A visit to Turning Point is a new experience in restauranting, for it offers three restaurants, a coffee-shop, a play-pen for children, a gymnasium equipped with sauna and jacuzzi, and a snooker parlour. The twenty-four-hour coffee shop, Cofi Garden, is the centre of this rooftop complex. It occupies a large area of the roof, and gives a view of Adyar Junction and the long, curving sweep of the new fly-over. It serves Indian and Continental snacks; in the morning one can breakfast on corn flakes, dosa and orange juice while reading the newspaper or a magazine. One is inclined to relax here, as it is spacious and the comfortable cane chairs invite one to stretch out.

The three restaurants - Shanxi for Chinese, Under One Roof for Indian-and-Continental food, and Kebab Korner for Tandoori - and play pen are placed around Cofi garden, and the gym and snooker parlour are on the lower floor. The first stop for families with young children is the play pen, Kids, Kids & Kids, a cheery, thickly-carpeted, air-conditioned retreat with lots of soft toys and a television that is permanently tuned into a cartoon channel. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that children take an immediate liking to it and look forward to visiting it again. On weekends a nanny watches over the children and on weekdays a member of the staff - sometimes even the Managing Director, Ravi Shankar - is entrusted with this duty.

Ravi Shankar, an exporter who has travelled widely, is glad to talk about this, his first venture into the restaurant business. I got the idea from restaurants I saw in other parts of the world,' he says frankly. He and Ranjana, one of the other four directors of Turning Point Foods and Entertainment Limited, have designed the entire complex, drawing from ideas they liked in other places. This is evident from the stained glass door panels and the wooden bridge that leads into 'Under One Roof'. However, one feels that they have tried to mix and match too many good ideas in Cofi Garden, which has the eye-catching bridge, a multi-coloured glass paned ceiling, large oil-on-canvas paintings and bright, backlit Pepsi displays.

They have paid great attention to service and hygiene as well. Their staff members might not have attended catering colleges, but make up for their lack of training with their whole-hearted efforts at pleasing their customers. The key question that each of them had to answer to Ravi¹s satisfaction before being hired, was 'Can you be a family man?'. Ravi often demonstrates what being 'a family man' means to him. When the waiters are busy serving a full house he is not above picking up a tray and serving customers himself. He makes it a point to show new customers around the complex. His personal mobile-phone number is made known to his regular customers, so that, before leaving home or while they are in transit, they can reserve tables or even make out an order that they want served immediately on their arrival.

Turning Point serves only mineral water, at no extra charge. It does not serve food that has been precooked and is then reheated quickly when ordered. Food is cooked only after the order is taken. As a result the service may be slow, but diners can be sure that their food has been cooked fresh. Also, calorie and cholesterol watchers will be glad to know that the cooks are instructed to use a minimum of oil and ghee. The restaurants are compact and bright, and each has its own kitchen, so diners will not find a stray noodle in the Palak Panneer. Kebab Korner has the most interesting interiors; imitation lanterns hang from the ceiling, and the furniture consists of modas and low tables. The food is generally up to the mark, but for a few exceptions; for instance, the naan and meat, which are not as soft as they could be. Otherwise the servings are more than ample and fairly tasty, especially Dum Aloo Banarasi and Fish Irani. 

Tandoori and Indian vegetarian dishes cost around Rs.60 each, the meat dishes from Rs.70 to Rs.135, Vegetable Pulao Rs.35 and Hyderabadi Mutton Biriyani Rs. 135. The Chinese soups and starters cost between Rs.50 and Rs.75, and there are a wide variety of main courses; Chicken with mushrooms or sesame oil or green peppers or asparagus (Rs.90), Beef (Rs.75), Pork (Rs.85) Lamb (Rs.110) and seafood. The exotic dishes are Tandoori Lobster (Rs.250) and Jumbo Prawns (Rs.350), Chinese Squid, Cuttlefish and Crab (Rs.110 each). The restaurants serve only their own speciality cuisines, but diners are free to shift from one restaurant to another, if they wish for more than one cuisine. Smoking is allowed throughout the complex, except at "Under One Roof.

There are special membership schemes open for individuals, couples and corporate houses, that offer discounted prices on food and beverages and free time at the 18-station gymnasium and snooker parlour. There is also a private VIP Lounge that celebrities can use. Car owners can avail of valet parking, but two-wheeler owners may have to hunt for legal parking space. Is this the future of restauranting? In this market-oriented era, in which the customer is coming to be recognised as an important personage, if not as King, the focus is on providing service that is meaningful and tangible. Turning Point demonstrates how this can be done, and done well. Will others be encouraged to follow this lead? Will we, in the near future, walk into Park Sheraton and find The Atrium Lounge converted into a play pen, with fresh-faced young catering college graduates baby-sitting the toddlers, leaving the parents free to indulge themselves in the restaurants or at Gatsby 2000? Perhaps nothing quite so drastic will be necessary; perhaps something simple and direct will win the consumer¹s love and loyalty. Every new customer at Turning Point is asked to fill out a OComment form and to list address, birthdays and anniversary dates. When those dates arrive the customer can expect to get a card from Turning Point carrying a greeting appropriate to the occasion as well as a discount offer on all expenses incurred (partying?) at the complex that day and over the next two weeks! So now let us enjoy our Turning Point!

Turning Point is at OPadmini, 37/1, 1st Main Road, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, Chennai 600 020, Telephone 490-8704 / 6/7, e-mail address turpnt@md4.vsnl.net.in.

Cofi Garden is open for 24 hours on weekends, and the restaurants from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m., and from 7 p.m. till midnight.

The gymnasium is open from 5:30 a.m. onwards, with a special Ladies¹ Time from 9:30 a.m. till 3:30 p.m., and the snooker parlour from 11 a.m. till midnight.

Arun Masilamoni

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