Karunaas Veg

What to eat: Idly, Dosa and Parotta

Where: Karunaas Vegetarian Restaurant, Arunachalam Road, Saligramam

Verdict: Despite the fact of being a hardcore non-vegetarian, sometimes I had to give up my principles because of friends and family. Tonight my friends were keen on vegetarian meal for dinner due to Purattasi Saturday. Though it caused immense sadness to me, I had to suggest them "thirunelveli saivaal" hotel in Saligramam.

As the thirunelveli hotel was closed bit early, we had to go to a nearby eatery. Few weeks back we had lunch at the non veg restaurant of Karunas in upstairs. Tonight we opted for the vegetarian restaurant in the ground floor.

Literally there are no limits on the amount of sambar, 3 types of chutney (coconut / mint / tomato) and Vattha kulambu. Even the aviyal and kuruma were served till we say stop.

Here is the list of dishes what we had for dinner.

Idly(10₹) - It was a regular idly when eaten with sambar or chutney. But vatta kulambu enhanced the taste to a higher level.

Garlic Dosai(60₹) - A spicy dosa made of dosa batter mixed with ground garlic. Gunpowder was sprinkled at the center with some onion as stuffing. All of us appreciated the taste.

Baby corn Dosai(60₹) - Regular plain dosa with baby corn masala stuffing. Felt like masala was over spiced. But my friends liked it.

Veg Kottu Parotta(60₹) - Never had such a good veg Kottu earlier. Loved the aroma and the fillings like potato and carrot. It was served with veg kuruma. But I prefer to have it alone.

Adai Aviyal(50₹) - Almost tasted like a home-made. We asked for little aviyal and had it with chutney.

Thooduvalai (Solanum Trilobatum) Dosai (40₹) - Though it is not a tasty one, I wanted to have it as I was suffering from cold. Thooduvalai is a creeper which is used as a remedy for cold in villages in Tamil Nadu. Thooduvalai leaves were ground and added to the dosa batter before cooking the dosa. They also have vallarai(generally given to kids for brain development) and mudakattan (balloon vine plant leaves used to treat joint pain) dosai.

Filter coffee (20₹) - A big let down. Tasted almost like an instant coffee.

Dinner for four of us costs 400₹. Parking is a big problem if you come in a four-wheeler as this eatery is located on one of the busiest roads in Vadapalani area. But two-wheelers can be parked in front of the restaurant. Not sure if they accept plastic, generally cash is the king in such smaller eateries.

Venz Restaurant

What to eat: Briyani

Where: Venz Restaurant, Opp DLF, Ramapuram

Verdict: Whilst talking with my friend, came to know about this restaurant which was opened just 2 days back at the first floor of a building near Rahman briyani. Heard the grills were too good. So decided to have today's lunch over there.

Ordered just a chicken briyani(140₹) as it's a solo visit. Quantity is not that big like other near by restaurants, but the taste makes it a perfect biriyani. Pretty flavorful basmati rice based briyani served with a big piece of chicken and boiled egg. Onion raita was the only accompaniment. But it went well as it allows me to feel the flavor. IMHO this is the best basmati rice briyani near DLF.

Happy to know that they are going to start delivery shortly near DLF entrance. Another important note is that they are going to start selling bucket briyani and introduce combo options after the end of Purattasi. Strictly told the owner that I will order bucket briyani only if they keep a layer of plantain leaf. He nodded immediately and said that what he is planning as well.

Overall its a nice place for briyani and grills near dlf to go along with the friends and colleagues. Last but not the least. GST is included in the menu card price. So if it says 140₹ for briyani, you don't pay even a single penny more than that.

Mangalambiga Vilas

What to eat: South Indian Tiffin

Where: Mangalambiga Vilas Kaapi Hotel, Near Adi kumbeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam

Location:

 

Verdict: Mangalambika vilas is a historical mess(place where people eat & socialize) located on an alley leading to the kumbeswarar temple. It is not an easy thing to run a restaurant for decades. But they have made it for more than 100 years. This tiny eatery is serving homely food since 1914.
One Mr.Hariharan Iyer came to Kumbakonam at the age of 14 and worked this eatery which was then owned by an old lady named Thayu patti. Later he bought it from the old lady as she was unable to manage it.

Not knowing the actual year of foundation, they just kept a board saying "Since 1914". It is now managed by Hariharan Iyer's son. Locals refer to it as "Sannidhi Kadai".
If you're looking for a good ambience, then this place is not for you. People come here to taste the traditional food.

You need to have enough patience to eat at this heavily crowded place. By the time we entered the place most of the items like arisi uppiya were finished. So just got 2 pairs of idly and 2 special dosai (they call it as special maavu).

Idly was steaming hot and pillowy soft. Special dosa is just another crispy dosai. What made the meal special was the kadamba sambar. It had different varieties of dal such as toor dal, chana dal, chick peas, moong dal. Chutney was a coconut+red chillie one which was slight yellowish in color, but very very fresh.

As usual I got a filter coffee at the end. Final bill was 137₹ for 2 of us. Meal was worth every penny. If I get a chance to visit again, I would like to taste arisi uppuma and adai. All I can say is just don't miss this place if you hit Kumbakonam, the city of temples.

Tanjore Devar Biriyani

What to eat: Biriyani

Where: Devar's Briyani, Gandhiji Road, Tanjore

Location:
 

Verdict: Our visit to this restaurant happened for lunch today. Opted for the air-conditioned hall at the first floor. This place is famous among the locals just for the word "Biriyani".

Bought an egg biriyani (130₹), chicken biriyani(150₹), seer fish Fry(130₹) and chicken 65(130₹). Both biriyani varieties are very flavourful compared to the one we had in Kumbakonam yesterday. Certainly the best one in this region, made of seeraga samba rice served along with two varieties of gravy ....coconut milk based one and other was spicy chicken gravy. Onion raita was just as usual.

Chicken 65 had too much of color , but tasted flavourful. Better to avoid this one for health reasons. Seer fish a.k.a vanchiram fry was top-class, thick slice well marinated before frying. What made it special was the spicy grated coconut masala topping. One can just eat it with steamed rice.

Waiters were very friendly, asked to us to have some white rice with rasam and buttermilk. Just had only a small cup of rice with rasam and ended the meal with a cup of butter milk. Rice, rasam and buttermilk are served free for every biriyani.

As we chose the A/C hall, we had to pay 18% GST additionally which is the only complaint we can say. One thing we have witnessed in the past 2 days of trip to this region is most of the restaurants use banana leaf to serve and pack foods which is not a common feature in chennai food scene. Even to pack the leftover food they use the leaves, not any plastic. It certainly gives a good feel and happy mood to eat and also to leave a decent tip.

Kumbakonam Venkkatramana

What to eat: South Indian Breakfast

Where: Venkkatramana Hotel, Near Gandhi Park, Kumbakonam

Location:

Verdict: Morning walk is always good. Why because that's how I found this place at 7AM. It is a hotel cum restaurant serving traditional kumbakonam style tiffin and meals for decades.

Just had pongal(40₹), vadai(15₹). Both were served with thick sambar and fresh coconut chutney. Pongal was just taken out from the kitchen and was melting in mouth like honey. I don't even need sambar and chutney for this dish. Vadai was perfect with not much oily sights.

Finally had kumbakonam degree kaapi in brass dabara set. Such a brilliant decoction.

Also packed some idly and vadai for my family resting at the hotel room. Interesting to know that they start serving meals from 9AM onwards. Just don't miss tiffin or lunch at the legendary eatery if you ever hit this little town.

Kumbakonam Sathars

What to eat: Briyani

Where: Sathars Restaurant, Hotel Rayas, Kumbakonam

Location:

Verdict: Today we had a chance to visit Rayas hotel for lunch as referred by a friend. Rayas hotel has both veg and non veg restaurants. We opted for Sathars which is an air-conditioned non vegetarian resto.

Orders were simple, just 2 mutton briyani(210₹) with a plate of chicken 65 (170₹). Briyani was large in quantity, but not spicy. However the accompanied mango based dalcha and kuruma made it easy to go. Spicy lovers may not like this type of briyani. Mutton pieces were little fatty, but cooked well. Chicken 65 was hot and succulent.

From outer looks, this place looks costly. But it's definitely value for money as they have included GST in the menu price and the quantity is little larger.

Kumbakonam Krishna Bhavan

What to eat: Idly and Dosai

Where: Krishna Bhavan, Kamatchi Joshiyar St, Kumbakonam

Location:

Verdict: It is another quite old place serving vegetarian tiffin and meals. As it was near to Chakrapani temple, we have combined the darshan with dinner at this place. If you're looking for relaxed or impressive ambience, you better skip this place. It's just an ancient eatery serving traditional food and people come here, eat and go with not much lengthier talks.

As it was bit late in the evening, almost everything was finished. So we had to order a single piece of idly (7₹) for the kid and maavu dosai (30₹) and rava dosai(30₹) for the adults.

Sambar was bit thick. Two type of chutneys served...lot of coconut chutney and then a spoonful of onion chutney which was not repeated without asking. Taste and the price was like going back a decade. Don't worry about gst when you eat here. If you go early, you can get kodumai halwa, adai aviyal and the degree kaapi.