Mun Veedu, Adyar,Chennai

There is a friend who likes to visit new restaurants, experiment with cuisines, actually she likes Indian cuisines as Italian and Continental are not spicy enough for her!! :D So, one morning, she called me with excitment in her voice and asked if i was free to meet for lunch... I replied in affirmative and she then said , lets go to Munveedu[ pronounced: Mann veedu- house made of sand]

Apparently there had been news about the place in the paper almost daily and it had been lanched recently- Oct 28th, she went on.... Asked her for directions and got on with my day... 

It was 12.45 and i was just entering the road next to Malar-Fortis Hospital and heading towards Gandhinagar club, with eyes focussed on either side of the road looking for the restaurant.. Drove past the club and still no luck.. And then, voila, i spotted the small Terracota board on the right side with the name written in tamil. The security guided me to the entrance and there i found a dhabba express like restaurant- red mud/terracota interiors, with pots and people embossed on them. Comfortable cane chairs with foam stuffings, though they were designed to not hold a bag or a phone [they kept sliding off the surface]

Munveedu in Tamil means a home made of mud. And indeed, the restaurant has mud walls reminding one of a cosy houses in the villages..

There is also a bullock cart, minus the bulls standing outside, near the entrance. It does look nice, but doesnt do much to the service offered inside!!

The menu was extensive and listed down quite a few South Indian dishes from various parts of Tamilnadu – Chettinadu, Karaikudi, Coimbatore, Dindigul and so on- kinda like Karaikudi Restaurant.. It serves both vegetarians and non-vegetarians food. 

We finally settled for the Zameen Meals [Zameen in Hindi mean earth which is another word for Mun/mann-sand, bhoomi], which was Rs399 for veg and Rs499 for non veg.  My friend had ordered a non veg starter and veg soup which took forever to reach out table... To a point where we actually wondered if the waiter had forgotten about us... There was a couple in the adjacent table who were done with their meal, paid their bill and off with their doggy bag before our soup landed on our table..

The place mat with a thirukkural on it- in Tamil with the meaning in English...

The place is quite spacious, with enough tables scattered across the rooms, ranging from 2 seaters to 6 seater tables. I was quite amazed at the crowd that had piled in and the long queue of people waiting outside...

The soup was a kind of Rasam, with lots and i mean Lots, read Overdose of Coriander leaves and Curry leaves... I dint care for it too much... The starter my friend said was good- think it was Prawns! 

Our Zameen meals finally arrived.. it was quite elaborate- there was Idiyappam, a Parotta apart from quite a few side dishes... We were also served hot Appams and rice & ghee [optional]... 

Overall, the food was ok.. There was nothing exceptional about the quality or options available.. I would rather go to Karaikudi... 

Food-4/5

Price: 3/5

Ambiance -4/5

Service- 3/5

Rating-3.5/5

  

Address:

Mun Veedu

34/72A, 4th Main Road, Gandhi Nagar,

Adyar.

Ph: [044]4260 7475, 7299909494

Directions

Drive down the road next to Malar Hospital[Fortis], straight down past Gandhi nagar club side wall, and you will spot this hotel on the right side in a complex that also houses an office! There is a small board with "Mun veedu" written in tamil.... The entrance is on the side, near the Bullock cart...