M T R
The Icon of Bangalore Mavalli
Tiffin Rooms on Lalbagh Road SOME
THINGS, thankfully, never change. And it should not change, like the Mavalli Tiffin
Rooms that dishes up staple South Indian breakfast/ tiffin to thousands of people
every day. MTR for me has been an important part of my life. Having lived for
the most part of my life close to MTR, my week was never complete without three
to four visits to the restaurant . I am sure MTR, has literally millions of fans
like me, just for the taste and cleanliness that the second best is not even close
to it.
Mavalli
Tiffin Rooms, a 'pure' vegetarian cuisine, more popularly called as MTR has been
the pride of Bangalore and more so for the southerners for over 83 years now.
Situated on Lalbagh Road, and very close to the Lalbagh gardens, the doors of
this small vegetarian restaurant always opens for serpentine queues of joggers,
walkers and the regulars waiting for their breakfast of mouth watering delicious
Idli's, Dosas, Uppittu and Kesari Baath and hot piping coffee.
BREAKING NEWS : MTR
FOODS SOLD FOR $100,000 Million
The 80-year-old Bangalore-based
company MTR Foods has been sold to Orkla of Norway for $100 million or Rs 443
crore, according to a news posted on a HongKong-based website FinanceAsia.Com,
reports DHNS from Bangalore.
Housed
in a small old building MTR does not have the ambiance and décor that today's
restaurant have to attract customers. MTR, in fact does not need to attract customers
as managing their customers have been a big task for the staff. People wait for
a couple of hours on a typical Saturday or Sunday just to get a table although
the restaurant has three floors to serve. The ground floor is primarily for those
"On the Go" customers who would want to get a quick bite or just coffee
and tea. The first floor is where you register and wait for your turn for them
to call you when the table is ready. The dining area is mainly for families &
ladies where the interiors, the lights and fixtures, fading black & white
photographs donning the walls remind one of the pre independence era. The service
and treatment rendered is commendable by the waiters, who typically wear a shirt
and a dhoti folded in half. Even more commendable is that they do not accept a
TIP.
Starting as a small Brahmin's Café, MTR has always been
one of the city's hottest eating spots. It has a reputation for savory food and
high standards of hygiene and cleanliness. The greatest quality of MTR is their
uncompromising Quality over the years. When price controls were imposed during
the Emergency in 1975 MTR had to down their shutters not wanting to compromise
on the quality over the price. MTR preferred to lose business rather than compromise
on quality. This quality is maintained even today. In 1951, MTR was one of the
first Indian restaurants to introduce steam sterilization, enhancing its reputation
for cleanliness. MTR which has been a household name in Bangalore for over 80
years now has several products ranging from a variety of vegetarian snack foods
and chips, soups, frozen foods, ready-to-eat meals, spices powders, pickles, vermicelli,
and over 30 varieties of ice cream and ice cream cones.
While a food
junkie like me would endure anything for a breakfast at MTR, not to be missed
is the five-course vegetarian meal at Rs.75.00. Starting with a glass of grape
juice in a small silver "tumbler", they serve Dosas, chappathis, Curries,
Bisibele Baath, Rice, Sweets like Obbattu with ghee on it and a lot more that
keeps coming one after the other. One of the sweets available at MTR is the Chandrahara,
which has no parallel. The Thali is served on a Silver Plate, which is continuously
replenished by the waiters. MTR is probably the only place where the waiters literally
force you to eat the food.
MTR Foods Ltd., which is one of India's leading
purveyors of packaged foods also exports canned foods, Ready to Eat Foods and
spices to the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia,
Japan and other Asian countries. The latest addition to the MTR Group is the "Namma
MTR" chain of Retail stores opened in Bangalore and Dubai showcasing their
range of products and also offers variety of fast foods.
The Rava Idli,
which is one of the favourite breakfast dishes of south India, was invented by
MTR. The discovery channel featured MTR on their show when they did a special
on Indian food specialties. MTR received the Rotary Award for its quality and
hygiene and was also recognized as the best South Indian Tiffin restaurant by
the Times of India, a leading newspaper.
If you are a true connoisseur
of food and will endure anything for a good meal, then do not miss MTR.
MTR
is open Tuesday to Sunday 6:30am-noon, 12:30-2:30pm, and 7:30-9pm. It is closed
on Mondays.
Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR)
#11, Lalbagh Road ,
BANGALORE
- 560 027,
INDIA .
Phone: 22220022
Website
: http://www.mtrfoods.com
If
you have been to Mavalli Tiffin Rooms recently and would like to comment on its
quality of food or anything about the restaurant, please rate this restaurant
here
D
A Anand from Bangalore giving an Excellent rating says " Awesome Food, only
cons is that its a bit time consuming out there."
Kishore
from Bangalore rates the restaurant as Good and says "this restaurant is
very famous for its pure and healthy food.... it gives a feeling of real taste
of bangalore food to any tourists...."
