Le Yogi, Mahabalipuram

Mahabalipuram, that wee little spot of sea and sand only an hour's drive from here. The big ancient temple, and the restaurants brimming with seafood...Somehow, among the smaller restaurnats, Moonrakers seems to be the only one with brand recall. But the last time I went there I got the distinct feeling I was being shanghaied into buying overpriced fish. If they are coaxing you into bigger and costlier fishes without telling you the price upfront, you know its a con. And it stinks worse than rotten fish. This time, we were driving back from Pondy and stopped at Mahabs for dinner. Went to this place called Le Yogi, which is in the same line as Moonrakers, only, a hundred feet closer to the sea. It claims to be Indo-French ( every second place in Mahabs is Indo something. They have to be in order to get the patronage of white tourists), and the decor and signage suggests the Indo here is Tibetian. We climbed up the steps to the place, and were pleasantly surprised to see we had to remove our footwear before stepping in. The interiors are done up with hanging lanterns, cane and bamboo decor, wood floor with rugs, and at least two places which are rugs on the ground with a low set table so that a group can relax and lounnge around for long hours. We took the tables with proper chairs, since we did not have the time to lounge. (monday beckoned, less than ten hours away). The menu had its share of Indo-Chinese manchurian whathaveyou, a lot of Indian regular, and Tibetian. Tibetian food feels and tastes like Chinese should have- light, not too spicy and with lots of noodles. And momos are Tibetian, and featured on the menu as starters. The momos here were pretty big, supersoft, and stuffed well. one plate each of veg and chicken momos filled us up pretty well. The main course was Thukpa. Thats the original from where Knorr got their idea of putting noodles into soup. Thukpa is noodle served in soup. The noodle here is the soft, straight white kind. The soup is usually a clear soup, with very little masala or spices. We ordered egg, chicken and veg thukpa. The food took a good time coming, but the quantities were good enogh to fill us up for a drive back to Chennai and a good nights sleep. Try out this one and the other restaurants in Pondy the next time.