The moment I heard from a few friends in food circles that a place called Eating Circles opened in C P Ramaswamy Road, and it serves the typical Bengaluru/Mysuru Benne Dosa, I decided to check it out right away! It has been a long search in Chennai to get the same texture of Benne Dosa, the typical Bengaluru CTR and MTR types. I can say with confidence that this is the closest, that I have had in Chennai!
After a bit of searching on the internet, I saw that they already have a branch in Kilpauk! Surprising that I haven’t heard about them in any food groups as yet ! The place looked familiar, perhaps the same location where Flavors of Lalgudi was present, not too sure! The name board was brightly lit, and we didn’t have any problems locating it. As we climed the stairs, we saw a giant Thattu Idly wall hanging that welcomed us! 🙂
The place was well-lit, and ambience was pretty good. What was glaringly obvious was that the number of tables with seating were too few. only sixteen could sit at a time (from what I remember), rest had to stand and eat! I think they should seriously consider changing that. I had to stand for the whole time and it wasn’t very comfortable. I would prefer to be seated anyday !
I dragged a foodie friend along, and both of us decided to share and sample the dishes, so we’ll be able to cover more dishes on the menu and not repeat the same one. Firstly, its a self-service joint, so you have to either decide in advance what all you’re gonna have and pay up, or walk to the counter as and when you decide to have the next dish! Again, not the most comfortable setups I’d like. Anyways, they managed to make it as comfortable as possible with a token system.
We started with Special Benne Dosa and the Set Dosa. I would say, this Special Benne Dosa is the closest to CTR and MTR types. Loved the flavor of butter and the thick, yet crispy texture of the dosa. The slightly sweet Sambhar, very typical of the Bengaluru types, was wonderful. The chutneys were fresh and tasty. The peanut chutney could have been a bit more hot (as in hot because of chillies).
From what I remember, Set Dosa is always three in Bengaluru, and here it was just two. The size wasn’t too big either, but then it tasted very soft and yummy. The masala accompaniment that came with it was very tasty!
Next came the Khara Bath. Don’t know why, I’ve never fancied Khichdi in our restaurants, but I’ve never failed to eat Khara bath or Chow Chow Bath (Khara Bath along with Kesari Bath) when in Bengaluru. This one was very tasty, and we loved it.
Thattu Idly was soft, fluffy, and tasted good with the podi and ghee topping, but, I felt the one that I had in Kannappa in Kilpauk would beat this hands down! That literally slid down the throat, this wasn’t so easy to swallow. Perhaps this was not directly from the steamer, and had to wait outside for sometime, not sure !
Finally the Neer Dosa was wonderful. The accompaniment of sugar with grated coconut tasted very good with the dosa. I have heard it is not easy to make this one, but it came in perfect texture. We liked it.
Ended the dish with Rosemilk. This one tasted good, but was too little and priced 62 bucks. This, I felt was overpriced. Reasons could be many, but a small glass of rosemilk felt expensive. We bought one initially thinking we’ll share, and then after looking at its size, bought another one. They can perhaps look at the price of this one. Otherwise, from the pricing point of view, it was very reasonable for what they serve. I have no complaints with that.
Overall, loved this dinner and the place, we paid a little less than 500 bucks in all, absolutely worth it. I’m definitely coming back for Mysuru Masala Dosa and crispy Vadas.
No Comments