[foby.sebastian]

Indian coffe house is now open opposite to Infy campus on Bypass Trivandrum.

I love the red masala dosa and cutlet from there.

Have any one tried yet ?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

Indian coffe house is now open opposite to Infy campus on Bypass Trivandrum.

I love the red masala dosa and cutlet from there.

Have any one tried yet ?

Isn't that a standard with Indian Coffee House? We used to get that in Thrissur as well (near North bus stand). The Ghee Masala Dosa was even better, and the beef cutlet is indeed a masterpiece

[foby.sebastian]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Isn't that a standard with Indian Coffee House? We used to get that in Thrissur as well (near North bus stand). The Ghee Masala Dosa was even better, and the beef cutlet is indeed a masterpiece

Yes the same one as in TCR ,pioneered by AKG.they are kind of expanding in a large scale across Kerala I guess. I have also seen a new outlet which is open near Aleppy.

The food is really awsome. I also like the waiters costume with turban.

[ontheroad]

The ICH in Xray Jn,NH47, Cherthala is also a good one. Food is good and fast service.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by vb-san

cutlet is indeed a masterpiece

Then I would highly recommend the meat or mutton omelette. This is the best thing I had from ICHs. Mouth watering stuff, but high on cholesterol and hence wifey turns down any offers to visit the ICH.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by thoma

Then I would highly recommend the meat or mutton omelette. This is the best thing I had from ICHs. Mouth watering stuff, but high on cholesterol and hence wifey turns down any offers to visit the ICH.

Thanks! Is it something new in their menu? I have not been to ICH for the past 2 years or so

[kicha]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

Indian coffe house is now open opposite to Infy campus on Bypass Trivandrum.

I love the red masala dosa and cutlet from there.

Have any one tried yet ?

Yes, happend to go over there two days back, the veg cutlets are my fav.Pretty big hotel (2 storeyed).Finally a good eatery close to the tech park!

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by Arun.K

Thanks mallumowgli for the info. I was thinking of Vazhiyoram too, but ruled out now. Any suggestions on best banana chips from the bunch of shops on Olavakode railway station road?

Not sure whether this will be useful to you anymore - But Thejas Bakery near Kalpathy is considered good. Another one is Topnotch - turn left at the Olavakkode junction.

PS : The restaurant I earlier mentioned is actually Sopanam, not annapoorna

[Arun.K]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Not sure whether this will be useful to you anymore - But Thejas Bakery near Kalpathy is considered good. Another one is Topnotch - turn left at the Olavakkode junction...

While going towards Coimbatore, I'll be taking the bypass to Kalmandapam or go through Victoria College junction from Olavakode. So Kalpathy will be off my route. but if Thejas is somewhere close to the bypass, I will give a try else Topnotch. Once again thanks for the pick.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by Arun.K

While going towards Coimbatore, I'll be taking the bypass to Kalmandapam or go through Victoria College junction from Olavakode. So Kalpathy will be off my route. but if Thejas is somewhere close to the bypass, I will give a try else Topnotch. Once again thanks for the pick.

Thejas is on the NH itself - at the Kalpathy road junction

[Arun.K]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Thejas is on the NH itself - at the Kalpathy road junction

Fine, I'll try Thejas itself, is it on the left side towards Kalmandapam?

[foby.sebastian]

Any one tried Villamaya @ West fort Trivandrum ?

[TKMCE]

Let me pitch in as well and since I dont find anything around Aluva, here are a few options.

The best option for years was "Taal", right at the corner of the turn off to Aluva town from NH 47 (when coming from Trichur). They had an AC section as well as a Non AC section and the food was good and fantastic value for money. Now the same has been renamed BreadWorld and last I went there they still had the AC section but the non AC section in the front had been converted to a bakery. I found the food over priced and the service slipping when I went to the new avataar and so has stopped going there since.

Opposite Taal/Breadworld on the other side of the road, a new hotel "Sunny's" had started up with their restuarant advertising combos et all. Went there and found it a total waste of money with lousy food and disinterested wait staff and high prices. Very bad experience. I dont know whether they have restarted the place again but I am not taking a chance .


KR Bakes has an outlet at Bank Junction, but while the bakery is good I never found the food very great. I found the one at Paravoor much better.

Back to Aluva, on the road to the town, further on after St Xaviers college at the turning towards Railway Station/KSRTC (Pump Junction) are Royal Food Court and Zaina. Both have an extensive bakery section, and Royal (the same management as the Royal Bakery next to Railway station) has a few partitioned "family rooms". Service is average but food is good.

Zaina , in the complex just behind the petrol pump (and opposite Tata Docomo) is tte best of the lot in Aluva as per me. Ground floor is a bakery and a non AC section which is very busy and may put off a lot of people. But there is an AC section upstairs with a few tables and there it is good value. Only issue is getting a table is difficult on week days with lot of "Romeos" trying to entertain their "Juliets" from the college nearby. Sundays are better as this is small town kerala after all and both Romeos and Juliets are under parental scruitiny on that day. Food is tasty and definitely VFM. You can also take out the food . Food is a mix of Kerala as well as North Indian and Chineese. Suggest stick to the Kerala and North Indian stuff.

Avoid places in the immediate vicinity of the railway station/KSRTC bus stand although the Royal Bakery (same guys who run Royal food court) is justifiably popular as seems to be the bakery on the opposite side of the road (forgot the name).

There is a "chicking" fast food outlet at the Byepass on the left side before the turn off to Aluva town (coming from Ernakulam). The place is quite spacious and they have kids options also and my kiddo was quite happy with the place when I took him there. In fact he seems to prefer this one better than the KFCs . There is a KFC open at MG road near Jos Junction opposite Avenue Regent in addition to the one at Gold Souk.

And back to Aluva, there is "Food Point" which is on the highway (NH 47) just before Desom Junction in Aluva (where you turn off to go to Chowara and Kalady) approaching from Trichur side. Limited car parking but the place is spacious inside (two floors) and the upstairs AC section has a small kids play area as well. Food is good, although priced on the higher side as is the case with most highway options. Not a bad opton by any means.


Speaking of Trivandrum, there used to be "Kalavara" on the governemnt press road after Statue, next to PAICO. Is this place still running?? Good to see Trivandrum Hotel restarting although now apparently as an upmarket option.

When I was a kid, my favorite evening out was going with my father to the British Library at Trivandrum at the YMCA compound (they had a childrens section there) and then having "Ghee Roast" at the Trivandrum hotel next door. That was a big treat those days!! Also miss the "chilly parottas" at Arul Jyothi at Statue. Dont know whether they serve the stuff anymore.

Also those days there was a small restaurant next to Ajantha theatre which used to serve great Beef Fry with Chappathy. And of course the India Coffee House at Medical College They had 3-4 outlets there at one time (including one inside the campus) and they were long time favorites.


And finally how can I forget Hotel Suprabhatam at Chinnakada, Quilon. Coming from Trivandrum early in the morrning as you come down the flyover after the railway station and hearing the strains of M S Subbaklakshmis devotional songs wafting out being played in the hotel...meomories which never fade...

[jayded]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Let me pitch in as well and since I dont find anything around Aluva, here are a few options.

When I was working in Cochin in 2007, we 3 colleagues used to ride from near Kakkanad all the way to Aluva just to have food at a way side tea stall/hotel. I don't remember the exact location since we used to reach the hotel around 5:00 am in the morning and the "Puttu" and "Duck egg roast" was just awesome. It was a small typical Kerala "chayakkada". I'm not sure if that hotel is still there, if not, it's just sad. We used to absolutely love the food there, and of course the early morning ride on our bikes in anticipation of the mouth-watering food.

Speaking of Trivandrum, there used to be "Kalavara" on the governemnt press road after Statue, next to PAICO. Is this place still running?? Good to see Trivandrum Hotel restarting although now apparently as an upmarket option.
.....

That outlet of Kalavara has been taken over by Azad group. Kalavara now operates at Kawdiar, just behind the Trivandrum Tennis Club (TTC). The food there has always been decent in my opinion. It's pretty clean inside which makes it a favourite family spot.

[autotranny]

I have just comeback from a 2 week long vaccation in Kerala. Having been in Hyderabad for the last two years, I find it rather amusing to see the small quantities on offer in most Kerala restaurants. Jayded and Ranjitp1 should agree to this.

Anyway one hotel that really made me happy is the very old Hotel Elite International in Thrissur. I still think its one of the best restaurants in Kerala in terms of taste.

The resturant in itself has become a bit old and not appealing to the young crowd, but the taste makes up for the lack of ambience. Anyway most of the time, I had take away only and the ambience did not matter at all.

Dishes to try

1. Grilled chicken with vegetables - Simply awesome. Can give a run for money to the more established continental restaurants in the metros.

2. Chilly Chicken and Chilly mushroom - Very unique taste. Not your normal chilly chicken. I think its the soya sauce that is the overriding flavour.

3. Butter Chicken - true punjabi style, as good as you get in North India.

4. Egg Porotta - try this. Never seen so good in any other restaurant.

For those willing to experiment also try the Butter Chicken from Calcutta Bar and Restaurant in Thrissur. It is no way comparable to the taste of Butter Chicken as you have seen or heard, but still the taste lingers in your mind.