Best Bakery: True to its name?

Best Bakery Review

Best Bakery has been around as long as I can remember [which admittedly is not too long!].  In the typical ‘kid in a candy store’ fashion, I remember going to their Kaloor branch and looking at the various pastries, sweetmeats and cakes at eye level as the counter was about as tall as I was at the time! They also had several other things included branded biscuits and chocolates. The main point of interest however, has always been their range of biscuits. Our favourites were the Salt biscuit and the spicy ‘Masala biscuit’ which I initially was not too fond of when my young taste buds could not take the mild but persistent heat although that eventually outgrew everything else to become my favourite.

Having several branches across the city is a strong point, making their products easily accessible. The Edappally branch even featured a restaurant [now closed] with decent food and possibly the best porottas I have tried. Over the years, they have grown and so have I, to the point that I have to look down at the glass display at the pastries and cakes; in some areas, metaphorically too: the pastries at least no longer inspire the same sense of delight I used to feel. Especially after our taste buds have tasted the remarkable quality of offerings that came first from Breadline at MG Road in the early 2000s [which has since closed down, wonder whether anyone actually remembers that place!] and shortly afterwards: Bread World, which still sticks around. [We are focusing on Kochi and not counting back to really great cakes we have had outside of Kerala years before those popped up too.]

Now after years of refraining from buying any pastries from them, we finally decided to give those another chance and see whether things have changed over the years, and [somewhat inadvertently!] also sample a few new additions. Who am I kidding, the main purpose if you have been paying attention to this point was: to get ourselves some of that delightful masala biscuit! On to the food we go!

Masala Biscuit

The masala biscuit is a real treat for the taste buds assuming you can tolerate a little bit of spice. The biscuit itself is rather perfectly round and has a light but lovely glaze on top. 

It has bits of lovely caramelised onion, black sesame seeds, black pepper, bits of curry leaves and a hint of ginger. Bits of cashew only add to the incredible richness of the biscuit while providing a bit of crunch too. The biscuit itself has an amber-brown colour and a remarkably powdery yet firm texture that breaks nicely. If you can handle a little bit of heat and there is just one thing you must try from here, it has to be this one. If you cannot take any hint of spice, move onto the next item.

Butter Salt Biscuits

Danish Cookies have nothing on this one! The biscuit is not very sweet as most bakery biscuits tend to be and that is where it works: the mild flavour of the biscuit works great with the wonderful grains of saltiness. 

The real highlight is the texture: it is incredibly soft and really powdery. It holds its shape but does not snap clean; it simply crumbles. Other bakeries have tried to match its success but nothing we have tried from anywhere else has even managed to come close. The others ones are either too sweet or the texture is just wrong: usually ending up too crisp. The ones here are the best we have had, anywhere. For the record, this one is free of egg too so it is vegetarian. Use of butter means it has lactose however.

Carrot Cake Loaf

This is a rather new addition that was not there a few decades ago. We tried it only recently however. The exterior looked promising with a mild dampness to the touch and a dark, dark colour on top with noticeable flecks of carrot, dried fruit and nuts distributed in the body of the cake. It had a lovely slightly sweet aroma with a few notes of spice.

When we took a bite, we were pleasantly surprised that it was rather moist, perfect sweetness. This was reminiscent of fresh homemade cakes. The cake was perfectly sweet aided by the dates and the nuts improved the overall texture. This was a definitely a purchase we were happy with and is very economical considering the quality and weight. It has a disclaimer you can see on the box, which states that it contains egg.

Black Forest Pastry

Just out of curiosity, we tried out their Black Forest pastry which used to be the go-to cake for most people for almost any occasion.

AND IT WAS… Still pretty much the same. Bummer. 

The overall mind numbing sweetness of the cake seemed to have generally reduced thankfully but the cream was still rather cheap feeling and the overall combination left a lot to be desired as the cake itself hardly had its own flavour. It still has not caught up with the other bakeries on this front. Other buttercream cakes may work fine as long as they are coined as ‘old-fashioned’ cakes but a black forest should still be a lot better than this in order to bear the name. Sure, even the ones sold in more expensive bakeries are pretty far from the real thing which should have sour cherries and Kirsch. Bloomsbury had one that was close but it was too long back for us to accurately review. I guess you will likely need a German Visa to experience an authentic ‘Schwarzwalder torte’!

To sum it all up:

Biscuits are as great as ever, they remain our all-time favourites

Most pastries still leave room for improvement

They have adapted slightly: the new cakes are well executed

Could improve quality of certain cakes: especially Black Forest.

They are doing well and it would be in their best interests to keep up the quality of their biscuits and savouries high as always.

Best Bakery, true to its name still has the best ‘bakery biscuits’ in the city. Their savoury items are also good enough quality even if it may not be the absolute best available. They remain one of the most iconic bakeries of Kochi and have some unique and delicious offerings that you will not find anywhere else, daresay: in the world. 

Type of Cuisine: Bakery, Desserts, Cakes, Savouries, Snacks
Location

Near Axis Bank, Manimala Road, Edappally.

Parking: Most branches have space for a few cars in front, should not be a problem.

Ambience: Average

Service: Quick, Pack 'n Go!

What we liked/Recommended for:

• Delightfully rustic biscuits. 
• Old-fashioned butter cream cakes. 
• Good quality snacks and savories; much to choose from. 
• Value for money. 

Potential Shortcomings:
Some items still stuck in the past [details above]. Stiff competition. 

Taxes: Included in price, no fat tax applicable.

Phone Number: +91 484 255 5957

Timings: 08:30 - 21:30

Website: https://www.bestbakers.in/

On Zomato:

     

Anjappar: Chettinad Cuisine Comes to Cochin!

Anjappar Restaurant Review

Anjappar is the most recent addition to the food scene at LuLu mall. With tempting Chettinad style cuisine on offer, the restaurant adds some new variety to what is available in the mall and even Kochi in general. Nestled in a cozy corner on the 2nd floor, Anjappar is isolated from the main shopping area & offers privacy in the midst of all the mayhem. Service is good and most of the staff are Tamilians.

We were seated in the area closer to the entrance, which has good seating capacity, with around 15 tables. There is also an inner seating area which happened to be closed at the time we visited, so we couldn't go there.

The decor consists of really rustic carved doors & wooden craftsmanship. Paintings depicting daily life scenes from Tamil Nadu's countryside adorn the walls. The ceiling has a sloped-roof effect typical of the inside of a traditional house, complete with woodwork which is really pretty to look at. It literally makes you feel like you walked into a house [with a lot of tables though!]. One of the other things that strike you is the attention to detail and quality in the tableware they utilize. The glasses are metallic and of a unique shape; akin to a standard tapered glass with a spherical area towards the bottom and had a petal shaped mat. The sauce/chutney holders are also of metal. Even the bill comes in a pretty little carved metal, velvet lined box. All these little points add a touch of class which is sorely missing in most places these days and is a welcome departure.

Fish Fingers

The fish fingers were accompanied by small bowl of garlic dipping sauce and were decorated with shredded red cabbage and a sprig of coriander. King fish was used, so they did not have any excessively strong fishy flavour which we liked. 

The coating was fried to a nice medium brown colour and was satisfyingly crisp and crunchy. The fingers themselves were seasoned to perfection with the mild flavour of the garlic dip providing an extra boost in flavour. 

Chicken Pakoras

Chicken pakoras arrived on a plate adorned with a few raw onion rings and a sprig of parsley scattered on top. As the photo below would indicate, they were fried to a uniform golden brown colour. 

The pakoras were crisp & tasty with detectable shreds of chicken among the mild spices. We would however, like to mention that they were somewhat smaller than expected in terms of size.

Anjappar Special Chicken Curry

As main dishes, we decided to opt for Anjappar chicken curry, which can be either dry or with gravy. We opted for the latter. In terms of quantity, the curry was enough for 2 people [or one really hungry person!]. 

It consisted of a dark brown, masala style gravy typical of a Chettinad style dish with a few whole spices like red chilly too. It was not excruciatingly hot and the typical Southern taste was notable. 

Karaikudi Kal Dosai

This dish was not unlike a set-dosa. It was thinner however, with a uniform thickness and lots of characteristic holes. 

The dosa itself was mostly soft and had a slightly crisp outer layer. Served with lentil stew [read: sambhar], it makes for a tasty and reasonably healthy dinner or breakfast dish.

Virudhunagar Fried Parota

As its name suggests, this turned out to be a layered flatbread which was deep fried to a golden brown colour. 

This item can be summarized in two words: crisp and oily. 
It was really crisp all over, almost like biting into a papad(om). To be honest, we do not know how this parota is actually supposed to be but we felt it was probably a bit too crisp, like it was fried for too long. Definitely not for the calorie conscious either as it was absolutely drenched in oil too; being a layered item it absorbs a lot. If you want something really crisp however, this would be your bet.

Kutralam Parotta

Highly comparable to the Kerala/Malabar Porotta, the Kutralam parotta was similarly soft and had layers. It differentiates itself a little in terms of texture, which was slightly stretchy thanks to all the gluten and required you to chew well. We unanimously felt that it was not as good as the regular Kerala porotta. It was good but just not distinct enough to differentiate itself from a good Malabar Porotta and we may give this one a pass next time.

To sum it all up, Anjappar offers pretty decent Chettinad items that you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in Kochi. The quality of the food is good. Not to mention the unique ambiance and interesting table layout. We are happy to report that the prices [as of July 2017] were reasonable too and we came away feeling quite satiated. We feel it has potential and look forward to trying out new bits from the menu. Worth another visit for an experience that is out of this "state"! 

Type of Cuisine: Chettinad, South Indian non-vegetarian and vegetarian

Location

Second floor of LuLu Mall, Edapally.

Parking: Mall parking at LuLu [Chargeable] is fine except on very busy days and weekends when it may get full and you might have to wait to find a spot.

Ambience: Very Good: Discrete from rest of mall, good seating capacity, nice utensils, adequate spacing between tables, well lit. 

Service: Good.

What we liked/Recommended for:

• Good variety of Chettinad food on offer. 
• Reasonably well made dishes. 
• Very good ambiance. 
• Decent value. 

Potential Shortcomings:

Some items seemed more oily than needed; may not be much of a problem.

Taxes: Included in price, no fat tax applicable.

Phone Number: +91 484 272 8305

Timings: 11:00 - 23:00

Restaurant Website: https://www.anjappar.com/

On Zomato:
      

Have you tried out Chettinad food at Anjappar? Do share your experience in the comments below! 

Metro Kulfi and Lassi: Killing Two Birds with One Shop?!

With the summer at its peak & high levels of humidity driving us crazy, we were drawn to an ad in the papers: Metro Kulfi opening an outlet at the ground floor of Mathewsons Square, near Changampuzha Park, Edappally.
Situated close to the famous Edapally Church and Lulu Mall, they have a strategic advantage in terms of location. They could probably be spotted when riding the metro too, which is probably why they named it so in the first place! 
This kulfi & lassi joint is on the ground floor of Mathewsons Complex next to 'Sunrise Furniture'. It is a well lit and compact place. Seating however, is limited to a handful of chairs. It must be mentioned, the chairs are green or magenta and potentially bright enough to light up the dark! 
As you enter, there is a blue, kulfi stick-shaped signboard that proclaims the following: 'Life is like a kulfi: Enjoy before it melts.' Not a 'Zen' level thought but that is fine, we are here to eat kulfi not attain enlightenment! 
The first thing that catches your eye are the colorful lassi on display. They have many fruit flavoured ones including strawberry, mango etc. The display counters have an attractive array of kulfis too. The kulfis come in different sizes & flavours. They have discs, small sticks, big sticks, pot or 'matka' ones (it looked like plastic instead of clay). Their prices also range accordingly, although it is worth mentioning that the difference in price between small and large sticks is minimal and it may be better value going for the big ones itself, unless you would rather sample different flavours. 
As always, we had a difficult time choosing from a range of  flavors but finally placed our bets on pista and mango. The menu seemed to offer compelling variety like kesar, anjeer (fig), chocolate, malai (cream), butterscotch and so on. 

The kulfi turned out to be creamy and smooth. They were also refreshingly cool and flavorful too. One thing to note was that the pista kulfi did not contain any actual nut pieces. It tasted decent by itself but the missing crunch was notable. Seriously: when you specialize in one thing, you better be good at it.

I have had some top-notch lassi during my time studying in the North so we will put their claims to the test the next time we go there. 
To sum it up, if it is a warm day and you are on the lookout for a cool and refreshing treat, this place offers great value and has a modest variety of kulfi to choose from as well. We hope to return to this place and evaluate their lassi soon. So do stay tuned for updates!

Type of Cuisine: Frozen Desserts, Kulfi

Location

Next to Sunrise Furniture, Near Changampuzha Park, Edappally.

Parking: Nothing dedicated but there is plenty of space nearby, should not be a problem.

Ambience: Tiny, well lit but otherwise nothing exceptional.

Service: Quick, as expected

What we liked/Recommended for:

• Decent variety. 
• Good value. 
• Good flavor. [Will update about lassi after our next visit.]

Potential Shortcomings: 
Pistachio Kulfi without nuts. Need I say more?

Taxes: Included in price, fat tax not applicable.

Phone Number: +91 98463 27234

Timings: 11:00 - 01:00AM [Not a typo, they claim to open till 11:00AM in the morning to 1:00AM at night]

Restaurant Website: https://www.facebook.com/metrokulfilassi/

Shifu Momos: Mo' for your Money!

Shifu Momos Review

Shifu Momo’s is a small hole-in-the-wall shop located at Panampilly Nagar. Before you decide to try and correct me, no I have NOT forgotten my grammar; this is what the name of the establishment is written as. Check out the photo if you don't believe me! 

We finally happened to be in the general vicinity one day and decided to see for ourselves what this place had to offer.

Honestly, the establishment itself is not much to write about: it is really tiny and they have a counter behind which they prepare all the items. They do not provide any seating arrangements; only a trash can for when you have finished eating. Most people sit at the pavement near the shop, take away the stuff to have it at the nearby park or like we did: eat in the comfort of their cars. It is a true fast food joint where you are expected to order what you need and move on. They had a few staff cooking or serving up orders. Since there is nothing more to be said here, let us move onto the food.

They offer Veg, Chicken and Beef momos. You can opt for full or half plates which would entitle you to 10 or 5 momos respectively. They also offer noodle etc. but it is worth mentioning that they actually ran out of this and a few other items we tried to order to make the review as comprehensive as possible; I guess that definitely says something about its popularity. Apart from the steamed momos, the main sauces on offer were Schezuan and Manchurian. This confirmed our suspicions: the place would serve up Indo-Chinese or Tibetan-style momos which are more appealing to Indian taste buds, and we enjoy those too! We decided to go with all the three available options: steamed as well as the two varieties of sauces.

Steamed Chicken Momos

The obligatory taste test, one that we use to gauge the quality of any joint’s momos. 

We are happy to report that the outer covering was nice and soft as it was freshly made, apart from being reasonably thin. There was no hint of chewiness or anything, so off to a good start. 

Coming to the filling itself, it had lots of chopped cabbage. It was very finely shredded, so it lent a great texture without being noticeably chewy at all. The filling had a detectable taste of chicken too. However, we found no pieces at all so the satisfying ‘bite’ was missing. It was served with chili sauce and garlic sauce. The garlic sauce was mild and creamy and while these are not traditional, it went well with the momos. The chili sauce also added a tangy aspect to the dish; good for those who prefer such flavours.

Chicken Momo in Schezuan sauce

As with most places, the Schezuan option is expected to be the spiciest. 

When we took a bite into it, the first impression one of us felt was that we were eating chaat made with momos…! The sauce was sweet and spicy, a combination characteristic of chaat. [Chaat refers to a variety of Indian snacks consisting of tiny flatbread slathered with tangy chutneys and such.]

After a bit more the flavours came through though and we could tell that it had a balance of sweet and spice working in tandem. I can imagine this being the most popular option they sell, as the addition of Schezuan sauce makes an otherwise bland plate of momos taste a lot more exciting. Not authentic but come on, it was never meant to be anyway!

Chicken Momo in Manchurian Sauce

Predictably, this sauce had a more 'Chinese-style flavour'. 

The texture was slightly thick and it had a darker shade of brown compared to the Schezuan version. It was difficult to tell but the sauce seemed to have finely chopped chili and garlic.

A full plate of 10 chicken momos is just Rs 90/- as of May 2017. With prices like these, it was no surprise this place is so popular. Also not to mention, the food itself was as good as it gets. Sure, if one were to nit-pick, you could bring up the argument that it is Indo-Chinese and not authentic Chinese. There are no seating arrangements. As long as it tastes good and is inexpensive, who cares? The flavours are adapted well to suit the palate of the people here and we think it tastes great.

Our final verdict? We all agreed that we will likely never go anywhere else for momos. ‘Nuff said. 

Type of Cuisine: Momos, [Indo-]Chinese

Location

Opposite Kids and Teens, KV Nagar, Panampilly Nagar.

Parking: Nothing dedicated, but the roads nearby usually have enough space, should not be problem.

Ambience: None to speak of, Buzzing with activity but no dedicated place to sit or anything. Plenty of space including a park nearby so should not be a major problem. 

Service: Quick

What we liked/Recommended for:

Very good value for money. Although not authentic Chinese, is well made and tastes good.

Potential Shortcomings:
On one occasion, got cartilage in more than one momo. Will monitor to see if this was a one-off occurrence. Update: We have returned a few times and every now and then, we have encountered a little bit of cartilage. 
No dedicated seating arrangements; but not to be expected either. 

Taxes: Included in price, fat tax not applicable. 

Phone Number: +91 9633 918 717

Timings: 15:00 - 20:00

Restaurant Website: <None>

On Zomato: 
      

Afters Bake House: Is this another ‘After’thought?!

Afters Bake House Review

Having various branches across the city, ‘Afters Bake House’ is a relatively new chain of bakeries that offer the usual complement of cakes, pastries and savouries. With several other well established bakeries all around town, are they worth your money after all? (*Haha! you see what we did there? 'After all...' never mind.*) 

We decided to find out.

The branch we visited was at Palarivattom, opposite the Corporation Bank Zonal Office. 
Walking into the store makes you feel like you just stumbled into an underground cave or cellar. The interiors could be summarized in one word: dark. They had black tiling, walls etc. and even the tables are a very deep colour. Heck, even the serving tray we saw was deep brown!!! This monotony was only marred by a white pillar with a few other items on its shelves, reminiscent of a candle in a dark room! [The plates are white though]. The place was clean enough too. Like any bakery, the glass counters had all the various baked goods arranged neatly. Right, let us ‘shed some light’ here [Buuurn!] on the food itself!

Chocolate Triffle/Truffle Cake

Depending on whether you go with what the menu says or the staff [at least that day] calls it. 

This one had a dark layer of chocolate on top, a mousse like light cream layer after that and layers of cake. It worked well and had good flavour. The cake was soft and spongy too. 

<Some Dense chocolate cake>

Forgive us but we forgot what they named this cake. We just pointed to it and they served it. Hey, at least we are being honest about it! 

Like most places, this one was quite good with a decent layer of dense chocolate ganache on top. The outer edge had some chocolate shavings too which contributed to the texture. The cake too was reasonably moist enough. It checks all the required boxes for these types of pastries.

Vancho Cake

The layer of icing was rather thick, almost as much as the cake. Unfortunately, it turned out a bit too sweet for our taste too. The worst part was that it did not seem very fresh: it tasted like it was just on the verge of becoming rancid. Don’t get us wrong: it was not bad just yet but it was definitely not fresh either. We do not know whether this was a one-off incident but boy are they unlucky it happened to be this way with when we decided to pop in.

Paneer Puffs

Puffs are just savoury snacks in which a savoury filling is enveloped by puff pastry. While it looked massive for its size, the first bite revealed the same problem everyone has and what we expected given the price point: it had too many layers, overwhelming the amount of filling inside. This is a shame because the filling itself was actually quite tasty, when it was not drowned in the vast ocean of puff pastry. It had creamy paneer [fresh cottage cheese] and a few spices which worked well together.

Chicken Vol Au Vent

The Vol Au Vent fared a bit like the puffs but in the opposite way: the filling did not really taste or feel like chicken at all. It was generally nice and creamy however. The pastry outside was layered and rather well baked.

Ghee Murukku

With a segmented shape reminiscent of fusilli pasta or caterpillars  [not as gross as it sounds, look at the photo!], the murukku had cumin (jeera) and black sesame. It also uses ghee which is a type of clarified butter, so it tasted fine. 

Cuteness aside however, it was really not that good. It was not very hard but neither crumbly enough like a good ghee murukku should be. 

Overall, it is another bakery that has some good offerings. The pastries are generally a good option to go with. The quality control on those do require more attention however, citing the above experience with the vancho cake. 
The savoury baked goods we tried did not do as well though due to the imbalances mentioned earlier. Maybe if we had opted for some other items, they may have fared better but who's to know. 

To sum it up: if you happen to be looking for a decent bakery in the vicinity, you cannot really go wrong with Afters, they have reasonably good quality and the prices are competitive too. Had they opened up a little earlier, they would have seen better days and we may have found ourselves returning for more but as it stands now with our first experience, we probably would not go out of our way to buy something from there exclusively. That being said, we would not mind having something else from here again either. We hope to give them another chance soon enough and possibly find items that are really recommendable.

Type of Cuisine: Bakery

Location [Mutliple]

  Opposite Corporation Bank, Heaven Plaza, MV Road, Palarivattom.

Parking: A few cars in  front, should be enough.

Ambience: Dark! Clean. 

Service: Good, quick.

What we liked/Recommended for:

Generally decent quality goods. Regular pricing. 

Potential Shortcomings: 

• Some items could use a little tweaking [read more above]. 
• Average quality packaged items. 
• Some cakes were not fresh [could be one-off]: needs QC. Will update if we ever happen to go again. 

Taxes: Included in price

Phone Number: +91 86069 05706

Timings: 09:30-22:00

Restaurant Website: http://www.afterscakes.com/

On Zomato: 

     

Bombay Kulfi: Kochi's Kulfi Destination!

Bombay Kulfi Review

As we were driving down Kaloor-Kadavanthara road, this sign managed to catch our attention. Being kulfi [explained in the next paragraph] lovers and not having a dedicated joint in Kochi to this point, we were excited to check out what this place had to offer.

In case you do not know what a kulfi is, it is effectively the Indian version of Ice Cream, albeit slightly denser as it incorporates less or no air, more like Italian gelato in a way. It is most traditionally served in small clay pots called 'matka' but sticks are also available and more common. Traditional flavours include pistachio, saffron, 'malai' which is cream etc. Fruit based ones are also not uncommon, possibly being based on both dry and/or fresh fruits.

In case you were wondering, kulfi in general and Bombay Kulfi's products specifically are stated to be completely vegetarian. However the use of milk means vegans will have to look elsewhere.  

Bombay Kulfi is situated on Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road, next to Cake Hut. The walls were painted in bright colours and we noticed some old-school Bollywood Hindi movie posters hung up but the ambiance was not that great. It is a really small shop, with a few stools to sit on. There was a counter displaying the various flavors available with a blackboard listing the flavours available. The flavors on offer included: Malai [cream], mango, kesar-pista [saffron-pistachio], butterscotch and a few unconventional ones like chai masala [spicy tea!] and so on.

After some deliberation, we decided to try out their kesar-pista  and butterscotch flavors. One point to note is that the kulfis were absolutely frozen solid and took a while to soften. Both turned out to be very good choices and provided some much needed relief from the blistering Kochi summer heat. Once softened, they had a nice creamy texture and good flavour, especially the kesar-pista one.

The staff recommended the kulfi pot or 'Matka Kulfi', but we opted for the sticks as they seemed bigger and we wanted to eat outside where it would be way more comfortable.

They were pretty price friendly too, the butterscotch being slightly more expensive.

I guess you could put it this way: we found that the perfect choice for the Kerala summer was (the?!) Bombay Kulfi! They may not have the best seating arrangements in place but the quality of the product is what matters most and on that aspect, they deliver pretty well.

Type of Cuisine: Frozen Desserts, 'Kulfi'

Location

Next to Cake Hut, Kaloor Kadavanthra Road, Kathrikadavu, Kaloor.

Parking: Few cars in front.

Ambience: Bright but very cramped, extremely limited seating.

Service: Good, quick.

What we liked/Recommended for:

Generally decent quality Kulfi, refreshing.

Potential Shortcomings: 
Cramped.

Taxes: Included in price

Phone Number: +91 484 430 2010

Timings: 11:30 - 23:00 

Restaurant Website: bombaykulfi.com

On Zomato:
     

Have you tried anything from Bombay Kulfi? Tell us down in the comments below!

Ifthar Restaurants: Let the Feast Begin!

Ifthar Restaurant Review

Muslims have incredible culinary skills and make some rather well known dishes characteristic of South India and Kerala. Their dishes constitute an important part of the traditional Kerala cuisine and have great variety too. Although the best 'Moplah' dishes may be served in their own houses, there are a few restaurants that do serve their cuisine. Ifthar is one such chain. On to the review now!

There are numerous branches of Ifthar all over Kochi. The one we visited was at Thoppumpady, after a trip to the Kochi Muziris Biennalle. It was a regular looking place with  moderate seating arrangements. Located at a busy junction, it had a good crowd. The ambiance is pretty average at best, being well lit but otherwise just ordinary.

The glass counter showcased all the items, which truly lived upto its name. There was a variety of traditional Muslim delicacies, making it difficult to limit our choice! After some deliberation, we settled for the following items: layered meat 'pathiri', kabsa, killikoodu, fried pathiri etc.

Chatti Pathiri [Steamed Savoury Rice and Chicken Cake]

The chatti pathiri is like a type of savoury cake which consists of rice pancakes layered with spiced meat filling which are then steamed together. This is then cut into wedges to be served, much like a pastry. The preparation is somewhat similar to lasagna except that it uses different ingredients and does not have cheese, nor is it baked. 'Chatti' actually means pot.

It is steamed and thus, has a soft texture throughout. The meat is not particularly noticeable as it is finely shredded but the flavour is there.

Killikoodu [Scotch Egg]

The Killikoodu, which means 'bird's nest' comes with a spiced chicken mince outer covering that encompasses a quail egg. This whole thing is dipped in beaten egg and rolled in vermicelli.

This is then fried till the vermicelli is crisp and brown, making it look like a weaver bird's nest. It is slightly spicy and is a textural treat with the crunchy vermicelli and soft egg and meat providing wonderful levels of contrast.

Fried Pathiri [Fried Flatbread]

The fried pathiri came garnished with a slice of carrot stuck onto it using a toothpick.

Fried pathiri is made with rice dough rolled out rather thick and fried. This one was well made; with a crisp light brown layer on the outside and was soft on the inside.

Kabsa [Rice Dish with Chicken]

The kabsa however, was rather disappointing as some of us tried it for the first time and had a lot of expectations. It tasted like an overcooked pulao at best, with chicken pieces. My dad had tried it from a few other places and could confirm that the one served to us was really not up to the mark.

There were plenty of other snacks like puffs, beef, chicken or mutton fried items, rolls etc. A juice counter was also there with plenty of fresh juices on offer. They also had biryani, porotta, curries and other dishes. Prices were reasonable, targeting the normal population. Great place for experiencing local Muslim cuisine with good quality snacks and great variety.

Type of Cuisine: South Indian Muslim/Moplah Dishes
Location(s)

Opposite Chennatt Electricals, Thoppumbady.

Near Airtel Store, Edappally Toll, Edappally.

Parking: Few cars in front, should be sufficient.

Ambience: Average, adequate spacing between tables, well lit. Reasonably clean

Service: Good.

What we liked/Recommended for:

• Well made Muslim delicacies. 
• Good selection of items. 
• Edappally branch open late into the night. 
• Decent pricing.

Potential Shortcomings: 
Kabsa was disappointing that day. Unsure about cleanliness: Will update after next visit. 

Taxes: Included in price, no fat tax applicable.
Phone Number: +91 85898 71451 [Edappally Branch]
Timings: Edappally: 08:00 - 02:00 [Not a typo, 2:00AM the next day!], Thoppumbady: 08:00 - 23:00

On Zomato:
       

Have you had a feast at Ifthar? How was your experience? Tell us in the comments below!