Legend tells of a legendary tiny restaurant at the heart of Lalbagh Road whose Rava Idli's were the stuff of legend.
Mavalli Tiffin Room - popularly known as MTR and remembered mostly(and sadly) by Gen X only for the ready to eat mixes lined up at department stores - is one of the oldest food joints in Bangalore and, perhaps, one of the handful of pure Karnataka cuisine restaurants left in the city. The place holds the world record for being the first to serve 21000 customers in 7 hours.
So what is it about MTR that has attracted famous personalities and top dignitaries during its 75 year history? Surely, you might say, no restaurant can maintain the same level of quality and taste over such a long period. Well, I beg...no... I plead to differ. Cz quality and hygiene are the very principles on which this iconic eatery was started. If a state of nation wide Emergency could not have the owners compromise on these principles, nothing really can.
As I mentioned, MTR offers a traditional Udupi Brahmin cuisine. The breakfast menu comprises of Rava Idli, Dosa, Khara Bhath and the extremely popular coffee, served in the typical MTR style - the guy comes in with 2 steel glasses, one filled with steaming hot coffee...places the 2 glasses on the table and divides the coffee into 2. The rava idli is out of the world - and understatement considering the fact that this dish was invented by MTR! The chatni itself is very unique and tastes wonderful when has with the crisp dosa cooked in butter. The dosa too, has an MTR touch to it, with an inner lining of some very tasty paste.
The restaurant offers a lunch meal as well, which equals a 4-5 course meal in terms of quantity. Not many people would enjoy the traditional Udupi taste, so I would recommend those foodies to try out the breakfast or the tiffin which is served at around 4 in the evening. DO NOT leave without having the coffee.
So drag yourselves out of bed on a Saturday or Sunday morning and head for MTR. You might have to wait in a queue for sometime unless you land up there by 7 but, trust me, it is worth the wait. In fact, you can spend you waiting time having a look at the blackboard menu for the day, or 20 year old photographs of famous personalities who visited and the founders, displayed along the old staircase. And for all you hygiene freaks out there...you have nothing to worry about coz the cleanliness prevalent in the kitchens of this restaurant can possibly challenge even the best of hotels in the city.
TRIVIA - The one person to thank for the invention of the Rava Idli is Indira Gandhi. Surprised? Well, it was during the state of emergency that MTR was compelled to use Rava (Semolina) for making Idlis instead of rice, which was scarce at the time.
Mavalli Tiffin Room
Lalbagh Road (Nr Main Gate)
Bangalore
