During the last few months, a lot of famous restaurants have opened their branches in Kazhakuttom, the city that is home to Technopark. And the most awaited entry was, obviously, Thakkaaram Kazhakuttom. Thakkaaram is a restaurant chain started in Malabar, which serves authentic Kerala food varieties, with branches across Kerala and in middle-east.
Thakkaram is famous for their theme based restaurants and the newly opened Thakkaram Kazhakuttom is developed in resemblance to an airport.
I have been to Thakkaram before. Their branch at Pulimood, Trivandrum is also a great place to hang out with friends and family. It is designed in the from a railway station and they have a train called ‘Thakkaaram Express” which also has seating facilities.
I was thrilled to see what will it be when they announced that Thakkaaram Kazhakuttom will host an airplane model with dining facilities. And I must admit that they haven’t disappointed me.
Thakkaram restaurants are known for the long line of people waiting to get a seat during peak hours. I wanted to enjoy the food slowly and peacefully. I also wanted to ensure that I get a seat in the “Thakkaram Airbus”, which has created so much hype even before the scheduled arrival. So, I did some googling and went there by 5:30 on a weekday with my friend.
At first sight, it doesn’t look like a restaurant at all. It looks like an airplane hanger. It is huge of course and has got ample parking space. When we got closer, we could see the red and white airplane model right at the center of it. So, even before entering the restaurant, I was glad that I chose to visit the place.
As you enter through the glass doors, there is a lobby to your left with television and a waiting area. Specials items are displayed on a white board. As we entered the main dining area, a waiter arrived and took us to a table on the ground.
I insisted that we would like to sit inside the ‘airplane’ and he was reluctant to do so because they have limited seating capacity inside the ‘airplane’. I was determined to sit inside that thing and finally he agreed. We got in.
There were 6 tables inside the ‘airplane’ and each can afford 4 people. So, if you have more than 4 people in your group, you will be little disappointed. The place is not at all crowded. The table and seating arrangements are good. As we occupied our seats, a waiter came with the famous ‘Thakkaram Menu’. (I was expecting for female waiters dressed up like air hostesses, to be honest!) They have taken extra care in naming their menu items with traditional as well as funny Malayalam names, but when I asked the waiter what are the ingredients, he actually had no clue.
We ordered Hot and Sour Chicken Soup, Green Salad and Kozhi Chuttath to begin with. The soup was too spicy. I know that it says ‘Hot’, but this was ‘too Hot’. The green salad was neatly arranged and contained cucumber, carrots, tomatoes and onion, all sliced perfectly. Kozhi Chuttath was accompanied with mayonnaise. There was nothing special about it.
For the main course, we ordered Chicken Eliyamma along with few Chapathis and Kerala Parottas. I also ordered half Neychor. Chicken Eliyamma, as the name suggests, was a Suriyani recipe with coconut gravy. It resembles the Nadan Tharavu Curry we prepare in Kottayam. It was perfectly cooked and was delicious. It tasted best with Neychor. Neychor was accompanied with a small bowl of simple raitha.
To finish it off, we ordered Mint Lime and Ginger Lime. Both were perfectly made and helped me relax a bit after the heavy food. We also had Ilaneer Pudding, which is a Thakkaram special Pudding made from tender coconut. It was perfect.
Overall, it was a nice and satisfying experience. I have read a lot of reviews where people complain about a few dishes, So I was specific in not ordering them. The ambiance is also very nice. Food will be little costly compared to other restaurants around. The service can be improved a lot, but it never strikes me as bad. So, in short, you should check out Thakkaaram Kazhakuttom at least once. If you have kids, they will love the place. It is a good choice for hosting small birthday parties too. Get on board for the delicious.
Tech Travel Eat
Sujith Bhakthan
