[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by jailbird_fynix

TBJ (The Burger Junction) make the best burgers in Kochi. There's one at Panampilly Nagar, Kakkanad and Edapally. I would recommend the one at Panampilly because it's their largest and most welcoming branch.

And try the Hellboy if you are upto it!

[TSIboy]

The Zaatar Arabic Restaurant serves pretty good arabic food. The ambience is excellent but it tends to get full around lunchtime. They're at Panampilly and Pipeline Jn. Apparently voted best restaurant in Kerala, 2018 by Deccan Herald.

'Mustake' in Kakkanad is also a pretty good multi-cuisine restaurant.

Originally Posted by jailbird_fynix

TBJ (The Burger Junction) make the best burgers in Kochi. There's one at Panampilly Nagar, Kakkanad and Edapally. I would recommend the one at Panampilly because it's their largest and most welcoming branch.

+1

Tonico cafes in Kottayam, Kakkanad and Muringoor is also recommended. Good food, great service and ambience.

There's a place in Alappuzha - Cafe Catamaran. They open around 12:30pm and have a very basic menu. Not much of a family place, visitors are mostly the foreigners living around. Getting there is a bit tough but the view and the vibe makes up for it. A great place to watch the sunset.

[jailbird_fynix]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

And try the Hellboy if you are upto it!

I like playing it safe with their Baconators or Texas Bacons. Besides, their specials are not that easy on the pockets. This site ranks them at 33 among the 50 best burger outlets in the world - Link.

And this is the Hellboy. Care for a review, deathwalkr?

Originally Posted by TSIboy

Tonico cafes in Kottayam, Kakkanad and Muringoor is also recommended. Good food, great service and ambience.

Can vouch for them as well. I like how their cafes are always kept clean & hygienic.


OT : It looks like many of us often visit Kochi. Is anyone up for a meet?

[Samurai]

This reminds of the burger I had in Antojitos food truck in Goa, about 3 years back. It looks and tastes uber delicious. We took this shot before eating.

[jeeva]

If you are the kind who like and appreciate simple "naadan" food, you should definitely subscribe to Mrinal's blog.
This passionate man with his presentation style will bring back a lot of nostalgia. Guaranteed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v06vsInYjnY

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by jailbird_fynix

And this is the Hellboy. Care for a review, deathwalkr?

Attachment 1905192

The Hellboy:

No, this is not listed on their menu [last i checked]. Instead, the pic and a small description is stuck on a corner wall far away from cowardly eyes.

You being a brave [foolish?] soul, you sight the image and being a man's man you order the burger.

The charming waitress reconfirms if you are of sane of mind with a mocking smile. You say "hell yeah!".

She again cross checks if you know what you are about to get into. You say, sure bring it on!

With an Ok and a smirk she goes off to the kitchen.

After a few minutes, with a flourish she brings the devilish burger straight from hell to your table. "Enjoy" she says [foolish mortal, she means]

You take the first bite and you think it's not so bad...then just after a few seconds, it hits you. Oh god, how it hits you! The sheer hotness of the myriad ingredients that ramp up the spicyness hits all of your senses and after a few bites you are left sweating it out as if you were wrestling with satan himself.

Your mouth cries for water, your soul begs for mercy but your ego eggs you on to finish it. You order juices, you drink cold cold water to no effect. Then you order milk shakes and finally some relief...Your friends are laughing at you but you just want to get it done with and get back home.

The story sadly does not end with finishing the burger for the next day the burger finishes you off!

PS: Load of melodrama, sorry for that. But yes it is spicy as they claim it to be!

[jailbird_fynix]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

But yes it is spicy as they claim it to be!

Damn, I did not expect it to be so traumatising. You've just effectively convinced me to never order it. I bet I could use it as a punishment when someone loses a bet.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by jailbird_fynix

Damn, I did not expect it to be so traumatising. You've just effectively convinced me to never order it. I bet I could use it as a punishment when someone loses a bet.

Best idea would be to go as a group, order one of these along with your regular orders, cut it off into small chunks and finish it of as a group.

And keep your milk shakes ready by the sides

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by jeeva

If you are the kind who like and appreciate simple "naadan" food, you should definitely subscribe to Mrinal's blog.
This passionate man with his presentation style will bring back a lot of nostalgia. Guaranteed.

I feel it was all good when he started, but now it’s more of a smug-like attitude IMO.

------------

I was quite disappointed with the food scene in Thrissur. Nothing much new there; the buffet at Lulu Garden Restaurant was pretty good, and for South Indian breakfast Bharath still has the old charm.

Last year I had sadya lunch at Pisharody’s (Kuruppam road) and it was quite good. Last week we went there during dinner time and they had only Dosas available. And then there was free serving of payasam as dessert, which effectively was almost spoiled payasam from the sadya lunch – extremely disappointing.

Shakespeare Café (Paravattani) was a pleasant surprise

[naveen.raju]

We go out for food atleast once a week and order from Swiggy/Uber Eats twice. Here are some dishes we enjoy:

Beef Dry Fry - Volga (Kadavanthara), Hotel Surya (Kathrikadavu), Alakapuri (Kakkanad)
Burger - TBJ (Panampilly), Grill Lab (Palarivattom)
Sandwich - Deli @ Holiday Inn (Vennala), Trident (W.Island)
Biriyani - Jeff's (Thoppumpady), Ceylon (Marine Drive), Alibaba (Panampilly), Buhari (Shenoy's, MG Road)
Malabari - Palaharam (Kadavanthara)
Seafood - Casino (W.Island)
Desert - French Toast (Panampilly). Some call it expensive but it's one of the best here.
Japanese and Pork - The Asian Kitchen by Tokyo Bay (F.Kochi). Pork is not always available.

Ranch Meat Company (Petta) serves the best cooked pork (pork ribs), period. I think they temporarily stopped delivering cooked pork now. If they still do, it's a must try. For cooked meat, you need to order a day in advance.

District 7 (Vytilla) used to serve good burgers/conti food, but had a bitter experience with them and stopped. Food is pretty good.

Punjab Grill (Lulu Mall) serve good punjabi food but we have tried only their biriyani. It was pretty good but around 750 per biriyani is a bit expensive.

There are few more but these are the most common places we try.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Here are some dishes we enjoy:
…
…

That’s a good list – Thank you!

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Punjab Grill serve good punjabi food but we have tried only their biriyani. It was pretty good but around 750 per biriyani is a bit expensive.

Is this the one in Lulu? I tried their Biryani in the last visit, but yes – quite expensive for what it is

The Paragon in Lulu is also quite pleasant, and the quality and taste are consistent. The Ibaco ice cream outlet in Lulu food court is also good. I would rate their Thrissur outlet in Sobha mall better though (for service).

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by vb-san

That’s a good list – Thank you!


Is this the one in Lulu? I tried their Biryani in the last visit, but yes – quite expensive for what it is

The Paragon in Lulu is also quite pleasant, and the quality and taste are consistent. The Ibaco ice cream outlet in Lulu food court is also good. I would rate their Thrissur outlet in Sobha mall better though (for service).

Yes, it's the one in Lulu.

Didn't mention Paragon as it's common among travelers. Also, Bloomsbury in Lulu used to serve good conti/asian food but they never changed the menu and kept increasing the price. We used to be regular there for almost 2 years but backed out for the above reason.

[TKMCE]

The best example of driving customers away to competition is "Arippa" restuarant in MG Road , Kochi, next to Avenue Regent The food (Kerala - Non Vegetarian and also some standard Chinese staples) is excellent. Service is good as well once you manage to get inside. The issue is SPACE. The place should have been shifted to somewhere five times bigger than its current location. It is very small and the crowd is simply too much. Earlier they used to be proactive in regularly updating patrons waiting outside about when they can expect to get in. Of late the staff appear to be indifferent on this aspect as well, as far as my experience goes

End result, last theree times ,I have got fed up and moved elsewhere. Thankfully Ceylon Bake House is opposite and Hotel Dwaraka ,a vegetarian stronghold for decades now have a non veg restaurant (Cafe Purple) as well.

[NPV]

Happened to be near Edapally junction during a weekend and was looking for some simple vegetarian food. Did not want to go to Renai (I think they have multiple restaurants in their campus), so just headed to Ambiswamy's vegetarian restaurant near Edapally junction with low expectations. It was a neat and hygienic place and I ordered north Indian vegetarian fare and was pleasantly surprised, it was indeed tasty. I was accompanied by my elderly uncle who had South Indian fare of Idly, Dosa and he was happy too

[ashwinprakas]

Do I see people talking about burgers?

If you're a Burger Aficionado then do have a go at the Bada Baap v2.0 burger available at BurgerSpot, rather than authenticity I'd rate this one merely for its grandness!



I'd once recommended it to a colleague and she and her husband together couldn't finish a single one.

Been over two years since I've left Kochi and settled down at Trivandrum for good, yet I still dream about this baby, man-o-man-o-man!!! What a hottie!