Review: China XO at The Leela Palace, Chennai

I first got to know about China XO from the chef working at Leela when it had just opened. Later, a friend told me about it and my family and I decided to visit it. The authentic decoration and ambiance of the restaurant gave me the impression that I was in a quiet restaurant in Beijing. Our waitress showed us our table, and gave us the menu.

The selection of food was extremely scrupulous. They had a brief vignette of the Chinese cuisine followed by an intricate description of dishes they were offering in each course. For appetisers, we ordered a Dumpling Clear Soup; 3-style Dim-sums- mushroom, vegetable rice paper rolls, and edamame; and a Barbecue Soy Chicken. 
The portions were adequate, the food was made from fresh ingredients. 

For mains, we ordered a Mapo Tofu, Golden Fried Rice and Noodles. The tofu was soft and prepared in a well flavoured sauce. The rice was sticky enough to be eaten with chopsticks, but not too sticky and the chef had allowed only gentle flavours to come through to it during its preparation. The noodles, however, were a bit of a disappointment. The garlic was overpowering the noodles and it left a strange taste on the palate.

We skipped dessert that day. 

All in all, it was a good experience. The food was scrumptious and carefully prepared, the ambience was great and the restaurant had helpful staff.

Sunsets

Each of us needs some time to ourselves, irrespective of whether we're an introvert or an extrovert. I love being with people: I like listening to their stories and their day's agenda; however, I also need some 'alone' time- maybe just an hour everyday. I use this time to brood over my choices, and really, just think. 

Many a time I have found myself on my terrace, just walking with my earphones plugged in. I forget the world for a while on these walks and just think. I think about what I've been doing, or what I'm deciding to do; I think about what my masterpiece would be if I become an artist, or if Stephen Hawking will be able to confirm his theory of black holes proving that time travel exists. 

But the one thing that I always think about is the sunset. Most of the time, our busy schedules keep us from really appreciating sunsets. I make it a point to never miss a sunset unless it is absolutely imperative. Looking at the sunset reminds me of our vegetable existence: we get so worked up about the smallest of things. 

An author once described the beauty of a sunset in her book. She wrote about how every sunset is different and I completely agree with her.

The sunset. This is the view from my terrace.

I know and understand the science behind the occurrence of a sunset- the earth's rotation causes a sunset, and the sky turns pink, red, purple and orange because of the refraction of sunlight through the layers of the atmosphere. However, every time I look at a sunset, I feel like there is something much bigger at play- something that a mere human being won't understand. But it gives me clarity, serenity and peace. And I'm happy that it does.