Dinner at the Travancore Court...

Play, Movies and on to my all time favorite topic- Food! The occassion was the visit of my Uncle and family from Chattisgarh and being the absolute foodies that we are, we decided to go out for a buffett dinner with the entire family- grandma, ma, me, sis, unc, aunt, kids, a cousin and her daughter- 10 of us and the kind of gang in which a normal person would find it difficult to decipher who is the craziest!

We zeroed in on Travancore Court- Underground parking, a Mohanlal venture and a place that none of us (with the exception of yours faithfully!) had been to before. Table reservation was made in the morning itself and there we were at sharp 8.30 PM without even caring about the torrential rainfall outside!

The hotel suffers from lack of space but the architects have made sure that utilized space available to the maximum. The revolving door at the reception is quite nice and a novelty among Kochi hotels. The lobby with its heavy antique furniture made of Eetty gives you that feeling of royalty. The neatly maintained and scarcely frequented Coffee Shop is the ideal place to read a book while sipping a cup of hot coffee and the Dining Hall in the first floor (Restaurant is named East India Company, kinda cute, ryt?) is majestic and sprawling.

The huge table that was reserved for us was quite inviting and so was the sumptous spread on offer. Appam, Roti, Naan and Kappa were the breads. Fried Rice, Pasta and Noodles filled up the Rice/ Noodles section. Dal Fry, Vegetable Stew, Gobi Curry, Thoran, Sambhar, Mixed Vegetable Curry etc filled up the vegetarian section and for the NV's, fish, chicken, mutton, pork and beef were on offer. The Tomato Shorba was nothing great and ditto for the starter which was quite so- so. But the Main Course was tasty, fresh and comprised of quite a few new dishes. The salad bar was adequately stocked and the Four Bean Salad was a big success!!!

The dessert section had assorted Indian Sweets, Pastry, Payasam, Gulab Jamun with Ice Cream and the customary sauces. The souffle was mind blowing! At Rs.300 + taxes per person, Travancore Court buffett is quite reasonable considering the number of dishes on offer. For kids in the 5- 12 year group, one needs to pay Rs.180 + tax. The best thing about the buffet is the low masala, salt and chilli content which does not make you feel uneasy even if you binge on the food on offer!

The hotel scores very high on the cleanliness quotient and the service quotient. The photographs of Travancore and Kochi Maharajas of yore adorn the walls of this beautifully designed building and gives one a sense of deja vu'. I would recommend Travancore Court for its healthy food and old world ambience- 2 good reasons to pay at least one visit :-)