Thursday, August 23, 2007

Rasam, Purashawalkam, Chennai

Rasam, is the name of a new (not so new now) restaurant started by Sri Krishna Sweets. Rasam serves food from the land called Kongu Nadu. Ok, i too was a little flabbergasted when i heard the name first, not knowing the history or geography of Kongu. The hyperlink will take you to wikipedia which has all the information you may want to know about Kongu Nadu, or the land of the Gounders.

Some of the items that were on the menu, is something you are so used to, that you dont realize where they came from. Of course to most food lovers, the history of the food and its origins are so inconsequential compared to the joy of just tasting and eating the food itself. The restaurant and the decor inside reminds you of an old home, complete with furniture and art pieces.

We landed up there on a later thursday evening, to a crowded joint. We were greeted very politely and asked to wait in a spacious waiting area, with magazines and stuff to keep you occupied. Well, the only thing on our minds was food. We didnt have to wait very long. Smiling faces amongst the well groomed staff, helped a lot, in maintaining your peace as we waited for our turn.

The ordering was tough. The food is all vegetarian. But there a huge number of choices, that it was tough to decide which to try. And i think i will not be doing justice if i tried to list the options i tried. Everything we ordered, we wiped it clean of the serving plate. We picked a bunch of appetizers, and a couple of main course items, so that we got a sampling of the menu. But yet, i think, we didnt do justice. I intend to go back again. Soon.

The only downside, is the bathroom, not the wash room. The bathroom, toilet, loo or restroom, what ever you want to call it, was hidden away in the back, by the staff quarters. I am not sure why they didnt think it was important to keep one where patrons could access it easily. Now as to why, i wanted to use it so urgently? Well, with two kids, its tough to predict when they choose to use these services, usually its when it most difficult to access or find.

1 comment:

Lalitha said...

I went to Rasam (Ashok Pillar, Chennai) recently (01-06-2010) for dinner. I had ordered some dishes. While waiting for our order to come, I saw a cockroach on the table. I informed one of the waiters and he didn't bother. I informed another two of them and finally the person who took our orders came and told me that they had carried out the disinfection process the previous day. If it were so, why should cockroaches be there 24hours later? What a lie ... or, is this how disinfection is carried out? I had planned to go to another restaurant nearby (Hotel Saravana Bhavan). I had chosen Rasam only because of the reviews in the papers and the trust I had on SKS. What good is TASTE when HYGIENE is neglected ? And why tell a lie ? By telling a lie, you lose the trust we have on you. Are the SKS shops too as unhygienic as the restaurant ?