Lunch at Uduppi Hotel Pudupatti

On 09 December 2012, when I entered Uduppi hotel at Pudupatti (Pon. Puduppatti) with great hunger, it was lunch time. I opted to eat a square meal, ordered the same (Muzhuch Chaappaadu) and waited.

Meanwhile my eyes scanned all around the wall displays and recorded in my mind all beautifully presented photo stills, mainly the temples of Ponnamaravathi.

The waiter brought a nicely cut, green colour, previously cleaned fresh plantain leaf (Banana leaf), measuring about two feet length and one and half feet width (Adengappa!) and placed on the dining table spread opened with great care and kind.

A waterman kept a sparkling stainless steel tumbler measuring about 250 millilitres (250 Milliliters) at the left side of the leaf, filled it with water and placed a water filled jug adjacent to it.

A subjiwala waiter, who is considered to be next to the main waiter, who brings and places on the leaf Chithraannam and / or koottukkari offered four different varieties of food preparations out of vegetable varieties.

Another sub supplier placed a cup of paayaasam (payasam), a dessert to be taken after the meals, at the right side of the leaf.

One new smart employee politely placed a thin, bright, pale yellow, crispy, deep fried, round appalam (Pappad in Hindi) at the right side of the leaf.  

The major constituent of the meal, the nicely cooked rice, was placed at the middle of the leaf. (Earlier, the rice used to be supplied only once in fixed quantity. Now the practice is changed. Rice is being served in portions repeatedly on an as required basis.)

I had the rice repeatedly, mixed with sambar, vaththakkuzhambu, (Vatral Kulambu), Rasam and moru (butter milk) one after another, in the same plantain leaf, enjoying all the side dishes that include ‘tomato masala’. Last but not the least that I had and enjoyed was ‘Payasam’. Some people prefer to take payasam in between rice with rasam and that with moru.

Taking a healthy and tasty lunch in Uduppi Hotel, Shree Krishna Bhavan, on plantain leaf, by spending only Rs.45/-, without using any spoon, is a pleasurable enjoyment besides filling stomach satisfactorily.