Few things are just not meant to be, however hard you try to tweak the outcome!
Had a craving for Kerala breakfast, Puttu and Kadala curry was what I had in mind. Took a foodie friend along and immediately decided where we were going – Tharayil Kitchen, in Perungudi! Remembered one of the posts in a Food group, decided to try!
We were in for a rude shock, it was closed ! Quite disappointed, but still we were not willing to give up 🙂 Quickly scanned Zomato to check if there was any other Kerala restaurant in the vicinity that served breakfast. Thankfully, there was one called Malabar Camboose. Their menu in Zomato did have Puttu and Kadala Curry in it. No second thoughts, headed to that place following the directions on google maps. We reached the exact location that was mentioned. There was C.M. Hospital on OMR, but no trace of this restaurant. Quickly checked with locals, none of them seemed to know! So much effort and confusion for Puttu and Kadala Curry, it felt horrible! Perhaps they closed down and was not reflecting in Zomato, not sure.
We still were in no mood to give up! Twice we failed, hoped third time would be the lucky charm 🙂 Searched in Zomato again and this time Kumarakom showed up. Quite surprised that I never knew there was one in MGR Salai, in Kandanchavadi. Then realized that it was a ‘counter/stall’ located in the Food Court of SP Infocity! Now we were confused, whether or not to go. Still, decided to give it a try!
As we entered, the usual formalities followed – Entry pass for the two of us. The receptionist was quite baffled when we said we just came to eat breakfast 😉 Parking for the visitors was chargeable and that, I felt, was pathetic! 25 bucks for a two wheeler. Finally headed to the food court!
Kumarakom was easy to spot, it did look clean and inviting and there was one person who doubled up as cashier cum chef! That’s where all good things ended.
Friend was vegetarian and I decided to sample some non-vegetarian stuff. We ordered the combos – Aappam and Chicken Roast, Puttu and Egg Roast, Aappam and Kadala Curry and Puttu and Vegetable Curry!
One word to sum up the entire food experience – ‘Pathetic’, I’ll tell you why!
I was surprised that a Kerala restaurant couldn’t get its Aappam rite, the center was sticky like gum, coloquially ‘achik-pichik’ types, a bit to sweet, and absolutely not fluffy in the center. Either the aappam batter was too old or too new, just not fermented rite for a perfect aappam. Firstly, Kadala in the Kadala Curry was barely visible, had to fish it out and it was too hard, and the gravy tasted of raw masala. Didn’t feel like having a second mouthful. Puttu was the saving grace, I mean ‘only’ the Puttu, not the gravies. The Vegetable curry was barely okay, better than Kadala Curry though. Coming to the non-vegetarian dishes, they had no clue of how much gravy is needed for two tiny aappams. The plate was loaded with so much gravy and chicken pieces that it would serve the people in the next table too. Anyways, first bite of a chicken piece, it was bad without a doubt. No trace of masala in any of the pieces was one thing, pieces were not thawed properly I think, hated that smell from the chicken, I didn’t eat one piece of it. Managed with the gravy, though it had a bit too much of masala. Finally coming to the Egg Roast. Reminded me of ‘Overloading’ in Java. 😀 Same method name with different parameters! Just felt like there was egg instead of chicken in the same gravy, again a huge portion. It tasted okayish, and was manageable. The best part of the breakfast was the Black Tea, somehow everything was rite about it ! That was the only consolation out of all this adventure. Paid 422 bucks in all, not happy at all.
The guy who was the Chef cum Cashier – Abishek, was polite and definitely did his best, but the place would have been better with another guy exclusively doing the Aappams and Puttu, it took a while to get ready. He also asked for a feedback, and I politely told him all that I have penned here.
A speciality Kerala restaurant failing to get anything right for breakfast, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the sad state they have come to! Have fond memories of dining in their restaurant next to Palmgrove, on Kodambakkam High Road many many years ago.
Now, I know where NOT to go when I am looking for a Kerala Breakfast, and soon I’m going to another place to erase this bitter memory of bad food from my mind.
No Comments