In a little depression in the land next to the Seaport-Airport road a little ways beyond Kakkanad junction, sits the café known as The Voyager. The large glass entryway and simple but tasteful décor give it a welcoming vibe, but a glance around reveals its larger aspirations. The walls are decked with artwork encouraging The Voyager’s visitors to travel and explore the world. A notice board placed next to the entrance displays leaflets announcing upcoming adventure trips and rides conducted by various organisations. And the best bit? It’s open all night.
The café is the brainchild of Moresh Thakur, Delhi-born and Kozhikode-raised, who slips between English and Malayalam with ease as he talks to us. “I love travelling, and food is a part of the experience of travel, so I wanted to combine these two elements into the café,” says Moresh. The menu is diverse, containing everything from Indian, Chinese and Continental cuisine, not to mention some milkshakes.
Moresh says the proximity to the Infopark and Rajagiri College and the fact that it is open 24 hours has made The Voyager popular among the youth. “We have a lot of students come in during the afternoon to try our milkshakes while techies getting off night shifts in the early hours of the morning drop in for a bite then.” But the steady clientele aside, Moresh has bigger plans. “The idea is to make it a true traveller’s destination, and we’re planning on opening more outlets on highways near major cities, which will also be open 24 hours.”
The Voyager has already seen a couple of rides flagged off from its premises, and actively promotes and endorses the activities of travel and adventure groups. “Once we have a wide enough network, we want to serve as a chain where each pit stop on a journey can be made at a Voyager.”
As we talk, we are served some penne chicken pasta with white sauce, a small portion with understated dressing. A few bites in, we are grateful for the size of the helping, for this is a deceptively heavy dish despite its diminutive proportions. Moresh explains that the burgers, particularly the Voyager Legendary Burger, are also favourites, with massive patties that are ground and made in-house. “Each burger contains up to 300g of meat,” he says proudly, imploring us to try the signature ‘Oreo Madness’ milkshake.
A few minutes later, stomachs comfortably filled with pasta, we eye the massive glasses filled with thick, chocolatey liquid with some apprehension. The apprehension mounts when Moresh explains it is essentially a chocolate milkshake with powdered Oreo biscuits and melted chocolate bars. So that’s why it has ‘Madness’ in its name. “I usually find myself ordering two of each milkshake when I visit other cafes, so we bought the biggest glasses available in Kochi for ours; it is a signature of the café.”
He wasn’t kidding; apparently the glasses hold over half a litre.
Stuffed and happy, we settle in and take in The Voyager once again before taking our leave. For now, it is a small café that serves good food throughout the day, and is a convenient hangout for youngsters and techies. What it also is is a work in progress, from the décor to its overall purpose. If all goes well, we may all look up the nearest Voyager on our phones during a long road trip, but until then, there’s always more Oreo Madness.
