This is the 2nd blog for 2021. This place has been around the same area for over 69 years now and I think that’s a great achievement. Independent Madras state (after the country’s independence) saw its 1^st Assembly Election in 1952 and this place was established the same year. We had close to 375 Assembly seats back then.

This is the location of the hotel – https://goo.gl/maps/6NsyQfqiw6GShpmGA

Located in Govindappa Naicken Street – George town, this is a 100 year old building that’s still existent. Can you believe it?

This is the place where the tokens/coupons are issued for dine-in and take away. I was roaming around the streets of parrys for some official work with my colleague and we decided to go to the Air-Conditioned room. I suppose they only have the A/C room now. My colleague earlier told me that this place had the best Paruppu Podi / Gun Powder in Chennai and that I must review it for sure. It’s called the famous Andhra Paruppu podi.

This is the token for meals. It’s vegetarian. It costs around 120 bucks each. Quite high for the average Chennai-ite for a meal, I feel. They also sell the Paruppu podi in packets that costs around 60 bucks. You can have the podi as – rice mix, as a side for Idly/dosa or other tiffin items or if you are so obsessed with its taste, consume it directly (raw-ly) but in minimal pints (better be careful).

It’s so crowded that once you get a seat it’s a rocket ride from there on. You’ve got to be the fastest you can. There are hordes of people waiting to get in and taste the podi. The servers are neatly dressed in W/W and roam the dining area with the food. They are quick as hell. The dining hall is in the second floor and the token is issued in the first floor.

The man in the dark blue tee (with a black mask) is the owner of the place. He talks, talks and talks and never gets tired. Not even a bit. He’s engaging his customers and also instructing the servers directing them to the tables.

Once seated you get the banana leaf. Then the spread of various items that’s in the menu for the day and you’ve got to eat. I barely had time to photograph the leaf and the rest of the place. The spread had – White rice, podi, ghee (literally alli oothuranga level), appalam, pickle, ginger chutney, dhaal (kind of), sweet (kesari here), onion raitha, veggie, sambar, rasam and curd. The veggies and the meals are unlimited but the extras vide appalam, ghee, butter milkand chutney do come with a price tag when asked for refilling (see picture below.

The daal and the podi mixed with the white rice is pure bliss. Like you can see the rice melting with the ghee and reaching your tummy slowly, grain by grain. Just see the close-up of the rice with the podi, its drool-ishy and incredible.

Then comes the usual sambar, rasam and curd. The curd was a bit thick and good. Sambar had some veggies. I skipped rasam and went directly to curd. I was hesitant to ask for an extra appalam after coming to know the cost of extras. I have this habit of going for the second appalams whenever I attend Reception dinners and Engagements. Athey pazhakkam following!

In the mean time, the gentleman who sat opposite to us was sharing his experience of coming to this place since the late 80’s. He was from Andhra and he usually comes to George town for business work and would have meals in this place. ‘Now it’s not up to the mark as it was earlier”, he said. We were hearing his rant and then finished our meal.

That was the end of this chapter. I think I should come again and try their Tiffin items once and add them to this blog. The parcel meals here costs a whopping 250 bucks (WAIT WHAT?!). Seriously!

No comments on that, I’m sorry. In case you want to try this hotel for their paruppu podi, prefer dine-in and let me know your thoughts. We’ll meet again in the next blog. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for video contents and our Instagram page for awesome pictures and short reels. This is MS signing off!