It all began when a colleague, fresh from the metropolis of Chennai, danced into the office singing, “Cream Centre from Chennai is here”! Coimbatore is no Chennai but we do have our own eateries that are nothing to be sneezed at. So what is so great about Cream Centre? Her “Oh, their ‘mera thali', oh their chaat, oh their kulfi, oooooh their nachos…” really set our backs up and finally, just to stop her, we decided to lunch there.
Nachos in cheese
So how was it? Pretty impressive at first glance. It was much bigger than what it appeared from outside and we followed her as she beamed her way in. “We must have the starters,” she exclaimed and sang a paean to the onion rings, American corn cheese balls and nachos. So we ordered those. And, and, and, the bhaturas are so good, she crooned. So we ordered those. Then she rubbed her hands in glee and said, “Now we can create our own thalis.” We glared at her and she subsided with a muttered “The falafel is yummy too.” So bring that, we snapped at the waiter.
Usually, ‘multi-cuisine' attempts spell disaster. You end up with the chana smelling unmistakably of perungayum or sambar reeking of garam masala. Was this going to be like that? We crunched our way through batons of pickled carrots and shallots in vinegar that were put on our table first. By the time the nachos arrived with cheese dripping off them in big creamy blobs, we were prepared to be pleased.
It is always exciting when a new eatery opens in town. And a lot of others think so too going by the crowd. There aren't too many North Indian cuisine places in Coimbatore. And Cream Centre is very welcome here. Going by the crowd response at the restaurant, the bean-bag-sized bhaturas seem to be a hit. The chanas accompanying it are just right and the scattering of paneer on top is sure to win it brownie points.
The American corn balls were just right and the chats that accompanied the thali were pretty authentic too. Only the falafel seemed to have had a bad day. It lacked the x factor and the shredded cabbage that came along with it was rather dry and unappetising. However we remedied that by tucking in more carrot pickle into the pita bread. Service was slow, (or may be we were in a hurry), but it was worth the wait.
There is only so much one can eat at one go so we decide that the next time we will try out the ragda patties, the paratha meals, and dig into the pastas, pizzas, sizzlers and biriyani.
Cream Centre has a nice ambience, and when the waiter, even before he is asked brings you two spoons with just one bowl of dessert. You have got to praise him! And a warning! Table mats here have puzzles and word jumbles.
Take someone who is good at un-jumbling them, otherwise you may not enjoy the meal as much as you should.Cream Centre is located at T.S Road, Race Course. 11.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. and between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.
For details, call 0422-4348889.
PANKAJA SRINIVASAN
