Around My Kochi!: Olivia @ Olive Downtown, Kochi

Olivia @ Olive Downtown, Kochi

Review & Photographs By Lt Col D Purushothaman Pillay (Retd)

Great Buffet Choices At The Newest All Day Diner In Kochi.

Kochi has a brand new entrant in the ‘All Day Dining” space that too located right in the heart of town at Kadavanthra. I would like to share a wonderful new food-discovery experience in “Olivia” at the recently opened Olive Downtown Hotel.

We as a family were pleasantly surprised by the multi-element food spread that we stumbled upon during a Sunday lunch we enjoyed at the Olivia Restaurant. A buffet for me personally is a remarkable way to explore different cuisines and discover new tastes. At this lunch we were privileged to sample a mix of Thai, Mexican, Kerala, Bengali, Punjabi, Creole, Continental and Chinese dishes in the elaborate spread of soups, salads, proteins, vegetables, starch, carbohydrates and desserts selected by the knowledgeable Executive Chef Faisal Basheer, for the day.

As a result when the guests line up to choose their food from one serving station to another, they are spoilt for choice, given the variety paraded for consumption. I had also noticed very subtle little things that had been kept in mind in the layout of food on the easy access central food island. Like for instance, the multiple plate and bowl stacks placed intermittently, that also got attentively replenished as and when they depleted, then the first stop in the food line housed the cold cuts and as one meandered to the last few stations adjacent to the seating area, one found hot foods in covered food warmers thereby ensuring that one walks to the dining seat with a plate full of appetizingly warm food.

I shall now touch upon the menu in some detail. For soups there were two options the delicately flavoured Chinese Talumein Vegetable Soup and the Mexican Hot Pot. For Salads the wide selection included Spicy Carrot Salad, Mexican Coleslaw, Creole Green Bean Salad and the basic Raw Vegetable Salad. Non-vegetarian salads had Thai Beef Salad, Chicken Noodle Salad and Tomato & Egg Salad.

The main course had exciting meat options like the Kottayam Chemmeen Curry (Prawns), Erachi Ularthiyathu (Beef), Adivasi Kaada Chuttathu (Quail), Laal Maas (Lamb) and Schezwan Chilli Fish. The vegetarians had some wonderful dishes in Bengali Dal Tadka, Paneer Kurchan, Aloo Mutter Curry, Khajur Ki Tikki, Achinga Mezhukkupuratti, Kadhari Vegetables, Terrano Belando, Baked Vegetables In Mustard Sauce and Crispy Fried Vegetables.

The Rice/Pasta/Breads included Steamed Basmati Rice, Shandong Vegetable Noodles, Penne Arabiatta, Kashmiri Pulao, Roti, Naan, Kerala Porotta and Appam.

Finally the Desserts section had Walnut Chocolate Brownie, Kiwi Cream Flan, Burnt Sugar Custard, Blueberry Cheesecake, Vanilla Gateaux, Assorted Parfait, Sugar-Free Apple Trifle, Parippu Payasam, Semiya Payasam, Milk Peda, Gulab Jamun and Shahi Tukda. The food was delicious and stood out for its freshness and distinct flavours.

In addition to the breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets, the restaurant also has an elaborate selection on offer in the á la carte menu. They even have an exclusive children’s buffet spread. The restaurant imbues an elegant ambience and one is also impressed by the impeccable and attentive service provided by the smart waiting staff. This value for money buffet is a great bargain priced at just Rs 599 excluding taxes. That variety of food at that cost in such an aesthetic setting is a really good deal.

The tall, polite and well-spoken F & B Manager Sankar V Nair and the very experienced and confident Executive Sous Chef Faisal Basheer, who jointly lead the efficient Olive Culinary Team are the brains behind this Olivia experiment and richly deserve our compliments and encouragement. I firmly believe that if Olive can maintain this price point for the delectable fare they offer at Olivia’s multi-cuisine buffet, that is an eclectic assortment of diverse food styles, then it will soon gain the reputation of being the best buffet restaurant in town. We are looking forward with excitement to their soon to be opened specialty restaurant called "Afghan" which would be serving Middle Eastern delicacies. On the basis of what this super food-team is already providing, that would definitely be one menu worth exploring.

Here I am reminded of a wise idiom I had learnt in school which says “Well begun is half done”. “Great Job” Team Olive. I wish this new enterprise that has been launched with a promising start, the very best for a successful and prosperous future.