Ambrosia is a place thats very well known to pretty much everyone in Trivandrum… This is because its a bakehouse and pâtisserie thats been in Trivandrum for more than two decades and it was pretty much the very first “modern” bakery as in this was the place that introduced the people of Trivandrum to whats taken for granted in practically every bakery and fast food joints these days, ie, the Pizza and the Burger along with many others including Pies, various kinds of Pastries, Pasta and so on… Me and my parents have met the owners and what they told us back then was that they travelled pretty much all over Europe and learned as much traditional recipes as they could and thats what they brought back and implemented here… For example, in order to learn the recipe for Blackforest Cake, they went all the way to Blackforest, Germany which is where the recipe is from… However, I do have a complaint that compared to back then, things are nowhere nearly as good anymore… So many items which were my personal favourites (Pies – from before they switched to using puff pastry and Open Sandwiches to name a couple) ended up being discontinued and so on… However, I still see them as my favourite spot for burgers… However even in there I have seen a tremendous degradation in quality when compared to how they were a decade ago… My understanding is that ever since they started mass production, it has been a downward slope… But still, I find myself liking the burgers that they serve but theres a catch, you need to have them freshly made and that means you’ll have to goto one of their restaurants and not the outlets they have in various supermarkets (yeah, they are everywhere in Trivandrum 🙂 ) and you must ask them to go easy on the Mayonnaise as they do have the tendency to put too much of it for my liking (you see, earlier they used to serve their burgers with multiple kinds of sauces and some potato chips and a very special sweet and spicy chutney but thats long gone now and now you get just the Mayonnaise and/or Tomato Ketchup)…
Still, I used to be a regular at their Technomall branch, which was the one to introduce what they call as “Broaster Chicken”, which is a KFC like pressure-fried Chicken to Trivandrum… This branch was closed down a few months ago and this new branch near the Technopark Phase 3 is its replacement… I am already familiar with the location because before Ambrosia, the place used to be a Salon called Meenu’s and I used to go there for my haircuts… 🙂 When I walked in, I was quite pleasantly surprised to see what they have done with the place… This is a huge space of two stories, which I think makes this their biggest restaurant… Unlike their other locations, this one looks current and well into the 21st century…
The menu appeared to be redesigned as well making it look bright and vibrant to match the decor, I guess… They are still very early in their process and so even though there are quite a few new items in the menu, it will take a week or so for those to be available… So, I stayed with the classics… As people who are regulars to Ambrosia like me would know, portion sizes are quite small unlike how it was a decade ago… So, I started off with two starters namely the Fish ‘N’ Chips and the Chef Salad… Then for main course, I went for one of their Burgers, I wanted to go with their Chicken Big Bite Burger (they used to call this as their “Classic Chicken Burger”) but unfortunately they were out of Burger Patties and instead the waitress suggested that I go for the Crispy Chick Fillet Burger (formerly knows as the Crispy Chicken Burger)… Then as a drink, I went for their Strawberry Smoothie and then as I was wrapping up, a fresh stock of desserts arrived and the waitress suggested I try one of the Mousse options and the Fruit Mousse caught my attention… 🙂
So, the first to arrive was the Fish ‘N’ Chips… Fish ‘N’ Chips is one of those classic comfort foods with humble origins in England and its pretty much a staple among the working class over there… Its a very simple dish made using a fish with a firm meat and then nice hardy potatoes… Basically, it consists of white meat Fish thats battered and deep fried and served along with some Potato Chips… Even though its deep fried, the way they fry it is such that the batter forms a sealing barrier no fat gets absorbed inside… So, if you want this to be healthy, then just remove the outer batter layer although, you loose the feel of eating fried fish when you do that 🙂 The Chips are also fried in the same way and thats why you get a crispy outer layer while the inside stays soft and moist… Classically, the Fish ‘N’ Chips is served with Tartar sauce, but here, in Ambrosia, we get it served with Ketchup and Mayonnaise along with some Vegetables as well… So, the one I got is shown in the below pics… Its came with two pieces of Fried Fish along with some potato chips (English style Chips ofcourse rather than French Fries)… 🙂
Coming to how it tasted, everything was seasoned perfectly… However, the batter used felt crunchy rather than crispy… I felt it was too thick and quite tough for the fish… The fish however was cooked perfectly… The Chips too was cooked perfectly with crispy on the outside while soft and moist on the inside… I really wish they gave me the Tartar sauce instead of the Mayo-Ketchup combo…
Next to arrive was the salad… I have been liking what they call their “Chicken Salad”… But this time I went for whats called as the “Chef Salad”… According to the menu, this salad consists of Chicken, Ham, Boiled Egg, Lettuce, Onion, Capsicum, Carrot, Cheese and French Dressing… I had asked and confirmed with the waitress who was attending me for the time about the Ham and found that its Chicken Ham and not the Pork one and placed the order… However, what came appeared to consists of Chicken, Chicken Ham, Carrot, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, Cheese and an Omelette all tossed in Vinaigrette as the dressing…
Coming to the taste, the Chicken appeared to have been cooked in Barbecue sauce.. The vegetables felt freshly cut and the Omelette was nicely done… The amount of Vinaigrette was perfect for my liking and the whole salad was seasoned perfectly with salt and pepper…
Once I was getting done with the salad, the Burger arrived… The Burger that I had is called “Crispy Chick Fillet Burger” and quite frankly it surprised me as the way this burger looked was completely different from the burgers I have had from Ambrosia before… According to the menu, this burger consists of a Crispy Chicken Fillet, Cheese, Onion, Lettuce and Mayonnaise…
Like I said, I was very surprised at how this burger looked and I saw that its because of the bun being used… You see, for the first time after a decade, I saw a bun that was perfectly toasted being used and the the bun itself ended up being so soft and airy that it was impossible for me to hold and take a bit without it getting disintegrated… This is why as shown in one of the pics, I ended up eating this burger with a knife and fork… Personally, I don’t like it when the bun is this delicate… However, since it was incredibly crispy on the outside from being toasted with butter, I liked it… The Chicken Fillet essentially was a piece of Broasted Chicken Breast… The amount of Mayonnaise in the burger was ok… Overall, it was an enjoyable burger thats very similar to the Burger that they sell at KFC… However, what I miss here is the presence of Cole Slaw which used to be part of the burger long time ago…
Along with the burger, I got served my drink which was the Strawberry Smoothie… My observation is that unlike how they used to serve “Strawberry Shake” earlier, this one is a thick milkshake with strawberry jam…
The Smoothie was incredibly rich with the taste of Strawberry and Milk… Personally I think this is one of the best Strawberry Milkshakes I have ever had with just the right amount of sweetness…
So, once all of the above were done and as I was about to ask for the bill, a fresh stock of desserts arrived and as I was asking for the bill, the waitress asked me if I am interested in any of the desserts especially the mousses and among the options, the Fruit Mousse caught my attention as it as can be seen from the pics below, looks more like a Fruit Trifle or a Parfait…
Turns out I really enjoyed it to the core… Essentially it has a vanilla flavoured mousse layered among quite a variety of Fruits as can be seen in the pics below… The fruits were all preserved kind and consisted of, as far as I could tell, Blueberries, Plums, Peaches, Kiwis, Strawberries and a layer of Litchis… Altogether a very refreshing dessert to have…
So, on the overall, a very welcoming and promising new branch of Ambrosia… The flaws I felt are what I would rate as nearly negligible… So, since its near where I live, I think it will become my regular spot once again… 🙂
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