Freedom is something that needs to be experienced !!! I am very happy that after such a long time, I got the chance to go and have food from my usual favourite spot. Unfortunately, I reached there near their closing time and so could not take photo of the place.
Today the review is about the place called “Meenootta” or “Meen Ootta”. “Meen” means fish in both Malayalam and Kannada and “Ootta” means meals. Its a place where we can get cool fish dishes and I think thats the reason behind the name. Since this is the closest restaurant from my college and also a place where we can get good fish fry, I naturally became a regular customer there and it is the place I missed the most ever since the college closed when lockdown started. They are open between 12:30 to 3:30 in the afternoon. I had heard that they started closing early ever since lockdown started from my friends who live nearby.
So, when I finally reached there, it was almost closing time and I quickly sat after washing my hands. Immediately the waiter placed one banana leaf in front of me. Here meals are usually served on the leaf and what followed was a pickle and some dry sautéed plantains. After that some nice steaming rice. When asked which curry I want, I asked for Fish Curry and Dal. But got disappointed after knowing that Dal is not available cause it is awesome to have Dal with the Fish Curry. When I asked for other options, the reply was that “Sambar is there”. I asked for the same and in the meantime, I tasted the piece of fish from the fish curry with some rice and just like Nasriya’s mother from Om Shanti Oshana movie, I said, “Are Vaah” to myself in mind. Of-course, I didn’t say it out loud cause I was not interested in too much attention from the Kannadigas there.
By that time, the Sambar arrived and I asked for it to be poured on top of the fish curry and he obliged. Once the waited turned around after that, I mixed everything and starting eating. Wow, it sure is tasty along with the lime and the plantain accompaniments. This is the heaven at Manipal, the one I had been missing for all this time !!! By then, the Fish Fry that I ordered came. Looks like it was fried in a unique way. They call it as Masala Fry. Rawa fry is also available here but the masala version has more fans. It was pipping hot. To prevent my fingers from burning, I used the Chilly from the Fish Curry to take out a piece 🙂
The fish was cooked well. I had it with the rice. Too good. The parts of this fish’s inside where the blood is seen clotted (the dark areas) has a unique taste with the masala. It had a taste of salt that will cause you to salivate and then dissolves in your mouth. Awesome taste that will make you eat more even without knowing. In fact thats one advantage about that place. We can ask for as much rice and curries we want. They will happily give, but we must not waste anything. So, safe to say that I ate well after a long time.
If there is a place that I love the most in Manipal, thats Meenootta. What a taste…
