28 January,2011 09:41 AM IST | | Amrita Bose
Spicy Indian street snacks and hot piping chai make it to a cafe style ambience at Chaipatty Teafe in Indiranagar
What's common between Spiderman and Chaipatty Teafe, a new cafe in Indiranagar? Both go by the tag (friendly, neighbourhood). Except at Chaipatty all the action lies in the hot steaming cups of cutting and kulhar- wali-chai. This new teafe or a tea cafe is an open air eatery sharing space with a salon where you can just about plonk yourself anywhere.
Chaipatty teafe
Food:u00a0 peppy
Service:u00a0 good
Ambience:u00a0 casual
Chaipatty is all about sitting on the floor or little bamboo modas or parking yourself against the wall, nursing hot cups of chai. A corner is devoted to the sale of beads, bags and other trinkets. One length of the ceiling is devoted to a funny painting where Ram and Ravan bond over bondas and chai. The menu is full of all those things that you crave as evening strikes, with pakodas, sandwiches, Maggi noodles, cakes, muffins and tea making our mouth water.u00a0
Chaipatty Teafe, an offshoot of the Chaipatty Hub, an activity centre in Koramangala that organises activities like pottery sessions, photography, theatre, dessert and filmmaking, also wants to promote itself as an activity cafe with the teafe all set to organise several sessions on and off. After making ourselves comfortable on the low bamboo floor cushions, we started off our evening snack with hot cups of Kulhar Chai (Rs 50) and a Carrot Muffin (Rs 40). My friend very bravely ventured out to try the Wheatgrass Shot (Rs 30), a health shot.
Described by owner Chirag Yadav as "gai ka chara" (fodder for cow), the shot made my friend feel like she had just downed some freshly cut grass post a blitz in the mixer. The Chai, however, perked up our mood instantly. One sip and we were transported to those early morning stops at railway stations on train journeys where this freshly brewed chai spiked with cardammom and other mysterious spices perked up exhaustive travels. The tea was light, sweet and not heavy on milk and was perfect with the soft, sticky and the not-so-sweet carrot muffin. In fact the chai was good enough for us to request an encore.
Listening to recordings of Coke Studio (a Pakistani television series comprising live jamming and music), we paired our chai this time with the spicy Non Veg Maggi Noodles (Rs 50). The Maggi came with bite sized pieces of chicken sausage, lots of capsicum, onions, green chillies and was a spicy version of everybody's favourite noodles.
u00a0
The Corn Churmur (Rs 50) was a mix of crispy corn pakoras broken into bits and tossed with onions, green chillies, lots of fresh coriander, chaat masala and a squeeze of lime. This tasty dish was a mix of crunchy, spicy, salty and lemony bite and was gobbled up in no time. We ended our meal with a Malai Kulfi (Rs 25) that came stuck in a glass. You might want to order some rabri (Rs 15) with your kulfi, we opted for without. The kulfi came with delicate cardammon flavour and was a slice of heaven with its creaminess.
u00a0
This eatery will be a hit with the college going population who will like the value for money prices generally, though the 50 bucks for a kulhar chai might sound a bit steep. A laidback atmosphere and the fact that no one wants to shoo you away as soon as you finish your meal, will work as a winner here.
At: 772, Opposite Foodworld, 100ft road, Before 12th Main Signal, Indiranagar
Call: 99001 82596
Meal for two: Rs 300
Chaipatty didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.
