Sunday, August 12, 2012

A Restaurant Review


Diary Entry – 46


The first time I went to Saravana Bhavan, I was ten.

They served unlimited meals and my mother and I had so little that the waiter felt sorry for us. It was the first time my mother was eating there as well and she was shocked when they charged us only forty rupees for the food. We happened to meet the manager and my mother told him, they should be charging more when the food is so good.

I think they took my mother a little too seriously.

A few days ago, I went to Saravana Bhavan again. It was one of those days when I skipped breakfast. When I left the house in the morning, my mother told me to order something other than meals, because last time (11 years ago) we were not able to eat much. If you are wondering why I did not go to Saravana Bhavan for the last decade, it is because a non-vegetarian simply does not pay to eat vegetarian food in a fancy restaurant. If you are a non-vegetarian going to a restaurant which serves only vegetarian food, you won’t even ask for the menu. You simply order Naan with paneer curry.

When the food arrived, I thought I was dreaming because of starvation. I was amazed how small the Naan was. I kept staring at the food, like the fat guy who looks at the small idly in the Docomo ad. (See Video Below.)

The paneer curry I ordered along with the Naan was served on fire. There was this casing sort of thing which had a bowl with paneer on top. Below the casing was a lamp. All that looked cool and fancy, till I realized how small the bowl actually was. After gobbling down a few pieces, I was left poking my finger into the bowl searching for the paneer.

When I finished eating, I felt as hungry as I was before. The quantity of the food they served was not half as shocking as the bill. They made sure that my purse wouldn’t let me think about food till I reached home.

I know. I should have just gone to McDonalds. So much for cheap, healthy, vegetarian food.




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23 Comments for this post:

  1. Awwww pavam you :P
    But then on the bright side you didn't eat junk, umm which is not that bright anymore :D

    LOl!

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    Replies
    1. lol junk food would have caused lesser strain on my well being compared to the bill i got there :P

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  2. I`m surprised that a foodie such as yourself still went to Saravana; I stopped going to that place like a century ago. If you still have the hankering for Awesome South Indian food - go to any Ratna Cafe outlet(I personally prefer the one in Triplicane) - the sambar there is heavenly plus they charge you a pittance compared to HSB.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. lol i have been going around the city trying chinese, thai, japanese and even greek cuisines :D I guess it is time i took the time to explore home cuisines more :P

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  3. Ouch! :P
    I never go for thalis and unlimited meal kind of things coz I end up eating so little!

    @Tales of her and by her.
    &
    @Teenage Babblings
    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I turn into a hungry monster in front of thalis. Even when my stomach is full, I will want to go for round 2 :P

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  4. :) well in london we had a famous PUB called GLassy junction , for years it has been a pub featured in a lot of movies and all too.. I was in london on thrusday to find that it is no more a pub but a Sharavan bhavan now .. thast the first time i heard of sharavan bhawan or restaurant


    Bikram's

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    1. Lol dont go there man. They rip us off in india in rupees. In london it will be in pounds :O I am considering running a restaurant myself now to get rich.

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  5. I was amazed to see the size of the idly, when I first went to Saravana Bhavan, at the Chennai Central railway station.. And I dunno why I didn't want to stick to my usual takeaway hot-spots like Hot Breads and the nearby KFC or French Loaf.. One plate of Idly cost me 75 bucks I think, and I just could manage to stare at the waiter.. Thieves man!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL the crowd in the Saravana Bhavan railway station is enough to discourage me from eating there. :P

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  6. Generally I blog in Hindi and after having had a similar experience at Kancheepuram, I wrote a sort of an advisory for all North Indians.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha. dont paint a negative light about south india man. Apart from the heat in Tamil Nadu, everything else is awesome \m/

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  7. Hi

    I keep telling everyone that they should rename Saravan Bhavan as 'The Thirsty Crow' Like the crow in that story we must carry some pebbles ...Then only the sambar etc will come to the top....And for solids I still have not thought of a plan ! :D

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    Replies
    1. oh lol. Mom told me that the owner of Saravan Bhavan went to prison for something. Someone must have sued him for the sambar :D

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  8. Have you ever tasted coffee at Central station? Quality and quantity have come down drastically - only the price is sky high!

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    1. The crowd in the central station Saravana Bhavan is enough to discourage me from ordering anything from there. If I wait so long to just order what I want, I will most likely miss the train :D

      Delete
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    ReplyDelete
  10. **I think they took my mother a little too seriously**...Lol! Everyone in Chennai knows about saravana....quantity is inversely proportional to the price with quality remaining same....Try murugan idli shop or Sangeetha for authentic south indian....nice review!! :)

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    1. Lol yeah I have been to Sangeetha several times now but not Murugan Idli. :D It seems like that place serves good food :D

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  11. I simply want to tell you that I am all new to blogging and honestly loved this web page. Very likely I’m going to bookmark your blog post . You definitely have remarkable stories. Thanks a bunch for sharing your web page.

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