I was out yesterday, with Mr.Chennai Foodie to check out the Indo - German Urban Mela. This is being held at YMCA Grounds between August 24th to September 2nd. Mr. Chennai Foodie had checked up the list of events which were on for the day from the website and we began discussing what we would see. On reaching there we realised that this was more an educational and industrial get-together of companies from Germany and also India, showcasing their technology and might. We went into a couple of stalls by the Corporate Giants such as BOSCH, SEIMENS etc show casing their technologies and goals. After that we decided to check out some of the events which were on for the day. To our bad luck, most of the events were scheduled from 5pm onward. Since it was only 3pm, we did not get to see any of them.

So we decided to do the job in our hands. We headed over to the Cafe Mela Counter. On entry, we were a little let down by seeing that this was run by TAJ. We actually expected to see some German Hot Shot chef wiping up German delicacies. Nonetheless, we headed inside to eat. The menu was not extensive. But it had some of the German food on it.

We ordered for a German Style sausage (Chicken) curry with Fries aka Currywurst (Vom Huhn) mit Pommes Frites , Grilled Chicken Breast with House Salad aka Gegrillte Höhnchenbrust mit Salat, Soft Pretzel Burger with Tenderloin and Cheese aka Laugenbrezel-Burger mit Rinderfilet und Käse and 2 Jacket Potatoes with Sour Cream aka 2 Foleinkartoffeln mit Sauerrahm.

The person who took our order was quite surprised with the number of dishes we had ordered. Since they had a token system of service, we had to wait for our food to arrive. The service was quick, guess they were pre- plated portions. The Chicken Sausages was well marinated in curry sauce. It had thick outer coating which made it difficult to cut with the absence of a knife. But one bite drove any misconceptions in our mind as to the food being undercooked. It was tender with amazing flavors to it, together with the fries and the mustard sauce it was delicious. Then we began tasting the Jacket potatoes with the sour cream. The potatoes had nothing great to write home about but the sour cream was perfect. After the mediocre potatoes we dived into the Grilled Chicken. The chicken was decent with good amount marinade to it. I have had better grilled chicken else where. Mr.Chennai Foodie too agreed on the same. Finally we dug into the burger. The burger had a tenderloin patty which was cooked to medium rare. I am not a huge fan of medium rare dishes, but this was outstanding. Loved the way the burger was made.

I would describe the food at the Cafe Mela as decent. Does it go well with the mela, that is for you to decide. The menu also had the usual suspects from the Indian end as well such as your Hyderabadi Biryani and the Dosas. It would have been great if it had some German Chef to educate and entertain the foodies.

Do visit this place guys, as a family. It shows us the extensive relationship which India shares with Germany. The rich culture and the 60 years of joint ventures.

YMCA Grounds is located in Nandanam

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*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.