I felt it an insult to MS not to have a single Review on the Great Hotel Saravana Bhavan. What has happened to our love of food & tastes?
For Vegetarian Cuisine, there are very few Hotels in India & abroad as High-class at affordable prices as HSB, Madras. For sure, there are not many to beat it, as far as my taste & knowledge go!
I. Intro:
What is so special about this South India’s Premier Chain of Hotels / Restaurants? No verbal Account can do justice to its class & specialities which can be best understood & appreciated by a visit to this hotel & a soulful indulgence of our own. As they say, the way to our heart is right through our taste buds & belly!
II. HSB’s Meteoric Rise & Tremendous Success:
a) Its Humble Beginning:
’ It is not an off-shoot of any large corporate entity’. It was founded by one simple dhothi-clad man Mr.P.Rajagopal, aNNAchi as he is popularly known as & fondly called , a school drop-out from a remote hamlet in far south. First in 1981, he made a humble beginning by opening the first branch in K.K.Nagar, Madras after leaving his grocery business for good.
b) Its Stunning Growth:
Its Clienteles found it an authentic dependable place to eat at & its popularity grew by leaps & bounds & it started sprouting branches in almost all parts of Madras & neighbouring Conjeevaram & overseas too.
c) Now, this hotel flaunts a large network of branches: around 20 outlets or so in Madras City alone ( number growing day by day), 2 Fast Food Centres, 2 branches each in New Delhi, Dubai & Singapore & one outlet each in Sunnyvale ( near my place in California), Toronto (Canada) , Malaysia & Sharjah. It is said to have a total of around 33 outlets (correct figures to be checked out each day) in all.
d) HSB has been serving the people from dawn to dusk since 1981 for over 24 years & catering to many thousands daily. The business for all other veg. hotels near to the crowded HSB is always very poor & those almost-empty hotels depend solely on the patronage of ignorant, tasteless indiscriminate floating population.
III. HSB’s Specialities:
High Quality, wholesome, authentic, ultimate South Indian Veg. Food
Customer Service: Cordial, Fast & Efficient
oven-fresh & ultra-tasty, mouth-watering, Finger-licking timely dishes
Attendants in immaculate White Uniforms & caps
- Hygiene & Cleanliness: High Standard
(Fail not to make a trip to the Ultra-Clean kitchen, Store-rooms & the well-maintained Rest-rooms with plenty of water at all times & in all seasons)
Spic & Span environment, pathways.
Home & Party & Function Door-Deliveries
- Reasonable rates (for the quality, Cheap I should say)
An ordinary limited meal ( more than sufficient for a normal eater) costs Rs.25 or so while the Spl. Meal (with a sweet, curd, fruit & extra dishes) costs around Rs.37 or so though the prices are a little higher at ’Thanigai Murugan A/C Hall’ at T.Nagar.
IV. CUISINES: A lot of Varieties & Plenty of Choices!
Can you believe that as many as 300+ (they say 370) Vegetarian Dishes are served there in HSB daily? The following readily comes to my mind:
a) South Indian Meals:
Tamilnadu Meals , Spl. Meals , Child Meals, Executive Lunch, Quick Lunch, Mini-meals.
b) North Indian Meals:
To cite a few, Tandori Items (Roti, Kulka, Paratha, Nan etc etc), House Specialities such as Chilli Gobi Fry, Gobi-Mushroom Fry, Mushroom chops, All Briyani & Pulav & Fried-rice Items, with Side Dishes & Special Punjabi Thali.
c) Chinese Items:
Fried Rice & Noodles (about a dozen+ varieties) Chinese Side-dishes like Vegetarian Manchurians, Chilly Mushroom etc etc.
d) South Indian Snacks & Tiffin items:
From Idly , vada, Dosa to Spl. Ghee Masala Roast & a foot-long Paper masala Roast along with Sambar & Chatnis, from belly-bloating Chenna Batura to Poori (with kurma / potato masala / chops/ dhal), from Chappati / parOtta & side dishes to the super delicious adai avial, butter & jaggery-pieces and many other dishes & snacks.
e) Soups & Drinks:
Top Class FILTER COFFEE (the one Rajivji liked most), Tea, Masala Milk, Beverages, Bakery & Confectionary Items, All Fresh Juices & Lassies, Special Ice-Creams etc etc.
f) One Extra Free Sweet & Spl. Mixed-Rice on Festival Days.
V. Conclusion:
As they rightly say, the proof of pudding is in the eating. I’ve dined in some of the branches of HSB in Madras & its foreign outlets in Sunnyvale & Toronto. Here, I’ve seen clienteles of different nationalities with their families having a good time & enjoying the food with relish. More & more Clienteles throng these restaurants. I feel it is proof enough for the quality & taste of the food served & its near universal appeal in cosmopolitan life. Seeing is Believing!’
With Top-class High Quality Hotels & Restaurants such as HSB, Madras Hotel Ashoka, Swagath, DasaPrakash, Woodlands around to cater to every taste, every one is sure to find his/her gourmet’s Paradise in Madras & that too at an affordable price. For tourists while on visits & for traders & residents while on shopping or partying spree or on the look out for a change, these hotels are ideal. When we choose to eat out or party, most of my friends’ & me & my family members prefer HSB to others while in Madras or at San Jose.
Friends:
Thank you for your time & interest in the topic. I invite you all to come up with your comments on HSB.
I’m all eyes & ears!
Over to you.