| Are you an adventurous foodie? Then, head to Mamallapuram, suggests Shonali Muthalaly, who walks down the Ottavadi Street to check out restaurants with fancy names and menu |
sO MUCH TO CHOOSE FROM In this food zone
Get a deliciously irresponsible suntan. Dash wildly through warm crashing waves. Eat reckless quantities of sizzling fish. And do it all over lunch.
While you were frantically surfing the Internet night after night looking for discounted tickets to Goa, or maybe Phuket, a section of Chennai and many tourists discovered that a chilled-out, laid-back, delightfully hippy holiday was actually just a short drive away. About an hour from Chennai, on the scenic East Coast Road flanked by alternate patches of sea and forest, Mamallapuram been rediscovered and reinvented over the years. From a magnificent historical town, it’s also grown into a cosmopolitan centre of the world, with Afghani jewellery, French chocolate crepes, mud therapy treatments and local fish fry.
And, for Chennaiites, the destination is rivalled only by the journey.
If you sleep late, you can — like us — plan to reach Mamallapuram for lunch. Dreaming of lush lobsters, crisp calamari and plump prawns, we manage to clear the frustrating tangle of aggressive drivers and dreamy jaywalkers in Tiruvanmiyur without too much swearing. By the time we’re past the Toll gate, the road looks very different, dotted with absent minded cows, friendly goats and an inexplicable profusion of coloured flower pots, in pink, green and yellow.
As we enter Mamallapuram, past a clutch of resorts, we drive into a decisively fragmented town. There’s one street dedicated entirely to stone sculpture, where you can watch talented artisans breathe life into hunks of rock. There are the busy everyday streets, alive with cycles, dosa stalls and banana vendours. And then, there’s the international face of Mamallapuram. Ottavadi Street, home to globetrotters in flip-flops, spiritual India seekers and yuppies in Ray Bans.
So, of course, Ottavadi has become a world bazaar of sorts, where momos rub shoulders with croissants, antique rings meet Yoko-Ono style retro pink pants and cinnamon tea simmers beside a fragrant Kerala fish moilee.
Moonrakers is the star attraction here. Laid-back, cheap and cheerful, this three-level restaurant has got a definite character, with its black and white pictures of freedom fighters smoothly juxtaposed with unabashedly green balconies and an undeniably colourful clientele. Everyone — from barefoot Rastafarians to good Indian girls with plaits and jasmine flowers — eats here. We try calamari and fried fish, both generously smothered in delicious masala. Also, fragrant coconut rice and a succulent prawn curry. They boast of lobsters for just Rs. 300, each of which our chatty waiter assures us is as big as his palms.
In fact almost all the restaurants here advertise lobsters. Like chilled out Le Ritz, which is stubbornly non-Ritzy. At Luna Magica, you can eat lemon-drenched grilled fish and sea-gaze. Next door there’s New Papillion, famous for having made it to the Lonely Planet. Then there’s New Antony’s Moonlight café. They certainly have a way with words here.
Le Yogi advertises Franco-Indian fare. The Good Luck Café has a roof top restaurant that overlooks the beach. The Blue Elephant covered in pink bougainvillea has yoga classes and crab masala.
There’s a German bakery pushing croissants and ‘French bread.’ An Italian joint exults in spaghetti bolognaise. You’ll fine Japanese Ohm rice. You’ll find paella. And you’ll find pasta.
Crepes are big here. They’re served with chocolate, coconut, banana or honey. Or, if you like, all four. You’ll also find some practical fusion. Like cheese naan, beef fried rice or cheese tomato rice.
Everything’s in cheerful co-existence. Including an HIV testing centre, with ‘Know about AIDS, win a gold coin’ emblazoned across its walls in encouraging orange. The JK bookshop offers second hand European language books if you want to brush up on your German classics. The New Jersey store sells colourful sleeping bags. And cobblers along the road make bright, individual shoes.
All the action is concentrated in an area that can be easily covered on foot. Or, if you’re staunchly anti-walking, there are mopeds for hire for about Rs. 200 a day.
The best part? Once you’re done with lunch, savour a great cappuccino on the beach, with the grainy sand between your toes and salty wind in your hair. Then, after this essential pause, you can just drive home. And still be back in time for dinner.
Just like that
Eat warm pancakes oozing chocolate at a beach shack playing Bob Marley.
Buy an impractical pair of audaciously coloured beach pants, for fun.
Gossip with a sculptor, as he magically creates elephants out of stones.
Take a yoga class, have a massage, try some mud therapy – just for kicks.
Live dangerously. Try jeera-butter-garlic rice, with cheesy mashed potato and fried eggs.
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