The newly-opened Tamra at Shangri-la brings the best of the world at one place and is a seafood lover’s delight
A live teppanyaki counter with cold cuts, ready-to-eat dimsums neatly placed in cane baskets, a man efficiently tossing mutton in the pan and a sushi platter — Shangri-la’s newly-opened restaurant Tamra looks like a sophisticated street food market. But fortunately it is much more than that. With five live counters and an exotic collection of wines and champagne, this multi-cuisine restaurant is a delight for foodies especially those who thrive on seafood.
The restaurant works on a “world on a platter concept”. Situated on the first floor looking over a lush-green landscape of the hotel garden and the busy roads, Tamra derives its name from the copper vessels used for making food in early ages when the evolution of the culinary art had just begun. The restaurant also replaces the earlier 19 Oriental Avenue and is the first in the lot of restaurants to be rebranded at the hotel.
From a lowly lit and fine dining dinner spot, the restaurant has resurrected with a new identity and a new look. As the colours of the walls give a cooling effect to the place, the quirky elements of rolling pins strapped onto leather ropes near the European counter, a canopy of rustic timber overhead the Indian and Japanese sections and colourful tiles paired with bulkhead ceilings at the Indian and Pan Asian corner offer an ambience which is one of its kind.
The food nonetheless fits the ambience perfectly. When one sees such a varied buffet in front of them, they may get confused as to what to have but we managed to get the right things at the right time thanks to their uncluttered menu. They had precise dishes under each cuisine and each more delectable than the other.
Being ardent lovers of seafood, we started with sushi and cold cuts. While the California rolls were better than expected, leaving its tangy aftertaste, the salmon nigri was just the perfect thing to have on a sushi platter. The crab meat in the sushi was also well cooked.
From crabs and prawns to lobsters shrimps and clams, all were presented on the teppanyaki counter with their outer shells on it. The skin prevented the meat inside from losing its flavour. In other cuisines, dimsums were delicate and flavoursome, but nothing exceptional and their Indian tikkas were conventional and well-cooked.
In the main course, the restaurant offers a range of steaks and grills along with a series of European delicacies. The Pan Asian section has plenty of options. Their Thai chicken croquetta is the best. least said, nothing beats the dessert at most places. At Tamra, it’s not just good, it’s sinful. One needs patience to enjoy one of the best things on their dessert menu — Tamra chocolate. It is a chocolate ball with mousse inside, seated on a bed of brownie and hard chocolate.
The chef poured hot chocolate mixed with caramel on the ball and it melted right along its circumference into the plate producing a delightful pudding. Irrespective of what you eat, step out of your buffet and order this dish, it is worth each penny you spend.