Calicut Paragon

Calicut Paragon
Opp Lulu Centre
Karama
Dubai
http://www.paragonrestaurant.net/
+971 4 3335 8700

Calicut Paragon is a Malabari (Kerala) restaurant with many decades of history in India. This was a restaurant that was highly recommended to me by my Mallu friends in Egypt and given the huge queues outside this restaurant each Friday, I have never been able to eat here on my previous visits to Dubai. For a change, I found myself in this area on a week night and the queue outside wasn't serpentine.

Seating is basic, but comfortable. There was a certificate on display that all the staff had attended some heavy duty hygiene training. All the staff including the serving staff wore hair nets. Hehehe. Men in shower caps with mustaches showing - its quite a sight, I tell you! Fresh fish was on display at the counter, so you could pick your choice.

We settled for a very basic meal, that was reminiscent of home for me. Kerala cooking style is very similar and overlaps with the Manglorean style of cooking, especially in the sea food domain. I had a king fish mango curry (18dhs) and squid varathiyathu (26dhs) with appam (1.5dhs per piece). The fish curry was a red coconut curry made with green mango. The last time I had this dish with prawns, it was made by my grandmother who passed away just over a month ago. Eating this curry, had me close to tears, as I never thought I would be able to taste food the way nana made it, ever again. The squid was a spicy semi dry prepration with roasted coconut and curry leaves. The appams were just right, light and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the center. I could make a meal of just the appams.

All the biriyanis were already over, even though it was not yet 9pm. Husband being on a vegetarian diet, had the kerala paratha (thin, flaky and layered 2dhs/piece) a malabari dal curry (10dhs) and ghee rice (10dhs) The rice had nuts and raisins in it and was more of a pilaf than ghee rice, but very tasty. It was served with chutney, a sweet and a spicy pickle, coconut chutney and two pieces of Kerala Pappadums. (very different from North Indian Pappadums)

A large bottle of mineral water costs 3dhs. I saw someone at the neighbouring table being poured a red liquid in their water glass and I promptly requested my own share of hot water. This was a drink I last had, in copious quantities, over 12 years ago when traveling on a students budget across Kerala. Mineral water in those days was very expensive and not something you would buy, when on a budget. Most small Kerala restaurants in those days served hot water boiled with some herbs in copper/brass tumblers. The herbs turned the water red and imparted a faint taste to the water which wasn't unpleasant. This was the first time, I was seeing this water being served, since ages. Would appreciate it, if someone could tell me what the herbs used in this water are and the purpose of these herbs (appetiser, digestive, cooling for the humid heat?)

My friends had highly recommended the chootu (small fish) fry, but I really wanted the green mango curry and some squid. Paragon does serve some North Indian style food, but its the mallu food that is outstanding at this joint. This is a restaurant that I would love to keep going back to.

Here's a link to Time Out's Review

Coconut Grove Restaurant, Dubai

Coconut Grove Restaurant
Rydges Plaza
Satwa Roundabout
Dubai
04- 398 3800/2222

Small little restaurant located in the Rydges Hotel, it fills up fast, so get there early or try to make a reservation. the restaurant is done up with traditional decor from Kerala but serves food from Kerala, Goa, Mangalore, Chettinad, Balti & Sri Lanka.

We focused mainly on Kerala food with a Sri Lankan dish thrown in to taste and we LOVED it all. The food smelled so awesome, that I couldn't be bothered to take pictures before digging in. The crabs got my fingers all dirty and the camera was the last thing on my mind :)

Service was a bit slow but the food was worth the wait and more. We sipped on a Kurumba punch (tender coconut water, mint leaves and lemon juice - 15dhs) while we waited which was cool and refreshing and helped build our appetites. A large bottle of water will cost you 5dhs. We were served a platter of pappadum strips with a tasty green chutney dip as a complementary starter while we waited for the food we had ordered.

For starters we had the malabar fried chicken - 25 - spicy batter fried bits of boneless chicken, masala fried prawns -50 - batter fried fresh medium sized prawns and deep fried mussels - 30. the chicken and prawns were excellent. Tender, fresh and bursting with flavor. We had asked for our food to be made extra spicyt and the chef obliged. Such a pleasure to eat after what passes as spicy food in Egyptian restaurants. What passes as 10 on a scle of 10 on spiciness in Egypt, would barely be a 3 or a 4 on a similar scale in Dubai or India. The mussels were shelled but were deep fried to a crisp, which meant they werent soft and easy to bite into, they felt a little chewy after the texture of the other starters although the flavor was great.

For the main course, we ordered a crab pepper masala which was excellent at 45. A semi dry gravy this was beautifully complemented with the appams (6 for 2 pieces if plain, 6 for one piece if topped with an egg) and malabar paratha (6)

We also had Gedara Sadu kukulmas - a Sri lankan chicken curry with coconut milk that went well with the idiappam (string hoppers - 3 pieces for 5 dhs)

We rounded off the dinner with 2 from the large choice of deserts to chose from. The Gajar ka halwa (15) was nothing like what my North Indian husband has ever eaten as it was cooked in coconut milk. He was expecting the regular halwa and wasn't too ecstatic about his desert, though he said it did taste good. I tried a famous Kerala dessert called Parippu pradhaman (a kheer made from coconut milk, jaggery and lentils - 15) this is a dish we cook in my hometown too and it brought back many happy memories from my childhoood.

They do have soups and vegetarian options, but the star is definitely the Kerala style seafood.

Excellent restaurant with outstanding food - provided you get a table.

I have heard that eating at Coconut Grove is a gamble. On most days the food is excellent, but on some days the food and service can suck.

Do note that in most restaurants in Dubai the taxes are included in the price of the item as printed in the menu.

Read reviews of this restaurant on
Time Out Dubai
Yahoo Travel

The Rice Boat, Mumbai

The Rice Boat
Aram Nagar
2 JP Road
Versova
Andheri (W)
2633 6688, 2632 6688

Another restaurant from the RB chain & this one is fantastic.

Just walk into the restaurant & the quiet waterfalls on the walls immediately soothe your senses. The waiters are all dressed in Mallu Mundus & the chef is out there in the restaurant making piping hot appams in front of your eyes.

The food is divine. The fish & sea food is extremely fresh & cooked to exactly the right extent. The Kerala spices make ordinary food smell and taste wonderful. The Kanava Olarthiatu at Rs.95 was an excellent starter of squid done to perfection. Since we like spicy food, we had the Travancore Neimeen Curry (rs.140) and the Aleppy Konju curry (Rs.175). The great thing is you can choose your masala & decide what bit of sea food you want in it. The appams are 20 each unless you want them fancied up like egg appam or flower appam (rs.30) No the flower appam doesn't have any floral additions, its just shaped like a flower which is a pretty decent feat. The Malabaari biryani was so-so, felt almost like rice had been mixed with a thin mutton gravy. But the rest of the food was fabulous.

Total damages party of 3 was around 900/- which is very good VFM for the ambience and the food. They serve alcohol too. They have not yet started home delivery though.