Ente Keralam, Alwarpet, Chennai

They serve a good payasam. Well, you can make that home, if you are a mallu. But if you are not, and you crave for it, this is a place to go. Also carry your mastercard, cause the bill falls in the priceless category.
Expensive. That is only because i am a mallu. I eat this or similar food everyday. And there are other places in the city - kalpaka, kumarakkom, tharvad, etc, that provide the similar fare for a better price. I guess the dining experience and silver ware makes the difference. And by far, this lives up to the other restaurants, from the same management. But also like his other restaurants, it falls short of excellence. Its good imitation, it does give a run for the original cuisine, but you know a few things here and there could make a difference.

I remember the appam and stew (or ishtu), the fish fry and the payasam. But then again, nothing was monumental to think about returning soon. It would be nice for a grand occasion, where you need a nice ambiance and are willing to spend the money.

Talking about the payasam, the Aiyappan temple in mahalingapuram can serve an equally good payasam (off course it is the prasad from an offering to the god, but hey its good food too).

Kumarakom, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, Chennai

This is only one of the many Kumarakom restaurants in chennai. The others that i know of are located in Shanti Colony, Annanagar and the first one that started it all is at Nungambakkam, near Palm Grove hotel. The main usp of this place is kerala style food, hence the name to show the link to the now famous backwater resort in kerala.

I have eaten from this place a lot. More often delivered to my home, than actually eating at the restaurant itself. The nice part of eating at the restaurant, apart from the food, is the music. There is a karaoke machine, and the people sing along, mainly malayalam songs, but also a few other songs. I have seen one person very regular, maybe the owner. He has decent voice, but the whole experience can be soothing when you are enjoying the food, or very irritating when you are hungry waiting for your food.

My favorite is Karimeen Pollichathu. I really never ate this fish before. But this is a constant order at home and so an acquired taste. But what i really like is the masala. The chilli paste that is rubbed all over the fish. That really sets the flavour for this dish. You can get the same if you order their regular meen fry too.

The other main attraction is the rice, the kerala style boiled rice. I have huge craving for this 'motta-motta chor', or rather the full blooded rice. One look and you would think that this rice will fill you up sooner than eating the regular thin grain variety. But you would be surprised. Kumarakom also serves kerala style parotta. At the restaurant you cannot go wrong by ordering the regular meals, which comes with pappadam, kachiya mullaga and moru. I have tried the drier varieties of chicken, but i am sure they are probably not as great as the beef ulathiyathu etc.

All in all, it is fine food. The service as always falls short, but its nothing to complain about. Its a small restaurant, and so the wait can be long depending on the time you land-up. I, luckily havent had to wait long at all. Most times we are either early for lunch or late, so we miss the peak time.

Kalpaka, Royapettah, Chennai, India

Name: Kalpaka
Address: Royapettah
Location: Chennai (madras), India

Its been years since i have gone here. Actually not true, me and wife had picked up food recently from the place. But life after a visit and life in the US, has surely affected our ability to dine in restaurants where the food is great but the ambience not. In the case Kalpaka, the food is great, the place is decent, the area were you wash your hands (or bathroom) is the weakest link. And thats not true only of Kalpaka, its true of virtually any restaurant in Chennai, except the ones in a hotel or maybe the high class ones.

Before i spent too much about the 'nothing', let me simply start by saying the food is great. Starting with the free 'kachiya-mora' and achaar on the table during lunch time. Sit in the air-conditioned room, and order your stuff, and be ready to forget all those warnings of health and diet before you read the menu. Because this is not for the faint-hearted, nice beef curry and fish curry etc, is for the one ready to battle it out.

The restaurant like the other two i have written about so far, has limited access and parking. It, altho', is located in a very easy to find intersection, within walking distance of the Music Academy. The days when we used to frequent this place, it had more parking of the kind we wanted then (bike), and it still does allow bikes to be parked in nearby lanes. The view from the road is almost hidden, and you could easily miss this place, if you didnt know where to look and what to look for. A small steep stairway, i guess typical of homes in kerala, leads to this food place, that serves up hot malayali dishes, right in the heart of madras.

And my favourite about kerala food is the rice. Nalla goondu goondu ari (nice fat and thick rice). But it seems that no matter how much eat this rice, it doesnt fill you up. I am sure it is just a perception, but who wants to argue. Food would have been even better for me if it came served on a banana leaf, but here it is served on a nice clean and white porcelain plate.

So, briyani, fish fry, chicken kerala style, mallu parotta are all my favourite. I dont eat beef, but the options are real mouth watering. I wish the cook would be brave enough to cook up chicken the same way she/he does beef. Everything on the side plate is all kerala style too, papadam, moru-ozhicha kuttan, avial and manga-pickle, etc. Fast service, at least, the best i remember, but may also be because, i have always been here only during weekday lunch time. And in-expensive, at the end of the day. Me and wife used to frequent this place during our working days. How else to get home cooked food, when both of us were working ?

Here is a review of the place from The Hindu.