Hotel Saravana Bhavan, Thyagaraya Road, T-Nagar

LOCATION: Located just before Panagal Park at the end of Thyagaraya Road, this restaurant is right in the middle of busy Pondy Bazaar.

ABOUT: Though it is located on the main road, this place is peaceful and quiet at 8 am in the morning. It might be a bit hard to find since it is hidden by an Ashoka Tree.   

AMBIENCE: A bit dark and musty but very clean and neat. The food display and billing counter are a bit old style but nice.

CROWD: Obviously this hotel gets its crowd later in the morning. At 8 am, I was the only one in the restaurant.

FOOD DISPLAY: Impeccable. Very neatly arranged and displayed.  

QUALITY: The idlies were perfect and not too soft. The vada was a total disappointment, it was actually the size of lemon! The sambar and accompaniments were awesome. The coconut chutney had a nice bite to it, just the way I liked it. 

PRICE: 2 idlies + 1 vada combo = Rs. 73.99  / 1 coffee = Rs. 41.62 (TOTAL WITH TAXES Rs. 125)

OVERALL RATING: 5 out of 10. If the vada was bigger and the pricing was less I would have rated it higher. With taxes I wound up paying Rs. 125 for a breakfast that cost about Rs. 80 on average.

SVR Sangeetha Restaurant, Nandambakkam

LOCATION: This restaurant is located in Nandambakkam opposite the War Cemetery.  

ABOUT: On the mainroad, so it is easy to find. The constant din of traffic can be annoying, but a peaceful walk in the impeccably maintained War Cemetery after breakfast is worth the effort.   

AMBIENCE: Neat and clean, but the wash area in the non-ac section needs improvement.

CROWD: Though not crowded at 7.50 am, there is a decent mixed crowd of office goers / morning walkers who frequent this restaurant. 

FOOD DISPLAY: Sloppy. The chutneys and idly podi often bled into each other. Definitely needs improvement.  

QUALITY: The idlies are perfectly made and melt in your mouth. They are served hot. The vada tastes fresh and is not too oily. The accompaniments need improvement. The chutneys are quite bland and lack the 'bite' required to spice up the spread. The sambar saves the day as it is quite yummy.

The coffee is very good but can be quite bitter at times.

PRICE: 2 idlies = Rs. 30 / 1 vada = Rs. 30 / 1 coffee = Rs. 30

OVERALL RATING: 6 out of 10

A tale of two idlis

A TALE OF TWO IDLIS

I might have been born non-vegetarian, but my most favourite food of all time was, is and will always be the humble Idly. Made with a fermented batter of urad dal and rice this simple steamed delicacy is actually a lot more healthy than many of us think.

The peculiar smell of freshly steamed idlies bring back childhood memories of lazy summer mornings, cold rainy days and walking down Seven Wells street to the 'idly woman's shop', where we would watch her steam her idlies and hand grind fresh chutney for us hungry kids.

Although the ingredients are simple, an idly made the wrong way could turn out too soft or too hard and utterly unpalatable. The assortment of chutneys, sambar and idly podi that usually accompany the otherwise bland idly can transform this into a truly delightful and sumptuous breakfast.

When my girls started school, 8 kms away from home, I often found myself dropping them and heading in for an early start at the office, thus began my quest for the perfect idly breakfast.
My formula is simple, I drop the kids and head out to a restaurant that serves breakfast at 7.50 am. The order is always the same: two idlies, one vada and a filter coffee. Although this started out as a fun quest, I soon realised that there was so much to share about the big differences in taste, price and ambience in each of the restaurants I visited.

So I decided to share my results in this blog, in the hope that it would help anyone who finds themselves with an empty stomach on the streets of Chennai at 7.50 am.

Enjoy!