Don't expect the ordinary, It's simply extra-ordinary @ Simply South, Bangalore

I just did a quick a prayer to God to stop me from drooling, because this journey is gonna be all about the extra-ordinary, simply superb, sumptuous and stunningly delicious food of Simply South-by chef Chalapathi Rao,

The aromatic filter-coffee, that vowww smell of the crisp vada's, the sound of spluttering mustard seeds and curry leaves, the taste of hot piping ullvacharu paired with soft raggi mudde, the feather-light soft appams, the lip-smacking yera varuval, the tempting vepudu and many more delicacies right from the kitchens of the very famous Simply South by chef Chalapathi Rao is all that am gonna talk about in this post friends... Aaaahhhaaaa, now i've started to drool over, prayer failed this time, It's okay because Simply South deserves all appreciations and it's completely drool-worthy.

About the restaurant and the founder: 

Simply South is Chef Chalapathi Rao's dream venture, a restaurant that will redefine the way we know South Indian Cuisine and preserve its heritage. Simply South's menu is a proud and bold compilation of many lost traditional dishes of South-India, each and every dish is his signature creation where the authenticity is out-standing. 

yaehhh , we met chef Chalapathi Rao the legend of South Indian Cooking. 

Chef Chalapathi Rao fondly known as chef Challu in the culinary world, is renowned globally for his culinary skills and his exceptionally high personal standards. He carries a rich experience of 2 decades where he has constantly put in his efforts and dedication towards preserving and bringing back the traditional dishes which were lost and old school cooking styles. 

To name a few accolades Chef Chalapathi Rao has received a special mention in the letter of appreciation from Buckingham Palace, Letter of appreciation from Bill Clinton in 2000 during his visit to Hyderabad and many more awards. He is a celebrity chef, a legend and a prodigy. 

The restaurant has expanded its wings to Bangalore after winning the "BEST CHEF OWNED RESTAURANT"  BY TIMES FOOD AND NIGHTLIFE AWARDS.  

About the flavour profile: 

The menu of Simply South tours across different flavours of five South-Indian States, Tamil-Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Hyderabad.  The mildly spiced Tamil-Nadu food with an exception of bold and flavourful masalas of the Chettinad to the zesty and intelligent combination of Kerala spices flavoured mostly with coconut paste, coconut milk, unripe mango, tamarind and turmeric, Travel a little near to its neighbour state Karnataka with the diverse flavours of udupi, coorg, mangalore, the bisi bele bath, the raggi mudde and the spicy Telangana food with vepudu, pappu saaru and the saffron smelling hyderabadi cuisine, the chef has very carefully curated the menu with high quality ingredients and has added his signature touch to each dish. 

Ambience: 

The ambience is kept minimalistic yet rich by showcasing the  South-Indian culture and art. The walls have a brick ambience and this bricky touch feels so rustic and it quicly transfers one to a peaceful and serence village side. Quite spacious and bright place to feel the bright sunshine and enjoy your meal. I loved the detailing they have showed on displaying the arts and heritage of various states of South-India. Right from Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple,Natarajar to various dance arts and historical monuments of the South it seems to be a well mapped ambience.

my very favourite natarajar photo frame- was just not able to take out my eyes from this ..

Talk on those Palate Delights which i tried:

We were here on behalf of Food Bloggers Association of Bangalore ( FBAB ) for their menu tasting event. It was indeed a royal South-Indian feast comprising most of the traditional dishes were served to us.
I started with Tomato Saar which is a South Indian style tomato soup a clear, hot and tangy soup 

Tomato Saar

Then tried out both the veg and non-veg starters like Mokka Jonna Garelu which is a corn/chola vadai,  Yera Varuval was the fresh prawns marinated with aromatic spices, dipped in a batter and deep fried,  Gobi Kempu Bezule, Telangana Kodi Roast were the other starters which i tried.

Yera Varuval

Telangana Kodi Roast

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Gobi Kempu Bezule 

The main courses for the lunch had Ragi Mudde, Rice, Appam, Idiyappam, Parotta, Ullvacharu, Moova Vankai, Tomato Pappu, Rasam, Bendakkaya Vepudu, Uragai Mamsam,  Dum Ka Murgh, Allepey Fish Curry, Veg Stew. 

Let me take you all through a quick taste experience i had,

The Ragi Mudde was soft and went so well with Ullvacharu a tangy curry made with horse gram and garnished with cream. This combination was so divine and I have never tried this combination before in my life, It turned out to be a favourite of my convives too. I would state this combination as a "The Divine Combination"

ragi mudde

ullvacharu - a tangy horse gram preparation garnished with cream 

Then i also tried the Mudde's with Moova Vankai which is an Andhra preparation where baby brinjals were cooked in a mildly tangy curry flavoured with sesame seeds. The Bendaykaya Vepudu was also a great sidedish where the Bendakaya is tossed in the vepudu ( a spice mix of Telangana )

Moova Vankayi 

Bendakaya Vepudu

 I tried the Parotta with Dum Ka Murgh a creamy delicacy of Hyderabad, dum cooked and had the aroma's to it's best.

Parotta and the Dum Ka Murgh

Then came the Appam which i paired with Veg Stew and also tried out the Idiyappam with Allepey Fish Curry for a change instead of trying it out with Steamed Rice.  This bright orange curry had it's tanginess coming from the unripe mangoes with a touch of coconut milk.

idiyappams and appam

Urugai Mamsam was another delicacy from Telangana, tender chunks of pickled mutton went so well with parotta, appams or tasted good on it's own tooo..

Urugai Mamsam 

Now, The tamil soul inside me wanted to try out the rice with Tomato Pappu and Rasam too, Finished it with a spoon of creamy curd rice done to perfection.

Tomato Pappu

Then came the Butter milk, another star prepartion it was. So soothing it was to have after a heavy meal you see.

Desserts : 

Dessert time now. Simply South had all the delicacies from these five majestic states and our taste buds were rightly treated with their carefully crafted desserts like Gasgase Payasam which is a delicious poppy seeds payasam, Godhi Haggi which is a broken wheat payasam, These payasams were sweetened with jaggery, tempered with ghee and cashews and it was of course a divine treat is should say.

Gasgase payasam

Godhi Haggi

Service : 

Hospitality at its best. Courteous and great service.

The Crumb Stash's Verdict: 

To Travel in Bangalore from one place to the other has always been very hectic. Yaeh even i did all the circus to reach New Bel Road from Whitefield..... only becaaaaause it's Simply South by Chef Chalapathi Rao ( a big shout here ) and it never failed to excite me. My modest opinion is one can travel any distance to Simply South because the menu is very carefully and expertly crafted with mouth-watering, divine and traditional dishes. Go there, the service, ambience and the lip-smacking traditional food will do all the therapy to make you feel peaceful, calm and happy. Happy tummy, Happy face and Happy mind is all their goal.  A boon to Bangaloreans.

Ratings :  Very easily i would rate it 5/5 on all the parameters - service, taste, quality, quantity and ambience.

Address :  45 Legend, Opposite to Woodland showroom,  RMV 2nd stage, New Bel Road, Bangalore.