It was one
of those days when in search of a perfect restaurant befitting the blissfully cool
winter afternoon had us rejecting at least three joints before we came across The
Tanjor Tiffin Room. The moment we set our eyes on it we knew we had made the right
decision.
They have
beautiful outdoor seating perfect for winters. There is this small courtyard of
a thing which makes you feel as if you have stepped into a Rudyard Kipling
book. When you enter the left corner wall has a huge old gnarled mango tree. The
wall on the right side is painted a beautiful combination of burnt orange and
rust – not the bright garish kind, but the dull and muted kind that has seen
the passage of time and sunlight – and has small motifs drawn on it like a boundary
wall of a long-forgotten temple that you may have stumbled across, complete
with monkey lamps – literally monkeys holding bulbs – to complement the jungle
theme. The whole courtyard is a profusion of green in various sizes, shapes and
colors. There are shrubs, planters, hanging planters, creepers and trees.
The awning
is not your regular white and green stripes. Here the awning is made of wire
mesh supported by big strong frames and with creepers being given plenty of opportunity
to climb and claim that space for themselves, creating a living and breathing awing
of leaves that seem to filter the sunlight and only let the warmest, gentlest
and the most delicate beams to pass through them. In other words, I found the
ambience warm, welcoming and peaceful.
Now that I have
covered the ambience to my heart’s content let’s move on to the main reason we
were there, the food.
The very first
thing on the table were the gravy and rice samplers. They were my first and I enjoyed
sampling all of them.
After the
sampling we ordered the food. We went for nethili fry, chicken chettinad, appam,
Malabar parotta and chicken biryani. The fish was crispy and tasty, the mutton
was yum though a little spicier than what I am used to handle. The appam and Malabari
parotta were perfect. The chicken biryani was our kind, every thing together
and slightly wet and sticky, not the layered and every rice kernel separate kind.
All this
goodness was washed down with virgin mojito, green apple lemonade, long island
iced tea and garden galatta. Garden galatta is really pretty drink to look at,
the mojito and iced tea met the mark. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the
green apple lemonade.
And the
bill was served with two elaichi bananas. They were the perfect end to a perfect
meal. I hope I am able to visit the restaurant once before this cold wave ends
and enjoy the outdoor seating, for how often do we come across such places in
Mumbai.
