Finally had a chance to taste food at one of the oldest tiffin places in Chennai – Gomathi Mess in Mandaveli. I’ve been hearing about this place from a few foodie friends and decided to try it today, for breakfast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\t\n\t\t\t\t

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I was surprised to see a small joint without a nameboard, effortlessly dishing out awesome Pongal, Vadais, Idlis, and Pooris to a steady crowd. We were there around 7:15 AM, and being a Sunday morning, it was crowded, quite as expected. The location is a little tricky to explain, hope this google pointer<\/a> helps !
\nMade our way to the counter and ordered Pondal and Vadai each, for the three of us. Ghee Pongal was superb, and together with the sambhar and chutneys, it was very tasty! Special mention about the Kaara Chutney, it was awesome! The flavor of the ghee in the Pongal was subtle, yet too good. Vadai wasn’t hot, but was extremely soft. I decided to try one from the next batch and sample piping hot vadais before rushing to a conclusion about its taste. Tried Idly next, and it was soft and had a perfect texture, something that you get only when the consistency of the batter is spot on. Saw a fresh batch of vadais and I had three \ud83d\ude42 Couldn’t stop with two! One thing worth mentioning is that most of the restaurants make the vadai such that the outer is crispy and the inside is soft, but this one was totally soft as a sponge, it was too good with the chutneys. Finally ended with a Poori Masala, couldn’t resist after seeing the others eat that. It was tasty, and the masala was a bit watery, but tasty though! One disappointment was non-availability of coffee! I dont think they serve coffee at all, didn’t look like a case of being sold out. It would have been a perfect end to a fitting breakfast!
\nThree of us had – 3 Plates Pongal, 3 Plates Idly, 2 Plates Poori Masala and 9 Vadais in all ! Paid 350 bucks for all these, which is a steal !
\nFriends got a parcel too, we had to wait a bit for that as there was a steady stream of customers waiting for dine-in!
\nSome Tips:
\n1. In case you’d like to get a parcel, take the containers! It makes it a lot easier and quicker.
\n2. Weekdays are much less crowded and easier to handle.
\n3. Be there by 7AM on Sundays, many times they are sold out before their closing time.
\nKudos to the guy who manages the show along with his wife and a helper, he was pleasant and courteous to everyone and accommodated the dine-ins and takeaways with the right priority such that no one was inconvenienced.
\nI would definitely visit again for a tasty breakfast and recommend it too!<\/p>\n