From Instagrammable dishes to revamping of classic favourites to initiating new and exciting menus, this year was a dream for foodies. If 2017 was any indication of where the food industry is heading, then, we're hungry for you, 2018. MetroPlus wraps up some of the food trends of the year.
Scoops of flavour
Ice creams were never so Instagrammable or flavoursome. The year 2017 saw youngsters give a new twirl to ice creams. If scoops of frozen treats used to mean ball ice-creams, ice sticks and cups of white ice cream, now it has transformed into sorbets, rolls, fruity concoctions and creamy fresh delights with different sauces and garnishing. With flavours ranging from caramel and coffee to wild berries and rambutan, Paul’s Creamery on Kowdiar- Nanthancode road is the place to have an old fashioned, homemade double scoop in a trendy new cup.
Hop across the street to Fun Stick and devour an icy hazelnut gelato stick dunked in chocolate sauce, giving yourself a chocolaty moustache as well! Traditional flavours such as orange, chocolate and vanilla are available here too.
For those who enjoy fresh ice-cream straight off the cold stone, Scoop Station, a stone’s throw away from Fun Stick, is the spot. Nuts, fruits, Oreos or brownies, you name it, is blended with your ice-cream. Fresh scoops arrive in waffle cones and after you finish the icy delight, gobble up the delicious cone as well.
Fed up of scoops and sticks? Then why not try rolls? Neeravi, the latest creamery in town, is the first rolled ice-cream seller. Prepared live on a frozen slab with fresh fruits, their flavoured frozen rolls are as pure as it gets when it comes to ice-creams in the city.
Stomach for adventure
For foodies, no eatery is too far away if there is a signature dish to be savoured there. Many small joints in the far flung corners of the district have turned into must-go places for gourmets. Vizhinjam, Vellayani, Ucchakada, Madathikonam and Kilimanoor have become top destinations for city dwellers to enjoy many versions of ethnic dishes, seafood, chicken, mutton, beef and pork.
Whatsapp and social media helped the foodies to spread the flavour and aroma of nadan chicken, beef ularthu, chicken thoran, ela ada and more while Instagram played no small role in capturing the charm of the no-frill eateries. Thanks to the social media gourmets, these places are now household names.
Each journey for food became an adventure in itself and a discovery of the district and its culinary history. If the many small-scale women vendors in Vedivachankovil was THE place for all snacks, sweet or savoury, Hotel Ustad was numero uno for those in love with seafood and did not mind roughing it out a bit for the sea-fresh fish, mussels prawns and squid. A toddy shop in Vellayani was an excuse to revel in the verdant greenery of Vellayani. In the process, many other eateries in that location also cashed in on the food fervour.
Food at your fingertips
Foodies have never had it this good as home bakers and cooks started experimenting in the kitchen and turned tech savvy. From advertising picture-perfect home-cooked food on Facebook, food apps and websites, to adding various cuisines to their menu, they are on a roll.
The emergence of mobile food apps like PinStove, and websites like HomeChefsHub, created a platform for home chefs and bakers to highlight their menus. While, Tiffin4Me, a meal subscription service, delivers home cooked food daily, Swapp, a mobile app allows diners to order food directly from home chefs.
Unlimited choices of dishes are now available for breakfast, lunch and dinner right from desi flavours to even Continental dishes. Diners can pre-order their meals through the various apps and websites; the best part is, it is delivered at your doorstep.
The rise of the foodies
Everyone is a foodie these days and almost everyone is on social media. Put the two together and you have food groups such as Eat at Trivandrum, Taste of Trivandrum and Trivandrum Foodies popping up on Facebook. While some post the review of a newly-opened restaurant, others introduce the members of the group to long forgotten food joints and hidden road side shacks that serve signature dishes.
The food culture has evolved so much that a new restaurant pops up at every turn. As everyone is in search of ‘good food’, posts on where the best biriyani is served to where one can find authentic Syrian beef fry, are common. The replies are extensive with some members adding Google map location so as you find the joint that serves them, with ease.
Online wars occur with foodies defending their favourite restaurant’s honour if critiqued harshly by fellow netizens. Discerning foodies and restaurateurs discuss menus and share tips to improve service. The groups also provide updates about deals and discounts in eateries and news about food related meet ups and events.
Taste of nostalgia
Old habits die hard and when it comes to food, nostalgia gets an upper hand. That is why people still love to whet their appetite with pothichoru, kanji or pazhamkanji. Pothichoru, a package deal of hot, steamed rice and curries wrapped in slightly toasted banana leaves is there on the menu of almost every takeaway or home kitchen in the city. An easy-on-the-pocket, wholesome fare it is a huge hit among the office-going crowd.
Pazhamkanji is another favourite. A preferred breakfast of yore, it is now an item on the lunch menu of many small hotels. Fermented rice mixed with curd, pickle, mashed tapioca, fish curry and chilli is quite a sensation, with dried fish fry sauteed in onions serving as the side dish.
Talking about kanji, there has been a rise in the number of hotels where it has become a regular item on the dinner menu. The healthy dish is comfort food, with green gram, chutney, pickle, tapioca and pappadam. The gruel can be of rice or wheat and some hotels serve medicinal gruel as well.
