Idli & Dosa, Satyam Cinema, Royapettah, Chennai

Idli & Dosa, or ID, as their funny logo shows, is a only-Veg restaurant right inside the Satyam Cinema complex. Satyam Cinema has been revolutionizing the concept of cinema going in Chennai for sometime, and this restaurant (not exactly new, now) is one such enhancement.

As you enter in, you can soak in some classy decor and bar stools. Yes bar stools around the chef's work area, so you can see him cook up some dosa, idli or vada etc. Watching fresh dosa being made, is not new, but bar stools surely are. The regular tables and chairs are different too. The seating chairs had wheels, and so they moved around easily. It also provided some avenue to spend time, while waiting for your food to arrive. The table was already served. Your plates (steel ones) were already laid out, and so you could immediately serve yourself some chutney and start licking your fingers. Although i first mistook these plates to be place-mats or some fancy holder for the food tray to arrive, and did have some misgivings about eating from it. The host arrived quickly and pulled out the menu card from his back pocket. Neat little menu cards, with limited options too, and moderately priced. What i didnt notice, until a little later, was that it could be used to place orders too.

The food took a tad bit longer than expected, but not long enough to kill us. But the best surprise was in store only on arrival of the food. I ordered plain dosa, and also munched down a keerai vada waiting for my dosa to show up. The other order from our table was idli. The keerai vada, was at best oily, very crisp or rather should i say hard. It tasted very mediocre. The dosa was a big bore too. The chutneys white (coconut), red (onion) and green (coriander/mint) didnt add major flavour either. If it werent for the sambar, i would have left the place disgusted.  I also ordered filter coffee, which came in a fancy cup, and was again just barely decent.

The experience was at best average, altho the ambiance did soak in nicely. I particulalry like a backdrop picture showing the different phases of the moon, using a rava idli. The waiters were attentive and quite courteous, although at times, they were lost, a case of too many chasing around few seated tables. So while it was nice that you could call out to anybody, lack of one dedicated person to your table, did reduce the personal touch.

On the whole, i would give it a pass, but wouldn't hesitate to try it, if i ever were to come out of a movie famished and starved. Considering that we down large popcorn bucket, puffs and sandwiches at most movie outings, i would think that this would be a rather rare occurrence. And then again, HSB's Swathi is just around the corner.

Vrindavan, New Woodlands, Chennai

This is not new, its been there for ages. This is one of the restaurants inside the New Woodlands Hotel, on Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai. This is their attempt to 'up the scale', i guess more on the monetary side, than on the service side. The restaurant is a multi-cusine vegetarian restaurant, and is also 'Jain food' friendly. I have been to this hotel a million times, but 99 times of a hundred it is to the faster 'south indian restaurant' now called Krishna Restaurant. The visit to the Vrindavan side is only when there are special 'guests' in the party, or if the other side is packed.

Food is not a problem here. It was never a problem with this or the other restaurant in New Woodlands. In fact, the name 'woodlands' has become quite generic, and i have not been disappointed visiting one of these copies or originals or branches (i dont think they are branches, but more like within the family or something like that !!, i dont know and so no judgement regarding that). It appears that if you name something woodlands, the food is decent to good.

The service on the other side is somewhere between indifferent to decent. It appears to be a common trait with all restaurants in India. It is difficult to get good quality service. This place wasnt so bad, but, i am sure there is scope to improve. We ordered Idly, Dosa (couple of different varities) and then later coffee. Well, if you go to a Woodlands, get the Idly and Dosa, not the noodles and roti/naan etc. Straying from this mantra is asking for unnecessary trouble. Not that it will suck, but hey, if you wanted roti/naan, go to a dabha. Yeah, except its difficult to find a vegetarian dabha.

I am sure they share kitchens at this hotel, because i couldnt find any spectacular difference in taste. They all tasted just as good. One thing that stands out, and caught my fancy, while sitting and eating, is the decor. There are some beautiful painting or pictures, primarily based on Krishna, but also mainly keeping with the theme of Vrindavan. I snapped the picture on the right, a long while ago using a camera phone. The reddish tinge, was because of the limited lighting inside.

One other comment about the Woodlands place, is the bathrooms. It is common to all the restaurants, and it is kept quite clean. There is a guy also standing there, watching like a hawk for split water etc., and cleaning it up fast and regularly. For that purpose alone, it is worth repeat visits. While this is great, the parking can be crazy when the marriage halls are full. So good to avoid the place when the marriage season is in full swing.

Ratna Cafe, T Nagar, Chennai

This is not the first visit to Ratna Cafe. I have been to original in Triplicane, as well as to this one in T Nagar before. While i did rave about the sambar-idly combo before, this time around, we were served a watered down version. It was clear, just as the clear liquid floating, when the sambar was presented in a sitting cup.

The ambience has deteriorated since my last visit a few years ago, when it was fairly new. The service too seems have become poorer since then. There wasnt any exceptional crowd in the A/C dining room upstairs, to warrant this bad service. The food was decent, if you were to excuse the sambar. The server did bring in some fresh can of sambar (this is the trademark dispensing dish), but it was not a major improvement. I think the sambar of the day was a disaster.

We may not visit this place again. Rather try the location in Velachery or probably brave the visit to original.

Osteria, Deccan Plaza, Royapettah, Chennai

This is vegetarian season, that is because of the Sabarimala mandalam time. And so there is frantic effort to constrain ourselves to Veggie places in the city. This in itself might throw people off. What looking for a veggie place in Chennai ? Well, yes, but it should not be a dosa idly place !!

Anyway back to Osteria. A recent article in The Hindu about a dosa festival let us to the Deccan Plaza Hotel. Only to find out that the Dosa buffet actually closes at 6:30 !! So not wanting to hit the streets, we walked across the lobby to Osteria, a vegetarian Italian dinning experience.

We were welcomed very warmly, considering that there was only one other patron seated inside. Jokes apart, the people were very friendly and even brought some popcorn to the table, because my kid had seen it inside. It is normally only served as sides when you order a drink. Hunger in the stomach, lead us to order fast. An appetizer, a salad and main courses.

Hummus was our choice. Dont ask me why. When i saw it, i felt like it. The salad was regular salad with ceaser dressing. The pasta was penne pasta with red sauce and a lazagna (with a request to hold zucchini). Soon, they delivered a loaf of hot garlic bread. Soft and succulent, it melted as you chewed on it. The hummus and salad arrived, both decent, but with no major shakes to talk about. I guess that was only because it paled in comparison (from a story view) on what was to follow.

The penne pasta arrived, hot and steaming, done very well and was quickly dished out to all of us. The sauce was well done and had coated the pasta well, making it a very nice and tasty meal. I was pleasantly surprised by this pasta meal. I guess that answers the expensive price tags. Authentic cooking or good chefs can be expensive. But the experience so far was shattered by the lasagna. I guess since we said 'no zucchini', we were to be punished.

The lasagna was filled with stuff, that included peas. But the taste was killing, the cheese (forget the name), was so pungent and sour that it immediately was rejected by all, except me. Well i am a fan of things sour, buttermilk, puliyodharai, sambar etc. Talking about sambar, this lasagna was close to sambar rice, or maybe we can call it sambar pasta with cheese. The veggie filling in between broken strips of pasta felt like you were eating some mashed sambar rice. Inspite of the pungent flavour, i did manage to take a couple of helpings (small tho'). But this would be on our avoid list in the future.

Not wanting to leave with a bad taste, we ordered chocolate cake, over tiramisu. And we were not to be disappointed.

To sum it all, it was a pleasant experience, a tad bit on the expensive side. The expensive part didnt reflect in portions, presentation, decor or otherwise. It however was served with a pleasing smile and friendly people. I must however, caution, that the restaurant was quite empty and not sure if the same experience can be expected under the duress of a full crowd.

Malgudi, Savera Hotel, Royapettah, Chennai

Malgudi is one of the restaurants within Savera Hotel. I dont recall, when i first visited this place, or when they actually carved out or created this restaurant inside. But, i have been here many times and pretty impressed with their food selection. Malgudi is a smaller and lesser expensive version of Dakshin (located within the Park Sheraton). Malgudi offers a collection of vegetarian and non-veg food delicacies from south india. If you open the menu, you can choose from food from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The best bet is the thali, again you can chose from veg/non-veg. This gives you a quick tour of the food from these places. But if you want to pick and choose and soothe a specific hunger or taste, then feel free to flip through the menu and take a leap. The non-veg dishes compare decently to the restaurants that specialize in one cuisine. Most of the time, i have chosen the thali, many times the non-veg, and few times the veg. Their dosa and appam that comes with this thali is recommended. And you can eat as much as you want. The only problem with the thali format is that, you are served dishes in a particular order. You must specifically request them to bring dishes out of order.

They give you some free starters, vadams with different chutneys. But then you will really have to be on a strict diet, to pass up on the soft mangalore bondas. They also have a selection of delicacies that are more the home cooked variety than usually available in restaurants. Trust me, i could give you a list, but a visit is much better experience.

Their service could improve. They try, but at times, a lot of people are around, but not necessarily paying enough attention. This is true of most hotels and restaurants in Chennai and India.

To add to the experience they also have a 'killi jotsyam' and/or 'kai jotsyam'. So, if you miss these interesting diversions and fortune tellers of yesteryear, you can experience it here at Malgudi. Now it would have been complete, if they also had the 'boom boom maadu'.

BR Matsya, TNagar, Chennai

Something new, something not talked about much in the press or web so far. I think the restaurant has been around for sometime, as in atleast a few months, or maybe even about a year. I read about it somewhere, i dont completely recall, but i never did locate it before. The road it is located on, Thanickachalam Rd, is one of the less traveled, atleast for me, cause it leads to the busy intersection at Pondy Bazar.

It was by happenstance that i located it. And yesterday, saturday, when my better half, chooses to vegetate (i mean eat vegetarian only), i chose this over the many other options. And no disappointment there, it was a clear winner. The ambiance, the service and the food, all rolled in together to create a pleasurable experience.

They had wide variety of choices. The most tempting as is usual when it is available, was the dinner buffet. "its only 199 sir", said the host, as he tried to lure us towards this option. If it werent for a heavy lunch, it would have been a no brainer. But the spirits decided otherwise, as were to taste the choice of offerings on the menu, 'a la carte'.

As i said, a quick read of the menu, showed there is so much more to vegetarianism, than just thayir sadam and idly/dosa. Each menu item read better than the other, and there were even some pictures to help you, in case you had a doubt about the label used. Mexican, Pasta, some italian, fries and such, punjabi, chat, and the regular udipi variety.

Well, i was here for the udipi fare today. And so, it was Manglore Bonda, Kara Uppu Puli Dosa for me. The rest of the family went with some staid fare, wife and mom-in-law deciding to eat lite, and my kids, food is just a method to pacify their parents, so that we can go to bed easy. It doesnt really matter, they really like nothing specific, and most everything mashed or mixed together looks and tastes almost the same. But yesterday, my son chose the Fried Panneer, to which he has taken to liking recently.

Manglore bonda arrived first, along with the Fried Panneer. Must tell you know that we had a pleasing chappy who was waiting on us. Indian service in India is much better when compared to the same indian service dished out in desi restaurants in the US, one must wonder if it is something to do with visa and bonded labour. The Manglore Bonda was a tad bit small, small tiny balls, but had the same great taste all the same. The chutneys offered was nothing much to write about.
But the Panneer, was just out of the world. We have tasted this dish in about 2 or 3 forms, thanks to my son's insistence at the dinner table. This was by far, the best we had tasted ever. It wasnt dry, a bit of gravy. The panneer was the best, nice and firm, but still chewy, and nicely fried, but not oily. The gravy managed to coat itself well around each block of panneer. Both these items were quickly vanishing from the table.

Just before we reached a point where we may have had to wait around twiddling thumbs, came the idly for my wife and the Kara Uppu Puli dosai. Idly, a bit i tasted was great as usual, which anyway is a dish difficult to screw up. But the Kara Uppu Puli dosai, was out of the world. It had all the three ingredients as advertised in its name. But the sambhar that came along with it, seemed to dent accolades that would have been solely poured out on the dosai. The sambhar was so tasty that i had to ask for extra serving.

Now, what remained was the rest of the menu. Well, it will have to wait for another trip. And since we have now added this to the list of officially certified and must-visit places, it could be as early as next saturday. 'Cause there's a lot to offer on the menu.

The visit is not complete without a few words on the ambiance. As you enter, on the left is a children play area. Enough to entice parent to make repeat visits. But what will catch your eye, is the intricate glass painting of the Matsya Avataram. A beautiful representation in itself, the artist had also paid a lot of attention to detail. Walk inside the restaurant, its clean, spacey, and nicely chilled. You are again treated to more artwork, this time, it is intricate carvings on wood. It forms the outer frame around a Balaji and Padmavati tanjore style painting. Since we were already seated, couldnt spend time admiring this work. But from where we sat, it looked imposing.

Raaj Bhavan, Nungambakkam, Chennai, India

Raaj Bhavan is located at the major intersection in Nungambakkam, where Village Road and Nungambakkam High Rd meets. It used to be haunt for me, thanks to the easy access from the sterling road, bus stand. Even after starting work at NIIT on college rd, and the opening of Nagas (closed since then, and now some Sangeeta), Raaj Bhavan was a place to meet and eat, when the budgets were low.

Since moving out of the area, i havent visited the real Raaj Bhavan. They do have a section on top, where they serve stuff in an air-conditioned environment. Unfortunately since they serve stuff thats not in their domain (idly dosa etc), its better to skip these. Downstairs on the other hand is probably best now only for an early morning weekend visit, because the place is crowded with office going staff, like me. Except that i am now, never hitting a restaurant for weekday breakfast or lunch.

Their claim to fame if any, was again sambar. When i used to eat there, i remember that they had one of the better tasting sambars. I, off course, hadnt tasted the Ratna Cafe sambar. So now the reasons to eat here is even less, when you think of the one thing that would draw you to it. Also in my recent visit to the more 'posh' looking upstairs, left me very displeased. The place has been neglected and requires a lot of maintenance. The food is still very decent, but i think it safe to pass, considering there are other options in the city today.

Its sad, when you think of the possibilities this place had, and the start. Most important of it all, like they say in the restaurant business, location. Its quite possible that this place is raking in the moolah, and the management couldnt care less about spending additional money in its upkeep. Today the real estate price for this location will be way higher that the business potential of the current restaurant.

Ratna Cafe, Triplicane, Chennai, India

Name: Ratna Cafe
Address: Triplicane
Location: Chennai (madras), India

Ratna Cafe, a small restaurant located in Triplicane or Thiruvallikeni, in Chennai, very close to the Sri Parthasarathy Temple, Chepauk Stadium and the Triplicane Mosque. It has now opened branches in a couple of locations in the city, banking on its name and idly/sambar fame.

Ratna Cafe is a regular 'udipi' style restaurant, and serves all the regulars, dosa, rava dosa, poori, pongal etc. But its claim to fame is the sambar and thats what will linger in your mouth and mind, after you dine there. The sambar is one of the best i have ever tasted, and they will simply pour it on. They are not shy or stingy about their sambar.

There is little or no parking anywhere near the original Ratna Cafe. And the best time is to go early in the morning for a breakfast. Considering the busy and congested location, it then becomes a weekend eatout place. We visit Ratna Cafe after a trip to the temple. We parked car at the temple and took an auto (because we didnt know the exact location), but it is also not a small distance, but can be good for a stroll after the heavy meal you are going to have.

With all the branches opened in the city, i still think the original is the best. Although the ambiance may not as good as the branches. But the original also hosts a airconditioned dining room, in case you prefer to take refuge from the sweltering heat, which is so common in Madras and also specially inside a restaurant.