Dining out @ Jalpaan Restaurant ~ RS Puram, Coimbatore

"The tradition of the Sunday feast accomplishes more than just feeding us. It nurtures us" ~ Chef John Besh

Weekdays are often a blur; we slog and hustle and then some more ! And come on, let's admit, breakfast and dinner mostly comes married with gadgets or the rush to head out/ too tired monologues. Consequently, the moments we share with our family becomes few and far between. And that is why the family lunch on Sundays for me is a life saver and like Chef Besh says it nurtures & rejuvenates us back for the next week's hustle.

Sitting down for a homely, hearty earthy fare on Sunday, the kids, hubby and yours truly put away our respective distractions and huddle up. We do away with the dining table too and sit on the floor. Before sitting down, the kids assemble all the things we may eat along with the cooked fare to ensure no one gets up in the midst of an almost hour long do. Eating heartily and then some more we surely are guilty of over stuffing ourselves. Over leisurely helpings we pour our hearts out and indulge in warm banter. It is the time when hubby hears out tirades against me and deals out amicable (!?!) settlements. And it's also the time when the kids don't mind all the greens in their plates. Yeah, good food with family and friends does that.

Dining out similarly holds a hallowed space in our hearts. The moments we share with our company becomes magical when good food couples with beautiful ambiance and fine service. Julia Child had famously said 'Dining with one's friends and beloved family is one of life's primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul satisfying and eternal'. How beautifully put ! Indeed, it is the most pleasurable moments of life to gather together and bond with good food and drinks flowing. The meal is a plate cleanser of the soul bringing out our natural tendency to just be ourselves. Under the intoxicating spell of tasty grub we share a part of our selves to the company we are with and bond a bit more closer. 

A fortnight earlier, Coimbatore beckoned us, to attend the marriage proceedings of hubby's friend. Often called as the Manchester of South India, owing to the flourishing textile industries milling in and around the region, the metropolitan city was abuzz with the mid week frenzy of daily life.  The marriage was a cosy family affair with lots of good food, banter and warmth.  While, we did not plan on dining out , the hotel we stayed put was near to Jalpaan Restaurant and the food connoisseurs in us salivated for the gourmet veg dining experience the restaurant promised. 

The menu boasted of many mouthwatering delicacies and we were hooked. The Fondue corner was a hoot. Pav Bhaji Fondue was a novelty and we enjoyed tucking into bite sized pavs scrumptiously done golden brown dipped in to a mildly simpering bucket of aromatic bhaji/tomato rich gravy. 

Flickering beneath is a spirit lamp that gently rouses the gravy to some upbeat moods.The accompaniments of onion, lime, cheese and a masala mix kept our palates further engrossed as we tossed them to our liking in to the cute simpering cauldron of yum and finally wiped the plates clean.

It was a delectable marriage of class meets mass as Pav Bhaji lets itself drawn to the fiery overtures of gravy served in a communal pot over a portable stove--and it's a winner !

The other orders for the day included Rumali Roti and Naan with the usual suspects of delicately spiced dal and Paneer Makhni. Decent portion size and good taste too

But we were simply enamoured by the whole eating experience of pav bhaji fondue and for dessert ordered chocolate fondue. Bite sized apple pieces, wafers and slices of brownies (slightly dry) were urgently dipped in to the gently simmering chocolate fondue pot and unabashedly depolished off.

Complimenary shots of Paan juice in the end kept our tummy happy. All in all a must revisit experience of good food, fine service, elegant cutlery (loved the brass tumblers) and nice ambiance. Not overtly priced this restaurant tucked in the bylanes of RS Puram, is all about going back again with family and friends for a culinary assault of your senses.