Unmissable signboard

The entrance

I was very excited when I was one of the chosen ones to review Chennai X’press as a HiShop and MilkAdeal Beauty Ambassador. I don’t usually go to Damansara Perdana but this was definitely easy to find. It’s just next to the HiShop office! And right across from the big Hong Leong Bank. I love Indian food even though I can’t take very spicy foods so I was looking forward to this visit.The entrance

This place is HALAL so everyone can dine here!

Tempting diners with food before you even enter the restaurant

A quick look at the interior

It isn’t a very big restaurant but has quite a few tables, this is the widest angle I could get.

Some of the decor and tables for buffet spreads

As always, perused the menu and first thing first, the drinks! Below are a salted lassi on the left and an iced calamansi tea on the right. The lassi was well, salty, think salted yoghurt drink while the calamansi tea wasn’t as sweet as I thought it would be, it had a lot of tea flavour in it.

Next up were the papadoms. Was given 2 sauces to go with it. The green one is mint of course, the red one is called Inji Puli, it wasn’t really spicy to me, someone who has very sensitive tastebuds towards spicy foods.

As I am a bread lover, I went for their Naan and Chappati. Both plain, not too bad, but I can’t say it was outstanding as I prefer my Naans to be thicker. It was warm upon arrival, which is always a good thing.

I had the breads with their Tardka Dhal, pretty good to me as I like my dhals thick, just like my breads. Not spicy most definitely, very child-friendly.

I also ordered something from the Seafood section, their Fish Masala, if I remember correctly. I often get confused when there are extensive menus but I believe this was the one. The fish was nice and fresh, and you’re given a generous chunk of it too even if the bowl looks a tad on the small side. This was a little spicy to me, but my tolerance for spicy foods rivals a child’s so normal adults will be fine with this.

This dish was quite a find. It’s not one that is commonly found in other Indian restaurants due to it’s very unique ingredient called “The Drumstick”! Be warned, this is a vegetarian dish! You will not find meat in it no matter how hard you look and dig around the bowl. There is a gourd in it, similar almost to a snake bean, that is strangely called “The Drumstick”. I’d never eaten that before this visit so it was a pleasant surprise. It tastes almost like a lady’s finger, just without the slime. Oh, and it’s a wee bit crunchy too! By the way, I think they call this dish the Avaial? Anyway, this is my most recommended dish!

I was tipped off about the Basmathi Rice so I ordered the Chicken Briyani. While you can’t really see the chicken from the picture, it is already hiding inside the rice. See that dark spot at the bottom of the rice, next to the papadom? Yep, that’s the hidden surprise alright!

The last thing I tried was the Chicken Parattal. I must admit it wasn’t the most authentic version I’ve ever tasted. Again not too spicy. But, if you eat the sauce on its own, this one had a bit too much salt in it for my taste. But eaten with the breads or rice, it was just fine.
I did not bother with desserts although there are quite a few options at Chennai X’press. As you can probably imagine, I’d tasted quite a lot of food already. So this sweet tooth had to unfortunately pass on the sweets this time around.

They even have a lunch menu!

Chennai X’press has a very big range of dishes for you to choose from. Which is a good thing, but also makes making your selections really difficult. Here’s a look at the menu so you can judge it for yourself.

Now to be honest, there are some good things as well as a few bad ones I have to mention about Chennai X’press. For the interior, it is very minimalist but has nice and cute wall patterns so that’s fine by me. Food-wise, it was a yes and no situation depending on the dish. Some far outshone the others (Avaial anyone), some were basic, although I don’t actually expect one restaurant to specialise in every single dish. Service was also good and bad. The lady that took the order was really good. No pen and paper needed! She could remember all the dishes, no problem! It’s very hard to find people like that these days. But when it came to the service of the food, big no-no. Granted, I visited on a Sunday afternoon,  and there were a few tables ahead of mine, but it took such a long time for the food and even the drinks to arrive! I kept on hoping the servers were coming to my table every time they made a round with the food trays. I believe they cook to order so it does that a while for the food to arrive but I was starving. And papadoms can only go so far really. That’s the main negative note I have to point out. 

Overall, reasonable prices for the food served, service speed could be improved upon, location is really good though, it is Halal, and has air-conditioning. Not exactly the place for “express” food but a nice place to visit when you have a big gang to chat with. And are not rushing for food.

Check out these links below for more information and yummy food pics!

MilkADeal’s Chennai X’press Deal Page

MilkADeal Facebook Page

Chennai X’press Facebook Page

My readers are entitled to a 5% discount so you can get a taste of India on your own! Just quote CHENNAI to get it. Valid until the 15th of July 2014

Chennai X’Press
Business Hours: Daily, 11am – 10pm

Telephone number: 03-77333175
22A-1, Jalan PJU 8/5G,
Damansara Perdana, 47820, Petaling Jaya

Disclosure: This visit was sponsored by Chennai X’press for review purposes but I was not compensated financially for it. Everything mentioned are my own thoughts based on my experience.

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