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.

Traffic Jam, Adyar, Chennai

I have eaten from this place many times, since my home is about 200 yards aways. We order deliver or have the food picked up by our watchman from this place quite often. Usually its to meet an immediate need to meet the carnivorous instinct within, that craves for meat.

Its kind of weird, that how your body craves for a particular food. I guess its all in the mind. Or maybe not, its probably more in your mouth, as the saliva oozes out of each pore of the mouth, filling it with taste that you think you had the last time you ate the same food.

Anyway, the food, specially the parrotta and fish fry is recommendable from here. I havent eaten too much other than this and boneless chicken fry, which by the way is also decent. But, while i may have some doubts if i will order from this place again (i will come to the reason later), i think there are a few plus points that one must consider before completely dismissing this place.

My Family and i, decided to take stroll from our home to the Food World or Spencer's Daily as it is now called. After buying noting much, we were trying to determine where to eat, as we were passing Traffic Jam. Since we had ordered from here before, we didnt think too much about walking in. Fortunately they have an airconditioned section, which keeps the hot/humid madras air and dust from the Sardar Patel road away from your food, but fortunately they are not well lit, so you dont know if you are in for any surprise.
And we were, as we sat and were looking thru the menu, a huge cockroach, ran right through the middle of us, across the front of the table, slighting us humans and daring us to kill him. Well, since we had invaded his or her privacy, i guess it was right for such a strike back. And it worked, we ran for our lives, because my wife cannot stand roaches, not even if they are a mile away. And the fact that there was a bold fella' running around, was not good for us.

Well, as to ordering from here, i may still choose to do so. One cause, we never had a problem before with the food, two, cause it is fast, and three, what are the other alternatives?