Hello ladies!!! Guess why I wasn’t around this week? Go on, ask me!! Yes, I had an extended weekend with a trip to Kochi
For those who aren’t aware, Kochi is a city sort of in the middle of Kerala which, for the unaware again, is a southern state of India India
We had a fun time in all, the climate was a bit humid, but okay. We checked out some malls, went on a sunset cruise, went to Fort Kochi
The problem with the food was that, we went to the wrong place. You see, almost all places advertise ‘Authentic Kerala cuisine’ but most of them have watered down the spice quotient to make it more acceptable to palates with a low spice tolerance. To make up for the low spice, they add relatively ‘foreign’ agents like tomato puree and onion pastes and stuff which completely alters the taste. For example, one of the must haves are ‘Karimeen Pollichathu’ (Pearl Spot Fish cooked in Banana Leaves) which looks like this:
I know it looks yum, but the taste was hugely disappointing. But to make up for it, we had some yum desserts from this place called Cocoa Tree. Here is the Mississippi Mud Pie I ordered:
And here is hubby’s Cheesecake:
They were really good!! There’s also this really quaint little café right outside the Synagogue with little shops selling books, clothes and antiques inside it. The ambience is lovely and makes you want to just sit there sipping some hot chocolate and going through a nice book. It is a bit ‘touristy’, so be prepared for a slightly overpriced cappuccino. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow photography.
And now for some random snaps in and around Kochi
This is probably paradise for ginger lovers:
Ginger Tea? Heard of. Ginger Chicken? Yes. Ginger Ice cream and ginger lassi? I don’t think so :-).
A nice Jewish gentleman on a street in Jew Town. Can you get a feel of the old streets from that photo?
Some interesting offers on display :-)
That’s Cub rolling in the ball pit, having the time of his life. We had to literally drag him away from there.
The view during our sunset cruise which set sail from Marine Drive
The malls are all well maintained and have mostly branded stuff, but are located a bit away from the main town area. And, the auto drivers will totally rip you off, and there isn’t much use bargaining with them; they’ve got their own overpriced rates for every location, so swapping your auto is not going to do much good.
I did do a spot of shopping, but I’ll leave that for another post. Bye till then!!
5 comments
You were in Cochin last weekend?....oooh!!!how did you like the place? and shopping finds, I am totally waiting for the post...
ReplyDeleteYes, I liked it :-)...I have lived there for a year actually while working, but that was about 4+ years ago, so the place has changed dramatically since then :-). Visited all the places I had missed out on :-)
DeleteYour post takes me back by 6-7 years when I used to live in Kochi. I love the place so much. the synagogue you said was beautiful,particularly the blue and white hand painted tiles and the crystal chandeliers. I never tasted food in those so called authentic restaurants, my neighbors were really kind to invite me and my sis to theirs every Sunday for lunch :D I can still feel the taste of chemmeen biriyani and ada payasam :P
ReplyDeleteI know, apparently every blue tile is unique, though they appear similar. The 'authentic' restaurants are mainly targeted towards foreign tourists, I guess; they don't know what they're missing!!!
DeleteYeah exactly,I was told by somebody at the synagogue that every tile is different and I did check a few adjacent tiles, they are different if you closely observe them. They are a visual treat. :)
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