InterContinental Chennai is one of the amazing properties that located in the outskirts of Chennai at Mahabalipuram.  The property has been around for 3.5 years and has won many hearts.  There are 3 restaurants in the hotel and the most popular among these is the ‘Tao of Peng’.  The restaurant serves best dishes from Chinese, Japanese and Continental Cuisines.  And it’s won the prestigious Time Food Awards Chennai for Best Chinese Restaurant, 3 year in a row.  I was absolutely thrilled when I got an opportunity to visit the beautiful property and lunch at ‘Tao of Peng’.

Ambiance at Tao of Peng

• The restaurant has a beautiful entrance that has few hanging light shades.  Name of the restaurant is written on a beautiful plate and the symbol around it resembles Buddhist Monk.
• Guests need to take few steps down that leads to a beautiful lounge area where guests can sit.  It’s probably meant to take rest in case there is waiting period at the restaurant.
• There is a nice piece of art in the middle that looks very eye-catchy.  It’s a huge urn colored with black that has plenty of decorated sticks.
• I loved the lighting arrangements inside that looks like inverted ‘Tower of Hanoi’.
• Seating arrangement are exquisite, and every table is very well decked up with required cutlery & glasses.  Every seat also has traditional chopsticks for those comfortable eating with it.
• Every table at Tao of Peng, can accommodate 4 people but if needed they can join multiple table. The community table can have 15-20 people dining in at a time that’s perfect for team lunch or large family gathering.
• The temperature inside is maintained well with the A/C.  But if someone wants to enjoy some sea-breeze, there are provision to sit outside and dine.
• Restaurant usually opens for dinner during the weekdays. During weekend, they are open both during lunch & dinner.

Food 

I had very high expectation with regards to the food at the restaurant.  Though I am not great fan of Chinese food, I enjoy the flavours in them.

Appetizers

Assorted Dumpling

Crystal Vegetable Dumpling, Mushroom Dumpling, Poached Pekin Vegetable Dumpling, Pan Fried Shanghai Dumpling

Among the variety of dumpling served, I specially enjoyed the Mushroom & Crystal Vegetable Dumpling.  The dish was served on a plate that had nice honey-chilli sauces, small dollop of mayo and edamame seeds.  The presentation was so amazing that it greatly enhanced eating experience.

Wok Tossed Lotus Tossed

This dish comes has a crisp pieces of Lotus stem coated with honey, red chilli & sesame.  The dish was crunchy and had the right balance of sweet, sour and spice.  I enjoyed every bite of the dish and wanted to have many portions of the same.

Crispy Cheung Fun

This dish was made with Red Rice Flour and had crunchy vegetables. The dish was served with a nicely made soy sauce.  Flavors of the dishes were not punch but I loved the crunchiness.

Main Course

Stir Fried Exotic Green, Four Style Vegetables, Udon Noodles, Cantonese Style Fried Rice

Every dish had unique set of ingredients that brought out different flavors.  The Stir Fried Exotic Green dish had green vegetables like Asparagus & Broccoli served with special herbed sauce.  The Four Style Vegetables had combination of Tofu, Water chestnuts, Broccoli and Edamame.  Both the dishes tasted well with the Cantonese Styled Fried rice containing edamame, diced carrots & beans.

The thick wheat flour Japanese Udan noodles was good as it was soft and light spices.  I could eat it without having to add any sauces.

Desserts

We all aware of many dessert varieties and so it does not feel having just one of them in the plate.  Chef and his team create a dessert-platter that has multiple desserts in one single long edible stone plate.

The variety of dessert present included sesame sphere with an array of homemade ice-creams and sorbets.  I could feel the taste of Wasabi, Chocolate, Black-current in different ice-creams. To add to this there were plenty of crushed Choco pieces, crumbles, chocolate sauce, blue-berry sauce and more.  The entire dessert looked like a ‘Piece of Art’.

Drinks

Spicy Thai Lemongrass Margarita, Bourbon Berry Smash, Lichitini

I loved the Bourbon Berry smash as the taste of Bourbon Whisky came out well in the cocktail.  When mixed with berries, mint-leave, sour-mix & soda, the taste was enhanced.  Lichitini was a little too sweet for my liking.  Spicy Thai Margarita was the one of the spiciest cocktails as it had Thai Chilli & ginger.  The drink tastes good when sipped but it starts burning due to strong spicy flavor from Thai Chilli.

Overall Experience

It was great experience lunching at one of the well-known restaurants in Chennai.  The place has got one of the best ambiances for a Chinese Restaurant and a talented group of Chefs.  I enjoyed the varieties of Dumpling and Crispy Cheung Fun and Gravy dishes.  But the dessert art also left a lasting impression.  I want to visit this restaurant again to try out many more Chinese dishes.  But, with my current experience, I highly recommend the place for dining with family, friend or special ones.

More Information

Tao of Peng
InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort,
212, Nemelli Village, Mahabalipuram, Chennai
India

Phone +91-44 71720101