Chennai Xpress @ Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur

One of my friends had always been urging me to try out this restaurant called Chennai Xpress which is located along Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and since we were in the vicinity this afternoon, we decided to do lunch here. The place wasn't difficult to find as I am quite familiar with this area. This restaurant is located on the ground floor of Viva Residency which is a condominium. The first two levels of this building are solely retail space and they have taken up one of the units there and it is quite a nice place I would say. Parking is easy as one could park inside the condominium and there are bays which are reserved for these retail customers. Besides that, you get more parking on the rear side which is where Tasty Chapati Restaurant is located, which is also part of this very same building. 

The Restaurant in Viva Residency

Indoor Air-conditioned Dining Space

Outdoor Dining Space is Available Too

The restaurant isn't a large one. Indoor and outdoor seating areas are available and in total, perhaps there would have been around twelve tables. They had a very extensive menu covering vegetarian and non vegetarian items. Apologies as I can't share the menu photographs here as somehow they had gone corrupt. Since we were vegetarians today, our focus were specifically on those pages in the menu and truly they had some remarkable dishes that I would only expect to find in Tamil Nadu. All their staffs and cook are from Tamil Nadu as well. Initially we had some communication issues as the staff couldn't really explain but then we managed it somehow. Otherwise, they were quite efficient. 

Banana Leaf Saapadu (Meal) @ RM 7.90

This Thali Meal Set is definitely a steal for the price of RM 7.90 . Just look at the spread. Rice, Urgai (Pickled Lemon), Moor Milagai, Podi, Papadam, Raddish, Peanuts Aviyal, Beetroot, Rasam, Vegetable Kulambu, Sambar, Moor, Payasam and Lemon Rice, all for just RM 7.90 . 

Radish

Peanut Aviyal

Beetroot

Even the choice of veggies served were not the usual cabbage and cucumber and these are pricey items. It's good to see such veggies being served and that too cooked in ways that we don't usual come across in Malaysia and they tasted great.

Vegetable Kulambu and Sambar

Rasam

Moor

As for the curries, Vegetable Kulambu (Gravy) and Sambar were provided. Both were tasty. Rasam was quite good as well and they even went to the extent of including some Moor in the set. 

Payasam

And to finish off the meal, there was some Payasam as well. This isn't the Tamil style Payasam, more like the Kerala style and it was very good. Not too sweet and just nice. 

Lemon Rice

As part of the same set for starters, they had provided some Lemon Rice. For Malaysian standards, this was good but I have tasted better ones in Tamil Nadu. As a complete meal set, the spread was amazing and the taste was good. I would rate this set at 8/10.

Gramathu Kootanchoor @ RM 5.40

Sambar Satham

Here they have named this Sambar Satham as Gramathu Koottanchoor, perhaps just to give it a hint of nativity. Quite a huge portion and it came with some Peanut Avial. I am a huge fan of this dish and honestly, I didn't totally enjoy it here. Everything was okay but a little more ghee would have been ideal. Good but nothing close to the ones that I have had in India. Somehow I expected the same quality as the spices as well as the chefs in this restaurant are from Tamil Nadu. Maybe my expectations were a little high. I would perhaps give this a 7/10. 

Aloo Paratha @ RM 3.90 each

Aloo Paratha is bread stuffed with potatoes and this is another favourite of mine being a potato lover. It was priced at RM 3.90 each and in that basket above, there are two slices. Nothing to complain price wise and the size looked decent. However, the taste wasn't up to the mark. One of the reasons could be because the bread was overdone and charred on the sides and another thing that I felt was the potatoes weren't spiced sufficiently. Nah, wasn't that great and as such, I'd give this a 6/10.

Dhall Tadka @ RM 6.20

This Dhall Tadka was mainly for the Aloo Paratha and trust me, it was the saviour. Excellent would be the right word to use for this dish. Everything was so perfect and there's nothing that I can complain about. This deserves a 10/10.

Kumbakonam Degree Coffee @ RM 3.50

Bru Coffee @ RM 3.50

Their Kumbakonam Degree Coffee was super good. The exact same taste that I was expecting. And their Bru Coffee was good as well. I would highly recommend the Kumbakonam Degree Coffee and give this a rating of 10/10. The Bru Coffee would score a 9/10 from me. 

Jil Jil Jigarthanda @ RM 6.20

Jil Jil Jigarthanda is another favourite of mine which originates from the city of Madurai, India. It's priced at RM 6.20 here but I wouldn't complain even if it is meant to be a poor man's desert in India as it was so good. Another one that I would highly recommend and I would give this a 10/10. 

Based on the food items that we tried today, I am only partially satisfied. Some were exceptionally good and some were just okay. Maybe I should come another day and give their non vegetarian dishes a try. 

Address: Lot A-2-3A, Viva Shop Lot, No. 378 Jalan Ipoh, 51200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200 Daily

Telephone: +603 4051 1132