Foodyezz is a recently opened restaurant near Technopark Phase 3, near Kazhakuttom, Trivandrum… I first found it listed in Swap app but didn’t exactly understand where it was located until I saw it while passing by… So, on the next day, I dropped by for lunch… The location is the same space used by the old Big Way restaurant and then by the restaurant named Mappila Kitchen, ie, behind the Toyota used car showroom…
Regarding in the interior, nothing seems to have changed except for the removal of a partition wall 🙂 However, the menu is completely different from the previous restaurant as one would expect… Here the focus seems to be the cuisine from the town of Thalassery in the Northern part of Kerala, where I was born and half of my family is from… There is a section where I found a number of snacks that I have never seen outside my hometown but unfortunately none of them were available at that lunch hour time and the waiter informed that they become available only in the evening…
As I was going thru the menu, the one item that peaked my interest is whats called as the “Bamboo Biriyani”… This is because its unheard of in Trivandrum and we have only been seeing pics and videos by those who had it from other places… So, I simply had to try it… Along with it, I got their Chicken Clear Soup, Fish Fry and then as dessert and drink, I went for their Dates shake as recommended by the waiter there…
The first to arrive was the Chicken Clear Soup… This is actually not listed in the menu, but was offered to me as the one I went for ended up being unavailable for the day and I was not keen on the rest of the options 🙂 So, came as shown in the pics below and it was an incredibly light and clear but packed with flavours Chicken broth with some pieces of Chicken Broth and Celery Sticks in it and topped with grated Cilantro…
Taste-wise, this was quite enjoyable as it was seasoned very well and the broth was quite rich with the taste of Chicken in it… The only downside was that the Chicken pieces in it ended up being a bit overcooked and was not as soft was I usually expect… Still, it can be excused as in such soups, the broth is the one that should be star on the bowl and on that front, I have no complaints… 🙂
Once I was done with the soup, there was a slight delay and I finally got served the Bamboo Biriyani… Contrary to how it sounds right now, this is not a Biriyani made with Bamboo shoots but rather its merely a Biriyani made by cooking inside a hollowed out piece of Bamboo… How its usually done is that All the ingredients for the Biriyani are assembled inside the Bamboo and the whole thing is steamed till they become cooked and ready… Because of this way of cooking, the Bamboo Biriyani is called as the Healthiest form of Biriyani because, unlike the regular biriyani, this is made by steaming like how we make whats known as the “Puttu” and absolutely no fat is the added to this… Thanks to the steam, the Biriyani stays moist thereby not needing the excess fat to be added… At best, if you are into the flavour and fragrance of Ghee for Biriyanis, then you might want to add just that…
Here, there are three variants to the Bamboo Biriyani… They have a Chicken version, a Mutton version and a Prawns version… I asked for Prawns but turned out that was not available for the day and so, I went for the Chicken version which was served as shown in the pics below…
Now, the Biriyani that was served seems to have been made as I mentioned above… There is a very slight hint Ghee in it… The restaurant claims it to be their special/flagship item and I guess so, they serve this Biriyani with a piece of Fried Chicken along with the usual Vegetable Raita and Lime Pickle… Taste wise this turned out be one of my favourite Biriyanis because the Chicken was cooked perfectly and was staying moist… The Fried Chicken was quite crispy on the outside and soft inside… The Rice was very fragrant and cooked very well… Flavours of the masala (classic Garam masala only) ended up being quite mild which is exactly how I like it to be… So, if you expect your Biriyani Masala to be highly spicy like many of the other places, you might not like this… But if you are into the subtle nature of the Arabic and also the Thalassery style Biriyani, you’ll love this one… Now, being cooked in Bamboo, I expected to be able to taste the Bamboo in the Biriyani, but I couldn’t detect it, which is not surprising based on how the Bamboo looked like… Still, this is a Biriyani that I am looking forward to trying again very soon…
Along with the Biriyani I took their Fried Fish as I like to have that with a Biriyani (and also, I didn’t expect to see a Fried Chicken piece along with the Biriyani) and as informed by the waiter, the fish used is King Fish (but definitely Indian Cobia based on how it tasted like for me)… It was served as can be seen in the pic below, ie, one slice along with a green salad on the side…
The Fish was fine, although I wish they gave me a bigger slice or maybe more than just the one piece in a portion… Anyways, this was just the usual Turmeric, Coriander Powder, Red Chilly Powder and seasoned, basic Kerala style Fish Fry… The Fish was cooked well and I have no complains on its taste…
Once I was done with the Biriyani and the Fish, they brought in the Dates Milk shake… The waiter had informed me that this is their signature drink and hence recommended that I try it… It came as shown in the pics below…
This turned out to be a fine Milkshake with dates… The Milkshake itself was not too thick or loose but just the right consistency… It was indeed quite rich and creamy.. The flavour of dates was there but it was clear to me that Dates weren’t the only condiment added to it and based on what I could detect, they seems to have added some dry fruits and nuts as well… That is, cashew and peanuts as well… It did remind me a bit of whats known as the “Saudi Shake” but not as thick… Anyways, it is an incredibly refreshing drink to have…
So, altogether I had a really nice lunch from the Foodyezz restaurant and I am looking forward to going back and try more of their food… 🙂 🙂 🙂
P. S. UPDATE – 6th Aug 2018: The Foodyezz restaurant is now closed and the same team now runs a new restaurant located in Kazhakuttom called Thalassery Central… The menu is pretty much the same as of now being recently launched and in a soft launch mode… The owner promises to bring in delicacies from Thalassery very soon…
