If you have a taste for multi-cuisine menus, among the big names you are sure to find 'The Gem Restaurant' situated in Gopalapuram. This wonderful abode of food provides utmost satisfaction to the taste buds with the menu carrying a long list of Chettinad, Tandoori, Keralite, and Chinese delicacies.

As one enters the lobby, one notices the impressive velvet-coated furniture with a cute little 'tweety' table lamp. Once inside, you are greeted and escorted by friendly and polite stewards. As you glance through the menu card you are sure to be astonished for two reasons, one at the infinite variety of delicacies, and the other the reasonable price! This restaurant undertakes outdoor catering and also caters to the needs of the nearby customers through home delivery. It can accommodate up to a maximum of 50 people at a time. "We mostly have families and couples visiting us," said the Manager. "At times we do have the youth making their presence felt. We are open from 11 in the morning till midnight. We have a full house from 1:30 to 3:30 in the afternoon and again from 7:30 to 10:30 in the night, and that keeps us on our toes," he added. 

Gem restaurant is known for its Keralite dishes. The specialty of this restaurant is the 'Dragon' items - like, Dragon Chicken, Dragon Mutton, Dragon Prawns, etc. These items consist of a mixture of cashew, butter, Chinese noodles, etc. and are on the sweeter side. Isn't that surprising? They have a huge sale of chicken fry, which is made in typical Keralite style. And as for the vegetarians, they have a lot to choose from. But, the crispy fried vegetable dish is very popular. In the tandoori section, lip-smacking chicken tikka and chicken kebab can sure make your day. And that is not all; there is the fish tikka, paneer tikka, and the reshmi kebab that cost between Rs.70 and 90. 

In the Chinese section, chicken 'dopiaza' is quite well known. It is a cocktail of tomato, capsicum, onion added to the fried chicken, served with gravy. They also serve mutton bhartha costing about Rs.90 that is a must-eat delicacy. They have a wide variety of mutton and beef items too. Chettinad beef masala costing around Rs.65 tops the beef list. In the seafood category, 'Drunken prawns', made of white prawns cooked with mushrooms & spring onion and flavored with white sauce and Kerala fried prawns hits the counter, costing only Rs.110 and 125 respectively. Butter prawn masala and fish masala are the other favourites. 

As for biriyani and pulao rice, one cannot forget the taste easily and they cost between Rs.50 and 75. The fried rice segment carries veg., chicken, and mixed varieties. The cost ranges between Rs.45 and 75. A poultry segment comprises 'Hong-Kong' chicken, consisting of diced chicken, cooked with honey and Chinese spices sauced with red chillies. They have a wide range of authentic Chinese poultry. As for the noodles section, they serve Singapore noodles - vegetarian, chicken and mixed varieties. Chinese chow-men is a combo of sliced meat or sea-food of our choice with sliced vegetables cooked in Cantonese white sauce served with pan-fried noodles at Rs.75.

That's not all; they also serve a variety of desserts and beverages. But this is no place for smoking or liquor! 

The restaurant is located at:
274-Peters Road,
Gopalapuram,
Chennai - 600 086.
Ph: 8586950

Reported by Ezekiels

Published on 19^th July 2002