Restaurant Review - Fusion 9

I remember my first dinner at Fusion 9. They had just opened then, and I remember thinking back then that I loved the look of the place, and the ambiance was just lovely.

When the food arrived, I remember how delicious the appetizers were - and I remember a small discussion I had with the maitre d' about the how there was no asparagus in my goat cheese and asparagus salad. The asparagus turned up on a little plate from the kitchen before the end of the appetizer course and all was well with the world. And then the entrees arrived. They were tasty, but didn't quite live up to the appetizer course. Slightly disappointed, I knew that everything would be okay once the desserts arrived. And boy, was I wrong! The desserts - every single one of them - were really, really bad. And I remember writing my feedback on their feedback card, and then watching as a small group of chefs gathered around it in the kitchen (they have a live kitchen), and read my comments card with disappointed looks and turned to look at me ever so often. I felt bad about it, but hey - you gotta call a spade a spade!

Last week, when I was invited by Chennai Food Guide to review Fusion 9, I really did look forward to it. I was sure that this time around, my experience would be very different. Hmmmm.

We were seated in a tastefully decorated private room. The walls and ceiling were embellished in gold, and there were some pretty lamps and candlesticks. The overall effect was lovely. The only jarring thing, IMHO, was the television. Personally, I don't like the idea of televisions in a restaurant, but I understand that some people might. What bothered me more than that was the choice of programming. They had TLC playing, which was bearable, as long as there were cooking shows on. But, when it was time for some travel programming, I felt I wasn't quite comfortable eating in a fine-dining setting, while watching bare-bodied men tackling each other and wrestling in streams of tomato juice on the streets of Spain. I don't know if it bothered any of the other diners. I have been called fussy.

Okay, I've rambled on enough. I'll be quick. We ordered. The food arrived. We dug in. Here are some of the appetizers.

What I ordered, the sushi (smoked salmon, tuna and crab sticks), was average. I was a little disappointed with the fillings. I honestly did not expect the tuna to be cooked.

The best appetizer, in my opinion, was the Iranian Joojeh kabab. I am not sure if that's really a dish from Iran, but it tasted pretty darn good. Juicy, flavorful morsels of chicken with a yummy sauce drizzled over the top. It was memorable. The Guloti Kababs were also quite tasty.

The Pepper chilli chicken fell short for me. It was tasty. But with pepper and chilli in the title, I expected a little heat. Nope. None whatsoever.

The Mezze platter was also okay. The tzatziki was quite yummy, but I wasn't overly impressed with the baba ganoush, the hummus or the falafels.

They also passed around some dimsum, which I was told was made with Japanese flavors. To my untrained palate, all I could taste was ginger, ginger and some more ginger. Not a fan!

The vegetarians at the table seemed to enjoy the funnily-named, Bang bang mushrooms, and the paneer kababs. I think the mushrooms were the favorite.

We also ordered a salad called the Pink Plate - salad leaves with smoked salmon, jumbo prawns and pink pepper corns. The best part of the pink plate was the smoked salmon. I've always been a smoked salmon fan. The prawns were well cooked, but lacked seasoning.

The company and conversation around the table was so good, that by the time we got done with our appetizers, I realized it was time for me to leave! How disappointing. I wish I had kept track of time, so I could have ordered my entree ahead of time. But I couldn't leave without dessert, now could I? I would have never forgiven myself. Also, I was keen on seeing if they would redeem themselves after the terrible desserts from my first time there.

I ordered the tiramisu and another reviewer (she had to leave too) ordered the baked cheesecake with a compote of forest berries.

The tiramisu was below average. The sponge was sorta dry and the creamy mascarpone lacked flavor.

 While the cheesecake tasted fine, I couldn't get over the taste of milk powder. It tasted really, really milky.

Even though I left early, I did hear from the other reviewers who got to eat main courses, and the consensus was that everything was okay. Favorites seem to be the Tenderloin steak and the Arabian platter for the meat eaters, and the Parmesan risottos & the Swiss potato for the vegetarians. The other desserts were also disappointing from what I heard - except the good ol' brownie and ice cream.

Overall, the place has good looks, some average-to-good starters and mains and below-average desserts. Thanks to Chennai Food Guide for organizing this review!

P.S. - Sorry about the sucky pictures! The lighting was so bad in the private dining room. This was the best this amateur could do. I really need to work harder on improving my photography. To do list: 1) Find house 2) Improve photography.

P. P.S. - The house-hunting continues. Will keep y'all posted! Thanks for everything!