to-go marinations and the varieties each are charged per 100 grams. The dishes live up to the expectations and are fresh, soft and perfectly marinated.

We tried their seer fish slices prepared in Harrisa’s marination. The fish had honey, coriander, walnut, dry red chilli, sesame seeds, and cumin. The unique blend of sweetness and spice will surprise a palate not used to this fusion. The dish, which came to the table in less than 10 minutes was marinated very well and was exciting and experimental.

We then tried their tandoori prawns. The marination had regular tandoori flavours and was cooked just right. The chutney served with the prawns complemented the spices and balanced this part of the meal very well.

Their chimichurri fish served with creamy chimichurri chutney and mashed potatoes were perfect. While chimichurri is usually associated with spice, this dish comes in as comfort and neutralises the palate with subtle flavours.

Their Peruvian-style grilled prawns were peppery, buttery and everything incredible. The dish has partially pounded peppercorns which give the dish its extra kick of spice, while the butter complements this kick. This marination is a must-try and most certainly steals the spotlight.

For the main course, we tried their Malabar prawns gravy with garlic naan and rice. The prawns gravy, which had the flavourful kokum carrying the entire dish, followed the authentic style of preparation and went really well with the garlic naan. This dish will go well with breads than rice.

On the whole, the seafood festival is experimental, fresh, and delicious and definitely worth visiting this weekend. The festival is on till February 12 for dinner.