Slice of Spice is a very well known name in Kerala for their unique tasting grilled Chicken and Fish options and there were two outlets of their’s in Trivandrum not too long ago… But sadly they had to close them a few months ago and the good news is that recently they came back, that too to the same location in Kazhakuttom they used to be in… There are indeed a lot of rumours about how and why they closed and how they came back about which I don’t think there is any point in getting into at this stage…
While the location looks exactly the same, what I came to know is that while they were away, they streamlined and revamped their entire menu with focus on what they do the best… This is the reason why I decided to write this post…
Regarding the new menu, quite a lot of the old menu items are indeed missing… Whats mostly left is all the grill options which is understandable considering the fact that thats what they are focussing on as their speciality going forward… Ofcourse a small subset of the old Chinese menu is also available… In addition to that, I had heard back when they were away that they had developed some new items in their menu as well, which have indeed made its way in the menu here as well… So, ever since they opened again, I have visited a few times and in this post, I am talking about my experiences with the food I got to have so far at the Slice of Spice Tvm 2.0… 🙂
The various food items I got to try can be seen in the pics above… Lets talk about them one by one…
So, the first one is a new soup in the menu that replaced the old Chicken and Mushroom Soup in the menu… This one is called Mushroom Magic… They have both vegetarian and chicken variants of the same and contrary to my usual practice, this time, I went for the vegetarian option… The soup was served as shown in the pics below…
As can be seen from the colour, this indeed was a cream based soup loaded with mushroom and garlic as the taste of those two were what dominated the flavour profile… Other than that, there were ginger onions, carrots, celery and coriander leaves, all cooked and seasoned perfectly with salt and crushed black pepper… An easy way to explain the taste is that it tastes exactly like a Cream of Mushroom Soup but with the flavours of carrots, celery and coriander leaves in it… The soup altogether felt quite flavourful/tasty and I am looking forward to try the Chicken variant soon…
During another visit, I was told that they modified the recipe for their Sweet Corn soups and so, I went for the Sweet Corn Chicken Soup, which already was one of my favourite soups to have from there… It came as shown in the pics below…
I must say that this is probably the most flavourful Sweet Corn soup that I have ever had… Incredibly flavourful Chicken broth made with sweet corn along with perfectly cooked shreds of Chicken meat, egg drop, carrots, bell peppers, celery, chives and coriander leaves all seasoned perfectly with salt and crushed black pepper… This definitely has its place among my favourite soups of all time… Its is definitely a must try…
Next up is a Chicken Tikka option that used to exist in the old menu that has been my favourite to have… Its called as the Afghani Kaju Tikka… Its a mildly seasoned sweet. sour and savoury Chicken Tikka made with a Cashew Paste based marinade and it was served as shown in the pics below along with their usual Garlic Mayo and their signature Pineapple and Cabbage Salad…
This Chicken Tikka is indeed a uniquely tasting one and I must stay that it continues to be my favourite… The Chicken was cooked perfectly and it was mildly seasoned as usual… The sweetness and richness of the Cashews is the dominating flavour along with taste of garlic along with spices like cinnamon/aniseed and mace and also a hint of saffron… There is also a sour component in the flavour profile which I wonder to be from yogurt with lemon or chaat masala or a combination of the three as it is usually done in the famous Afghani Chicken Curry recipe… Anyways, the combination of the Chicken Tikka with the Garlic Mayo and the Salad is really nice, although personally I prefer to also have the spicy Mayo that they have as well…
Next up is the only vegetarian starter option in the menu and also the only item in the menu which my mom likes to have sometimes… It’s the Paneer Tikka… However a difference is that unlike the traditional way, the way its made here is by cooking the marinated Paneer and Vegetables on their grill itself instead of in skewers in the tandoor oven… It was served as shown in the pics below…
First of all, the Paneer tasted fresh and the Tikka Masala used to marinate both the Paneer and Vegetables ie, Onion, Bell Pepper and Tomato, felt like a mildly spiced version of the traditional Tikka Masala itself… I also got the sweet and sour taste of the tomato throughout the dish… The entire dish was seasoned perfectly with salt and on the top there seemed to be a pinch of chaat masala sprinkled on top as well… Overall, I felt it to be a nice version of Paneer Tikka that everyone can enjoy…
While they were away from Trivandrum, I had seen posts made by the owner in facebook announcing a new Grilled Chicken option which they call as Mashmilla… I was looking forward to trying this ever since I saw those posts and I got to try the same… Just like they other versions of Grilled Chicken, there is the choice between having the Chicken Leg or Chicken Breast… As usual I went for the leg and it was served as shown in the video below where the waiter heated a sauce using a blowtorch and poured over the Chicken as shown in the video below…
The Mashmilla is the latest in the series of their proprietary spice-rubs for Chicken and whats different about this when compared to the others is the addition of this butter based sauce which is torched and served table-side resulting in, an incredibly juicy and saucy piece of grilled chicken that even though they say makes an amazing combination with Arabic/Mandi rice but can be eaten on its own too… It was served along with their usual garlic mayo and the pineapple and cabbage salad as shown in the pics below…
Coming to the taste, personally, I think its a perfect combination of both sweet and spicy flavours as in they are perfectly balanced… The sweetness seem to come from dried grapes that they may have blended with the other spices and herbs including but not limited to mace, anise, cinnamon, fresh ginger, garlic and chilly/peppers… The sauce on top felt like the same marinade with butter all caramelised and smoky since they used a blowtorch… The Chicken, as usual was cooked and seasoned perfectly and this time, I felt that there really is no need for the mayo there… The combination is fine though nonetheless… Anyways, eating this is indeed a unique experience that I would recommend for everyone to try… 🙂
Next up is another dish which was newly introduced to the menu… In fact, I never saw any mention in social media about it by them and happened to see it mentioned in the new menu card… They call this as Drizzlers and according to the menu, this, ie, the Supreme Chicken Drizzler is basically a loaded French Fries dish with Jalapenos, Olives, Al Ashrouf Chicken, Caramelised Onions and dressed with their Mayo sauce and topped with some Cheddar Cheese as well… So, to me, it looks essentially like a version of the Canadian delicacy named Poutine and it was served as shown in the pics below…
First of all, the fries was indeed crispy… The pieces of Chicken was cooked perfectly and the taste of the Al Ashrouf was very much apparent… Everything was nice for me although I felt that the version of the Mayo sauce used could have been better seasoned and the Cheese melted more which from what I hear they have fixed by now (yet to try the new version; hopefully soon)… Nevertheless, this is indeed a filling dish thats fit to be had as a meal by itself that has the comfort food feeling when eaten… Definitely a must try… 🙂
During a recent visit to the place, I was informed by the manager that they have changed the recipe of their Yemeni Mandi and requested that I try the same and let them know my feedback… He even gave me a small sample to try as shown in the pic below…
After tasting the sample, I had given them a few suggestions and when I went there today, the owner of Slice of Spice himself was present informed me that they have made the necessary corrections based on my feedback and so, I decided to try the same and this was my lunch for the day… Just like other places, you get a choice between a single portion, half chicken portion and a full chicken portion… Obviously being alone, I went for the single portion and it was served as shown in the pics below along with the Tomato sauce and Garlic Mayo…
I just loved this new Mandi… I can’t fault it even one bit… The Chicken was so tended that I didn’t even need a fork to hold it as the meat just came off effortlessly at the slightest touch using the spoon… It was seasoned perfectly as well… The rice ended up being the most fragrant Mandi rice I have ever had… I felt an amazing aroma of Saffron and Rose water along with the flavours of the Cardamom, Star Anise, Cinnamon, Clove and Mace, all so perfectly balanced and at perfect level… I think the Saffron was mixed with milk and added to the rice as I could feel the richness of it… The accompanying Garlic Mayo worked great with the rice and the meat… And the accompanying tomato sauce brought in some spicy tanginess which I felt worked so incredibly well with the flavours of the rice and the Chicken… Overall, I rate this as hands down the best Mandi I have ever had… I only hope that they maintain this level consistently throughout… A definite must try for everyone who loves to have Mandi…
During the same visit, the owner requested that I try a sample of their grilled fish options and suggested that I go with the spice rub that they call as Amari Samak as it is the recipe that they developed exclusively for fish… And as always, the owner’s lips are held tightly shut about the ingredients 😀 😛 So, among the choices of fish available, I chose to have a piece of Kingfish as thats my favourite fish… But they do have a number of choices of fish for this… It was served as shown in the pics below…
As I was waiting for this to arrive, from its name, I was wondering if this is based on the Samak Mashwi, the Egyptian style triple grilled fish made with Garlic, Cumin, Oregano, Lemon, Scallions, Cumin etc and Amari is a well known Italian herbal digestive liqueur… 😀 😛 However, what arrived seemed different and felt good… 🙂 The fish was cooked perfectly and the marinade seemed to be made with Garlic, Ginger, Mace, Lemon Juice (quite a lot of it as its taste felt quite strong) along with Chilly and Pepper, all caramelised thanks to the grill… I felt a balance of spicy and sour taste in this and also, if I am not mistaken, I felt a noticeable taste of Coconut in it which left me wondering if its finely ground into the marinade or if its because of being grilled using Coconut Oil… Anyways, loved this and I think the same marinade would work really well with other seafood like Prawns as well…
Last but not least, Slice of Spice has been a partner of Fun Stick here because of which a counter of Fun Stick exists and their products ie ice creams are sold here… Apparently as per their staff, they too have revamped their ice cream recipes recently… And so, among my visits, I got to try the new Almond Chocolate Ice Cream and also the new Kulfi Ice Cream as well… They were served as shown in the pics below… The Kulfi one has a White Chocolate topping because I chose that option with it…
The Kulfi Ice Cream felt just ok as I felt the recipe needs a revision but the white chocolate topping tasted awesome… Among the two, the Almond Chocolate Ice Cream ended up being my favourite… The richness and flavour of Almond and Chocolate felt much more stronger and decadent than before, that too without any bitterness… The texture was soft and incredibly creamy…
To conclude, I think Slice of Spice is back stronger than ever and I for one am happy that they are back as I was missing their recipes and I hope they stay for good this time and keep serving good food… The owner has said that more new items are coming in the menu and so, I for one am looking forward to trying them soon… 🙂
