Gulabi Udupi
February 15, 2017
I recently was able to dine at Udupi Bhavan, a South-Indian vegetarian restaurant located in Lowell, MA. The meal included a buffet stacked with a variety of dishes from sweets to spices. The building is located at 1717 Middlesex Street and the restaurant is open Tuesday-Friday from 11:30am to 3:00pm and Saturday and Sunday from 11:30am to 9:30pm.
When I entered the relatively small building, I could immediately smell the different foods that were being prepared and brought out to the buffet. Since it was still a bit early for dinner, there were not that many people and the two of us were seated very quickly. There was classical music playing in the background along with many Indian paintings that covered the walls. I really liked the Indian aesthetic that was portrayed throughout the restaurant.
The Indo-Chinese noodles were filled with a flavor of spices and vegetables which I really enjoyed. Most of the noodles I’ve tried in the past were pretty bland so I was satisfied when I tried the ones here. I paired the noodles with some vegetable biryani rice that I really loved.
There were a variety of curries to have with rice or different breads. The paneer tikka tasted amazing with plain rice and had a lot of flavor. Personally, I am not a big fan of paneer so I was very surprised when I tried it. There were also some pea based curries with other vegetables that went well with the chapati bread.
One of the most common dishes in South India are dosas, which are made of a batter of rice and resembles a pancake. Instead of having the dosas out with the buffet, we were given fresh warm ones filled with a potato masala. The serving was large so we were both able to share one.
There were a couple of options for desserts and a sweet dish, including fruit, gulab jamun, and ras malai. The fruit was arranged very nicely on the side of the buffet which included watermelon, pineapple, and honeydew melon. The gulab jamun, similar to a pancake, was served warm with the rose water syrup complementing it perfectly. Ras malai resembles a cheesecake in the form of small balls served with a sugary milk and nuts. This was a more chilled dish and a nice way to end the fulfilling meal.
After eating at Udupi Bhavan, I was more than satisfied with the meal I had for a reasonable price. There are not that many vegetarian restaurants I have seen around here so I was happy to find one that was up to par. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to try South Indian cuisine.
