Dinner Delight at Matsya

It had been a real long time since the three of us (Sara, Bali and I) went out for dinner. So, on one fine boring-post-coffee-break afternoon, it struck me to propose an outing. It was readily accepted. Generally, with respect to matters of food and drink we follow a strict code of honor --- “Never say no/enough!” We fixed the dinner for a Thursday night. And as usual ... Sara calls up (hell no! He didn’t call ... we had to call and ask His highness if he could be kind enough to join us for dinner.) and tells us that somehow ... there is this team of specialized workers who have managed to keep mum all thru the day and taking good note of our dinner plans, they have jumped into the fray at the last minute, to fix Sara with an extremely important job which called for urgent and responsible addressing. So ... there goes one down out of three.

That didn’t stop us (Bali and I). The call of a growling hungry stomach stood far highly esteemed in comparison to passing clouds such as office work. Bali ... anticipating a good hunt, did some amazing net research and hit upon a restaurant named Matsya. They have two branches. One on Thannikachalam road and another in Egmore. The reviews about the Matsya on Thannikachalam road did not sound too encouraging; however the one in Egmore had some interesting and inspiring comments.

So, jumping into the earliest cab from office that went to the Thiruvanmiyur MRTS, we ran from one end of the station to the other to grab our tickets off the counter and dash to catch a train to Park Town. Once there, we shifted trains and got into another heading towards Egmore. On the second train, we had a pleasant surprise when we met a senior and a junior at college, making their way back home from office. After a short and brisk ride, made sweet by traditional leg pullings and btw-what-are-u-doing-now kind of exchanges, we reached Egmore. We tried asking around for this restaurant called Matsya. Surprisingly, no one knew of any eat out by that name! Thanks to the NOP (Net On Phone) service that Airtel provides; pulling out my phone we googled for “Matsya Egmore” and got the exact address. Sufficiently armed with critical info, we managed to spot the hidden niche of exotic feasts. Over the brief stroll towards the restaurant, we read up a few reviews and blog entries explaining the various specialties at Matsya.

Opening the doors to a plush and decently designed setting, we found a corner table to slip behind and become one with the laid back atmosphere there. Service was prompt. The waiter came up to us with the menu cards to choose from. We searched hard for the Uduppi specials suggested on the various reviews we had read. Even as we were struggling to spot one or two, here and there, the waiter recommended that we go in for the Uduppi thaali. Costing Rs.85, he assured us that it would come with all the stuff we were looking for, providing a grand picture of the Uduppi culinary heritage. And so, thaali it was.

First to come was ‘Rasam Vada’. The vada was secondary. The rasam was the highlight. It was the best rasam we had ever had a whiff of. It had the mystery of Chinese clear soup and the home touch of mother’s pepper rasam. As we gobbled the last pieces of our soaked bloating vadas, spiced up with green chutney, we had the next dish being shipped on to our table. On a quarter plate were ... hold a minute ... let me check my phone for the notes I had taken .... ‘Kulzhi Paniharam’ (roasted in ghee), ‘Mangalore Bondas’ and a sweet called ‘Mangalore Bans’. We wanted to get things right. So we had the waiter at our table, taking all pains to teach us the names of every dish on our plates. I guess he was a true Uduppi patriot, for he seemed very delighted at this request of ours. It was just the second course, and the last few bites of it, left us with warning signs that our tanks were getting fast filled up!!! What a shame ... how could we be so impolite as to say no to the delicacies placed in front of us. So we plodded.

Next in line was the main course. A big plate with two varieties of dosas in the middle and a host of other mouth watering, eye popping goodies placed all around in neat little cups. There was a grey-green colored ‘Palak Dosa’ and a bright reddish brown ‘Uppu Pulli Dosa’. Going to the peripheries, there was a Idli like looking dish called ‘Kadubu’, a beaten rice dish called ‘Chitranam’, a ghee dripping ‘Bisi Bela Bhath’, a cup of popular Matsya ‘Sambar’, a rich and generously prepared helping of ‘Curd Rice’, fruit salad and a handful of ‘Uduppi Banana Chips’. You would need a gastronomically wondrous appetite to mouth every dish in front of us and get back home without exploding. But we had an honor to keep. So we justly chose a couple of dishes and ate it to the end, while we settled for a few spoonfuls of the rest, just to take note of the care, quality and taste with which they were prepared. Just as we thought we were done, there arrived the crowning beauty to the dinner delight – ‘Bajhari Dosa’. It was another kind of dosa prepared out of rice and had a special coconut sweet for a side dish. There were tears in our eyes. The waiter perhaps thought they were tears of joy and immense gratitude for an utterly satisfying treat. In reality, we were in a fix. Our minds could not think of rejecting this wonder, sitting there like a glorified treasure waiting for us to grab at. But our stomachs left us with little choice. Mind, the great seers have said, is a mad drunken monkey bitten by a scorpion. So, the mind won and we had the great dosa.

When the waiter came back for the customary – Anything-else-sir enquiry, seeing our faces he felt pretty foolish. He didn’t need an answer. We thanked and sent him off to get us our bill. With the bill paid, we slowly and steadily ... with utmost care levered ourselves onto our poor legs, the new found extra pounds were a bit too much to put up with. Thanking every waiter profusely for a delightful evening we made our way out.

Back at home and the next day in office saw both Bali and me ferociously campaigning for the Egmore Matsya, for a magical Uduppi experience. It just that expansive hearts that we are by nature gifted with, to share all that is good and delightful. [Ooooppss ... did u see that halo ring hovering above my head!!!]