Malgudi Garden restaurant review

So finally, I got the opportunity to fulfill my eternal quest to have some delicious Dosa in this alien country. Visited "Malgudi Garden" for dinner today.

The most remarkable aspect of this restaurant is the service. Food is undeniably good but what actually steals the show is the superb service. Wouldn't you feel like a million bucks when after a long hard weekend, you go out for dinner on a Friday, and are welcomed by smiling faces of the restaurant hosts. Prompt and ever helpful, they kept coming up to our table again and again to check if we were liking the food and needed anything else. Not just the hosts but each one of the servers were extremely gracious and attentive.
Loved the varieties of dosas and chutneys. But the ghee roast dosa deserves a special mention. The aroma itself transported me back to sweet India. Oh my first and only love, India! How I miss you! The creamy custard was delectable. And south Indian coffee refreshed me instantly.

This restaurant deserves a 4.6 on a scale of 5. Good job, guys.

The eternal quest to have the Best Masala Dosa

So in order to satisfy my eternal quest to have the best masala dosa in town, me and my roomie went to the newly opened Madurai Thattu Kadai restaurant in W Spring creek, Plano, braving the icy cold winds ravaging the barren planes of Plano.

The ambience was cowboyish with wooden benches-table and brick finished walls. You can't miss the huge posters featuring the South Indian superstars. And the overly loud songs were a bit of distraction especially when one is trying to have an intellectual conversation.

Coming to food. We ordered Masala dosa, fish fry, chicken biryani, chicken sukka and filter coffee. Its self service restaurant. (-1). Taste wise the dosa was good. Size wise, too small. The server poured the orange chutney next to the dosa and was trying to do the same with the sambar. (Can you imagine!) I had to point him, "Hey, buddy! Won't it be a good idea, to serve the sambar in a small bowl?) The bulb glowed above his head, and he promptly got me a bowl for sambar which was delicious. The orange chutney was bit low on salt. The fish Fry was bland and spiceless. The chicken biryani was passable and again he had poured the gravy next to the rice. The chicken sukka (Bits of shredded chicken stir fried with some onion) was sad to say the least. My 6 yrs old niece could have prepared that! Filter coffee was average, not worthy of a south Indian restaurant though.

Some minuses here.

Plastic cutlery -1
Self service -1
Pouring the sambar next to dosa - Double minus 1

Overall, a below average experience. On a scale of 10, I would rate it to be a 4. My roomie gives it a 3. 

Saravana Bhawan at Plano, Texas

When you are in an alien country and your heart desires for something that has the promise of tickling your taste buds, what do you do? You browse the net for Indian restaurants near your home, focusing on south Indian fare as nothing tastes better than a spicy Mysore Special Masala Dosa on a rainy evening.

So, me and my 3 friends zeroed on the Famous “Saravana Bhavan”, which had newly opened up in my city. While I yearned for some crispy hot dosa, my friend chanted “Chennai Filter coffee” all the way to the restaurant. As it became windier outside, we reached the place and the excitement in the air was quite palpable. As expected, there was no space to even stand, after some initial waiting time, we managed to get a table for 4. All of us ordered different varieties of Dosa, Manchurian in starters and filter coffee. After about 30 minutes, the waiters arrived with our Dosa and dumped it on our table. When we asked them which one is what, they were shocked at this question. They cheerfully responded, “No clue, which one is what, we just got it from the kitchen.” While we 4 tried to solve the puzzle as to which one is Kara Dosa, vegetable dosa, & Mysore Dosa the waiters conveniently vanished. After a while, after we had started eating, they said, by mistake in place of vegetable dosa, they had served some other dos and they will replace it. We nodded our heads and agreed to wait for some more time, expecting our starter dish (Manchurian) to arrive before the Dosa. After some more time, they returned with the correct dosa and we were too hungry, so we attacked the dishes with great gusto. Then the head waiter (I am assuming) walked up to us and said, they are out of Filter Coffee! Can you imagine, a South indian restaurant of a Saravana’s caliber saying, they are “OUT” of coffee! Its like going to “Arsalan” or “Shiraz” and they saying, they are “OUT” of Biryani! Anyways, after we were done with our Dosas, they suddenly remembered about the Manchurian, and to save them from their uncomfortable misery we told them to cancel that order. They seem overjoyed, literally.

Now coming to Dosa. The Sambar and 4 varieties of chutneys were ordinary with nothing to write home about. The light green and dark green chutneys were low on salt and were almost bland. The orange one was alright. I am a die-hard fan of Sambar and I always manage to take refills. But this was one time, where in I barely managed to finish my assigned portion. Now the last part of the story. By the time, we had finished our food, the place was almost deserted. So the waiters who were done with their duty, chose to sit on the next table to ours for their “Khatti” session! Ok, now coming to the best part of the story. How many stars would you give to this place?

While I select 2.5 on a scale of 10, my friends feel 3 would be better as they were just 1 week old here. J

Delhi Durbar restaurant, Bhubaneswar :

Delhi Durbar restaurant, Bhubaneswar : A review

To cut the long story short,

Food 4.5/10
Ambience 5.5/10
Service 8/10

You must be wondering, why did I award such a low score to the food which is supposed to be the hallmark of this big brand. Two reasons. I ordered my favorite Chicken Biryani and Mutton Korma. The quantity served for the Biryani was miniscule. Baby portion actually. And the quality left much to be desired. The rice grains were soaked in gravy and that also in lumpy parts. In the perfect Biryani,  each grain should be separate as and should retain the flavor and aroma without being greasy and sticking to the palate.  The chicken pieces were very small and reaching them was a small treasure hunt in itself.
Coming to the Mutton Korma. The Mutton was chewy in texture and the origin seemed to be an old goat. The gravy was too rich and yellowish. Ideally it should have been orangish or grayish. So food was definitely a disappointment.

Ambience : Seems like they have taken over an old godown and converted it into this restro and completely forgot to clean the floor or give it a new look.  It was dirty grey marble. Definitely a let down. Mostly they have invested on the walls and gave it teak like wooden finish with few mughal paintings thrown in for that Delhi wala flavour. Chairs were too uncomfortable. Even my office food court chair is better compared to this.

On my way out,  I peeped into a side section, named 'Why not'. Now that's the kind of place I would like spend my money on. With complete white regal decor and plush comfy sofas along with silvery cute cushions. A low table to match the setting and softer lighting. Loved the entire look. But it's meant for bigger groups I guess,  5 and above types.  Not sure.

Overall, if you were my true friend, then I would advise you to stay clear of this restro. 

An Agile Organization

I got the opportunity to attend an HR conference today organized by NHRDN BBSR Chapter. The speaker for the evening was an HR veteran with over 20 years of experience in various companies covering the entire spectrum of offerings starting from IT to manufacturing set up.

The topic he discussed was very close to my heart. How an organization needs to be agile in order to adapt to changing times. I have always been a big promoter of embracing change, and love to observe the reaction of people to changes that are unexpected. The word that reverberated the entire hour and half was “Agile”. During these ambiguous times, with cut throat competition around for any organization, be it small or big, how can you stay ahead of the game from an organizational perspective? How can you create the much needed agility in your programs and processes? That was the whole crux of the talk.

Co-incidentally, today I also got to hear about a major change, you might call it a paradigm shift of sorts in my organization. And it was such a pleasant surprise. Although I was expecting something on these lines since about a month or so, but reading about it in black and white really reaffirmed my faith in the leadership. Moving with the times and in sync with the thoughts and aspirations of its people, is what makes an organization a force to reckon with. And I think, with this first step, we are very much on our way to challenge the might of say a Google, Apple or FB, companies which are renowned for their entrepreneurial work environment and a culture which promotes freedom of speech and expression.  A company which listens to what the people have to say and takes swift action upon it immediately, is the truest example of an agile organization.

During my MBA days, I read a book, “Built to last”, it was an essay on various companies over the years that had some trait or the other which enabled them to withstand the ravages of time and become world class organizations. And today I can say with utmost pride that, I am truly privileged to be working in such an organization.