[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

Waiters take the order in I pod touch. A good veggie hang out though.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Where exactly is this on Kuruppam road? And do they have parking facilities?

Found the Arabian Delights on RS Road right next to the police umbrella(diagonally opposite to Alia) very good.Ofcourse non-vegetarian.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Found the Arabian Delights on RS Road right next to the police umbrella(diagonally opposite to Alia) very good.Ofcourse non-vegetarian.

Thanks, will try out in July

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

Waiters take the order in I pod touch. A good veggie hang out though.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Where exactly is this on Kuruppam road? And do they have parking facilities?

Found the Arabian Delights on RS Road right next to the police umbrella(diagonally opposite to Alia) very good.Ofcourse non-vegetarian.

Originally Posted by autotranny

small quantities on offer in most Kerala restaurants. Jayded and Ranjitp1 should agree to this.

Hotel Elite International in Thrissur.

I did not see this post earlier!You are absolutely bang on.The quantities are so very measly and prices are unbelievable in the restaurants.Pathans charges a royal 35-40 for a masala dosa -thats a killer.

My latest find was a street next to Puthanpally.Its almost like a small scale industry of Appams.Every house on that street sells Appams,but I somehow was not comfortable with the exploitative working conditions of the employees in those so called "small scale industries"every house entrance had small girls sitting making these appams and in some cases the girls were hardly 15-18yrs and they were all from Andhra.I just couldnt bear to see them make those things whereas they should have been in school.The owners were all sitting behind the tables collecting all the money-how convenient-they might tell you they are providing employment.Personally I have a problem with that and hence decided not to go there anymore.

Aryas on Guruvayur road is exploitatively expensive.Food is good.Lulu restaurant service is BAD-maybe I landed up there on the wrong day,we waited around and loitered around the entrance to the restaurant for a good 10-20mins and the staff kept staring at us but never bothered to show us to a table.When you pay premium I dont think expecting premium service is anything wrong,they finally tell us that something wrong with their supply chain and they have run out of food at 1430!Not going back there

Sampoorna at Pazhaya Nadakavu is still the best for their phulkas and puttu & kadala.Sad that the Patturaikal outlet shut shop.The owners are also very friendly and its good to see them get their hands dirty rather than sit behind the counter and bark orders.

KR Bakes had cockroaches running inside their containers kept behind the glass display at Patturaikal-I dont have to say anything more on that.

Indian Wok was terrible,including the price.It isnt chinese or oriental by any measure of imagination,just dumping some generous doses of soya sauce and having staff hold Ipods doesnt necessarily get a restaurant good business-I hope they understand that.Location wise it has everything going for it to become a real good place,but I dont think they have any clue of how to run it.

A chicken "puff" at Honest is 25rs-thats rubbish for that measly piece with some nonsense filling inside it.We actually asked the counter guy if this is what they serve for 25rs!

personally found the porottas at Mint Malabar very good and the food at City Kitchen after the punkunnam bridge to be very good.The thattu kadas-Surya and Chandra have deteriorated like crazy(the ones on MG Road).During my college days Prince hotel on the Round next to Current used to serve up the best porottas-but I see that the restaurant has shut shop.

I am waiting for the time Pathans would actually paint those black walls of their kitchen.I remember it as black from my school times!wonder what they doing with all that money that they charge plus all that packing charge,bag charge,a/c charge!The rush at Bharat is getting to be terrible and attitude of the people at the counter is more than terrible.Bharat was always a place for musical chairs from my college days.

Kaveri Madam at Peringavu still IMO serves up the best laddoos in town!

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Lulu restaurant service is BAD-maybe I landed up there on the wrong day,we waited around and loitered around the entrance to the restaurant for a good 10-20mins and the staff kept staring at us but never bothered to show us to a table.When you pay premium I dont think expecting premium service is anything wrong,they finally tell us that something wrong with their supply chain and they have run out of food at 1430!Not going back there

Indian Wok was terrible,including the price.It isnt chinese or oriental by any measure of imagination,just dumping some generous doses of soya sauce and having staff hold Ipods doesnt necessarily get a restaurant good business-I hope they understand that.Location wise it has everything going for it to become a real good place,but I dont think they have any clue of how to run it.

Agree on Indian Wok, but my experience is quite different with Lulu.
We went to Indian Wok in January for dinner, and I found the place (and the staff) quite pretentious. They wanted to project the place as a fine dining place, but somehow did not gel well. So instead of placing the order, we left the place and went to Lulu. Infact we visit Lulu atleast once when I do my Kerala trips. The food is good, quite reasonable for what they offer, and the service has always been excellent

There used to be a place called Nalanda (not sure if I got the name correct) somewhere near Marar Road. We used to frequent that place during 1995-97. Any idea if it’s still there?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Ruchi @ Mavoor Road,Arya Bhavan on SM Street near Radha Theater,then you have yours truly HSB at Kozhikode (Hotel Saravana Bhavan) at Rajaji Road (down the road from Baby Memorial Hospital),

Thanks buddy! Will try one of these definitely.
Waiting to see our local champion's expression (my cousin) when I ask him about these places

[bbhavan]

This thread raises many nostalgic feelings about the time I spent at Trivandrum,while studying.

I can distinctly remember some of the best restaurants at that time, but dont know they were existing now.

Like nallukettu, tharavadu, Azad, ponnumangalam , sizzlers, Arya bhavan etc...


In Tvm, hotels were good , with god quality and were cheap also.

[TKMCE]

Yeah. Trivandrum had a lot of trusted restaurants where quality (or lack if it in same cases) was atleast consistent. But 30 years back, there were not too many options.I am talking of the days before Technopark came up and Trivandrum was a very much a "salaried class - government service" town. One of my professors at a leading management school (not in Trivandrum) used to joke that the people of Trivandrum were more pleasant in the first 10 days of the month than in the last 10 and while as a person from the town in question, I was very indignant at that time, in fairness my professor was very correct. Kochi and especially Kozhikode were much more vibrant and in fact had lot more culinary options as well. May be the prosperity of the town extends to the food offerings?


Yes- Naalukettu in Vazhuthakkad was a classy outlet then. Azad outlets were at Chalai and Statue. Arul Jyothi at Statue is still there and has been around for more than 30 years. In the same area just before Bata there was Xaviers for Non Veg, Simla hotel and opposite it Apaches Cafteria, all long gone.

There was ofcourse Trivandrum Hotel in its original avtar at the same location near to the British Library(sadly gone now) at the YMCA compound. The memories of going to the British Library as a school kid along with my Dad (they had a childrens section there) and then having Ghee Roast with Lime Juice at Trivandrum hotel are still freshThat was an outing to look forward to during my school days.


Other outlets I remember were Shamiana, an ice cream parlour near the Petrol pump near the Jawahar Nagar turn off (opposite the Belhaven exit) at Vellayambalam and "Sizzler fast food" next to Srikumar/Srivishakh theatre. The latter I believe is still around and serves OK non veg food although I dont think it ever served any sizzlers then or now. And let me not forget, those were the days when the India Coffee House ruled the roost, the one next to YWCA at Statue, and the multiple outlets at Medical College. Their veg and meat cutlets and lime juice were good and atleast in Trivandrum many of their chefs (or was it their management?) in those times used to love Beetroot. It was everywhere, inside the cutlets and in the masala dosas. The Vegetarian Refreshment Room (VRR) at Trivandrum Central was also very popular including with a lot of staff working in the KSRTC depot next door.

And how can you forget the pantry car in the Venad Express then operating between Trivandrum and Ernakulam and now extended to Shoranur ? So sad to see the pantry car has now disappeared. Just after Varkala around 6 AM, the hot coffee and Idli Vada would have made an appearance and the stuff was too good. Those days the pantry car services were not contracted out.

Dont know whether the two old famous bakeries then in Trivandrum , Shantha Bakery and Queens Bakery are still around.

Agree with "bbhavan".. This thread raises many many memories. Trivandrum those days was nothing more than an overgrown typical English vlilage, The "high street" was MG Road with the commercial end starting from Palayam and ending at East Fort. The suburbs those days more or less ended with Medical College, Peroorkada, Sathamangalam, Jagathy and Karamana. Those days the city was very pleasant to live in. There was not a single High Rise in the area now flooded with them (the Pattom-Kuravankonam - Kaudiar-Vellayambalam Vazhuthacaud belt). Hard to imagine now but I remember those days very well.

[bbhavan]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

And how can you forget the pantry car in the Venad Express then operating between Trivandrum and Ernakulam and now extended to Shoranur ?
Agree with "bbhavan".. This thread raises many many memories. Trivandrum those days was nothing more than an overgrown typical English vlilage, The "high street" was MG Road with the commercial end starting from Palayam and ending at East Fort. The suburbs those days more or less ended with Medical College, Peroorkada, Sathamangalam, Jagathy and Karamana. Those days the city was very pleasant to live in. There was not a single High Rise in the area now flooded with them (the Pattom-Kuravankonam - Kaudiar-Vellayambalam Vazhuthacaud belt). Hard to imagine now but I remember those days very well.

Sir, Amazed to see such a memory about the hotels in Tvm. The list is exhaustive and vivid.


The beetroot in ICH Veg curry is still intact. Got a chance last year to taste it from an outlet at Alleppey beach. :


Not an idea about the Venad Pantry car. I used to have breakfast from a Veg.hotel between Overbridge and sizzler, after coming down by Executive exp. from Kottayam. I think it was Arulakom. Not sure,though.

Also remember a Punjabi hotel near Ayurveda college. My N.Indian friends used to assemble there for dinner.,

regards

[autotranny]

Its refreshing to know that there are so many good restaurants in Tvm. In the early 2000s when I used to travel throughout Kerala on work, Trivandrum was my least favoured place. If you walk in to any small restaurant the only thing you get is a fat porotta with a mishy mashy veggie curry or a badly cooked beef curry. Do u know that the people from Central and Northern parts of Kerala used to even bitch about the Kalyana Sadya is Trivandrum. I think over the period of time, the tastes have more or less uniformed everywhere. But even then, there were two stand-out places, Kethal's chicken and Buhaari. I have been to Azaad, but personally I dont think their food is appealing, they make their own versions of both north indian and chinese dishes, which I'm sure niether the North Indians nor the Chinese would approve of.

For me still, the go to place as far as variety of food is concerned is Kozhikode, and here the hotels have their own idendity, they are not just aping some1 else's style.

[foby.sebastian]

People who travel from Thrissur - EKM route have any one tried Ollur swamis hotel ? (I forgot the name)

I remember reading in news papers longtime back , that the milk they use ther come from their own farm and also the oils.

Swami is also very particular about the quality , when ever I tried break fast (dosas and vadas) that was always outstanding.

There is also one more veggiee resturant with a class ambience @ christopher Nagar Ollur. The hotel name is Maheswari, thats worth enough giving it a try.

parking is only for a max of 10 cars, but the security will guide you to park the car safely.

@ Maheswari hotel , owner along with his 2 sons will be supervising the kitchen and floor with a plesant smiling face. They also serve Amul icecreams. The food quality is good.

[deepclutch]

I think the veg restaurant in ollur is ananda bhavan? remember visiting there for ghee roast after visiting st.antony's church(raphael pilgrimage).

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

People who travel from Thrissur - EKM route have any one tried Ollur swamis hotel ? (I forgot the name)

Originally Posted by deepclutch

I think the veg restaurant in ollur is ananda bhavan?

The place being discussed is Ollur Sree Bhavan I guess.

[RajeshK]

After a long time, had a very good Malabar Style chicken Biriyani at Bamboo Fresh, Payyanur. Most of the dishes I tried yesterday ( Dragon Chicken, Kozhi Varutharachathu etc ) were also very good.
But their Tandoor Roti was some thing like a Tandoori Chapathi...!! not up to the mark...

[Rameshdude]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

People who travel from Thrissur - EKM route have any one tried Ollur swamis hotel ? (I forgot the name)

.

Yes, there is a Swami restaurant in Ollur, just before the turn to bye pass. Food is good there.
In Ernakulam, there is a new restaurant in Warriam Road, on the road connecting M.G Road and Chittoor Road. It is called " Golden Paranthas" . Food is good and reasonable. Rich and heavy too.
Regards

[foby.sebastian]

Clay house @ Chalakkudy.

I would rate 4 out of 5.

Excellent ambience, Just beside the 4 line highway. Pricing Eg:- a yummy fish curry meals costs you 100 INR