Resturant Review: Modern Hindu Hotel

Summary: No frills South Indian meals place
Getting there: Apeejay Chambers, Wallace Street. Diagonally opposite Sterling Cinema towards Cathedral School, Fort, Mumbai. Not easy to spot.
Don't Miss: The thali. What else?
Food Cost: <50
Description:
For the kind of place this is, I am amazed at the fan following and the kind of crowd it attracts.

No frills means absolutely no frills. This place defines the term. No frills in food, no frills in service, no great shakes on decor - even the building is a creaky old structure that looks like a hundred years old.

So why does the place attract a lunch crowd of young professionals from the nearby banks and offices?

Let me describe the experience.

First of all, for people who aren't the urban explorer types, it is a little tough locating this place. The regulars just brush you off. "It's opposite Sterling yaar" - is the most concise direction I got. I've never found the place in the first attempt (I always ended up at the wrong place, then try a couple more buildings and watchmen) until my office shifted close by. So here's how - get to Sterling cinema, and walk towards the Cathedral and John Cannon School (in the opposite direction from CST). The second building on the left side of Wallace street is the decripit Apeejay Chambers with many old world offices.

You could go around to the back of the building for a rickety lift ride up to the fourth floor - or take the equally rickety wooden stairs up. If you are in lunch hour - 12.30 to 3.00, simply follow the well-dressed crowd.

Right. Now you are on the fourth floor. See a dining room? No, don't barge in there. You are advised to meet the well-built man on the counter on the left side, and buy a token of Rs 40/- (TR coupons accepted). Then, join the queue.

Modern Hindu Hotel serves eaters in batches. There are two halls, which seat around 12 people each. Only when either of these halls empty out, are you invited in by an old gent. You sit in a chair-table combo, and then it all starts.

You can chose to eat in a steel plate or a plantain leaf. (Shed your north Indian sensibilities and nod for the leaf, man). The quick, mechanical, efficient procession starts as soon as you have sprinkled water on the leaf. First, two katoris (small steel bowls) get plonked (If you like your dal in a katori, ask for an extra) on your table. Sambar (a delicate, yellow type which looks and tastes more like a Gujarati kadhi with cucumber, than the Udipi sambar we are all used to) comes first, followed very quickly by rasam (tangy gravy-soup made of tamarind, dal, tomato) - these are filled in your katoris. Then a curry of the veggies of the day (it was beans + gourd + brinjal once and beans + pumpkin the other), and a creamy but light dal, on your leaf/plate. You could ask for a spoon, but everyone else would be eating with their fingers.

Chapatis follow. Once you are done, rice, dahi and a large papad follow.

That's about it. You could ask for extra helpings of the same stuff which are free of charge. However, chaas, extra papad and sweet (Mysore Pak, usually) are charged separately.

The meal isn't exceptionally rich or heavy. Niether is it made with desi ghee or the finest, most expensive ingredients. But it tastes homely, simple, light and easy on the palate and wallet. No great gastronomic experience. But I go there again and again because it somehow reminds me of a simple time long ago, when you did not have to bother about trans-fats and lifestyle diseases - because they just did not exist. There is much joy in partaking a simple, hot and filling meal.

Modern Hindu Hotel is open for lunch from 12.30 to 3.00 pm and dinner from 7.00 to 9.00 pm.