Kumarakom - Anna Nagar

I have been longing to start my own restaurant reviews for quite some time along with my wife who loves to try different cuisines and had recently developed a fetish for kerala cuisine. Hence we decided to go to Kumarakom – A Kerala restaurant near to our home. I had a hidden agenda and it was to write my first restaurant review. With lots of expectations we rode on our bike towards the restaurant.

Location of Kumarakom:

The Kumarakom Anna Nagar branch is located in a very posh neighborhood and has ample parking space for cars and two-wheelers. We did not have any problem finding a parking space for our vehicle.


Outer look and appearance:

After parking my vehicle we walked towards the entrance and the first sight simply took my breath away. The outer look and appearance of the restaurant gave me a american style sensation and I checked my wallet if I really had enough cash to run us through. Well I had both my debit cards and ample cash with so feeling confident we walked into restaurant.


Decor and ambiance:

We entered the hotel and I was very impressed with the ambiance of the restaurant. The staffs were friendly. The spacious parking lot led us to a beautiful portico with big glass doors giving an inside view of the restaurant. Being a working day the restaurant was not fully occupied but of course there were some good number of customers. We frantically searched for seats and chose to sit in a corner to peacefully have our dinner. The staffs are well dressed in white shirt and black pants and are very friendly. A fellow waiter came over to us and talked to my daughter and asked us if we need a baby chair. We replied in affirmative and he brought us a baby chair. But my daughter refused to sit in the baby chair and we felt that she was better sitting in the usual adult chair (at home we do not have a baby chair :) ) . The restaurant was brightly lit and very clean. There was a nice aroma in the air. 


Ordering Dinner:

We requested for the menu card and started browsing through it. We were not pre-planned on what we were going to order and hence both me and my wife spent ample time in browsing the entire menu. The menu was sprial bound and was beautifully designed. The characters where bold and big and hence it was very easy to flip through the entire menu. After observing the menu for some time we ordered Sweet corn soup, roti for my daughter and butter naan, kadai chicken for me and chicken fried rice, mushroom curry for my wife and sweet lime soda for all of us. Before the food was brought to our table we were given with plates washed in hot water. A real unique initiative not found in a lot of restaurants in chennai. The food was supplied in time. The staff conduct and service was very professional and friendly.


Sweet corn soup:

While ordering we told the waiter that the soup was for my daughter, it was great to see them take it seriously. The soup was not too hot and was also not spicy. It was perfectly the way that my wife prepares at home. There good amount of corn into the soup and my daughter who loves soup had a great time having the same. The smell of the soup was so strong that it made both me and my wife more hungry.


Butter Naan:

The butter naan was so hot and soft. My general experience of the butter naan is it gets rough and hard to chew. But this butter naan served at kumarakom was nothing compared to the ones had by me before. This one was really good. It was soft tender and easy to tear and easy to chew. It was neither under cooked not over cooked. The butter naan of course had ample quantity of butter applied over it. The smell of the melted butter along with the basked naan was excellent. The pieces of naan filled with kadai chicken slipped into my mouth one after the other and satisfied my appetite for good and tasty food.

Kadai Chicken:

Kadai chicken is one of my favorite punjabi dishes. The presence of half cooked shimla mirch (Capsicum) is the best part of Kadai chicken. The chicken was soft and tender, which indicated that the chicken was fresh and of the best quality. The gravy was thick and the spices where in correct quantity. However I had a one issue here. Though the taste of the kadai chicken was good it was no where close to what is offered at a punjabi restaurant. Perhaps it was kerala version of kadai chicken :). Other than this one draw back I did not find anything wrong with the kadai chicken. The kadai chicken and butter naan where an excellent combo. 

Chicken fried rice:

I got to taste the chicken fried rice that my wife had ordered. The basmati rice was used in preparing the fried rice. In road side fast food centers the chicken fried rice releases a strange odor caused by the poor quality of the chicken used. This was not the case with the chicken fried rice at kumarakom. The chicken was again tender soft and juicy. Good quantity of scrambled egg was also mixed with the chicken fried rice which added on to the taste and aroma. 

Mushroom curry (dry):

The mushroom curry (dry) added an extra flavor to the chicken fried rice and not to forget also to my butter naan. Honestly this mushroom curry was unique to kumarakom and cannot be compared to any other variety of mushroom curry. This of course had the touch of a malayali chef. The ingredients used was coconut, mushroom, coconut oil etc. It was really unique and tasty and resulted in a confused, chaotic but tasty experience. The confusion was what exactly went into it but the exact thought was stop worrying about the ingredients or writing a review and enjoy the dish and the experience. Yummmmm!!!!

Sweet lime soda:

I ordered sweet lime soda for two reasons. First I wanted a natural drink which could help me in digesting the food and the second reason I was I have actually never tried sweet lime soda. I wonder why, but I have always avoided it. The sweet lime soda is a simple drink. Its almost the same everywhere and can also be prepared easily at home. Yet I think I wouldn't be doing justice to this post if I do not mention it. The lime, the sweet syrup and the soda (carbonated water) where well mixed and was good. The moment I started drinking, there was a Burrp! Then there was another and another and another :D . Well we enjoyed our food really really well. 

The Verdict:

Personally out of my experience in the food industry I have to some extent developed a niche to rate a restaurant and it service. Be a family dinner or a dinner with you and your atma Kumarakom at Anna nagar is a better option. Though I will not be saying it is a must visit, but I should say it is a breed apart. There overall service, food and ambiance is excellent. The over all experience was good and I will be doing justice only if I give this restaurant a rating of 8/10. If you wonder where to take your family, or girlfriend or boyfriend for dinner, you should definitely go to Kumarakom at Anna nagar. 

Thanks for your time reading. I will soon be coming up with a review of another restaurant, till then Bon appétit!