I had gone to this overly heard and praised hotel in Chennai, very well known for the continental food it serves.It definitely didn't let me down in its variety and taste.Basically, this post is not about the food.
What is the quick image of a restaurant we get when we say continental food and pastas and burgers?- A huge hotel with glasses for walls, loud music, young guys or girls wearing caps with a strong english accent serving us and trying all their best to impress us.But this place took me aback, it definitely had a good ambience but no music, and it had young to old men to serve people. These people did not try talking in english, they knew people here speak tamil however they feel like and it is never mocked at. With their pleasant smile and the welcoming interest they show to the never ending crowd on a saturday afternoon makes you smile and think "Wow!!This is awesome". Trust me when I say when you see the crowd, you think they definitely are not gonna know tamil, but they terribly prove you wrong, this is one restaurant where people say "oru cheese ball, oru lassagne, rendu ice tea, oru fried ice cream". And if you are new you forget about everything but enjoy this mix. May be in a lot of places this happens, but in so many years of going to such restaurants I have only spoken in english and people have been looked down for talking anything but in english.
The best is in the end when an old man with specs and vibuthi in his forehead comes and asks you "Food nalla iruka?pudichi iruka?" and all you do by being a typical chennaiite is you say that word " 'supera' irrukku".Whatever it may be it is 'super' only for us when we have to give a true and a good compliment
It may be stupid to like these things but I don't know this is what we are, I wish such restaurants come all over India where they promote foreign food and surprise your taste buds but at the same time remind us of our culture and telling that there is nothing wrong to be reminded of our language and our ways. The number of these restaurants are increasing so are the people's desire to eat exotic food, and all we know in the end is to talk in english and scare the people who do not know english away from the restaurants that they will never get to enjoy such exotic food.
