Murugan Idli Shop

They say a true tamilian is identified by his love and loyalty for Idly-Vada-Sambar. OK. I just made that up, but there is an element of truth to it. We LOVE our food, and we’re immensely proud of it. Nothing else can quite compare. I had studied in Karnataka and I was shocked to find that what they called ‘Sambar’ was a far cry from what I’d been accustomed to.

When you think South Indian Veg Food, Saravana Bhavan comes to mind. But there are many places which offer good, if not better, Idly-Vada-Sambar. Murugan Idly Shop is one such traditional South Indian vegetarian restaurant. My last week was a ‘Murugan Idly’ week, as I had the chance to review not one, but two of their branches around the city. I am told they have ten branches in Chennai, a few in Madurai, and a few even in Singapore. I had the opportunity to visit the Kilpauk (Ormes Road) branch, and the branch in Annanagar (Shanthi Colony).

I had attended a friend’s birthday party at the Kilpauk branch. An entire hall was reserved for us. The restaurant was air conditioned. The interiors were not bad. It had a somewhat warm, homely feel to it. The food was served on a banana leaf laid on a plate, giving a traditional feel without the added inconvenience. Drinking water was poured into plastic disposable cups and placed in stainless steel holders, reducing their clean-up effort but not at the cost of the customer’s convenience. I thought that was smart.

Service was good; nothing to complain about. During rush hours, expect delay.

Food: Our first order was Idly-Vada. We were first served chutneys, (Pudina, Malli, Thakali, Thenga), as well as their podi with oil. Sambar was brought around and served on our leaves. You can also request for a bowl to avoid your sambar running amok. Now I don’t care too much for the podi and oil thing, (don’t judge me), but the chutneys were definitely something! My favourites were the Malli and the Thenga. The idlys were soft and steaming hot. I am usually not an idly person, but even I couldn’t help myself from enjoying them thoroughly, down to the last bite. The vadas were a completely different story. I AM a vada person and so my standards are naturally higher. Trust me; these vadas completely exceeded my expectation. Crispy golden on the outside, they were truly a treat to the senses. Break through that exterior and a soft, steaming hot interior soaks up the chutney, giving you a mouthful of pure taste. I just had to get myself one more of those vadas. To me, the best thing was the uniformity; the next vada was just as good and just as crispy as the last one; like they were twins separated at birth, briefly reuniting on my plate (like a Tamil movie) before their (my) happy ending. When my taste buds were truly saturated and could take no more we decided it was time to move on the main course!

I had ordered a Butter Roast Dosa. My usual favourite is Ghee Roast Dosa, which I have tried and tested in different places all around Chennai.

Note: As far as Ghee Roast dosas are concerned, my favourites would be Murugan Idly Shop and Hot Chips.

My Butter Roast Dosa finally arrived and left me wondering if I should have ordered the Ghee Roast Dosa instead. Don’t get me wrong, the Butter Roast was good, crispy golden and dripping with buttery goodness; it’s just that the Ghee Roast is simply fabulous. Anyway, my Dosa was gone almost as soon as it landed on my plate. I also managed to sneak a taste from those sitting on either side of me. Butter Onion Uttapam and Ghee Onion Uttapam were both pretty awesome but definitely not intended for the diet conscious. I also tried their sweet pongal and although I did not expect much, I found it quite interesting.

Murugan Idly shop offers something called Jiggarthanda (I hope I’ve spelt it right). It is supposed to be a specialty of interior Tamilnadu and of this restaurant. It is a dessert-drink, consisting of milk (I think), and vermicelli (I hope). It was extremely filling and I (among others) could not manage to get it down. This eventually led to a bottoms-up challenge, the details of which do not warrant entry into this blog. On the whole, this drink was uniquely flavoured and I would definitely label this as a ‘must try’.

As far as prices go, you’ll have to excuse me as whatever prices I did manage to remember, were pushed out by my food-induced buzz. I am sure a complete, filling meal would come to approximately Rs. 80-150 per head.

The Annanagar Branch was hardly as classy as the Kilpauk branch. Located at Shanthi Colony, the first challenge you will come across is finding a parking spot. If you do manage to find a spot, you can be sure that you will have to wait to be seated. Located at the heart of a residential and commercial colony, this restaurant is invariably packed during evening hours. The chairs intended for guests to wait while a table clears up were insufficient, leading to a swarm of people crowding around the door waiting to be seated. An employee takes your name down on his book and seats guests according to that order. I found the system surprisingly organized despite the chance of complete chaos. We were kept waiting for approximately 15 minutes before we were shown our table. Once inside, I noticed that the interiors were not as refined as the Kilpauk branch. However, the service and food were similar to their Kilpauk branch so I will spare you the details. If you ask me, Kilpauk branch wins my vote.

As my ‘Murugan Idly’ week comes to an end, I can’t help but wonder if I did justice to their menu. With so much more left to be ordered and tried, I think I may have to schedule another visit!


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Cafe in the park :Radha Regent Hotel

Radha Regent, earlier known as Radha Park, has been around for ages. Now I'm not that great with directions but I do know that it is located on 100 foot road (apparently this is called Jawaharlal Nehru Salai); where exactly on this road, I have no idea.

Anyway, I've been to this particular place countless number of times. Conferences, meetings, parties, or dinners with family have brought me here more often than I care to remember.

Well it just so happened that I had the chance to visit their restaurant Cafe in the Park for Sunday brunch last week; and hence the review.

We had made an appointment and we were shown our table without any delay. I found out that their tables were booked out for the day so I would suggest you call in advance and make your reservation. The restaurant tables are conveniently arranged around the buffet table, so you don't need to walk too far to get yourself another serving! (Yes, these small things matter to me).

On the whole, the ambience was good. The two-person band hired that day played mostly country and instrumental music which would have been ideal if their volume was turned a little lower. The music completely overpowered the conversation, and in retrospect I feel I should have spoken up.

Service was good, plates were cleared up, cutlery replaced, glasses refilled without too much of a wait.

The Food:

Now this was a brunch buffet, so in my opinion what should really stand out is VARIETY. And on this front, Café in the Park, delivered well above the par. There were three varieties of fruit juices served at the salad bar which was adequately stocked. One particular salad which stood out consisted of shrimp seasoned minimally (but tastefully) and was an instant favorite. The salad dishes totaled around eight in number and were well put together (or so I was told). Being more of a main course person, I did not spend too much time at the salad bar.

The main course section of the buffet was again adequately served. Apart from the expected dishes (Biryani, Curd Rice), I found a good variety of both vegetarian and non vegetarian items. In total, there would have been around 6 – 8 non vegetarian items. I enjoyed the Chicken Kabab, the sausages and the Malabar Mutton Curry. I did not care too much for the Chicken Biryani. The vegetarian dishes consisted of two paneer items, and others which included mixed veggies in Alfredo sauce which looked (and tasted) good. I enjoyed the Paneer Tikka thoroughly; the softness of the paneer, laced with rough charcoaled edges, served with green peppers and tomatoes and that characteristic tikka masala. It was definitely something! There was a section on the side where a chef would make dosas, paniyarams etc, on request.

The dessert section too showed ample variety. Fresh fruits were served at one corner, ice cream at the other corner. There were three flavours of ice cream if I remember correctly. The rest of the desserts were a mix of both Indian as well as Western dishes, such as rasgullas, Peppermint Cheesecake, Caramel Custard and other pastries and soufflés. I was impressed with the variety of course, but the dish I was most looking forward to, the Peppermint Cheesecake, fell short of my expectations. It was more like a soufflé than a cheesecake. I do not understand how people continue to get this wrong!

Side note: In my opinion, the consistency and taste of a cheesecake must be compared to the Philly’s Cheesecake at Sandy’s Chocolate Lab as the benchmark.

The price of the buffet was Rs. 525 inclusive of taxes. This puts Café in the Park of Radha Regent in the same price range as Main Street at Residency Towers.

On the whole, the brunch was a good experience, (save a few shortcomings); something that I would definitely recommend!


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Nikhil's family restaurant

Located on 2nd avenue Annanagar, Nikhil's happens to be conveniently located and it was just a matter of time before we paid them a visit.


When my brother and I first stumbled upon this place a month or so ago, it reminded me a lot of the dhabas in Punjab from my college days.  Since our first visit we have made two more trips to this place.  

Ambience: The ambience isn't something to write home about. Like i said,it's more like a dhaba than anything else (bear in mind that it is not air conditioned).


Service: The service was good, very quick and efficient. In fact, they had us fill out a feedback form after the meal!


Things to try: When you visit Nikhil's you must try their 'Special Fried Chicken'. It's simply amazing! It consists of small pieces of deep fried chicken that's crunchy on the outside, and soft and juicy on the inside - really good stuff. We also tried the chicken 65 which was good. The paranthas are excellent. Typical north Indian style aloo and paneer paranthas are available. In fact, I'm pretty impressed with the Indian breads in this place. The curries are good but not something that would set this place apart. Biryani here is not very good. The best dish on the menu in my opinion is the 'Special Fried Chicken'. Also try their grilled chicken. 


Value for money: a meal for two will probably cost you around 250 to 350. 

I was pleasantly surprised with Nikhil's both in terms of food quality and value for money. The service was also good. The ambience was not too great but hey. it's meant to be a dhaba for a budget meal and it fulfils that role perfectly! I see my brother and I visiting this place a lot more often in the near future!


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