VeganeR, Anna Nagar

VeganeR.. I happened to visit this place about a year ago in their erstwhile Nungambakkam outlet. I tried their Groupon offer of a buffet lunch then, liked it quite fine. And then, I forgot about the place (pretty much what I do about most places). Recently when they opened newly in Anna Nagar, I was invited for a Bloggers’ Meet (with Divya & Sankar) by the well-known Facebook food group ‘Chennai Food Guide (CFG)’. I knew what Vegan means – Vegetarian food minus the dairy products, which, for a hardcore carnivore like me is almost a nightmare. But I did wanna try the food here to see if Vegan and Tasty could walk hand-in-hand, and I must say, I’m quite impressed. 

VeganeR is located in quite a happening place – bang opposite to Gangotree and Next to K.C. Das in Shanti Colony, it’s pretty hard to miss. Located on the second floor of the building, the place is done pretty neatly. Ambiance is kept simple. A live counter in the middle with seating space all around. The lights are very attractive.

Now, coming to the food, we had a preset menu for the evening which pretty much covered their Japanese, Indian and Mexican cuisine. And yes, all these cuisine were prepared without any dairy products.

Welcome Drink

Thai Thai Mengluck – The evening and our Vegan journey kick-started with this drink. It was a mixed tropical fruit juices with chia seeds drink. It was very refreshing. Interesting thing about the drink was the Tandoori Tofu bite – Cream cracker biscuit topped with some tandoori tofu to munch on while you sip of the drink. Something unique and both complimented each other really well.

Soup

Farmhouse Moroccan Soup – It was a traditional Moroccan style lentil soup with vegetables and vermicelli. Look, feel and taste was pretty much that of a Dal curry. Tasted good but very heavy. If you’re dieting, I think this soup alone you can consume for dinner. It would be sufficient.
Along with the soup, we were also served perfect Table Accompaniments like
– Garlic Multigrain Roll & Focassia bread
– Basil Chilly Hummus & Gongura Hummus

Starter Platter

Starters were served in mini portions, in two separate platters.
Platter I: This one consisted of

• Frenzy Panipuri with Tomato & Pineapple Gazpacho – Panipuri wasn’t crispy and the filling was very different. Tomato & Pineapple Gazpacho too was too sweet for my type of Panipuri. A very different take on panipuri indeed but it didn’t suit the Indian authentic Panipuri taste buds.
• Vazhai Poo Vadai – Crispy Banana blossom with lentils. Decent.
• Tom yum Paniyaram vepudu – Tweaked recipe and Chef’s version of Kuzhi Paniyaram. It was yumm. To me, this was the best starter of the evening.
• Chutneywali tofu tikka – The tofu that I got was pretty tough and rubbery. Not something I would want to have again.
• Tex mex nachos with Guacamole & Salsa – Name is quite explanatory. It was very okayish at best.

Platter II had:

• Lucknowi galouti kebab with vegan ulta tawa paratha – This was the vegan version of Galouti Kebab. Didn’t let the carnivore in me frown. It was good.
• Cutlet – A very different looking as well as tasting cutlet it was.
• Rest of the plate had tikkis which was basically veggies and apple stuffed in the middle. It included bitter gourd, carrot & capsicum. The filling was fine.

Main Course

Even the main course came in three separate platters where the first platter had mini portions of Japanese cuisine, followed by Indian platter and then the Mexican platter.

• Japanase Platter – The platter had only one dish named Donburri Oyakodon which in turn consisted of traditional one pot dish with Chilly Garlic noodles with Kung Pao veg pops, Tofu gravy and Kimchee. This platter was my favorite. I love chinese/japanese cuisine and totally enjoyed the noodles with the gravy sans the tofu. Even veg pops were nice so was the Kimchee.

• Indian Platter – This in turn had three different categories.
  • Tanjore Delight – This was a South Indian fare consisting of Mini Sambar idly, Ragi aval Oothapam, Corn Khichdi, Kaikari kollu karaisal (vegetable horse gram kurma), and chutneys for accompaniments.
    Sambar idly was the usual one. No difference in taste. I dislike Ragi, hence Oothapam was a big No-No. Chutneys were really good. The kurma was okayish. Corn Khichdi was what I loved the most in this platter. It was awesome.
    

    

    

    
  • VeganeR special bundle rice with kathirikai thokku & VEGAN curd rice – Oh yes, you read it right, VEGAN CURD RICE. Who would have even thought?! The curd here, is made of peanut milk. For a ‘Yaar how do people even eat curd rice?‘ person like me, I obviously din’t enjoy it much but Kudos to the chef to come up with something like this.
    Now for the Bundle rice with Kathrikari Thokku, it was my MOST favorite dish of the evening. Though I was very much full by the time this arrived on our table, I couldn’t stop eating it. It tasted excellent.
    

    
  • Olive Pudina Roti with Dal Tadka – Roti without ghee/butter could be a bit dry to gulp. The combination was alright.
    

    

• Mexican Platter – This platter was called Medssa-Mexicano which had carrot pinmeto shots, vegan quesadillas, falafel, mousakka, red bean burrito. Had a bite from all but apart from the carrot shots, nothing else was interesting to my palate.

Desserts

This was the most awaited platter of the evening because, desserts with milk products? We were really looking forward to this.

• Melon Granita with mushy apple torte – French colony apple pie served with melon granita. ’twas alright.
• Suyyam Litchi Rasoi – Tradional lentil dollops served with litchi ras. This was delicious, probably because of the Litchi ras and I love litchi. Loved it.
• Gil-E-Firdaus: A Hyderabadi style delight with sago and pumpkin. Tasted good.
• Gajjar Kajuri with thinai dodol: A melange of dates, carrot and orange with thinai dodol. Gajar ka halwa being my MOST fav dessert, I would always prefer it’s ghee and milk version.
• Pol amic sod: A medley of tropical fruits.

The highlight of the evening was the PLATTING. The best I’ve ever seen.
And last but not the least, here’s the mastermind behind all those VEGAN awesomeness who was with us throughout our meal, explaining each of the dishes.

Excutive Chef Virgil James

Overall conclusion : The Vegan affair wasn’t too bad. But it is also something I can’t imagine turning into, even in my wildest nightmare.

Address: AH 2&4, 4th Avenue, Shanthi Colony Main Road, Anna Nagar East, Chennai
Phone: 044 30205577

Hog On! 😀