East India Street Cafe, Panampilly Nagar, Kochi

A Sunday Lunch at East India Café

Some restaurants become part of your life almost without announcement. You visit once because it is convenient, return because you enjoyed yourself, and somewhere along the way, the place quietly acquires the status of a favourite. East India Café at Panampilly Nagar has become one of those places for us.

Our Sunday lunch today was another reminder of why.

We began with Potato Cheese Balls, crisp on the outside and wonderfully indulgent within, before moving to the Asian Sesame Chicken Salad. The salad brought a welcome freshness to the table, with shredded cabbage, lettuce, chicken strips, roasted nuts and that distinctive sesame dressing creating a pleasing interplay of crunch, savouriness and subtle sweetness.

Then came the mains, and the table suddenly looked like a small continental feast.

The Herbed Grilled Chicken was comforting in the best possible way, a well-grilled chicken breast accompanied by parsley mash, buttered vegetables and herb sauce. A succulent healthy, savory dish featuring tender, boneless, and skinless meat infused with aromatic herbs, garlic, and citrus, then charred to juicy perfection on a grill.

The Beef Stroganoff brought its familiar Russian-European character to the table, tender beef wrapped in a rich, creamy mushroom sauce. This is a classic comfort dish made with tender strips of beef, onions, and mushrooms cooked in a rich creamy sour cream and broth sauce. It is a simple yet delectable confluence of tastes in a pan that is served hot over Buttered Rice and Grilled Vegetables.

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And then there was the Tuscan Chicken Pasta, creamy, hearty and deeply satisfying spaghhetti, with chicken, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms coming together in a sauce that demanded to be enjoyed slowly.

But East India Café has always been about more than what arrives on the plate.

There is something wonderfully theatrical about the place. Its London-street-inspired setting, vintage touches, old-world décor, warm wood, quirky details and cosy seating give it a personality that feels distinct from the usual restaurant experience. The café was conceived around this nostalgic street-café idea, and its origins are tied to the hospitality world of Fragrant Nature, with the concept subsequently growing into the East India Café brand.

The Panampilly Nagar outlet, tucked away on 11th Cross Road, has that rare quality of making you feel that you have stepped slightly outside Kochi without actually leaving the neighbourhood. It is relaxed enough for a lazy Sunday lunch, yet distinctive enough to make an ordinary meal feel like an occasion. The restaurant's emphasis on quality ingredients and its broad European, Continental and Italian-influenced menu have helped give it a character of its own.

And then there is Subash.

Over the years, Subash has become almost synonymous with our visits to East India Café. For more than five years, whenever we have walked through those doors, his attentive, courteous and genuinely warm service has been a reassuring constant. Good restaurants serve food; great ones build relationships. People like Subash are an important part of that invisible thread that keeps bringing guests back.

That, perhaps, is the real secret of a favourite restaurant.

It isn't always about having the most spectacular dish in town or chasing the newest place on the culinary map. Sometimes it is the beautiful combination of convenience, proximity, ambience, attentive service and consistently good food. Familiarity adds its own seasoning, memories accumulate around the table, and a restaurant slowly becomes part of the geography of your life.

We are fortunate that East India Café happens to be so close to home.

And on a Sunday afternoon, with good food on the table, a comfortable ambience around us and Subash there to make the experience that little bit warmer, it feels less like going out to eat and more like visiting an old favourite. Thank you East India Café 🙏

Sundae Delights

A Sunday Sundae Date

There are some pleasures in life that need no occasion. A lazy Sunday, a little time together, and the simple decision to step out with your wife for an ice-cream date can turn an ordinary afternoon into something deliciously memorable.

That is exactly what Nandini and I did this Sunday, dropping into our local Caravan Ice-Cream Parlour at Kadavanthra. We went looking for something sweet and came away with two magnificent constructions of indulgence, each a little dessert story of its own.

First came the Brownie Sundae.

At its heart was a rich, fudgy brownie, dense and moist with that slightly chewy texture that makes a good brownie irresistible. Perched generously on top was a scoop of cool, creamy vanilla ice cream, its gentle sweetness immediately contrasting with the warm chocolate richness of the brownie. Chocolate sauce flowed around it, dark, glossy and indulgent, while roasted nuts scattered across the top added a delightful crunch.

Every spoonful became a little composition: soft brownie, melting vanilla, silky chocolate sauce and the sudden nuttiness of roasted cashews. Warm and cold. Soft and crunchy. Bitter-sweet chocolate and delicate vanilla. A wonderfully satisfying collision of textures and temperatures.

Then came the Sicilian Midnight, and this one looked almost theatrical.

A foundation of chocolate sponge cake, soaked generously in chocolate sauce, formed the dark, decadent base. Sitting above it were two scoops of ice cream, one roasted pistachio and the other chocolate. The pistachio brought a creamy nuttiness, slightly savoury beneath its sweetness, while the chocolate deepened everything with its familiar, luxurious richness.

But the real flourish was the creamy pistachio spread cascading over the ice cream, bringing an extra layer of roasted, nutty sweetness. A crisp French biscuit completed the construction, providing that essential crackle against the softness beneath.

It was dessert as architecture: cake, sauce, ice cream, pistachio, chocolate and biscuit, each layer contributing a different texture and flavour, yet somehow coming together as one glorious mouthful.

And perhaps that is the real joy of a sundae. It is not merely ice cream with toppings. It is a little celebration built in a glass or on a plate, designed to be slowly demolished, one spoonful at a time.

Eating a sundae is bliss.

Eating one with the person you love is something more. A husband-and-wife ice-cream date turns a simple dessert into a shared memory, a small Sunday moment that may one day return to us through the taste of chocolate, the crunch of a nut or the sweetness of vanilla.

Because some memories are made not at grand tables, but over two sundaes, two spoons and a little time together. ❤️🍨

Coffee Magic

The Alchemy of Coffee: Where Heat, Water and Time Become a Symphony in a Cup

The Syphon Bloom turns coffee into a small ritual of alchemy.

Water, heat and time begin their quiet conversation as the water rises into the upper chamber, drawn upwards by heat and pressure. Freshly ground coffee is introduced, and the beans awaken in the rising water, blooming as heat coaxes their oils, aromas and hidden flavours into the brew. For a few moments, coffee becomes theatre: fragrant grounds meet water, hands guide the process, and science quietly disguises itself as magic.

The ritual begins even before the flame is lit. The beans are measured with almost laboratory precision and ground moments before brewing, releasing a cloud of fragrance: fruit, flowers, cocoa, spice and the unmistakable sweetness of freshly opened coffee. Then comes the little miracle. Water climbs through the narrow stem, carrying its warmth into the upper vessel, where the freshly ground beans are gently stirred into life.

Here, time becomes an ingredient.

The coffee blooms, releases its trapped gases and surrenders its oils and soluble compounds to the water. The brewer's hands control heat, agitation and time, searching for that elusive point where sweetness, acidity and aroma fall into harmony. Too little, and the coffee remains unfinished. Too much, and bitterness begins to speak louder than the bean.

Then the flame disappears.

As the lower chamber cools, pressure falls and gravity takes over. The coffee makes its graceful journey back through the filter, leaving the spent grounds behind and emerging below as a remarkably clear, luminous brew. Even the final pour feels ceremonial. What began as a humble bean has become something to be presented, contemplated and savoured.

And then comes the tasting.

The coffee glows amber-brown, deepening into polished mahogany when held against the light. At the nose come ripe fruit, red berries, dried apricot and a gentle wine-like sweetness, underlaid by caramelised sugars and the deeper fragrance of roasted coffee.

The first sip is delicate, almost an introduction. Cranberry-like acidity awakens the palate, followed by fruit and a silky sweetness. Then the character deepens, revealing the luscious port-wine quality of KDP Lot D5. The texture is satin-like, the flavours moving gracefully rather than arriving all at once. Finally comes the apricot finish, long, polished and gently lingering.

It is a different kind of intoxication, warm and contemplative, without the spirits.

Perhaps that is the peculiar beauty of exceptional coffee. It does not reveal itself in a single moment. It unfolds. Aroma prepares the senses, the first sip establishes the vocabulary, the middle tells the story and the finish leaves behind an afterthought.

A coffee bean has travelled through soil, rain, sunlight, cultivation, harvest, processing, roasting and grinding before it finally meets water in a glass vessel. The brewer merely gives that journey its final language.

And when heat, water, grind, time and human hands find their balance, something extraordinary happens. The ordinary becomes remarkable.

A great coffee does not merely awaken the senses. It creates a pause in our lives, inviting us to slow down, notice, taste and be present.

Perhaps that is the real alchemy of coffee: not transforming a bean into a beverage, but transforming a fleeting moment into something worth remembering.

Cafficana, Panampilly Nagar, Kochi

 Cafficana: Where breakfast becomes an experience, and coffee becomes a conversation☕🍳

There are breakfasts that merely fill you up, and then there are breakfasts that announce themselves as an occasion. With our cousin visiting us from Thrissur, we wanted to give him something hearty, indulgent and memorable, and Cafficana at Panampilly Nagar seemed the perfect place to begin the day.

We started with the Braised Chicken Sourdough Sandwich, which arrived looking every bit as inviting as it tasted. The sourdough had that beautiful contrast of a crisp, gently toasted exterior and a soft, slightly chewy crumb, carrying the deeply savoury braised chicken beautifully. The chicken was tender and succulent, its slow-cooked character giving it a richness that was balanced rather than heavy. Every bite brought together the toasted graininess of the bread, the juicy chicken and the savoury accompaniments in a wonderfully composed mouthful. It was comfort food elevated by technique, with each component retaining its own identity while contributing to the whole.

Then came the Three Fried Eggs English Breakfast, a magnificent plate that could easily qualify as breakfast with a military parade behind it! Three perfectly fried eggs sat at the centre, their whites delicately set with the requested cooked yolks that begs to be broken into with toast. Around them were crisp-edged hash browns, creamy and comforting baked beans, smoky chicken bacon, well-seasoned chicken sausages and beautifully grilled vegetables. The hash browns had that essential textural contrast: crunchy enough on the outside, yielding and potato-rich within. The chicken bacon brought a smoky, savoury depth, while the sausages were juicy and properly seasoned. The baked beans added sweetness and moisture, and the grilled vegetables brought colour, char and freshness to what could otherwise have been an intensely rich plate.

What particularly impressed us was the precision of cooking. Nothing seemed overdone, nothing seemed incidental. The plate had colour, texture, temperature and balance, and the presentation had the reassuring generosity of a proper breakfast rather than the fussiness of food arranged merely for photographs. It was substantial without being clumsy, indulgent without becoming overwhelming. Quite simply, it was a breakfast designed to make you happy.

And then came the coffee.

The Syphon Bloom turns coffee into a small ritual of alchemy. As the water rises into the upper chamber, the freshly ground beans awaken, blooming slowly as heat coaxes their volatile oils and aromatic compounds into the brew. Here, coffee becomes theatre: fragrant beans meet water in an alchemy of heat, pressure and time. In the siphon, water rises, embracing the ground coffee before gravity draws the infusion gently back through the filter. The process coaxes flavours from the beans with clarity, separating sweetness, acidity and aroma into distinct, harmonious layers. KDP Lot D5 reveals a luscious port-wine character, cranberry acidity and a silky apricot finish. Each sip unfolds progressively, first fruity and vibrant, then deeper and wine-like, finally lingering with polished sweetness. It is less a brew than a choreographed conversation between bean, water, heat and hands, that both cativates, and intoxicates the palate.

Watching the barista coax the coffee through the syphon was almost as fascinating as drinking it. The unusual brewing process allows the freshly ground beans to bloom and mingle with heated water before the infusion is drawn back through the filter, producing a remarkably clear and expressive cup. The tasting notes came alive in layers. It was fruity, elegant and beautifully articulated, a coffee that invited you to pause between sips. The Flat White, by contrast, was a study in restrained comfort, with the espresso and microfoam coming together in a smooth, creamy and beautifully balanced cup.

A significant part of the pleasure was the people behind the experience. Praveen, the Captain, and Vivek, the barista, were excellent. Their attentiveness, knowledge and easy hospitality added something intangible to the meal. Good service is rarely about merely taking an order and carrying a plate. It is about sensing what the table needs, knowing the product and making guests feel that their experience matters. Both did precisely that.

From Calicut to Kochi

Cafficana's story has its roots in a distinctly farm-to-cup philosophy, with the brand built around its own coffee from the valleys of Coorg and an enthusiasm for celebrating coffee through different brewing methods. Its search for the perfect coffee has led it towards single-origin beans, artisan brewing and a menu that treats the café as much more than a place for a quick caffeine fix.

The brand subsequently made its way from Calicut into Kochi, bringing that coffee-led identity into the city's increasingly sophisticated café culture. Its arrival in Panampilly Nagar was particularly apt. The neighbourhood itself has evolved from an essentially residential enclave into one of Kochi's important food and lifestyle destinations, with cafés, restaurants, boutiques and other independent establishments giving the area its distinctive contemporary character.

Cafficana has found its own space within that ecosystem. Its appeal lies not in one spectacular gimmick, but in the accumulation of details: a thoughtful menu, serious coffee, attractive ambience, attentive service and food that is prepared with evident care. Its coffee programme alone demonstrates an unusual breadth, embracing methods such as Chemex, Moka Pot, French Press, V60 and AeroPress, alongside espresso-based classics.

Perhaps that is how reputations are really built in food.

A restaurant may attract you once because someone recommends it. A beautiful plate may bring you through the door. A fashionable address may create curiosity. But good food creates memory, and memory creates reputation. Reputation, in turn, becomes a magnet, drawing people back and persuading them to bring others with them.

That morning at Cafficana was exactly that kind of experience. We had gone there simply because we wanted to give our visiting cousin a hearty breakfast. We left with something more valuable: the feeling that we had discovered a place worth returning to.

With its location in the leafy, increasingly gastronomic neighbourhood of Panampilly Nagar, its inviting ambience, knowledgeable service, ambitious menu and serious approach to coffee, Cafficana has become one of those Kochi cafés that people don't merely visit; they talk about, recommend and return to.

And perhaps that is the finest compliment any food establishment can earn: when good food becomes a reputation, and reputation becomes a destination.

Chef Keshav Menon's Curated Dinner @ Lake Manor, Kochi

The Burn Room at Lake Manor

A Curated Dinner by Chef Keshav Menon

Our first encounter with Chef Keshav Menon’s curated dining was at The Burn Room, where food became more than a succession of courses. It became an unfolding story, with each plate revealing another layer of the chef’s imagination. Our second experience took that idea several steps further.

This time, Chef Keshav moved his culinary theatre to the exclusive precincts of Lake Manor at Panangad, and in doing so demonstrated something that has increasingly become the hallmark of his dining experiences: the venue is never merely a venue. It becomes part of the menu.

Lake Manor: Where the setting becomes an ingredient

There are places where one goes to eat, and there are places where one goes to experience food. Lake Manor belongs firmly to the latter category.

Nestled into the serene waterscape of Panangad, the property has an intimacy that immediately slows you down. Away from the bustle of the city, the lake, the palms, the evening air and the sense of being cocooned by Kerala’s backwaters created the perfect canvas for a dinner built around the flavours of the coast.

Adding considerably to the experience was the gracious hosting by the ever so charming Ms. Divya Thomas who oversees this beautiful property. Her warmth, geniality, and individual attention gave this enchanting evening a wonderfully personal character. There was no feeling of simply being guests at a restaurant. We felt welcomed into an exclusive private world, where the surroundings, the hospitality and the exquisite food were all part of the same carefully composed experience.

And then came the menu.

It was immediately evident that Chef Keshav had not simply transported his kitchen to Panangad. He had allowed Panangad to influence his kitchen.

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1. Ripple On The Banks

Rice Bran Tartlet | Pokkali Custard | Coconut Ripple

The opening course was a quiet introduction to what lay ahead.

The Rice Bran Tartlet provided a delicate, almost earthy crispness, creating a fragile vessel for the richness of the Pokkali Custard. Coconut brought the composition back towards the familiar landscape of Kerala, but in a form that felt refined rather than nostalgic.

What made the dish interesting was the conversation between textures. Crisp gave way to creamy; savoury richness met the gentle sweetness of coconut. It was a small plate, but it established the grammar of the evening: local ingredients, reimagined without losing their identity.

The name Ripple of the Banks seemed particularly apt. It felt like the first ripple spreading across the still waters of the evening.

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2. Coastal Press

Shrimp Bisque | Mango | Kera Foam

If the first course whispered, the Coastal Press spoke in the unmistakable accent of the Kerala coast.

Shrimp brought the sea into the bowl, while Mango introduced a bright, fruity counterpoint. Kera Foam added another layer of sweetness and texture, allowing the dish to move between the richness of a bisque and the freshness of tropical produce.

This was where the location began to make itself felt more strongly. Panangad is surrounded by the visual and cultural language of water, seafood, coconut and tropical abundance. The dish seemed to understand its geography.

It was not merely seafood on a plate. It was the coast interpreted through a contemporary culinary vocabulary.

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3. The Confluence

Parisian Gnocchi | Kera Stew | Curry Leaf

The title itself tells us what Chef Keshav was attempting: a meeting of worlds.

Parisian gnocchi, with its delicate softness, encountered the comforting familiarity of a Kera stew. Curry leaf then became the bridge between the two traditions, bringing the unmistakable aroma of South India into a preparation with European roots.

The magic lay in the fact that neither side overwhelmed the other.

The gnocchi did not become an imitation of Kerala food, nor did the stew lose its character in the presence of French technique. Instead, they met somewhere in between.

That is perhaps what good fusion cooking should be. Not a collision, but a confluence.

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4. The Kallakku

Crab Custard | Pokkali Crisp | Curry Leaf Oil

The Malabari course returned decisively to the coastline.

Crab and Kerala are almost inseparable in the culinary imagination, but Chef Keshav approached the ingredient with remarkable restraint. The Crab Custard carried the delicate sweetness of the shellfish, while the Pokkali Crisp introduced a contrasting savoury depth and crunch.

Then came Curry Leaf Oil, fragrant and unmistakably rooted in the region.

The dish worked because every element had a role. Nothing seemed decorative. That Custard offered softness, the Pokkali Crisp offered texture, and the Curry Leaf Oil tied the whole composition together with an aromatic thread.

It was perhaps one of the clearest examples of Keshav's ability to take ingredients that belong naturally to the neighbourhood and make them speak in a new language.

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5. Vembanad At Dusk

Duck Croquettes | Burnt Cauliflower | Kokum

By this stage, the dinner had developed its own rhythm, and Vembanad at Dusk felt like the evening moving towards its final act.

The Duck Croquettes brought a deeper, more intense character to the table. Their crisp exterior gave way to a rich interior, while his subtle garlic element added an almost smoky bitterness that prevented the dish from becoming overly heavy. Burnt Cauliflower and Kokum creatively married the flavours delicately to create a restrained symphony of flavours.

There was something wonderfully evocative about the name too. Vembanad at Dusk suggested the Kerala countryside settling into evening, the last light falling across the water, the day's activity gradually giving way to stillness.

The food seemed to echo that transition.

The earlier courses had been brighter and more exploratory. This one was deeper, darker and more contemplative.

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6. After the Tide

Blackberry | Panna Cotta | Tender Coconut Custard

And then, after the tide, came calm.

The dessert was a graceful conclusion to an evening that had travelled through sea, land, tradition and imagination. Blackberry brought a sharp, fruity brightness, while the Panna Cotta supplied its familiar creamy softness. Tender Coconut Custard brought the dessert firmly back home to where we were dining.

It was a fitting ending because coconut had appeared earlier in the journey, and here it returned in a sweeter, more delicate form.

The dinner had come full circle.

The tide had gone out, the courses had completed their journey, and what remained was the lingering taste of an experience rather than simply the memory of a meal.

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When a dinner becomes an experience

What makes Chef Keshav Menon's curated dining so compelling is not simply his technical ability or his understanding of ingredients. It is his uncanny ability to connect his food with the place.

He chooses venues with a personality and then allows that personality to influence what appears on the plate. At Lake Manor, Panangad it was not just a backdrop. Its waters, palms, coastal character and Kerala identity became part of his culinary narrative.

That is what separates a thoughtful curated dining experience from just another elaborate dinner.

Chef Keshav understands that ingredients have geography. Crab tastes different when one is dining beside Kerala's waters. Coconut carries another meaning when palms are part of the landscape. Curry leaf becomes more than an aromatic when the air itself seems to belong to the world from which it came.

His genius lies in recognising these connections and translating them into food. He is a master of creating curated wonders that become memories forever.

And perhaps that is the most beautiful thing about food. We rarely remember every ingredient in a meal. We may forget the precise texture, the temperature, even the name of a particular course. 

But we remember where we were. Whom we were with. The conversation around the table. The light outside. The unexpected taste that made us pause. The hospitality that made us feel special. The place that seemed, for a few hours, to belong entirely to us.

Food is therefore a metaphor for living.

Life too is a succession of courses. Some are crisp and unexpected, some rich and comforting, some bitter, some sweet. Each experience prepares the palate for the next. And just when we think a moment has passed, it leaves behind its flavour.

Perhaps that is why the finest meals are never really finished. They continue within us as memories. And on that beautiful evening at Lake Manor, Chef Keshav Menon did not merely serve us dinner.

He served us a memory.