Saravana Bhavan – Hot Dosa direct from pan to plate now comes to you!

By Shashi Narasimhiah

We are all very familiar with Saravana Bhavan which serves up premium quality vegetarian South Indian food and most of us have enjoyed their popular idli-vada-dosa- filter coffee combination accompanied by their equally popular and unique South Indian ambiance and hospitality. With the vegetarian dining quickly gaining popularity among all sections of society across the world including even sports persons, demand for food outlets similar to Saravana Bhavan which promise high quality vegetarian food will be on the rise. The restaurant has now decided to extend their product line beyond their fixed place restaurants on to a service which would accommodate timing, place, combination and style of your very own choice. Yes! They have commenced an outdoor catering service which includes live catering. In any major event – whether as a guest or a host, food is an important factor and we all cherish the memory of the good food we eat at these events. In an already crowded Indian catering market in both the Sydney and Melbourne metropolis, this new venture by Saravana Bhavan which promises “hot dosa direct from pan to plate” offers a much awaited variety and ushers in a breeze of transformation in the menu.

I caught up with the Managing Partner Shekar Mani to have a chat about his new venture. He went on to explain that our special event can now be very different and can include food beyond and above the Mughlai cuisine and a combination of South Indian, Mughlai and Chinese menu and as well as a combination of Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian menu. Shekar was quick to confirm that they maintain separate kitchens for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food preparation removing the nagging doubt whether the same utensils, ladles and spoons have been used for both. The price range which depends on the number and type of items starts at $25 pp. Entire Sydney Metro and Melbourne Metro are covered with options for other regional locations in both NSW and Vic depending on the numbers. Generally for smaller events an advance booking of 2 days would be sufficient and for larger events and for bookings in regional centres, about 2 weeks of advance notice may be necessary.

Although their outdoor and live catering service was commenced informally about 6 months back, it has picked up momentum in recent times with catering service completed for 4 weddings, 17 birthday parties and 26 smaller functions. The service is available for groups as small as 20 through to mega events involving over 800 people. The recent catering service at Melbourne for breakfast-lunch-dinner for a wedding celebration of three days duration ranks as their biggest outdoor catering event yet. The changed menu this service offers has become so popular that Shekar states that they are already inundated with enquiries. For outdoor catering they have dedicated staff of up to 15. While one expert chef is dedicated to outdoor catering activities, all of their chefs put together are trained to cater to a group of over 1000 guests at a time. Some level of optimisation is achieved due to many items which can be prepared off site and some dishes such as dosa, utappam, poori, baturaetc which are suitable for live catering only are prepared on site. For North Indian cuisine, a chef who has previously worked at the famous Bukhara restaurant, New Delhi has been added. More expert chefs are expected to join their ranks soon.

Shekar explained that the wide choice of food items include various South Indian, North Indian, Indo-Chinese items, various snacks and chat items such as samosa-chat, dahi-chat, paapdi-chat, bhel, panipuri, pav bhaji, vada-pav, bhaji, uridvada, masala-vada, pakoda, etc as also various South Indian and North Indian salads and pickles. The range of sweets on offer include both South Indian and North Indian such as  sweet pongal, payasam, Mysore pak, ravakesari, badam halva etc. In addition, they also cater to other dietary requirements such as vegan and Jain requirements with no onion no garlic options which can be no less in terms of flavour and taste.

A compelling argument Shekar makes is – their ability to carry and maintain their proud and unique Saravana Bhavan brand equity representing fresh and flavoursome food which matches customer expectations by usage of fresh and organic materials for preparation of a wide range of food items everywhere they go. He went on to explain that he and his team have worked hard over the years to maintain the highest level of quality and consistency across types of services, at all locations and in every morsel of food served by them.

If you are planning on a landmark event with your friends and family and if you are looking for a unique dining experience involving a combination of several types of cuisines under one roof contact Rajesh Kumar on 0468 348 175 for Sydney and NSW and Rohit Sharma on 0477 770 029 for Melbourne and Vic. And most importantly don’t forget to invite me! Don’t get scared! I am just kidding.