ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Address: 279, TT Krishnamachari Rd, Sri Ram Nagar, Alwarpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600018 India
WWW: ombc.in
Time: 8 AM – 10 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 300
Cuisines: Bakery, Desserts
Facilities: Breakfast, No Alcohol Available, Desserts and Bakes
Old Madras Baking Company, Alwarpet, Chennai Bakery: DECOR
Freshly baked bread has a heady aroma, almost as intoxicating as the first rain on parched soil. You realise this walking into Old Madras Baking Company, with all its breads and baked stuff.
Space-saving yet sleek, the furniture is made of light wood (giving a sense of space) and metal (chairs, table bases). I’d like to call it old-world charm. I could be anywhere in Europe.
If you are among those who talk loudly, conducting a confidential meeting here is not a good idea. Everybody can hear what you are saying.
Old Madras Baking Company, Alwarpet, Chennai Bakery: FOOD
On to the food. I begin with banana bread. Soft, dark, sweet, it has a natural banana flavour. Young Sweta Garapati tells me it is made using real bananas and not banana essence. The bananas have to be just right. Too ripe and they become too sweet, too raw and the texture will go for a toss.
Sweet memories come in the form of coconut bun. This is not your normal, sweet, boring bun. It actually has generous amounts of sweetened coconut shavings on top, right below the brown crust. I eat it with eyes closed, going back into the bylanes of a childhood when such slices were occasional treats. Snapping out of my sugar high, I get on the salad bandwagon. It’s the Asian salad for me, arriving on a wooden plate. Glass noodles, strips of baby corn, bokchoi, carrot, mushroom, spring onions.A small container holds soya vinaigrette with chilli flakes. Nice, if you want a quick, healthy bite.
Back to the bakery section (I don’t think I can stay away), and I’m chewing the softest, crunchy Chicken makhani sandwich. A good way to eat traditional flavours in a non-messy way. The bread, by the way, is made of 100 per cent atta and 11 grains.
Ending my meal with delightful decadence, I indulge in a tiny bit of Victoria cake, complete with sweet strawberry preserve in the middle.
Old Madras Baking Company, Alwarpet, Chennai Bakery: PLUS AND MINUS
As far as possible, OMBC tries to keep plastic away from its premises. All takeaway bakery products, breads included, are packed in brown paper. Their pita bread makes a great pizza base.
