Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Puttu Kada - Karunagappally, Kerala

My brother suggested this hotel, and this happened to be one his favourite eat-outs. As the name suggests, "Puttu" is their trademark item. We reached there at noon, and had to stick with either Meals or Biriyani. They had biriyanis of chicken, mutton, prawns or fish. Biriyani turned out to be really yummy(we rate this to be second best Biriyani we had in Kerala, the first being Kayees, Ernakulam). The rice was well cooked with abundant meat hiding inside. Meals also felt very homely, with a choice of non-veg side dishes including prawns,chicken, mutton, beef and many fish varieties to order. One thing which was really impressing was we asked for chappathis, and the bearer was honest enough to say like chappathis are made in the morning and they are cold by now. We don't come across situations like this quite often. 
My brother gave his testimonial for the mutton dishes over here, saying they are really made in some unique way. I observed the local people are ordering fish dishes, and Kollam being a major fishing hub, it was deductible that the restaurant people were able to fetch a fresh supply of fish every day. 
Authentic "Puttu Kada" is situtated opposite to Karunagapalli KSRTC bus depot. While cruising through the NH47, saw many small shops with the same name across the highway trying to fetch some customers using the name. Also this is 24x7 restaurant. While we visited renovations where happening over there, and actual elevation might be changing later. 










Our overall rating: 6/10 
Food : 7/10
Ambience : 4/10
Service : 7/10

Monday, April 6, 2015

Buhari Hotel Trivandrum


Buhari is situated at Attakulangara, East Fort, Trivandrum. One of the most boasted hotels in Trivandrum. A synonym for mutton dishes for Trivandrumites. I cant even remember when I started to eat from this hotel. During college days every Sunday, we used to have a "to the beach bike ride" followed by a dinner at Buhari. If somebody in Trivandrum city is getting a midnight craving for food, the first thing popping up will be "Buhari". Anybody who has been part of a gang of friends in Trivandrum will be having their nostalgia associated with Buhari.
But sadly these days, this hotel has become only the shadow of what was it before. Food is not upto the mark, and hygiene to be questioned. My wife is totally reluctant to go there, and she feels totally uncomfortable inside Buhari for some peculiar and unknown reason. I majorly think people are still coming to eat mainly because of the nostalgia factor, and at night this is the only option to eat out in Trivandrum. 
There are some unconventional mutton dishes that we get only here like the bone marrow curry, brain roast, and kidney roast, though we don't eat any of these(But still these dishes got their regular customers, one of them is my very good friend). 
We don't prefer to eat out from here, but there is some thing we really like. They got a sarbath and juice centre by the side, and they have some really exotic fluids out there. They serve milk sarbath, boost or horlicks sarbath and the sensational "kulukku" sarbath. Through out the day we can see a reasonable crowd standing and delivering the awesomeness into their tummy from the juice centre. 
Their tea stall is also very nice, and serves the not so famous "Biriyani tea". This tea got nothing to do with biriyani. A simple explanation should be a hot glass of milk with a thick layer or tea floating over it with sugar sprinkled all over. This is to be tried. 
Hotel not recommended, tea stall and juice centre recommended. 





Our overall rating: 4/10
Food : 4/10
Ambience : 2/10
Service : 4/10

trip advisor

Hotel Pankaj Trivandrum

Pankaj Hotel is situated right in the heart of Trivandrum, situated opposite to the secretariat. We really like the view from roof-top, and we like it more after a couple of beers. Previously they offered liquor also in the roof-top restaurant, but now they only serve beer and wine. I haven't seen much places in Trivandrum where ladies come and drink freely, and this place is one among the exceptions. Food is very good, and we have tried out tandoori chicken, various pork and beef dishes. For me this place's tandoori was the best tandoori I ate till date. But people might be having difference in opinion as different people define the goodness of  tandoori in different ways. Some people like it the hard and non-juicy way, some people like to have it cooked less etc. And I like tandoor chicken to be soft and well cooked, and Pankaj catered my tandoor cravings to the best. Schezuan pork and chilly beef are also their specialities. Service was decent, food was good, and ambience was great with the clear skies on your head, and the local white house by your side. For the price they are serving, its tough to beat the same quality. Recommended.





Our overall rating: 8/10
Food : 8/10
Ambience : 8/10
Service : 7/10

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Hotel Sagara Trivandrum

Sagara is situated near the Chakka bridge in Kazhakkoottam-Kovalam by-pass road. May be the second best sea-food restaurant in Trivandrum (The first being Mubarak, Chalai) according to us. This restaurant serves classic Kerala style as well as contemporary styles of variety sea food dishes. Their main attraction is their sea food combo lunch which is truly sumptuous and worth the money. This restaurant has its roots from Sibi hotel, Karunagappally and Sagara restaurant, Vazhuthacaud and due to the obvious reason of the long term relationship with the sea food merchants, these guys always serve fresh sea food. They cater other meat also including poultry dishes, and we once tried out and found good. But the recommended ones are the variety of sea food including fish,prawns,mussels,crabs and some other crustaceans. They have maintained the restaurant nice and clean with ample car parking, clean seating area, and an open kitchen. Recommended. 









Our overall rating: 7/10
Food : 8/10
Ambience : 5/10
Service : 5/10

Friday, April 3, 2015

Kabab Souq Bangalore

Situated at Vignan Nagar (on the way to Vibhuthipura and Old Airport Road), we mainly depend this restaurant for our side dish needs. We have tried out  Chinese and Arabian cuisines from here, and Arabian dishes were very good. Al-Faham is our personal favourite(yummy mayonnaise), Grilled chicken is not that great (you feel it raw some times), Kababs are pretty decent. Achari kabab which is a spicy kabab can be a good company for your weekend beer. We can feel the ajinomoto in all the Chinese dishes here, and we generally avoid it. To sit and eat there is not going to be a nice experience, as the road is pretty noisy and  they dont have a closed seating, also Table service not there. Service is ok, and home delivery is prompt.






Our overall rating: 5/10
Food : 6/10
Ambience : 2/10
Service : 5/10
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