I enjoy a hearty and nourishing thukpa bowl, filled with the goodness of celery, greens, and vegetables. It is now available on the newly-launched menu at Chin Chin, the Pan Asian restaurant of The Residency Towers, Avinashi Road. While favourites like Malaysian cottage cheese, fried rice, udon noodles, cheese fried wontons, and crisp lamb, that have been a part of the 29-year-old legacy of the restaurant stay, there have been glorious new additions in the Oriental, Japanese, and Korean cuisines with dim sum, tempuras, sushi, and Korean bowls.
“We have a buzzing Mongolian counter, hibachi grills, and a Tepanayaki counter,” says Chef Vinod Kumar, the newly-joined executive chef. “We work with locally available produce. Seasonal fruits go into our mocktails. We have added in-house garnishes like microgreens, and edible flowers to ensure that the food is a visual treat as well. We have kept the authenticity intact but played around with the presentation to make it look dramatic,” he explains as a red snapper fish starter makes its way to the table. Tossed in Thai inspired flavours, aromatic herbs, and spices, it is tender, smoky and delicious.
Baos are stuffed with succulent jackfruit and salted bok choy
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Special Arrangement
“The menu needed a bit of shaking up,” says corporate chef Ajeet Janardhanan, who is based in Chennai, adding that he headed straight to the buzzing markets in Town Hall and Ukkadam. “We picked up stuff from the market, came back to the kitchen and decided on the menu. We saw a seller sitting pretty with a mound of thennan kuruthu. We added it to our sprout salad tossed in peanut dressing. We picked up banana flowers and turned it into banana blossom salad. Yellow pumpkin went into making soup. We saw spinach and celery, and it transformed our thukpa bowl. We rolled out the new menu from that perspective.”
The raw papaya salad which I try comes with a local spin from colocasia lending it an earthy taste that is refreshing. “We are moving towards promoting responsible cuisine. Our baos are stuffed with succulent jackfruit and salted bok choy. The bok choy comes from a local farmer who is growing hydroponics. This way, we get fresh supplies at better costs and give a boost to local economy,” explains chef Ajeet.
Hibachi grills
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Special Arrangement
There are minor tweaks to the dishes to suit the local palate. For example, sushi packs a punch with an extra pinch of salt and vinegar to the rice, which is kept minimal in original preparations. “I do that with utmost care for the cuisine. We also add a drizzle of togarashi. Nori sheets become taco shells for minced chicken, water chestnuts, and lotus stem. We have introduced Korean stone pot rice, a single bowl meal of rice, gravy, chicken and vegetables. We have the hibachi grill for vegetables including long green brinjal, asparagus, yellow cherry tomatoes as well as meat, chicken breast, jumbo prawns and tenderloins marinated in galangal and turmeric among other spices,” says Ajeet.
As we talk, an uplifting aroma fills up the air. It comes from the Malaccan fried rice that has an interesting story behind it. “As a team we would try kalakki at an outlet in Coimbatore. We got addicted to the taste and added it to our fried rice. It is actually kalakki fried rice which leaves you satisfied.”
From the dim sum platter, the melt-in-the-mouth edamame truffle oil dumpling has to be a favourite. “Chin Chin comes with a tradition, a legacy of 29 years. Our new menu is powered by Oriental rebranding. Our chefs travel to different countries, attend workshops to understand new ingredients and bring it to the plate,” says S Amarnath, general manager.
The city has given us a lot of love, reminisces Ajeet. “We still have customers walking in and sharing anecdotes of visiting the place as a child. We have to strike a balance between the old and the new diners with familiar flavours but new ingredients. So, the new menu has Burmese curry made with raw jackfruit, sweet potato, and baby potatoes. Among desserts, we have added kunafa with pistachio crush, and baked cheesecakes in coconut and mango flavours.”
While I enjoy the Vietnamese pandan coconut jelly, that is light and packed with sweet coconut and pandan flavours, my eyes light up when its time to try fried ice cream. As the warmth and the sudden burst of icy cool goodness fills my senses, I float back, smiling.
A meal for two costs ₹3500 approximately. For reservations, call 9787745114. From August 20 to 24, a Hakka pop up is on with Chef Catherine Lim
Published – August 19, 2025 04:10 pm IST
