Biryani craving on a Sunday is quite normal, and what does one do? Just give in, of course!
Having tasted most of the biryanis in the vicinity, one place that has been on my mind for quite some time is Chandrasekar Biryani Center in Tambaram. Immediately decided that’s the place I am going to tick off my list today!
It was a fairly long solo ride from Velachery to Tambaram, quite hot and humid and a pathetic traffic jam in Pallavaram. Took me a good 40 minutes to reach the place. Not too difficult to locate it as I went looking for the Axis Bank Tambaram branch. It is right next to it. From quite a distance, you could see two wheelers and a few cars parked in front of the shop, most of them seemed to do takeaways.
I entered around 01:20PM and it was quite busy. Got a seat and settled down, and I was informed I need to pay in advance and give the waiter the bill. Went to the cash counter and ordered one Chicken Kuska and one Chicken 65, and to my surprise, none of them were available!!! Quite shocked, I asked him what else was available. He replied only Mutton and Chicken Biryani and if I had come 30 minutes later, Chicken Biryani would have been finished too ! Not having any other option, ordered 1 Chicken Biryani wondering if it was worth coming all the way for this.
The Chicken Biryani had a nice leg piece and a boiled egg in it. Raita and Brinjal gravy were the usual accompaniments served. The moment I started to eat, the consistency of the biryani felt very nice and it tasted good. Nice aroma, not too oily, I began to relish it. Not a big fan of the Biryani chicken, I ate a bit of it. It was well cooked and soft. Finished the biryani and was in a dilemma – One was too little, and two would be too much, typical perils of a solo diner. I asked the waiter if we can get Kuska to which he replied if I wanted a ‘Half’ or a ‘Quarter’ 🙂 For a second, wished it was TASMAC and not a biryani center and immediately ordered a Quarter Kuska. For a top-up, these options are available, but if you want to buy Kuska straight away, it is not! Fair enough, their rules, their policies. The quarter Kuska was a bit too much, finished it with a bit of a struggle.
Decided to get parcel for family, and ordered 2 Chicken Biryanis for takeaway and headed back home. The ride back to Velachery couldn’t be any better, the weather having completely changed, slight drizzle when I was on the Pallikaranai Road, quite a challenge to keep awake with a biryani-loaded tummy!
Family loved the biryani totally, so I was pretty happy with the whole experience, just that the chicken 65 was missing, else it would have been a wholesome experience. Chicken Biryani is priced at Rs 130 and its totally worth it. I had to pay Rs 30 for the Quarter Kuska, totally 420! 🙂 Quite a fancy number!
Don’t want to get into comparisons as to which Biryani is better, but if I was in and around Tambaram, I’d definitely give this a try!
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