We opted for a chaat lunch today at the four-month-old Penang branch of popular South Indian vegetarian chain, Adyar Ananda Bhavan. Originally conceived by Tamilian restaurateur, Thirupathi Raja, in 1979, the chain has grown to over 150 branches across India. This latest Penang branch is its fifth in Malaysia.
We’d just completed our weekly trek across George Town’s old town this morning, and weren’t really keen to put back the calories that we’d just burnt off. So, we decided to opt for a selection of Northern Indian chaats for lunch today:
Pani puri - very, very basic rendition. The flavors all seemed diluted, and they are quite likely the most miserable version I’d had in George Town - we’d had better ones at a dozen places or more in town. Not a good start.
Raj Kachori - this Rajasthani classic actually tasted much better than it looked, but which sadly lacked the finesse that I’d normally attribute to the prep of this elaborate chaat. The sweet-sour-creamy combination of tamarind, yoghurt and spices were a match-made-in-heaven for me.
Pav bhaji - competently prepared, but then, pav bhaji is probably one of the easiest chaats to “get right”. The ones here had all the requisite flavors, but nothing to lift them out of the ordinary. Still, must admit that we rather enjoyed these ones which we had.
Must confess that although we found the meal quite satisfactory, we didn’t quite understand the huge crowd here. Maybe Penangites are curious about this new joint, and also that it’s part of a well-known South Indian chain. Its rather pleasant ambience, and its excellent service - much better than what we’d encountered elsewhere - do make a big difference, too, I guess.
Address
Adyar Ananda Bhavan
55-57, King Street, 10200 George Town, Penang
Tel: +604-638 6786
Opening hours: 8am to 10pm daily
Ghee Dosa - the classic South Indian crisp crepe made from fermented rice-lentil batter, cooked with clarified butter. It’s served with some really tasty dips: white coconut chutney, spicy-red kara-chutney, green mint-coriander chutney, sambhar and a very aromatic, tasty dhal curry.
Masala Dosa - tasty, albeit rather clumsily folded, compared to the perfectly turned out versions we usually get from top South Indian breakfast places here like Woodlands, Chettiar and Pure Saiva.
Kesari - much, much too sweet - the worst we’d had, in fact. It lacked the fragrance and flavors we get from (much) better versions elsewhere here. Avoid!
