Re: A guide : Eating out in Kerala Ok, a brief review of a few restaurants I had food over the last week in Kochi thanks to my son who loves eating out and makes the most of it whenever I come home on leave.
1 Hotel Chimney - Near Lullu Mall.Because of the car parking and comfortable seating areas this place gets a lot of customers, mostly family crowd driving through . Chicken Biriyani- hardly had much rice and it appeared rice as added to the chicken almost as an after thought! The chicken pieces were properly cooked though. Also had Kozhuva (anchovy) fry-nothing to wrote about although not bad value at 50 Rs. My son hated the butter chcken which ended up with lot of bones in an yellowish gravy and the quantity of paneer butter masala and veg fried rice were measly for the price they charged at 80Rs each.
Verdict- Over priced for what you get .
2 Kamalya Restaurant -Alwaye- An old standby. Dont expect luxurious seating but the place offers good value for money. Beef Biriyani was priced a very reasonable 60 Rs and was tasty and had good quantity. Recommended if you are coming to Aluva town but take away may be a better option for families.
3 Hotel Paradise - This is another hotel just before Chimeny and Lullu Mall at Edapally toll (just after KR Bakes towards Lullu). Not bad value at all. My son loved the butter chicken, I liked the fish biriyani (with a good solid portion of seer fish) and in addition the generous portions at similar prices to Chimney made sure that we are not going anywhere near Chimney again. You get far better food than most of the similar offerings at Lullu. Not too sure whether they have a family area. I went with my son and the non ac area was clean enough for both of us for a quickish lunch.
4 Hot food counter at Lullu Hyper market. Avoid the place is my recommendation.Average quality and quantity. They price by weight which I found is misleading and I had a Chinese soya dish preparation (Chilli Soya) which is some of the worst soya I have ever tasted (and I love Soya based preparations).
5 Hotel Sapphire - The old old stand by at Jos Junction in Ernakulam. Wanted to try CBH but they open only at 5 PM during the Ramzan period so turned to this old standby. Went to the AC section upstairs. Loved the food as did my son. Excellent value for money. Fish fry meals at 160 Rs is unlimited rice with seer fish fry. The Kerala parottas at 10 Rs each were big and the chicken tikka masala at 170 Rs had about 8 solid boneless properly cooked chicken tikka pieces with gravy which was not to spicy and which my son absolutely loved. And the quantity in the Paneer Butter Masala which we packed for my wife which was priced at 90 Rs was really generous.
To sum up my experiences
Chimney near Lullu Mall- Although food was tasty as far as the meat dishes are concerned , it is expensive for the prices charged and not Value For Money.
Food counters at Lullu Hyper Market- Average in taste and quantity for what you pay.
Hotel Paradise near Lullu Mall - Excellent Value for Money and tasty as well. Not to sure whether they have a family seating area (but I think they should have one). Honest food at honest prices.
Hotel Sapphire - Jos Junction... The AC restaurant upstairs is fantastic value for the price you pay. Has never let me down whenever I make my way that side.
Hotel Kamalya - Not the best place for a family dine in, but one of the best options for a quick working lunch or a take out at Aluva, a town which has an acute scarcity of good restaurants. |