Food Park is one of those Jack-of-all-trades Indian cafeteria style restaurants which boasts a menu as voluminous as Encyclopedia Britannica and includes everything from curry to chowmein, from hotdogs to dosa – which I was there to have. Located in the Signature Building next door to Miracle Garden in Barsha South, it rubs shoulders with Atlantic Fish and Chips which – I kid you not – had a placard in the window proclaiming that it too served dosa for breakfast – a sign of how desperate times have become for the cluster of restaurants around Miracle Gardens.
Food Park’s interior is a simple affair, perfectly suited for a quick, wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am pit-stop meal.
By default, I ordered a idli-vada dip to start followed by a masala dosa. Interestingly they did not understand what I meant by an idli-vada dip (or they did but didn’t give a $#!T). I got a plate of steaming hot idlis from the kitchen and another plate, with a single cold vada, from a display box in the front of the restaurant…where it obviously had been for a while. Although the sambar had plenty of vegetables (particularly tomatoes) it simply didn’t taste right – it had no zing. And while we’re on the subject of tomatoes, the red chutney which both were served with was exactly like the salsa mandi restaurants serve mandi with, only this one had curry leaves added to it. It’s a good thing I liked it because the coconut chutney was horrible. My masala dosa arrived folded in a triangle. I enjoyed it with the salsa chutney, staying clear of the white chutney and sambar.
Idlis with vada plonked in 
Inside my cold, stale vada 
Interesting tomoato salsa 
Potato masala (dosa) 
Masala dosa
I do not want to extrapolate my breakfast experience to the rest of the menu, but I think it’s clear that I will not be coming here for breakfast at the least – that’s for sure. And let me tell you, the service did nothing to change my mind – whilst it wasn’t bad, the waiter’s oh-hum, unconcerned attitude towards everything was a little exasperating. At the end of the day, too many (much, much) better alternatives have popped up in Barsha South for me to waste my taste-buds here.
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Xerxes physically dines at, or orders from, each and every venue he reviews. He pays in full for whatever he and his companions eat, drink, take away or occasionally throw at each other. Xerxes accepts no money, gifts, discounts or free meals in return for reviews or favouritism. What you have read was NOT influenced in any way by the venue. Join his culinary journey on Instagram: @ravenousxerxes or reach out to him via email on xerxes@dellara.com.