May 3, 2014
Chennai Hot Café- Drink More!
By Anubhav Sapra
Address: E-143, Shop no.4, Kamla Nagar
Contact: 9212407758
Last Sunday, my dear friend Hillary who hails from Manipur, invited us for Easter Celebrations followed by a food fest at Emanuel Baptist Church, Civil Lines. More than being a part of the celebrations, I was excited about tasting the flavors at the North East Food Festival and so I readily accepted the invitation!
After participating in the Church service (songs and sermon) with my sister, we headed to the Lawns to savor the delightful food. We tried Singju (Manipuri salad), sandwiches, and a nicely made Cranberry juice mixed with soda and lime.
A lover of South Indian Cuisine, my sister accompanied me to the Easter Celebrations only on the condition that we visit Chennai Hot Café in Kamla Nagar soon after. The café is managed by Vipul and Kamal, residents of Kamla Nagar. The duo started the café three years back to serve affordable South Indian food to the student community of Kamla Nagar.
It is deliberate move on the part of the restaurant to have a limited number of dishes so as to maintain the quality of their food. The absence of desserts in their menu was the only downside as I was expecting to savor some South Indian sweet dishes like Payasam and Kesari bath.
My sister and I had Rawa Dosa, Masala Dosa and Uthapam all of which were excellent in taste and are a ‘must try’.
They have an interesting drink, the Neer More (spiced buttermilk), which is a summer drink quite popular in Tamil Nadu and the rest of South India. A bit different from the regular Chaash available in Delhi, it has coriander leaves, curry leaves, chilli and asafoetida as its ingredients. It was quite refreshing and undoubtedly, it is going to be my favorite drink this summer. Amazing dosas and a refreshing Neer More, need I say more?