The Armenian Street in George Town still holds the old-world charm of Chennai. From rickshaws to fish carts, people are busy hustling their way through the ever busy trading hub of Madras. A new multi-cuisine restaurant has opened its doors and is spread across 3,000 sq. ft and adds a new glow to the locality. Started by partners Devarajan and K Selva Kumar, Kamatchi Express exudes retro vibes with its ambience.
“We named the restaurant Kamatchi Express so that the name is synonymous to our quick service because the Parry’s Corner crowd majorly comprises
busy advocates, doctors and entrepreneurs. We serve wholesome meals and we also have various live counters,” says Selva Kumar. The moment we enter the premises of the diner, the spacious seating and drive-in spaces surprise us.
“We offer a drive-in facility in the evening, which is something unique to this neighbourhood. Breaking my assumption about the customers we would cater to, I was taken aback by the number of families who prefer our food. We have guests from almost all the age groups,” he adds. Their live counters deserve a special mention for the way they are structured. “We have live benne dosa, chaat and also tandoor counters. Moreover, we made our own in-house softies, made from 99 per cent fruit. We also have a tiffin counter, just like how people enjoy morning coffee or tea with quick bites, standing and chit-chatting in a tea kadai,” shares the partner.
Kamatchi Express is the vision of managing director Shanmugam, who wishes to expand the outlet far and wide, catering to people from different economic backgrounds. When we relish the delicacies of the diner, the taste feels like home. “That is because we use only homemade masalas, which are prepared by my wife, Suganya. To get the rustic flavours to fall in the right place, we use a firewood stove. We get repeat customers just for our traditional virundhombal (hospitality),” notes Selva Kumar. Making their dream a reality in Parry’s Corner, the multi-cuisine restaurant grew from a small kiosk.
Now, coming to the dishes, we can easily say the restaurant is for everyone who wishes to taste the authentic flavours of different south and north Indian regions. We start the feast with the idiyappam chicken kothu, alongside naatu kozhi and mutton kulambu, which transports us to Vellore. The soft mutton kola urundai and Kamatchi’s naatu kozhi are definitely a must-try. We are stunned by the variety of seafood-based dishes available, including prawn, squid and crab.
Then comes the most interesting and exciting part, the kebabs. The mindblowing mutton galouti kebab with its melting-in-the-mouth consistency aces the list of favourites. The cheese corn seekh kebab also has
a unique taste to it. Garlic benne dosa, with an ample amount of butter, is on point.
The naan with a generous amount of garlic, paired with mutton pepper masala, dominated by small onion flavour and pepper, gets a ten-on-ten. Among the range of traditional and contemporary desserts, elaneer payasam gets a clean sweep. The small tender coconut chunks add an extra layer to the dish. The caramel pudding is good; however, the coffee flavour is slightly less in the tiramisu jar.