You get parathas everywhere but parathas at Parothe Wali Galli in Delhi are special...........
You get Rasgollas everwhere, but Rasgollas at KC’s in Kolkata are special.........
You get pizzas everywhere, but pizzas at pizza hut are special.............
You get kachoris everywhere, but kachoris at Shegaon in Maharashtra are special...........
Similarly, you get idlis everywhere, but idlis at Murugan Idli Shop in Chennai are special...............
This is the explanation I gave to my guests from Mumbai who had recently visited me at Chennai. I had taken all the efforts at morning 8’O clock to go to ’Murugan Idli Shop’ to bring idlis and dosas for them for breakfast and they were wondering, why I had travelled so far when idlis and dosas are available in the restaurant at the corner.
Being a Chennaite for almost 5 years now, I have tasted South Indian food at each and every outlet in the town, and take it from me................the food at the restaurant called ’Murugan Idli Shop’ is the best amongst all of them..........the best tasting idlis in the whole world !!!!!!
The Location
Right in the heart of the city!!! Its a chain of restaurants having outlets on GN Chetty Road, North Usman Road, Besant Nagar and few other places in Chennai. The outlets are located at the prime locations where there is a good crowd dining out. So, you won’t have much trouble finding out this outlet if you are dining out in Chennai as these are the places one would normally go out for dining.........
The Ambience
Uniqueness lies in the traditional ambience created at all the outlets. There are signs inside which say, ’’Please do not ask for spoons and forks, we do not serve those’’ which means, you have to eat using only your hands if you have to dine here. I was shocked to read this, the first time I visited the outlet on GN Chetty road about a year back. And I had betted that they would not be able to continue this trend in a metro like Chennai. To my surprise, the trend still continues and now you have to wait for minimum one hour to get a table at 11’O clock at night !!!!!!!!! So, the system worked. Only, I have stopped going there to eat, he he!!! Now, I prefer getting the stuff packed and get it delivered instead of waiting in queue to get inside, ha ha!!! The restaurants are small in size, but the ambience is homely, colourful interiors, good level of hygiene and sanitation maintained.
The Service
Great service !!! You order the food and it is on your table within 5 minutes. If its uttapam, 10 minutes. Idlis, served in just 2 minutes. Food is served on banana leaves and water in plastic cups immersed in steel glass. Amazing part of the service lies in the take home packets. Can you imagine the efforts they take to pack each and every idli............suppose you have to order for four people.......say 12 idlis and 4 dosas........you pay the amount and when you get the receipt, its mentioned on it, how many boxes would be used for packing........they have standards - only 3 idlis in one box.......yeah they use cardboard boxes to pack everything........so you would come out with a heap of 7 boxes (for a food for 4 people) with chutneys and sambhar packed individually for each dosa and each idli in each box...........waiters are well mannered and know their job well........
The Food
This is the most important part in any restaurant, hee hee!!! Food is simply YUMMY here, to describe it in brief. You get all variety in South Indian food over here, right from idlis, variety of dosai - plain...masal...rawa...etc., onion utappam, pongal, ghee pongal, kitchdi, vadai - 3 types and on top of all this a good filter coffee. You get 3 or 4 types of chutneys which is a common feature in all the restaurants in Chennai. But chutneys over here taste different, dunno how they make it.
To describe the quality of idlis at Murugan...........it simply melts in your mouth the moment you put it there.......you hardly have to chew it.........nowhere in the world you get this kinda idlis......I had experienced rosgollas in kolkatta which simply melt in the mouth......but to create that kind of texture in idlis is not easy.......no other restaurant could do it......
The food is hygienic, with reasonable good combination of spices giving great aroma.....I heard they use more of black pepper instead of red chilli powder......
The Cost
You would be shocked to know the cost after knowing the quality of food and service. Idli - Rs.4 per piece..........Dosa Rs.15 per piece.......In 100 rupees 3-4 people can have tummy filled food over here........
The food is worth experiencing if you are at Chennai........I would suggest the take home kind as it is irritating to wait for ages to get inside the restaurant if you go for dining.......still if you wanna sit n eat there.....dont go in the peak hours.......go early in the morning.......