Ah! satisfaction.That’s the feeling in your belly when you leave Mom’s Food Factory. The newly opened restaurant in Adyar, that began as a home delivery outfit last year, promises Chettinad and Andhra offerings with home-style sensibilities. And true to its name, head chef Fathima Abdur Rahman urges you to eat more almost as if she is your mom, loading our table with a crisp Nethili Fry, tangy Prawn Thokku and succulent Red Snapper.
It occurs to us as we look around and chow down, that the interiors one would normally find familiar in restaurants that do Chettinad cuisine like tall pillars and chequered tiled floors are absent. Instead, this 1,200 sq foot space has more of a café aesthetic, with wooden benches for seats, pops of red from the placemats and Chetan Bhagat books on the shelf. This is possibly because the architect is Fathima’s 25-year-old daughter, Ayisha, although she is better known in fashion circles as a model for her dusky features and perfect lips. Perhaps this has something to do with why a host of actors from Sivakarthikeyan to Prasanna and Ashok Selvan have already dined here since the space opened a few weeks ago — or maybe it’s because of partner in the venture, actor Kalaiyarasan of Madras fame.
Over mouthfuls of rice, hot sambar, lady’s finger and an addictive Mutton Chukka that is an accompaniment we definitely recommend with your ‘meals’ order — we discover that apart from Kalaiyarasan, this venture is very much a family-run business. “My dad buys the seafood, my mom runs the kitchen, and my sister and I help manage the place,” relates Ayisha, as we ladle ourselves a second serving of Chicken Uppukari tempered with a garden of curry leaves. There’s a frothy buttermilk to wash it down with and honestly we’re too tummy-full at this point to handle any dessert.
At No 12, 6, 11th Ln, Indira Nagar, Adyar. Meal for two is Rs 400.