Dânesh Zaki

After hearing much about it and seeing the crowds there, I decided to check out Murugan Idly Shop. I have seen the one in Usman Road, T.Nagar packed with people till 10.15 PM in the night. So, I was happy to see another branch open in Triplicane, diagonally opposite to Rathna Cafe. This place is at walking distance to my grand parents’ place, which I visit every weekend. I went in around 5.30 PM on a Sunday and to my surprise found the place empty. The ambience was nothing extra-ordinary with the menu hanging as a board on a wall. There was no A/C and the Devuda song from Chandramukhi was blaring out from the speakers, which was okay, as I like the song :)

I had skipped lunch so decided to go a little heavy on the “tiffin”. I started with Ghee Pongal and a Vada. The Vada was kind of okay but the Pongal was very good - soft and tasty. It was served in a bowl made out of dried leaf over a large banana leaf that acted as the plate. 4 Chutneys - the usual Cocunut, Pudinah (mint), Tomato and Coriander (which I tasted for the first time) were served along with Sambar. All the Chutneys were good with the Coriander Chutney tasting the best. Next, I decided to try out the trademark Idly. The Idly rightly desrved to be on the restaurant’s name. It too was soft like the Pongal and tasted like a home made one. Finally, I washed all the stuff down with a coffee, which tasted usual.

The service I thought was a bit hasty, I had not even finished half of my first dish that the waiter was jumping up and down wanting to know what I would have next. But the serving of the Chutneys and Sambar was very generous. The Ghee Pongal costed me Rs.17, the Vada Rs.9, the Idlies Rs.10 @ Rs.5 a piece (which I thought was a tad expensive) and the coffee Rs.8.

In all a very satisfying experience and Murugan Idly Shop lived upto the hype that it had created. I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to have a decent South Indian tiffin.