Shanghumugham beach
Shanghumugham beach
Beachside dining at Shanghumugham, these days, is not only about hot peanuts, popcorn and ice-cream. Welcome to the shacks that occupy one whole sandy side of the beach front, opposite the ‘mermaid’ statue. Crab curry, beef chilli, kanava thoran, fried fish of the day and double omelette are the specials on the menu, in addition to your bajjis. Quick tip: The stalls with the live dosa/porotta counters are usually the best of the lot. If Chinese is more your style, head to the Burger Band food truck for hot momos and chow mein and burgers with a difference. For those who want to dine proper restaurant style, there’s also the revamped Old Coffee House, with all-time favourites such as appam and stew, fried rice and noodles on the menu.
Palayam
Palayam becomes a foodie hot spot in the evenings Photo: Aswin V.N.
It’s in the evenings that busy Palayam, specifically restaurant row, behind the mosque and to the side of the University Library, really becomes a foodie’s hot spot. There are several multi-cuisine restaurants such as MRA, Zam Zam, De Paris, to name a few. Shawarmas, Al Faham, Chicken shawayya, broast chicken, Tandooris and biriyanis are some of their top-sellers. If you opt to dine in, you might have a fair bit of a wait ahead. That’s why we recommend ordering a takeaway and you can do so in the comfort of your car. Each restaurant has menu-totting waiters running around their section of the parking lot (identifiable by their uniforms), always ready to take your order. All, of course, only if you can find a parking spot. Good luck with that!
Kuravankonam
Kuravankonam is home to many upscale restaurants Photo: Aswin V.N.
It’s become THE food destination in the city for gourmands. Plentiful parking is not the only reason why foodies flock here but the variety of food: Chinese, Thai, Malabar, Malaysian, Continental, Italian, South Indian vegetarian, Arabic, ethnic...you name it, it’s all to be found at Kuravankonam junction and all along its approach roads from Pattom and Kowdiar. We’re talking about restaurants like Cafe Mojo, O’Roti, All Spice, Oriental Spice, Upper Crust, Truffles Bistro, The Cinnamon Route, Ambrosia, Sree Aariyas, Al Baik and the like, not to mention a number of takeaway outlets, bakeries and ice-cream shops. Dining in each is usually a delight and really depends on what you feel like having at that particular time.
Chala bazaar
Chala has many restaurants that dish up ethnic cuisine.
Photo: S. Gopakumar
Aziz Ansari is not the only person who went to Chala to feast on local fare. The vintage wholesale market houses some of the best-known eateries serving lip-smacking ethnic eats. Hotel Mubarak, located in Ruby Nagar behind Sree Padmanabha, is a seafood lover’s paradise. Early bird gets a seafood-rich lunch on banana leaves.
At Rahmaniya Lane is Hotel Rahmaniya with spicy, fried chicken. Located along the main road is Hotel Azad with its crispy appams with egg roast, mutton/chicken perattu, biriyanis, mutton chaps, kothu porotta and the like.
Boiled egg and spicy omelettes is the speciality at Muttakkada ,which falls on the left from Killippalam entrance to Chala. Try the spicy mutton roast at Hotel Amina on the vegetable market road.
Kovalam
The Eve's Beach in Kovalam is the place to get international cuisine.
Photo: S. Gopakumar
Take a trip to Kovalam to eat, click and shop. Stroll along the beach to the lighthouse and when you are tired, dive into one of the informal eateries on the beach to feast on different cuisines. Dine on the catch of the day. Check out Beatles Café, Coconut Grove, Fusion and German Bakery. In the evening, these joints are the best place to enjoy the food, the sea and the sights.
