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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20 Comments for this post:
Awwww pavam you :P
But then on the bright side you didn't eat junk, umm which is not that bright anymore :D
LOl!
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.
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
:) 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
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!
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.
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
Have you ever tasted coffee at Central station? Quality and quantity have come down drastically - only the price is sky high!
lol junk food would have caused lesser strain on my well being compared to the bill i got there :P
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
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
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.
LOL the crowd in the Saravana Bhavan railway station is enough to discourage me from eating there. :P
haha. dont paint a negative light about south india man. Apart from the heat in Tamil Nadu, everything else is awesome \m/
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
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
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Thank you :)
**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!! :)
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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