“Shall we start with ‘Naana Sertha Kootam?,” when D. Rajasivasundar, one of the partners of Vaadivaasal, asked, it sounded unique. For, what he meant by the title was nothing but assorted vegetable salad. Such catchy phrases have been cleverly used in the menu card to attract people. And within a month of its inauguration, the restaurant is already roaring with business.
Tucked between Priya Multiplex and Arvind Eye Care System on the busy Anna Nagar road, Vaadivaasal grabs attention with its get-up and ambience. The facade resembles the entry gate through which bulls are let out in the arena of jallikattu. Once inside there is plenty of open space with four huts and stone benches. “Eating under the grass roof is a cool option during lunch time. With each hut having five tons of this specially ordered grass on its roof, there is a visible temperature difference of up to four degrees.” Being an architect, Rajasivasundar has thoughtfully designed the place with jallikattu paintings.
As far as food goes, there is plenty on offer. The tastes are distinctive – although some work better than the others. For example, the Vaadivaasal Kaadi Chops is a clear favourite. The mutton rib with its crispy outer court and succulent meat is moderately spicy and tastes good. But, the trick here is to identify your favourite food and then keep an open mind. Each dish is an experiment with ingredients, some tweak and twists to arrive at that fascinating delicacy.
The price of non-vegetarian meal is quite competitive for the variety offered. It costs Rs.90 with chicken, crab and prawn thokkus (gravies) and mutton and fish kozhambus apart from the routine rasam, curd and payasam combo. Though biryani is not their forte, it tastes good. Vaadivaasal Meen Puttu and Vaadivaasal Muttai are the two stand out performers.
Generally, shark or seer fish is used to make puttu as you get boneless fish pieces but here at this restaurant they have used ‘ooli’ (barracuda) fish and that tastes different and goes well with rice. “You have to taste our Vaadivaasal Muttai. The egg is boiled and cut into small dices and prepared with spices, shallots, tomatoes and sautéed. It tastes good with rice and breads,” says Satheeskumar, junior cook.
Every day, one of the chef’s special varieties like Chicken Mongolia, Sea Queen (dish made with Prawns), Herbal, Oregano and Mint Chicken take centre stage. As it is a place for traditional food tender coconut water and palm jaggery replace plain water and sugar in all the juices.
TRADITIONAL FARE
@ 37A, Near Cinepriya Theatre,
Anna Nagar Main Road,
HIT: Catchy titles for dishes and taste
MISS: Moderately spicy
Phone: 8807023456
