Mavalli Tiffin Rooms

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The Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (also commonly known as simply MTR) is a restaurant on Lalbagh Road, Bangalore, India that was founded in 1924. It was once featured on the Discovery Channel series Globe trekker.

Its owner, as of 2006, is Hemamalini Maiya.^[1] In the 1970s, during the period of food price enforcement under the Food Control Act, MTR entered the instant food business, selling ready-to-eat snacks such as chutneys and rasams.^[2]

Many prefer to relax in the cafe's waiting hall on first floor before and after the breakfast

The Window on the Stair

The food served at the MTR is, according to Riti^[2], "regular, wholesome Karnataka Brahmin fare". Riti states that this kind of food has its origins in the Udipi Brahmin cuisine of Dakshina Kannada, the coastal area of Karnataka. pavithrashinde^[3] describes the menu as "dosa, idli, and upma. Along with coffee and tea."

The famous MTR coffee served hot in Silver Coffee mugs

The restaurant comprises two floors, the ground floor being a fast food outlet, and the first floor having tables and chairs for patrons to "eat in". Patrons wait in a waiting room, sometimes for hours^[4], and are ushered into the dining room when the previous batch of diners has finished. The decor is described by asli^[5] as "spartan" and like being "transported 50 years into the past".

Since the 1970s, MTR has expanded and diversified, with MTR Department Stores opened next to the restaurant, and an outlet opened in Chennai^[6]. Now the MTR hotel and the foods division are completely separate entities.^{[citation needed]} MTR Foods is headed by Sadanand Maiya.^{[citation needed]} By 2001, MTR Foods was exporting long shelf life ready-to-eat pre-packaged food to the United States, Singapore and Gulf countries, Australia, New Zealand and Canada; and planning on exporting to the United Kingdom "where Indian food sells like hot cake".^[7] In 2004, MTR co-sponsored a three-day food festival in Delhi, with MTR chefs giving live cooking demonstrations.^[8]

Of late, MTR has expanded rapidly, opening many new and modern-styled outlets that seek to combine the experience of fast food with traditional Indian cooking. In March 2007, the entire pre-packaged food division of MTR was sold to Orkla SA, a Norwegian company for $80 Million.

1 References
2 Further reading
3 See also
4 External link

[edit] References

^ Bret Thorn. "What is "Asian food"? Cuisines of largest continent defy generalization — Culinary Currents", Nation's Restaurant News, 2003-03-24.
^ ^a ^b M. D. Riti. Vaangibaath steeped in spice and tradition ... Lunch at Mavalli Tiffin Room. Rediff. Retrieved on October 3, 2005.
^ pavithrashinde. a different slurp experience. Mouthshut Review on: Mavalli Tiffin Room. Retrieved on October 3, 2005.
^ deepakedwin. The Army Canteen!. Mouthshut Review on: Mavalli Tiffin Room. Retrieved on October 3, 2005.
^ asli. Mavalli Tiffin Room. Tales from the woods. Retrieved on October 3, 2005.
^ "MTR comes to Chennai", Chennai Online, 2003-11-14.
^ Max Martin. "South Indian tiffin room turns market-savvy", The Indian Express, Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd., 2001-04-23.
^ "A durbar of food...", The Hindu, 2004-12-26.

[edit] Further reading

Many prefer to relax in the cafe's waiting hall on first floor before and after the breakfast

Achal Prabhala. "Bangalore: Temples of Food", Outlook Traveller magazine, February 2002.
Swetha Kannan and V. K. Varadarajan. "MTR Foods works the magic", The Hindu BusinessLine, 2006-10-05.