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REVIEW
OF TYCOON |
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Our choices for dinner ranged from multiple vegetarian and non-vegetarian appetizers ("Kabab Malai Tikka") and soups (including Tom Yum and tomato egg drop-an unfamiliar hybrid we declined to try), through various Chinese, Indian ("Jhinga Masala," "Chicken Sagwalla," and "Dal Makkhani" among others) and "Euro-American" entrees (the last, encompassing offerings such as a "London House Grill" and Ravioli Florentine, served with a choice of salad, baked potato or French fries), to a nice selection of deserts. No alcohol is served on the premises. When faced with a menu of such mind-boggling variety one tends to suspect that a restaurant's grasp exceeds its reach. One further hesitates to partake of this bounty when the menu is a poorly photocopied and contains multiple spelling errors. It may be possible to prepare a dish well without being able to spell its name but such infelicities do not inspire much confidence in the chef's abilities.
The restaurant is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for dinner from 7
p.m. to 11 p.m. We went there for dinner rather late and found the place well staffed and pleasantly uncrowded. We attempted a representative sample of dishes. The evening got off to an auspicious start with the "Chicken Hot & Sour" soup (Rs. 27), which was flavourful and spicy and hit the spot nicely. We followed this with the "Seafood Sizzler, Chinese Style" (Rs. 145). It is not clear if a Chinese chef would accept responsibility for this dish but it did taste delicious. It supposedly contained prawns and boneless pieces of fish. However these items appeared to have been batter-coated and fried before being doused in a spicy sauce. The fish could not be told from the prawns and the dish was so rich that our cholesterol levels have probably doubled for life. Nevertheless, the dish sizzled in more ways than one and we enjoyed it. It was served with some vegetable fried rice that was surprisingly light and equally tasty. Let us add though that, with a little effort in the kitchen, the sizzler's artery clogging potential could probably be easily tamed without The two dishes that came next, "Gobi Masala" (Rs.50) and "Vegetable Mehbooba" (Rs. 60) were virtually indistinguishable and sadly undistinguished. Though eaten with some well made Tandoori and Roomali rotis from the good selection of breads on offer, nothing could conceal the fact that a generic gravy of the sort served up in seedy Moghlai restaurants had been used to smother some rather tasteless ingredients. All in all, an exercise in staggering banality. For desert we tried the Kesar Rasmalai (Rs. 18) which proved to be an excellent, if not particularly heart-healthy choice. We washed all of it down with some serviceable tea. The service, courteous without being obsequious, was superb. It was provided by the captain, Mr. Murali, who was willing to make some considered recommendations, and our waiter, Govind. This curate's egg of an evening, good in parts, was delivered in a setting of similarly mixed quality. The tables were well laid with tablecloths and linen napkins. The decor was more than passable if strangely schizophrenic in its attempt to match the scope of the cuisine. The music, a little too loud and much too uninspired, could be made much more appropriate. This is a place we would like to see succeed and in this spirit we offer a few recommendations: trim the range of the offerings, go easy on the fats and oils, if your ingredients are genuinely good allow them to express themselves (a dish ought to be more than its gravy), make the actual menu less tacky, and play music that is as tasteful as you would like your restaurant to be. We would like to imagine that the eponymous tycoon is not one of the coarse nouveau riche.
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Tycoon Multi-Cuisine Restaurant |
One of the more recent arrivals on Vizag's dining scene, Tycoon is well located and has a facade that makes it hard to miss. This restaurant describes
itself as "multi-cuisine" and its menu certainly makes a deep if unconvincing bow in that direction.