Lala Samosa Wala, East Kalmandapam Road, Royapuram

Walking along the streets of Royapuram the first time, I was counting the seconds until I found a nice snack shop or the other in one of these small lanes. Just when I was losing hope, I cross this small eatery. I was about to ignore it thinking they were the usual street Chaat shop, but I went back to give it a second look. It was a shop that made primarily Samosas! That delicious crispy evening snack that is filled with masala/salted potato mash.

                          Samosas - Flaky and yum.
Owner - busy at work with his son

                                                Somas - snack with a sweet rava filling

A grumpy looking Uncle, presumably the owner was busy frying them up. His son was making kachoris right next to him. That was a nice sight seeing the momo like dough shaped deftly by hand and stuffed with the kachori filling before frying immediately. I noticed they used good oil (Sunflower) from the container below. They also make Paal Kova, a sweet called Somas and some other sweetmeats which weren't prepared yet. 

I got just two Samosas (rs 10 each), one Channa (rs 25) and a Somas (rs 10 each) parcelled. It was only after 90 minutes that I was able to open up the packet in the comfort of home and taste these. But they held up excellently.

The Samosas weren't very oily and tasted very good owing to the good crunchiness and nicely spiced potato innards. The Somas' filling was like a hard rava ladoo and good too. The fact that everything was freshly prepared was easy to taste. Channa curry was also very tasty with some onions chopped and sprinkled. I refrigerated it and ate it for breakfast the next morning! 

Hoppipola, Nungambakkam

Got down in the Nungambakkam area thinking of getting a few chilled ones from the Elite Tasmac at Parson's complex but soon realized the two shops there has been shut down after the Supreme court directive! Now stranded in the heat and sweaty I definitely needed to go someplace cool and chill out. Closest option was Hoppipola which is a decent restobar that has allowed stags the two times I've been. Kudos to them for that! They stamp your hand at the entrance and take down your name and number too.

Ambiance

It's okay. Lighting is dim and nice. The seating is great if you have Michael Jordan's genes. So high that you may need to pole-vault into them.

Drink

Since it was around 8 pm on a Tuesday there was very less crowd. Pleasant surprise was the offers on Monday n Tuesday: you get a small pour domestic for just 70 bucks and pints for rs 140 excluding taxes! Same offer on other weekdays from 4-8 pm if Im not mistaken. Do call and check.

Tried the British Empire pints which were kept by the dozen along with KF Select. Tasted good luckily and chilled! It's a hit and miss with these. The only imported option was Asahi I think. They really do need more choices in their beer menu.

Food

Today I had the Muncher's favorite which is crumb fried chicken with a Mediterranean rub (rs 235). Plenty of just fried chicken pieces thats bite sized and coated with a nice Italian yet spicy masala! On a earlier visit we had tried the pepperoni pizza (nice one, rs 325), the grilled chicken (rs 325) named "Spank the cock" which was quite tasty and the French fries with cheese (150) which had lots of fries! Overall a nicely priced place to chill out for a few hours.

All in all a decently priced restobar for one that's so centrally located. Great for an impromptu chill out session. Music could be better during the early evenings.

Periamet Halwa Kadai

Dum ka Roat halwa and Ande ka meeta at Periamet Halwa Kadai

** This is a single review for multiple visits. **

This is a sweet shop you'll find near the Periamet mosque right opposite Hotel Khaja there. First few times I crossed this shop, I didn't even understand what they sold here since there is NO name board or anything and I didn't bother finding out. I guessed it was a small bakery or sweet shop. The place is set a little below road level.

But once I looked in and noticed something familiar looking. I guessed that this was Dum Ka Roat Halwa and asking the owner he confirmed it! I had never tasted Dum ka roat before so was happy to recognize it correctly. Also, the shop is tiny and sells very few items. Usually you will find Dum ka roat halwa and carrot halwa here along with juicy huge gulab jamuns for 15 rs each. Sometimes there is Bombay halwa (kind of halwa) sold here and some milk sweets too. And yes, you get Ande ka Meeta here too!

Price for Dum ka Roat halwa is 35 rs per 100 grams only! They are happy to give for this quantity in a sealed plastic packet.

Before this I had only heard that Dum ka roat was sold in Triplicane's Basha halwa shop, so this was a surprise find. The Halwa here is more ghee laden compared to Basha's halwa. The crust which is quite tasty if found is not as thick as Basha's but still yummy. Love biting into the pumpkin seeds amidst bites. For the price it's very good value and quality.

                               

They also sell the coconut filled circles like Dil pasand. This was pretty good with lots of sweet coconut filled in. About 30 bucks I think.

Ande ka meeta is another super dessert which you get here. It's also priced the same and has a yummy texture with almost no egg smell. Not overly sweet. Price around rs 35/100 grams

I've also tried the carrot halwa, bombay halwa here which are great too. Price ranges from 35 to 40 bucks per 100 grams again.  Gulab jamun is great but the syrup could be better tasting.

Another cool place to check out in the Central area. :)