The Zha Cafe, Chennai

Zha is a slippery Tamil alphabet which is difficult to pronounce even among some Tamilians!


I pass by a newly opened cafe called the Zha Cafe, in Sastri Nagar, Adyar, Chennai quite often, but seldom got inside to have a peek. The sign board cleverly displays the name 'Zha', in Tamil too, alongside to dispel any doubts about such an unusual name.

A power cut in an office where a meeting was to take place got shifted to this cafe, giving me a wonderful reason to check out the place.

The meeting was interesting too, as the other 4 were all enthusiastic young men, raring to get started on a web company which is about to be launched very soon.

Each ordered his drink. I went for iced lemon tea. It came in a tall glass, all froth at the top. The taste was just right, light and refreshing for the humid noon time. Then came along a platter of hot, crispy, banana flower vada (Vaazhaipoo vadai, a Tanjore speciality). It was simply gorgeous. A melt-in-the-mouth with a slight hint of roasted sesame seeds here and there.

Tea and snacks later, went around the rooms in the cafe. This place has got that rare, homely feel about it. An old house, left undisturbed, except that the rooms have become separate dining areas with interesting and different types of backdrops for each, such as toys in one room, a table running down right from the false ceiling with a large snake and ladder board game displayed all over the surface along the length. Yet another room was done with things from the world of cinema; single chairs whose covers were embossed with labels such as, heroine, hero, director, villain, etc. and sitting on the shelves of this room were film roll cans, CDs, an old typewriter, etc. There's privacy, different styles of seating arrangements - High, low, boat shaped, all of which makes the place interesting and informal.

It scores high on taste too though it is just the tip of the iceberg.

Should visit another day to try out their special dishes. I am sure that will be very soon. :D

Cheers!

Mahalakshmi