Survival of the fittest

Graphic: B. Karthikeyan

HEALTH Local communities find ways to cope with food price inflation

Twenty paise (about 0.3 US cents). that's how much money is spent on veggies for lunch for a child in an anganwadi (Indian government creche) everyday.... click to read more

Pondy’s best affordable restaurants

On public demand; here's something I had written a year back for our ACJ lab blog A Chance Journey

Puducherry is home to a wonderful array of cuisines ranging from Vietnamese to Tibetan. The perfect weekend getaway trip, be it spiritual or romantic, is incomplete without enjoying the fine food the town has to offer. A Chance Journey lists five great places for the palate, in and around Pondy, that won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

In the fifth place, we have Salem Biriyani on Nidarajapayer Street. Housed in a former customs godown, this place is a must visit for biriyani enthusiasts. What’s unique about this place, apart from the prison cell like chambers where the food is served, is that the biriyani is very different from the popular Hyderabadi or Delhi varieties.

The minimal use of tomato and the small succulent pieces of meat, with their special brinjal curry is the USP of this place. Ponni rice is used instead of Basmati. The taste and the whole theme of the restaurant is rustic, relaxing and proudly Tamil. The Biriyanis ranging from Rs. 50 to 60, are the perfect lunch solution for shoppers who throng the Mahatma Gandhi Road, Nehru Street and Goubert flea markets.

At fourth place we have Lhasa in Auroville. Just along the slope from Auroville bus stop, in Tamil Nadu- 8 km from Pondy, Lhasa is a delightful little thatched restaurant decorated with brilliant Tibetan wall hangings and flags. Run by Tibetan refugees who settled in Auroville in 1959, Lhasa is a popular hangout for college-goers.

The momos are large and the chilly sauce is just perfect. What’s even better is that eight momos cost only Rs. 35. The family that runs the place is very friendly and offers a special soup remedy to customers who look sick. It is impossible to figure out the ingredients of this therapeutic soup and the recipe is a family secret.

Lhasa is the ideal place to stretch your legs after a long day exploring Auroville. The green tea served with jaggery is also very refreshing. What’s unique here is the Tibetan music played, which sounds strangely familiar to old Hindi film tunes.

Coming a close third is Punjabi Dhaba on Sardar Patel Road. Known for its parathas and butter chicken, the Dhaba is run by a Sikh family, out of their apartment. Half a plate of the sinfully-floating-in-butter chicken is enough to feed three. A whole repertoire of parathas, made with potatoes, fenugreek and radish are served, also with butter floating on them. It is an excellent place for the health-carefree to dine. The complimentary mango pickle is coveted by most customers.

Ranked second is China Garden on Lal Bahadur Street. It is an elegant place just above the Baker Street bakery. The owners, from China Town, Kolkata, play western pop music and the Anglo-Indian and Gorkha waiters are more than willing to chat about anything from local politics to the best watering holes in the city. The servings are particularly generous and the food is not too spicy. Tipplers from Bussy Bar, across the street, love to gorge over the exquisite pork served here.

The crowning glory of the Garden is the lemon grass soup. The soup is a potent concoction with finely chopped lemon grass floating in it. It is an excellent appetiser and feels almost magical.

Standing tall at rank one is Aristo on Nehru Street. Do not be deceived by the small blue signboard. Aristo offers wonderful Mughlai and Deccan cuisine. The service is really good. It is particularly famous for its biriyanis and mutton dishes.

On the mezzanine floor, there is a French restaurant called Aristo Garden. This place boasts of the best affordable authentic French and colonial Vietnamese cuisine in town. The soups are works of culinary art. The steaks are also excellent. No liquor or wine is served here.

What’s wonderful about these places is that they are rarely crowded. They have a limited, loyal clientele and the service is always good. These family run restaurants feel just like home.

A tale of terrific tiramisu

The Blueberry pastry is a creamy wonder that melts in your mouth. It has generous layers of cream mildly flavoured with the berry. To let the guilt sink in there’s an extra dollop of flavoured cream on top, with a thin dribble of chocolate sauce.

Stick with the starters

Forrest Gump’s mother would definitely have found Rathna Regent’s new menu like a box of chocolates. You never know what you get. Well, for one, there’s so much to choose from, if you aren’t full with the starters.

Welcome to the spice club

“If he was in Hong Kong, he (would) die,” says Chef Hardy Cheung, wiping the sweat off his scalp. His victim, the soup chef, scurries away into the kitchen, before Chef Hardy could start Kung Fu fighting. This is the most entertaining food festival I’ve been to.

The Mess with no name

In the quaint streets of George Town, this writer discovers a slice of Kerala, whose taste lingers on

George Town is a Mecca for die-hard shoppers, weary migrant labourers and all those interested in experiencing old Chennai. It is also home to a number of lodges, mansions, hostels, shipping corporations and trade unions, law firms and financial institutions. The buildings of George Town never fail to enchant those who choose to explore the narrow streets and their hidden treasures.

In the labyrinth of these crumbling towers of history, this writer discovered an excellent Malayalee restaurant, which has no name or signboard. Its patrons attract new customers by telling their friends about it. It is located in a sinister looking, soot-caked, old colonial building on Armenian Street and one has to figure out a maze of staircase to locate it. The hallucinating aroma of frying curry leaves, guides the hungry through this maze. GPRS mobile phone maps will not work here. It is the smell of coconut oil and the sound of ladle striking wok, which serves as a beacon. It is popularly known as ‘Mallu Mess.’ The proprietors are reluctant to talk to reporters as their eatery is not properly registered. The eatery is a hit with the residents of the hostels and lodges. Hostel residents of Madras Medical College (MMC ) and the Catholic Centre are its loyal clientele.

The walls are painted with a very bright shade of blue enamel. It is coated with a jagged finish of soot, dust and grease. There is a large exhaust fan, which looks as if it has been salvaged from an oil slick. Cardboards squares decorate the edges of the fan. It is very relaxing to have long conversations in the constant whirr of this fan. The mess is managed by a trio who are known to everyone as Dinesh, Master and Cashier. The old patriarch, Master has a terrific sense of humour. His sarcastic humour is a balm that soothes our fatigue. The mess serves Puttu- Kadala on Sunday mornings. This attracts a large number of Malayalees who live, work or study in the area. The mess’ speciality is the Parotta-Beef, which this writer found to be the best he had come across. Dishes are very reasonably priced and an enormous quantity of rice is served for a meal, available for Rs. 20/-. This eatery works from 8 AM to 10 PM, everyday of the week. It has a seating capacity of eight.