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...."
