MALABAR PLAZA --- ERNAKULAM

Malabar plaza hotel has its own name among the taste giants in kochi city.They have been here since years and their success has urged them to expand to more parts of the city.Located at Edappally,Vazhakkala,kakkanad,Ernakulam North etc Malabar plaza group boasts thier expertise on malabar tastes.Snacks in the evenings usually comprise,unnakkaya,kaaypola,chicken samosas,kallumekas etc which are quite impressive with their typical malabar tastes.

View from outside...

Interiors

Have been there several times and last day was one such instance.We had actually opted for the Punjabi dhaba at Kalamassery but had to end up in Malabar because the dhaba was closed for some reason.The rain was taking a toll and had to run in to the hotel from the parking space.The service was quick and we had ordered a mixed fried rice,3 peices of chiratta puttu,chicken chettinaad (quarter),Beef dry fry,Koonthal fry and a quater thandoori (3 peices).Puttu and chicken was served in no time and the "food vanishing act "came to play.Chicken chettinad, though a bit oily was too tasty with the puttu.Beef dry fry was a big let down and went in as hard as rubber.

Puttu Chicken Chettinad koonathal fry

Koonathal fry

Puttu and Chicken Chettinad

Beef Dry Fry

Mixed Fried Rice and Tandoori

 Koonthal fry was at its spicy best and gave in good company for the remaining puttu and the fried rice that followed.Fried rice could be at best rated ok.By the time tandoori was served the tummies were almost full ,but they looked good to be gulped in.Though nothing exceptional it felt good to be had in with the green colored mayonnaise mix they gave.The interiors are pretty decent and good for families to drop into.A/c separation exists and they charge for the same.They also serve shavarmas and grilled chicken.

An issue that has been observed with Malabar plaza over our last 3-4 years in kochi, is their inconsistency.At times their tastes go below average.Have observed this with the biriyanis,the chicken grills and some curries.So they MAY not always return the value for your money!

Whats hot????

- Malabar dishes in the likes of pathiri,unnkkaya,kaaypola,chicken dishes can be tried out here.

-Pretty decent interiors for what you pay.

-Meals have been consistently good here.

-Ample parking space on most of the locations (Vaazhakkala,north etc might be a bit troublesome)

Whats not???

-Lack of consistency in maintaining the tastes.

-Costs are slightly on the higher side.

Potbelly's picks -  Kaaypola,Unnakaya,koonthal fry!

Rating - 2.75/5

Verdict: Meals, Malabar recipes can be tried out here.

Thottathil Hotel Bangalore -- Kerala isn't Far....!

This place should already be familiar to most of the techies in and around Madiwala.One hotel in Bangalore, that would make you feel that you are not far from your home town tastes.They have a couple of hotels of similar set up in Madiwala.

The hotel may not be in the hi fi league in terms of looks or space constraints but the naadan dishes are something to look out for here.Was surprised to see prawns fry ,kallumekkaya,kakka, a plate each costing just 50 rs.From breakfast to dinner the options here are plenty,puttu,appam,poori,chappathi,dosa,egg curry,kadala curry,green peas,chicken roast, fish curry,prawns,kakka,chicken ginger fry,chicken double fry,fish frys,chicken spicy roast ,kallummakaya fry,chemmeen roast,kakka fry,chicken liver fry,duck grilled,chicken grillled,poricha kozhi etc.items plenty as any shaap/hotel in Kerala might offer.

View from Outside

Dosa factory!

Chappathi,Kakka Roast and Mushroom Roast

Ayala Mulakilittathu

Prawns Roast

Chicken liver roast

Chicken Spicy Roast

Fish Thala Curry

Duck grilled quarter costs around 120 rs and can be tried for the sake of variety.Has tried most of the above dishes on multiple instances and hasn't let us down.Chicken spicy roast is pretty hot,while prawns roast,kallumekka almost always boasted the traditional tastes.Chicken liver roast hasn't remained a favourite for us since it had very little genuine liver pieces on the gravy.Ayala Mulakilttathu and thala are good spicy substitutes for those who are not in a mood to  try meat.

Lunch at Thottathil

Kilimeen Fry,Kallumekka Roast,Prawns roast

Above are some snaps of one among the several lunch we had there.A thoran ,a fish gravy/sambar pickle and pappadam is the default form of lunch here,but you always have the option to add on with any of the tempting dishes above.... Better to be in your two wheelers or your legs to have hassle free access.

Whats hot.....!

• Options galore here.For anyone in bangalore missing the naadan dishes rush to thottathil!
• Has been consistent with the taste.
• Situated at a pretty hassle free place. 
• Very customer friendly staffs and costs.
• Quantity is good for what they charge.

Whats not....!

• Its pretty small for the rush they have and would make you wait at peak times.Heard that they would soon expand ,and also would be adding more shaap curries to their menu.
• Can improve on the chicken liver roast ,occasionally felt that kallumekka had some more mud left in it to be cleaned off!

Potbelly's picks - chicken spicy roast,kallummakaya fry,kakka fry,Duck Grilled!


Rating - 4/5


Verdict: Free your appetite and start to Thottahil if you are in Bangalore!

Natural Ice cream - Taste Nature...!

Natural ice cream has been a relief for the health conscious foodies who were more concerned on the calorie intake rather than the tastes while having the tasty but artificially flavored/made up ice creams.An outlet of Naturals at MG road opposite to shenoys theatre is one of such kind where you get to taste ice creams with the natural tastes of tender coconut,mango,chikkoo,pine apple,water melon,pappaya jack fruit,roasted almond,Anjeer,kaju kismis,chocolate,etc...etc.A scoop in cup/cone will cost you 40 rupees.

Front View from MG Road

Natural ice creams are claimed to be made from evaporated milk ,sugar ,original fruit pulps/dry fruits and choclates and hence reduces the calorie/fat intake compared to the 'unnatural' counterparts.They do not ahve any preservatives or stabilizers added in them.When it come to taste factor the natural ice creams have their own identity in the sense that you get to taste flavours uncommon among the artificially flavoured ice creams.By taste and looks they are in no respect behind their counterparts.

Tender Coconut(left) Roasted almond (right)

A scoop each of tender coconut and roasted almond was ordered.Tender coconut ice cream was a fresh and delightful experience while roasted almond too tasted good.


Whats Cool?

- New tastes in the form of ice cream,tender coconut,jack fruit,grapes,pappaya......!
- The health factor ....!
-Prices are OK.
-Good ambience

Whats Not?

- Less varieties compared to a similar stall i had visited in bangalore.
-Parking for 4 wheelers will be troublesome.

Potbelly picks : tender Coconut,Almond roast,Jack fruit !

Rating 3.5/5

Verdict - For those who havent yet ,try natural ice cream ....!Definitely Worth a try.

Hotel Alakapuri Kakkanad

Last few weeks Kochi was blessed with heavy showers in the evening.....these often continued till the dark black night....The best time to be in your home balcony,chewing something you love.

Rain Came pouring down....!

 The rain was too impressive to leave to the kitchen to cook for something and this finally ended up in driving in it to the nearby Alakapuri hotel.Decided to go heavy that night and parcelled out chicken roast beef fry and 3-4 peices of puttu.These were brought home and an omlet was prepared as an add on.....! (Definitely heavy and not to be tried often......)

Puttu,Chicken Roast,Beef fry,Egg omlet

 Chicken roast was too deadly a combination with puttu,while beef fry wasn't up to the mark.
Alakapuri situated opposite to collectrate is the most sought after hotel by the techies and the others in and around kakkanad.Not just for the variety of options  and combos you can try out here,but for the consistency of the taste they often provide.The evenings are pretty crowded here as they serve items in the likes of puttu idiyappam,chappathi poori dosa porotta,fried rice,egg rice,fish curry ,chicken and beef -chinese and indian recipes,gobi,green peas,veg kurumas ....what not....! The best thing here is that you can try some unusual combos if intrested....like poori- beef /chicken....!

The interiors might not look that impressive but is ok enough for the costs they ask for.They have separations for 3-4 families as well.For those in IT ...they accept Sodexho Coupons too.


Pot bellies picks - beef roast,chicken dishes,puttu-fish curry,kappa biriyani....!

Whats Hot ...?

- Options,Combos,Often doesn't dissapoint you with the taste,though its not exclusive!
- Located at an ideal place.
-Customer friendly costs.

Whats Not...?

- Evenings are too crowded,parceling may be a better option.They have a separate counter for parcel during peak hours.
-Meals here could never meet up to the standard set by the evening foods!

Rating : 2.5/5

Verdict :Recommended hotel, if you are around Kakkanad  in the evenings,and you want to try out some non veg at reasonable costs !

Vaidyarude Kada -- Muhamma

Vaidyarude kada at Muhamma is well known for its fish recipes and was more than an enough reason for us to  set out for a drive to Muhamma on that saturday morning.The hotel is around 1.5 hours drive from ernakulam.Keep a note to take left from NH at kanjikkuzhy (8-10kms after cherthala) and from here on it wouldn't be a trouble spotting the place.People here are quite used to visitors seeking Vaidyante kada and would oblige with a smile.

Smitha hotel popularly known as "Vaidyarude Kada " would resemble any typical small scale hotel in looks ,sporting just 4-5 benches and tables in the very few square fts to make you feel comfortable  enough.There is an alternative setup nearby  for the overflows to walk into; Vaidyars house where again the same recipes are served.


Chemmen fry,Konchu fry,Njandu Roast,Kozhuva Fry,Kaaari Fry,Karimeen Fry,Kaalanchi fish curry ,Kaalanchi thala curry,kakka fry,Meen Mutta thoran.....A-Z varities of the backwater fishes.

A glass of butter milk,a thoran,pickle,varutharacha thodu curry (side dish) rice forms the typical meals here along with which we ordered Chemmen fry,Konchu fry,Njandu Roast,Kozhuva Fry,Kaaari Fry,Karimeen Fry,Kaalanchi fish curry and kakka fry.

Kaalanchi Fish Curry Butter milk

Konchu Fry

Karimeen Fry

Chemmen Fry

Kozhuva Fry

Kaari Fry

Kakka Thoran,Meals

 Its better to visit such places in groups,so that one can taste most of the dishes.Kaalanchi thala (Fish Head) curry could not be ordered just because it was too big to be finished by two.A group of four in a nearby table was warned by vaidyan before they went ahead ordering the same,and an hour later we found that he was literally spot on!Around 2 kilos of the kaalanchi fish was left untouched!The The tenderness of Karimeen boasted its freshness and was tasty enough ,the Konchu fry was enjoyable,Kozhuva fry was crispy and gave a great taste,kaari fry was a bit too deep fried that at times gave the a tinge of bitterness.Kakka thoran wasnt up to the expected levels.Kalanchi curry was ok.Konchu fry was a bit too stiff and dry.

View from where they come From......!

Vaidayan

Potbellies in front of Vaidyarude kada

It was intresting to note that the there was no separate billing/fixed rates for the individual items and a reasonable amount would be told to you by Vaidyan at the counter.

Pot bellies picks : Kozhuva fry ,Karimeen Fry,Konchu fry.

Whats hot....???

-Must visit place for anyone who loves fish based naadan recipes.Endless choices on fish.
-Good place to drive into,calm, hassle-free....Pathiramanal is 1km from here....ideal place to rest with your tummies, after a hefty lunch!
-Reasonable costs.


Whats not ....??

- Might have to wait at peak times.
-Taste of some of the dishes can be improved; Maapranam shaap curries can be ranked slightly above this.

Rating : 4/5

Verdict : All you fishbuffs should try the vaidyan recipes .

PAI's Dosa Kada - DOSA AVATAARS

It came pouring down ,just minutes after we were out from the matinee show from Ernakulam padma .MG road already looked flooded with wheelers and the rain added to the havoc.Just because driving then, would have been more of a mess than anything else we decided to take off some time for Pai brothers Dosa restaurant.Situated in a sub road oppsoite to padma junction.

In front of Pai Bros

 The hotel has quite a lot to boast about its history.It was started as a small road side eatery (thattukada sort of setup) and has grown to this rapport just because they delivered Dosa in a taste and look, like never before!One can read more on the walls of the restaurant!


Several combinations of Onion,egg,kada egg,podi(a mix of chilly and uzhunnu),bullseye dosa,omletete dosa,vegetable mixtures.......permutate to form all the variates in Pai bros Dosa kada.Along with this they also serve other regulars like puttu,poori chappathi,thairu vada ,rasa vada etc.

Order n Service Counter

There are no waiters here to serve and would have to order and serve by self.Kada podi  bullseye dosa,a normal masala dosa and an egg onion dosa was what we went for.Kada podi dosa was was the pick of these,though nothing to go gaga about.About 8 kada eggs bullseyed into a dosa layered with the podi,   forms a taste that is quite new.The Sambar too tasted different from the routine stuff we get from hotels.They also provide you with a pickle sort of item with each of the dosa dishes.The Masala dosa and the egg onion Dosa were just ok.Have had better experiences with the two....!

                                       

Podi - Kada Dosa

Egg Onion Dosa

Masala Dosa (Note the Pickle served)

Whats hot?

-Try some thing different.More items like Kancheevaram dosa,salt n pepper dosa and several other combos can be tried.
-Good ambiance for family
-Once you get into the sub road,it looks far away from the hectic traffic of MG road.

Whats not?

- Can improve on the taste of the Dosas served especially those versions without the bullseye .A copy paste of pai flavors is available in Kakkanad as well which too almost delivers the same items with the same level of taste! Nothing Exclusive.
- Cost can seem to be slightly on the higher side,for the feel they give for your tummy.

Rating :2.5/5

Maapranam Shaap (The Maapranam Toddy Shop) -- നാടന്‍ രുചികള്‍

Visiting this place was in our to do list since the day we happened to see a forwarded chain mail,that not only boasted about the authentic tastes of traditional toddy shop food items in Maapranam shaap (non-malayalees read it as 'shop'), it almost carried the aroma as well.

A Saturday morning looked ripe for this visit to Maapranam and we set out by 11 30am in our Enfield 350 classic.The scorching heat was playing its part to spoil the party but we kept ourselves up with some refreshments on the way.

Beating the Heat

The destination-' Mapranam' is a village around 5-6 kms from the national highway(Turn left from Nandancode when you go from Ernakulam)

Infront of Mapranam Shaap

Once we reached Mapranam there was no trouble locating the shaap, and by 1-30 we seated ourselves in the wooden bench of the Maapranam shaap.The ambiance and the customers were typical,everything looked set for delivering the promised treat in the shaap.There was a long list of curries as per the owner Joy chettan ,and we decided to order the most of them.Tapioca (kappa vevichathu) was served as the main dish along with kallumekka fry,duck fry,meen(fish) curry,Njandu(crab) roast and kakka fry.A pot of toddy was ordered as well.

Kappa,Meen Curry,Kakka,Crab,Kallumekka

Duck Fry

The taste was one of its kind with all the hot spicy mouth watering stuff burning down into your food pipe.As usual with the typical Kerala shaap food, most of the dishes had an extra dose of spiciness to make you quench for their toddy.Carry some water/some soft drinks if you would not like to have a sip of the toddy.Though never had before i even tasted some toddy,I eventually had to give up to have some fizzing toddy to cool down the heat built up by the dishes.

Whats sweet....?

-Food,food,food......the taste was worth it!
-Common man's costs !
-The typical Ambiance you would expect ...!
-Far from all hectic traffic,no issues of parking.....Just drive in!

Whats not....?

-Nothing really,may be you could say that it quite understandably, is not the ideal place for families to be in ,but still there were families enjoying the dishes in their cars ,parked out side the shaap!
-The summer was at its peak and there was minimal relief provisions inside the shaap!

Potbelly Picks-Fish curry,Kallumekka,Kakka.....More shaap dishes awaits you...!

Rating -4.25/ 5

Coming out of the toddy shop after the hefty lunch something was still missing.We did not get to taste some karimeen.This led us to a neighbouring hotel named Graamya which by look itself convinced us to go in.Built in a miniaturized naalukettu sort of architecture the ambiance is good to be in with family.Everything looked promising untill the appam and Karimeen pollichathu was served.The dish was a letdown with nothing much to boast about.Cannot comment more on the hotel as this was the only thing we tried.

The Exteriors

Karimeen Pollichathu and Appam

Whats sweet....?
Excellent Ambience.

Whats not....?
-The karimeen pollichathu was just average.The appam wasn't good either.