gastronomic adventures of a nomad

If you are a die-hard non vegetarian and if you are looking for a place for lunch, this is among the first names that would pop into your mind. A franchise made popular by their unique taste and wide array of dishes (nadakuradhu-oadradhu-thavaradhu, u get everything here ;)) this was one place I was eager to lunch at.

So when the opportunity presented itself a couple of days back, the 6 of us decided to grab it. The TAMBARAM branch of PONNUSAMY HOTEL was sparsely filled, which is very rare around lunch time for a ponnusamy hotel. We should have probably taken this a warning sign but a growling stomach and the franchise’s reputation got the better of us.

The initial orders were placed. Surprisingly, the veg meals cost MORE than the non veg meals! An indication of why this place is a speciality non vegetarian restaurant. Well being a non vegetarian myself, I wasn’t complaining ;D

The one vegetarian in our group though kept groaning throughout the course of the meal about the lack of vegetarian dishes on the menu card. To be quite fair, the choices were limited. In case you are a vegetarian, word of advice- DO NOT go to ponnusamy for breakfast/lunch/dinner.

As for the remaining 5, we had almost the entire menu card to choose from. We ordered mutton biriyani, rotis and non veg meals along with drumstick chicken, chicken gravy and mutton chukka. Half way through the course, after much persuasion from the waiter, we ordered RABBIT FRY. The meals comprised steamed rice and papad with chicken curry, mutton curry, fish curry, rasam and butter milk. To me that was the best thing we had there for the drumstick chicken tasted and smelt bad, raw infact, the mutton chukka was too spicy and the rabbit fry was too rubbery.

FINAL VERDICT:

AMBIENCE: 3/5
quite good. Not over crowded in a way it suffocates and not too empty such that it resembles an under construction building, the crowd and setting was just right.

SERVICE: 3/5
apart from the fact that the waiter/server tried to and eventually, sold the rabbit fry that was apparently prepared last year to us, the service was quite good.

TASTE: 1/5
definitely not your traditional ponnusamy food. Almost all the dishes were found lacking in taste and preparation.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 1.5/5
the food here is definitely not worth the money they charge for it. The rabbit fry cost 550 rs and if your system isn’t quite used to digesting foods prepared the previous year, the total cost may shoot up to a 1000 bucks if you were to count the medical bills too. ;) Fortunately for me, since I get to travel a lot on college tours and eat THAT-WHICH-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED/SMELT/EATEN, my immune system is pretty much used to such crap.

In a nut shell, if you are a non vegetarian and you happen to find yourself at ponnusamy, tambaram by some bad luck (or you ex girlfriend’s curse-'pathini paavam polaadhadhu ;P), have only the non veg meals here. And though rude, kindly ignore the waiter when he is cajoling you into ordering the rabbit fry. ;D

And if you happen to be vegetarian don’t even consider coming here. Unless of course the pretty girl from college decides to stop there for lunch. ;)

Until next time then,

Happy eating,

ADIOS!

Like I’ve always maintained, college cricket tours have this tendency to be over the top fun filled extravaganzas be it late night chats, long walks for food or the sight seeing(;D ) the COLOSSEUM organized by the SASTRA UNIVERSITY was no different. Being a tournament that has always been lucky for me, the half a week we spent there did more to rejuvenate my senses than any vacation could. What I did happen to gain at the end of the trip was confidence, both on and off the cricket field and an insatiable love for HALF BOILS. :D

Ok, am not gonna beat around the bush anymore, here are a list of eateries in and around SASTRA UNIV that you might find useful if you do happen to visit the place.

#1 CANOPY RESTAURANT

Well organized and well maintained with neatly laid out seating, this is one place inside the campus for a quick bite. The token system can be a pain in the ass but since it happens to be well organized here, you don’t really feel the need to wreck out your hair. :D the fresh sugar cane juice, the lime sodas(both, in flavors you can never imagine :D) the slushes, the pizzas, burgers and the chaat items are all very much palatable. This is a nice, clean eatery.

PERSONAL FAVOURITES: fried pav bhajji, green apple soda and ginger sugar cane juice.

#2 KRISHNA CANTEEN

Located next to the CANOPY canteen, this place serves proper food and not just quick bites. Be it the ghee roast in the morning or the paranthas and the noodles after dusk, this is one place you can trust on for quality food at dirt cheap prices. And ya, the rose milk available here is out of the world. :D

PERSONAL FAVOURITES: rose milk, ghee roast and veg noodles.

#3 The snack stall opposite the cricket&football grounds

Cup noodles, iced tea and chocolate/vanilla shake are probably the only items available at this place but believe me, this was the most popular place on the campus while we were there.

The flipside: they shut shop at 4 pm! :(

#4 APPU MESS

A small hotel located a few hundred metres outside campus, this is probably the best highway eatery I’ve had dinner at. This is where my love for half boils has begun. The muttadosais were quite the usual but the half boil? Oh my god! Heavenly! Probably the best I’ve had till date and probably the best I’ll have for a long long time to come. :D they had that ‘melt in your mouth’ feel. Omg, definitely something you might wanna experience. :D

We also happened to go to tanjore to shop for a friend. We ended up having lunch and dinner at a restaurant near the bus stand there. Must say, that is one of the best ‘non-veg’ meals I’ve had. The chicken 65 and the prawn fry were quite yummy too and the rotis they served at dinner were brilliant! Soft and easy to dig into.

The flipside: the food wasn’t unlimited ;P :D

And ya, plenty more tours to follow.

So until next time,

Adios!

Part 3 of my gastronomic exploits in and around VIT.

#5 AAVIN booth, opposite the volleyball courts somewhere near the main building

This would be the ideal place for a quick drink or two to quench your thirst. Placed quite close to the main building, this booth helped rid us of our thirsts as we made our long walk from our dorm where we were put up to the main entrance.

FOOD: 4/5 for the rose milk and the lassis. Simply superb. Not too cold, not too plain, just perfect. :)

WHAT TO TRY HERE: the rose milk, the lassi and kulfis- all products of AAVIN. Simply yumm.

AMBIENCE: 3.5/5 placed very much close to the university blocks and behind the volleyball courts, this place drew quite a sizeable CROWD. Get yourself a rose milk, find yourself a place to sit and get lost in the beauty of your surroundings. ;D B-)

SERVICE: the elderly(or was he middle aged? :S) guy manning the booth was your average South Indian- kind, friendly and with an overdose of hospitality. I’d give him a 4/5 for service.

#6 AC FOOD COURT(adjacent to JAVA GREEN)

We had our match at the SJT grounds that day which happened to be quite far away from our usual spot for lunch, the FOOD KING. This left us with no other option but to try the food court near JAVA, which to our bad luck happened to be really crowded. Splitting into groups helped us get a seat in the ac food court. The orders ensued and what followed was happy eating. :D

FOOD: 4/5- for once, the chicken seemed to be well cooked. The chicken tikka masala happened to become a regular on my menu from then on. The tandoori chicken was good too.

WHAT TO TRY HERE: tandoori chicken and chicken tikka masala.

AMBIENCE: 3/5 pretty good. But not the ideal place for couples especially when there is a group of testosterone charged boys from another university(yours truly was part of that group) staring at you. B-)

SERVICE: nothing special to talk about. 2.5/5

#7 FOOD KING(somewhere in the midst of the boys hostel complexes)

An unique serving system was the first thing that struck us here. You had to pay for your meals in advance. And just when we thought they would give us the bill, they gave us a number plate/stand(whatever you’d like to call it). All we had to do was place it on our tables and our orders would arrive in a while. Pretty unique.

FOOD: the curd rice happened to be the best on the menu! Nothing much to say about the food. 2/5.

AMBIENCE: 3/5 nothing much to talk about.

SERVICE: a 3/5 for the unique, hassle-free service. :)

That’s it about VIT. For more such eatout reviews, keep coming back.

Until next time,

ADIOS!!!

Part 2 of my gastronomic exploits in and around VIT.

#3. ROLL CENTRE

Probably this place was our find of the tour. One look from outside and u’d probably think ”man, should I really go in?”. even after you find yourself a seat inside the dimly lit, shabbily painted room, you still have that mild doubt. But once the food reaches your food pipe, you’ll never regret your decision to dine here.

The first thing that struck us was the unique ordering method (we were asked to write down our orders on a piece of card) and the ‘ROTI BOY’ who kept doing rounds around the room delivering rotis at tables(rotis could be ordered impromptu, you didn’t have to write them down). Another unique feature of the place was the weird names they give the dishes. I mean, where else would you find ramba chicken, karisma chicken and basha rolls?

But yeah, the food here was superb. And the prices, absolutely easy on the wallet. The rolls and the ramba chicken were totally yumm.

WHAT TO TRY HERE: double egg double chicken BASHA, ramba chicken

WHAT NOT TO TRY HERE: since we had a friend from VIT guiding us through the menu card, we were able to choose wisely. ;D

FOOD: 4.5/5

AMBIENCE: 2.5/5 plactic chairs, plastic tables and very ordinary interiors, this place is strictly for college students (vit, unless in rare cases like ours). The flip side-I couldn’t find a single girl in sight!

SERVICE: 4/5 3/5 for the quick service and an additional mark for the innovative ordering technique and the ROTI BOY who kept popping at our table every now and then with a “roti bhaiya? Roti bhaiya?” :D

#4 BURGER MAN kiosk

Well you find these kiosks even in chennai so I am gonna abstain from emphasizing too much on the flavours and the dishes.

Only piece of advice, don’t try the MEXICAN style burger! We know how andhraites have a liking for spicy dishes, well this burger I ordered, it would have left even an Andhraite begging for water! Way too spicy!

FOOD: 1/5 for the MEXICAN burger. 2.5/5 for the BBQ style burger

SERVICE: pretty slow for a fast food joint! The guy manning the kiosk was probably new or something, he took forever to get the 5 burgers ready!

TO BE CONTINUED. . .