Madras Dosa House
Posted on 08/14/2010
Address: 5656 Fraser St. Vancouver
This South Indian restaurant is the best dosa-place in Vancouver in my humble opinion. The place is neat and clean, serving a thick and hearty version of dosa that corresponds more to the Platonic ideal than most realize.
Arriving at the destination in the middle of nowhere really (Fraser Street across from a cemetary). But from my experience eating in countless joints across South East Asia, many of the best eateries are nondescript, plain-looking or downright old and nasty establishments located in a dingy alley or in the middle of an industrial park. At least Madras has a beautiful yellow & blue awning and is immaculately clean inside.
The menu cover features a most curious (and psychedelic?) piece of art the contents of which are a total mystery to me. Is the 'blue child' the 'prince of dosa'? :))
I can really appreciate how the proprietors have chosen to serve their delicious food on traditional stainless-steel trays. This light-weight flatware has several advantages to diners not least being its easy cleaning surfaces and compartments for the condiments. I notice at House of Dosas on Kingsway that the green paint on the ridges of their fauxe banana leaf plates have been scraped down to the white ceramic. The harsh, grating sound of fork sliding and cutting over this surface is actually disturbing to me, something I do not get with the stainless.
This dosa ensemble is a real treat. Served with a thick sambar & fragrant chutney, Madras House of Dosas is my personal favorite place for dosa and I should make sure to return often.