Highway Haven

t’s a wild and windy night. We race down the dark stretch of the highway known as the East Coast Road, which goes south from Chennai along the Coromandel Coast, searching for Kipling Cafe, Chennai’s latest dining sensation. We whoop with delight when we find it. White muslin curtains away from the corners of palm-fringed cabanas. A stately south Indian gothic mansion looms at the far end. For starters, we try crunchy Bruschetta (Rs 250) that comes with herbed butter spooned into small turbans, Japanese-style vegetable tempura (Rs 150) with a delicately creamy wasabi dip that doesn’t knock your tonsils off, and a disappointing Prawn bisque (Rs 250).