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.

Hotel Olive Downtown

28/286, KP Vallon Road,

Kadavanthra Junction,

Kadavanthra,

Ernakulam – 682020

Kerala

Website : http://www.olivehotels.com/olive-down-town

Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/olivedowntown?fref=ts

Reservations Call – 0484-4222333

Roma, Holiday Inn, Cochin

Roma, Holiday Inn Cochin

 

By Lt Col D Purushothaman Pillay (Retd)

“Roma” the Italian fine dining restaurant at the Holiday Inn, Kochi, with its graciously cordial ambience, is a great place to dine in, primarily for the imaginative and creative cuisine Executive Chef Joji Joshua, Executive Sous Chef Michael Saju and their inspired team showcase with aplomb, these days. I am writing this blog to share a recent memorable experience at this elegant eatery.

The guests are ushered into a tastefully created space with comfortable seating, bathed in a muted warm lighting that primarily cascades from those beautiful six pronged overhead lampshade clusters, which hang delicately from the ceiling.  On seating, one is greeted with a welcome platter of assorted fresh breads, hot from the oven. 

There are individual dipping bowls, to prepare the virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar smear, if you so desire. The starters were the usual suspects, the kids made their own Pizza and the adults had their customary Tris di Bruschetta, which included one slice each of toasted garlic bread with cheese, olives and tomato-garlic topping. The children enjoyed the bonus experience of watching the whole process of the Pizza preparation in that flaming oven on view, in the open kitchen.

Chef Michael suggested Beef Carpaccio as an appetizer and we all just loved it, I shall just delve in a little more detail about this excellent beef discovery, which apparently is very simple in its conception, but extremely complex in its construct.

Carpaccio (pronounced "car- pah-chee-yoh") is a typical raw pounded meat, Italian appetizer which was christened as such, in Venice at the Harry's Bar by the owner Giuseppe Cipriani, in the early 1930s, after the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio, famous for his signature red and white tones.

This simple delicacy, though having a striking resemblance with some cold cuts, is actually very thinly sliced frozen beef tenderloin, which has its edges seared to bind it. Mind you only the freshest of the meats are used in preparing this dish. Stripped of all peripheral fat, it is first seasoned with salt; pepper to drain out excess moisture, then a bit of balsamic vinegar is added before it is banished into a freezer, to be removed for slicing just before plating. The slicing requires exceptional knife skills and that freezing helps in the precision cutting. The slices are cut ideally 1/8th of an inch in thickness. These slices are then carefully pounded with meat mallets to flatten them paper thin, any carelessness on the part of the pounder, will reduce the meat to tatters.

Master Chef Michael had plated the exquisite ensemble alongside a Cherry huddle, with a mound of Greens in vinaigrette, in an aesthetic eye-catching platter of three raw meat crosses, of two rolled Carpaccio slices one daintily sleeping on the other. 

The fine grain of the pink muscle fiber interspersed with an intricate network of white ingrained frozen fat, makes the slices look very attractive. Cold on the tongue, one just feels the meat melt in one's warm mouth the moment it is brought in contact with the saliva. My children loved it and it is on the choice list already, for our next Roma visit.

For the mains, we had three mouthwatering creations of Chef Michael and Chef Siyad Abdul. They were Fettuccine Pasta Con Costelleta di Vitello al Brasato (Braised Veal Chops with Fettuccine Pasta),  Lasagne Bolognese and my personal favorite Filetto De Manzo. The braised veal chops were a standout and that is the one I would like to talk about today, only to apprise everyone about that peerless grip on the flavours and the exquisite culinary skills, these expert chefs are endowed with, at Holiday Inn, Cochin.

Veal chops are expensive, temperamental meats, which need very careful cooking. They also have an alluring visual appeal; with those little riblets sticking out of that soft meat bunches. They are heart-warmingly tender and succulent when cooked perfectly. For me medium is perfect, so after checking the individual preference, Chef Siyad disappeared into the kitchen to attempt a perfect braise of the chops. 

Braising is not as simple as it seems. It is a very subtle kind of cooking, bordering on being a fine art, as it involves many processes, like seasoning, searing, browning, sautéing, simmering, thickening and finally plating with the right amount of sauce. All this patient effort, to yield those fork-tender short ribs, which have a seared exterior and a pink-along-the-bone interior. The potent sauce that was building in a simmer all day is the perfect accompaniment to elevate the experience. This magic on the plate is born on a skillet, where the chops get seared to a rich brown in olive oil, before being set aside. Then the mirepoix having the holy trinity of onion, celery and bell peppers are sautéed without scorching, before adding the herbs, and deglazing with some wine and stock. This loose liquid mix is then slow cooked to a sluggish density. The browned bits that stick along the inner walls are constantly scraped off the saucepan for re-dissolving it into the reducing sauce, to further intensify the flavors. Finally those browned chops that were set aside after searing are laid half exposed in the sauce, one side at a time for slow braising. They are not fully submerged, but only two thirds in the sauce and left to simmer and absorb all those piquant flavors. The talented Chef Siyad had in fact put together an absolutely delectable and near perfect interpretation of the braised veal chops, which each one of us relished and shall remember for a long time. The accompanying fettuccine pasta with a mushroom and spinach pesto completed the hearty meal.

We rounded off the remarkable dinner with some splendid desserts that included a Tiramisu, Chocolate Cheese Sandwich and an unusual herb spiced fruit Sorbetto which combined diverse ingredients like basil, orange, ginger, kiwi & the surprise element green chilly. This account has already gained epic proportions; hence I really think it would be a good idea to blog about each of the other dishes in separate posts, as they all deserve to be talked about in detail.

Personally, if I am in Kochi, I love revisiting Holiday Inn, as I know the current F & B team have an unrivaled mastery over their craft and would spoil you with their creative interpretations and variations in gastronomy. Great job and a big thank you to the fabulous Team Holiday Inn!!

Keep it up!!

Tele Numbers :-

Reception/Reservations -                       +91484-3319000/4199000

Fax -                                                   +91484-4199111

F & B Manager Ganesh Chalangodan -    +918129497435

Restaurant Manager Manish Pillai -         +918129497460

Executive Sous-Chef Michael Saju -        +918129497451

Facebook Link  :-

 https://www.facebook.com/holidayinncochin/

Website  :-

http://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/cochin/coker/hoteldetail

Address :-

Holiday Inn, Cochin

33/1739 A Chakkaraparambu Junction, National Highway Bypass,

Vennala, Cochin – 682028

Kerala, India