It was yet another Thursday but this Thursday was none like before. This Thursday was the perfect setting for a CFG Showcase at the newly opened fine dining restaurant in T.Nagar called CHAO. Thanks to the courtesy extended by Mrs. Shalini, Mr. Jagadish & Chef Murali, CFGians were invited to CHAO to sample and review their fare. CHAO is a fine dine South-East Asian restaurant serving up cuisines from Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. Upon entering the restaurant the first thing that struck me was their exquisite interiors. It was definitely a fine dine restaurant. The restaurant has 2 floors of seating with a private lounge for customers who want a sense of privacy probably for those with celebrity status may be. Great level of attention has been taken to ensure the interiors were hand in glove with the food being served. There was a complete feel of being somewhere in Thailand or Cambodia with all the Buddha statues and artworks. Once all the folks for the showcase had arrived, we were then introduced to Chef Murali who gave us an insight about his career and the spread that we were to sample today. A short while later we were also met by Mr. Jagadish and his co-partner who welcomed us to CHAO. Shortly after the formal introductions were over, the traditional Lemongrass Tea was served before the food started to come in one by one. We were first served with the Corn Tartlets. Rather than calling them as starters, it may be rightly called as a pre appetizer. They were very crispy and the flavoring on the corn mixture was just right to be not too heavy. Following this, we were dished with Devil's Potato and CHAO Thai Grilled Fish. The devil's potato was just as apt as the title, a spicy dish with potato and topped with sesame seeds. Although not being a great fan of sea food, I decided to try the CHAO Thai Grilled Fish. I was told that the fish used was a Royal Basa. The fish tasted perfect. It was just rightly cooked with the right flavorings infused and made for a good and heavy starter. Following the grilled fish, the next starters to be presented were the Veg Dimsums, Wasabi Prawns, Chicken Dimsums and Devil's Chicken. To be honest I was not able to make out anything extraordinary in the Dimsums. I guess this could be because, Dimsums are very simple in nature and nothing can go wrong except for the wrapper which can at times be sticky. But both the veg and the non veg Dimsums at CHAO were excellent. Devil's Chicken was more on the lines with its vegetarian counter-part except for being a little too rubbery. This was the feeling amongst a few fellow CFGians too. Maybe the chicken was a tad over cooked or must have got a bit soggy in all the devil sauces. Coming to the star dish of the evening, the WASABI PRAWNS was truly an unique dish in its own ways. The prawns were coated evenly with the in-house special Wasabi sauce which is indeed a scaled down version of the original Wasabi sauce mixed with Mayonnaise. The plates kept getting emptied that more servings were being continuously ordered. This is in fact the Signature Dish at CHAO. True to its status, it is a must have. This was followed by a further 2 more starters, the Mushroom Pepper Salt and Satay Prawns. The Mushroom Pepper Salt was a bit high on the pepper quotient while the Satay Prawns were more of the grilled prawns kind. We couldn't really savor the taste of any more starters as the Wasabi prawns kept hitting us hard again and again. Post the starters, we were presented with an awesome serving of Green Mango Salad. The mango was sour enough to taste perfect with the dressing. Coming to the mains, the entourage was provided with 2 types of rice, viz. Jasmine Rice and Sambal Rice accompanied by a Thai Green Fish Curry, Singapore Bee Hoon, Basil Chicken and Cashew Garlic Garden Greens. For those wondering about Jasmine rice, it is a special preparation of white rice with an aroma of Jasmine infused in it. The Sambal rice was really nice with a great variation of spices with both high's and low's. The Thai Green Fish curry was outstanding. Take it from the words of someone who is probably having a Fish curry after a couple of years. Together with the Jasmine rice and the Sambal rice, the green curry was the perfect accompaniment. Though the taste was slightly modified to suit the Indian needs, it still tasted authentic to me. The Basil Chicken had a strong Basil flavor in it which dominated over the other flavorings in it. But the chicken was cooked better this time around in comparison to the Devil's Chicken. The Singapore Bee Hoon and Cashew Garlic Garden Greens were left to my fellow vegetable lovers to savour. I'm sure they tasted great too as I did not hear any negatives on them. Now coming to my favorite aspect of dining at a restaurant serving Thai cuisine, which is of course their desserts. CHAO had the usual desserts such as Tub Tim Grob, Fried Ice Cream, Dates Pancake with Ice Cream and so on. We were provided with Tub Tim Grob and an amazingly beautiful Pumpkin Custard with Coconut Ice Cream. The Tub Tim Grob tasted just like the usual one. It was kind of difficult for me to make out any impressive changes comparatively to those served at other Thai restaurants in Chennai. But what really stood out was their Pumpkin Custard with Coconut Ice Cream. In fact, orders for more servings kept flooding the kitchen as it was just amazing and out of the world. A few fellow CFGians were literally at arms when the last serving came out. Arms in hands with their cameras post which with the best weapon to one's gastronomy, the mighty spoon. The showcase overall presented us with an overview of the different cuisines served at CHAO and a look at some of their exceptional dishes like the WASABI PRAWNS and Pumpkin Custard with Coconut Ice-Cream. The place has wonderful decors and is an apt place for a proper fine dine experience. In relation to the price point, be prepared to pay for the amazing food plus the fascinating experience you are bound to encounter at CHAO. Written by Fazil Badrudeen. For more : http://http://www.foodinchennai.com/