Homage To Hummus

Azulia
GRT Grand, 60 Sir Thyagaraya Road, T. Nagar, Chennai-600 082
Phone: 044-2815 0500
Meal for two: Rs 1,200

Much of its success can be attributed to chef Joseph Chahine’s charm, both behind the open-plan kitchen and at the table. He tempts visitors with the most splendid starters that take you from Turkey to Greece, Morocco and Spain and back to Lebanon, his home country. You can start with goat cheese flambe or tiny cigars of minced meat. There are wonderful nibbles of prawns, fried calamari rings and chicken sausage to be dipped into bowls of tahini and hummus, or stuffed into parcels of pita bread. He produces aromatic bakes, lasagnes, moussakas and tenderly wrapped fish scattered with pine nuts, and when you are through, tiny gold fingers of baklava with Turkish coffee, or pears poached in red wine with figs on the side. Once you are addicted, Azulia will, like the sirens of the Aegean coast, call you back for more.