Best combination of cakes and savouries- Winner's Bakery in Alwarpet, Chennai

Cakes- Rs 25-40 ($0.50-.80); Bread- Rs 20 ($0.40); Savories- Rs 25-40 ($0.50-.80).  Two thumbs up!
Ever since my return to Chennai, I have been looking for the yummy cakes of my childhood.  Almost all the old and new places have disappointed me. They were too sweet, had too much icing, were soggy, and just did not taste right.  Most of them seem to have sudden urge to copy the American style of baking- more focused on the themes and shapes.  All I want is a tasty, goodness-to-earth cake. "Sugar, Butter, Flour" in Sunnyvale is always a point-of-reference.

Cake counter at Winner's Bakery.  Courtesy of chennaionline.com

Today, we stopped at the Winner's Bakery at the corner of C. P. Ramasami Road and C.V. Raman Road in Alwarpet.  The outside looks bright but very simply.  The car park could accommodate about 5 cars total.  It was in the corner of a corporation building.  I walk in and there is a dazzling array of colorful cakes, breads, cookies and savories.  The layout of the store was pleasing, extremely clean and the cakes looked really colorful and inviting.  You can also peak into an extremely hygienic kitchen.  The place was not crowded, considering it was a Sunday at 11 AM.  The puffs, sandwiches, doughnuts and pastries were in a separate counter.  The breads were stacked up really high behind the counter. 

The folks at the counter were extremely efficient and fast, unlike my recent visit to Reliance Fresh.  The cakes were not too sweet.  We ordered 8 different types of cakes- litchi, kiwi, chocolate, strawberry, Irish coffee, pyramid, black currants and black forest.  I first tried the litchi and the kiwi cakes. The icing was minimal and the cake was extremely tasty.  I could taste the tinge of the fruit in the cake, not sure whether it is artificial flavors.  The cake was soft but did not crumble.  They all had nice decorations.

The bread was another highlight.  We took home a sweet bread and a garlic bread.  The bread was baked with garlic bread.  We could see the pieces along the crust.  The bread was not over-powering with the smell.  Rather it had a nice tinge to it.  The bread was soft and tasty.  It definitely felt better than the mass-produced Costco bread that I have had in Sunnyvale!  We could eat it without any condiments or applications on top.  The savories were quite good.  We could taste the freshly cooked vegetables and the outer shell was firm.  It did not crumble and mess the whole eating area!!

Overall, a great experience and would highly recommend the place.

I researched the Bakery and found that it was built around a very noble cause.  A joint venture of Chennai Corporation, Rotary Club of Madras East and Chennai Culinary Institute, this Bakery provide free training to youngsters from economically backward families.  They also take orders for birthdays and special occasions.  Most 1 Kg cakes will be delivered within an hour of ordering.  Special shapes require overnight requests.

Ambiance without the Ambiance at Lunch

Babal da Punjabi Dabha (Very flavourful and tasty khaana (food) Average per person is Rs. 200/$4)  

Chennai is not known for anything beyond South Indian foods.  There are so many varieties of South Indian food that it can really keep you occupied for years trying them all.  Once in a while, you want to venture out to something else.  One such meal is Punjabi khaana. Babal da Punjabi Dabha is right across the road from KJ Hospital. Most North Indian places in Chennai are expensive and have a huge amount of cream/sugar added to the dishes.  Dabha Express is probably an exception but that is for another day!!  North Indian places are also very pretentious.  Anytime a friend recommends a nice quiet place, I am always game to try it.

This time it was my dear buddy Manesh Sehgal.  I was talking to him about some business ideas that I had.  He gave me a good and quick rundown on the entire retail industry.  My MBA did not teach me these things and I paid over $60K for the coveted piece of paper from a top-ten school!!

Back to food.  This place has absolutely no ambiance.  They have soft music, white tablecloth, low lighting and a few photos on the walls.  The ambiance is really about who you are with and the type of conversation.  In this case, Manesh was it.  Manesh has been a food connoisseur since our days together at DB (Don Bosco). Snacks would be the puff at the Cafeteria and paratha kurma lunch at Atlantic Hotel.  In between, there would be the munching of the fluffy and flaky samosa at the Travancore Egg Mart. Back to the Dabha, the fact that he knew the place and knew what to order was great.

We started off with Fish Tikka.  The fish was firm and soft, the flavors were embedded.  It looked like a perfectly cut slice of fish! There was nothing dripping from it. If you wanted more flavor, onions, chillis and a green chutney were provided on the side. Manesh had his with the spicy chutney and mine was more American!  To prevent any taste degradation, we decided no juices, lassi or soft drinks.  Next we got the palak paneer and butter chicken. The paneer pieces were big and the chicken had butter, but no visible cream.  They were a little spicy but not overdone.  There were no bones in either the fish or the chicken.

The best part of the meal were the naans.  There were fresh, right from the tandoori, and just melted in my mouth.  One of the best naans I have ever tasted outside of a home.  We had the plain, letcha and garlic naan.  The garlic naan was the best of the lot.  After we finished the gravy, we ordered a butter naan.  It was awesome to just eat the naan.

The waiters were always handy and brought the food/water very quickly.  They did not object that we were a party of 2 and had taken a table for six.  I would definitely go back with my family.  Ambiance would then be my daughter talking!!!!