Kiddy heaven. Review on Mcdonald'S, Kilpauk, Chennai

Let me put things in perspective right away. Repeat after me ten times ? I will not go to McDonald?s for the food it offers.

OK. That done. Now the question is that why go there at all ? There are a number of reasons which many will disagree with and many harried mothers like me will jump up and say, ?yes, we know why.?

Imagine having two small toddlers who have to dine out with you today. There are a number of choices, my favorite being ?Golden Dragon? for the fantastic chinese food it offers. But do you really think I will take them there ?

I will, if I am out of my mind.

The bottom line is that most swanky restaurants have dimly lit interiors, slow, romantic music and great food which takes a long time to arrive(for a four year old, twenty minutes is a loooong time). So if I am brave enough to take them to such a place, I will have two fidgety kids who can?t sit in one place for more than two minutes, yell for coke throughout, much to my embarrassment and spill glasses of water all over the table. Every parent must know how that feels like. You get painfully aware of the disapproving stare of other diners and waiters. Or if they are in a quieter mood (on some miraculous day), it?s constantly ?I want to go home? or ?let?s gooooo?. They look disinterested when the food finally arrives and generally look so miserable that I feel they would have been better at home, eating their aloo parathas and playing with their toys.

Now imagine that better sense prevails and I drive them to McDonald?s. I hear a war cry (that?s what it sounds like) as they express their glee when they see the big M. They jump out of the car and go running inside. There is a general atmosphere of mayhem as many parents like me are relaxing (yes, I mean that ; actually relaxing) since this is one place where you can leave the kids to their own devices. To be honest, the food is above average, nothing to rave about. About calories, I?m sure almost every place where people go to dine out serves calorie rich food. The best aspect is that there is no waiting at all. You get your food right away. The staff is simply superb (though it may vary from one restaurant to the other). They look like they are able to deal with any crisis (and with small kids, there are many crises per minute happening ). No delicate glassware or silver used. So you have two little toddlers looking very satisfied and I guess, you?re happy too.

Some words of caution : Have the kids eat something before you start from home so that they do not have to eat much at Mc Donald?s, except maybe some French fries and a coke. Second, do not go there very often, maybe once in two months is good enough for a special treat. That is mainly to avoid them getting addicted to this rather addictive place.

Another tip : If you have no kids, skip this place. There are far better choices.