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Olivia Greenway, travel journalist and copywriter

Mavalli Tiffin Rooms, Bangalore

March 20, 2010
By olivia

If you want a taste of real India then a visit to the Mavalli Tiffin rooms is not to be missed. After a short escape from the traffic noise by strolling through Lal Bagh park, exit at the northern end. Praying to whoever is your God, take care when crossing the road and head for the street opposite. In an unprepossessing squat, dusty building is set this throwback to the 1920s, known locally as “MTR”.

 

Upstairs is a waiting hall, where you give your name. Unusually for Bangalore, very few people who work here speak English. Smartly dressed potential customers sit patiently in the oppressive heat, some fanning themselves, waiting to hear their name called.

 

Eventually you are beckoned inside to a large room, reminiscent of a cafeteria. Red plastic picnic chairs and steel tables with metal drinking cups placed on top make MacDonald’s suddenly seem ultra smart. Glancing round at the décor – turquoise walls, faded curtains and 60s light fittings – it appears rather kitsch, except that they are from the 1960s. Antique, then. Our server appears. He is wearing a loincloth and barefoot. He puts down spoons and bowls. We manage to let him know we’d like bottled water by indicating to the couple sitting near us who have one on their table. He takes some money from us and sends a boy to a nearby shop. Our food arrives. There is no menu; everyone gets the same. It’s a type of samosa with pickles and dips. It’s by far the best samosa I’ve ever eaten. Our plates are cleared for the main event. I’m not a great dosa fan but that’s what we get. Food tastes better when eaten by hand so we both imitate others around us. I bite into my dosa and suddenly I understand. I understand the wait and the queue and the lack of menu.

 

I’d been in Bangalore for the best part of a week, eating in the top restaurants, yet at this lowly place, a simple concoction of fried wheat pancake and potato was just delicious. And all for the price of a newspaper back home.

 

Lalbagh Road 14, Bangalore, India

Contact tel: +91 80 2222 0022

Useful links
Mavalli Tiffin Rooms

 

Categories : Asia, Food, India, Restaurant Reviews, Reviews, Travel
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Trips 2018/2019

2019

January: Zanzibar

March: Cape Town & Pretoria

May: Slovenia

October: South Africa (tbc)

November: Kenya (tbc)

 

Trips 2018

March:  New York, including Frick Gallery

May:  Vietnam including Halong Bay

June:  Giverny and Monet’s garden

June:  Majorca

December: Hyderabad and Chandigarh, India

Trips 2017

January: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
February: Bangalore
April: Lake District
May: Malaga
September: Mexico, Cancun
November: Delhi, Agra, Shimla
December: Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Venice

Trips 2016 (not clickable)

January: Oxford, Tenerife
February: Hampshire
March: Manchester
April: Sicily, Germany
October: Bangalore, New Delhi
November: Bangalore, New Delhi
December: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

List of trips 2015 (not clickable)

January: European ski resorts; Milan
February: Germany, Austria, Switzerland
March: Istanbul, Jersey, Vienna, Prague, Budapest
April: Road trip Ireland
May: Road trip France, Germany, Benelux and Copenhagen
June: UK luxury hotels
December: Cannes

List of trips 2014 (not clickable)

January Weimar, Vienna
February - Berlin, London
April - Chicago, Toronto, Montreal
May/June - Driving trip, Spain
July – Majorca
July - Paris
August - Southern UK
September – Northern Italy including Venice
October - South of France
October/November - Germany, Austria and Switzerland
December - Cape Town, Durban, driving along Garden Route South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda

List of trips 2013 (not clickable)

  • January - Tenerife
  • March - Istanbul
  • April - Italy luxury hotels - mid and southern Italy including Sicily
  • June - Las Vegas
  • June - Massive west coast road trip - Vancouver, BC
  • June - Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Diego
  • September - Washington DC, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia
  • September - Carolinas, Georgia, northern Florida (Talahassee area)
  • September - New Orleans, Orlando, Miami; Vancouver
  • October - Puglia, Italy and Milan

List of trips 2012

  • January - Hawaii, USA
  • February - France - Le Touquet, Lens, Lille
  • March - Nelamangala, India
  • July - Milan, Italy
  • August - Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • August - Iguazu Falls, Brazil
  • August - Montevideo, Uruguay
  • September - Delhi, India
  • November - Dubai, UAE

List of trips 2011

  • January - Madeira, Portugal
  • February - Bangalore, India
  • April - British Virgin Islands, Caribbean
  • May - Sicily, Italy
  • May - San Francisco, USA
  • June - Bangalore and New Delhi, India
  • July - Prague, Czech Republic
  • July - Munich, Germany
  • July - Washington DC, USA
  • August - Lake District, UK
  • September - La Grande-Motte, France
  • Annapolis, USA
  • October - Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • December - Helsinki, Finland
  • December - St Petersburg, Russia

List of trips 2010

  • February - India - Kerala & Chennai
  • March - Manchester & the North West
  • March - Austria
  • April - Czech Republic
  • May - Lake District
  • June - Cologne
  • July - India - Bangalore and Delhi
  • August - Eastern Cape & KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
  • September - Grasse, south of France
  • September - Wick, Scotland
  • October - Utah, USA
  • December - Montreal, Canada
  • December - Madeira, Portugal
Olivia Greenway, travel journalist and copywriter
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