We’re currently in beautiful Trivandrum - it’s actually known nowadays as Thiruvananthapuram. The capital of Kerala state - it’s a smart, modern and confident city, with a Silicon Valley-like Technovalley business park. Hard to believe this is actually a 3,000-year-old city, with a rich, cultural past.
Beach-fronting Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel is a gorgeous place to stay whilst in Trivandrum. In fact, we loved being there so much, we were a bit reluctant to leave the hotel’s premises for dinner last night.
We decided to dine-in at the hotel’s Courtyard restaurant, which offers an a la carte menu. The only other eatery was Grasshopper, a buffet restaurant. We started off with some terrific local Kingfisher beer.
Our dinner spread last night:
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Beef Ularthiyathu - traditional Keralan slow-cooked beef and coconut pieces in a dry curry. Very good rendition here - deep, mellow flavors with a slow-burning heat.
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Meen Moilee - creamy-rich coconut milk-flavoured, turmeric-scented king fish. Absolutely one of our favorite dishes in our 10-day sojourn here in Kerala.
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Ennai Kathirika - baby eggplants in a spicy-tangy masala gravy.
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Navratan Korma - slow-cooked vegetables, thickened with cream and crushed nuts. Tasty, but not the best I’d tasted.
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Keralan parotta - this place served a marvelous version: tasty, and crisp on the edges.
Desserts:
6) Tender coconut souffle - something lost in translation here: it was actually more of a frozen parfait than a souffle. Nice.
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Gulab jamun - super-sweet but absolutely delicious. You can literally feel your teeth enamel dissolving in the sugar attack.
Address
Courtyard, Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel
Samudra Beach, UDS Corporate Office, GV Raja Rd, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695527
Tel: +91471 248 3222
Opening hours: 1pm-3.30pm, 7pm-10.30pm
