“Only when our efforts add up to bring a smile of satisfaction do we consider ourselves as successful “
-Southindies
Southindies is an authentic restaurant that deals with south Indian vegetarian cuisine in a very special format. Their menu offers wide varieties of dishes including Andhra, Chettinad, Karwar, Malabar, Mangalorean and many more styles.
Here is a quick review on Southindies, on a lunch buffet with a friend.
We dined in for a lunch buffet which turned out to be a very pleasant experience. We found the service very incredible. The moment you enter the place you are welcomed with hanging bells made of brass that reminded me of the south Indian temples. Ambience and the wall hangings here will remind you of the rich heritage south India flaunts to have. The open balcony view tables are the favorite of their customers.
Ambience at Southindies
The manager Mr. Srinivasan took every possible measure to make sure our lunch at southindies was a memorable one. It truly was! He and the staff constantly inquired us about the taste and quality of the food served to us and kept us updated on the details of each dish (name, place of origin, ingredients etc,). Service of the staff members is excellent I must say. They were all patient enough to cater and answer to our queries with a smile.
Our lunch began with a set of starters, each tastier than the other. We began with corn soup (masukin joladh ganji). This particular soup changed our dimensions about thinking of a soup as a Chinese recipe. It tickled our taste buds with the thick base of pure vegetables. A very healthy Indian soup indeed! Soup was followed by avakai paneer, podi tossed idlis, mokka junna miriyalu fry (baby corn marinated in crushed pepper, tamarind and besan flour, deep fried), arvi rava fry and paddu. The course of starters excellently ended with a glass of buttermilk.
Starters
With not much space in our tummies but with a pouring zeal in our hearts, we headed towards the lunch buffet section. Typical south Indian delicacies (ranging from salads, pickles, spicy curries, sabji, sambhar, rice, pappad etc., to the exotic desserts) were presented in a very creative manner.
The salad counter included varieties of pachadis made out of carrot, beetroot, loki and cucumber.
The authentic dish of Tamil Nadu, aappam(a special version of a crispy dosa shaped like a bowl) with the combination of kai stew( stew made of coconut) was my favorite among the appetizers.
Some of the side dishes offered were mavinkai mensinkai, cauliflower bhurji, paneer yellow chilli mushroom gravy and avarakai sambhar, each of which blended perfectly with rice and tasted great with Malabar parota as well.
The Lunch Buffet
Main course
Dessert
Every meal should end with something sweet, it always helps my brain bring a close to the meal. The most integral part of our dining experience with Southindies was a drink named ‘Caribbean Sunshine’. Three colors (of the orange juice, soda and lemon juice) could be separately observed in one glass of Caribbean Sunshine. Beautifully presented with a chunk of pineapple and a cherry on top, this drink is a perfect example of the saying,” Appearance of a dish does most of the feeding than its taste“.
Gulab Jamun being my favorite sweet, tasted so heavenly that I did not realize I had already popped seven of them in my mouth. The dessert counter housed pineapple pastries, fresh-cut fruits, mango payasam (cold) and ada pradhanam (hot). Although we could accommodate just a bite out of all these in our stomachs, each one tasted so different and melted down our mouths making us crave for more.
The restaurant has a separate cold stone ice-cream counter where we can choose between different flavors. Two flavors that caught my attention were gulkand (rose petals) and coconut.
One must not miss to drink the coffee here (degree coffee – as it is popularly called in Chennai) that is served in copper glasses and a small cup. The foam over the coffee made me think of it as desi version of cappuccinos!
You are what you eat. So don’t be fast, cheap, easy or fake.
Southindies is the right place, if you are looking for a similar taste and experience of dining at your home.
My lunch trip down Southindies restaurant has been noteworthy. Pay a visit to experience 30 tastes from 4 states yourself.
Address: Southindies Restaurant
#276,1st Floor,
6th Main Junction,100ft Road,
Indira Nagar, Above Girias Showroom,
Bangalore – 560038
Phone : +91 8041636363
www.thesouthindies.com
(Photo credits : Abhinaya U Jogi)