Café designs have been falling into a rut. Colourful walls and furniture, large letterings spelling out gastronomic words, bottles with faux corkscrews and decorative incandescent lamps are some of the recurring elements of the mould.
The 44-cover Hidden Fork set across the highway from CUSAT’s gate does match some of this description. So, naturally, we expect the regular club sandwich and chicken nuggets on the menu. Instead, what we find is a finely-crafted card with names like tomato Caprese sandwich and chicken parmigiana.
“The food in the parent kitchen of Hidden Fork had such an impression on us that we had to acquire a franchise for Kerala,” says co-owner Ahammed Mohsoom, who is a BTech graduate from the campus nearby. Chennai-based chef Ram Kumar—who has been in the industry for seven years including a stint at Le Méridien—is happy to help us pick a few dishes and while he sets about getting them plate-ready, we huddle together with a pack of Uno cards pulled from a shelf loaded with games.
Quirk quotient
My teetotaller colleague asks me if their mock beer emulates the taste of the widely consumed alcoholic drink. My palate is hit with the familiar smell and taste of a slightly-sweetened beer as I bring the glass to my lips. Leaving him to enjoy it, I grab myself a choco-peanut shake heavy with strong flavours of the latter.
“The design of the space was inspired by our main outlet. All of the recipes are from the centralised location and so our chefs are trained there,” informs the millennial, speaking for his four other business partners. The friends from college also bring in some nostalgia-with-a-quirk on to the menu with Maggi variants, from among which I try the hot and sour Peri Peri version sporting peppery chicken chunks. Their attempt at honey chilli wings is so thickly coated in the viscous sweetener that it’s sticky yet will definitely be a favourite amongst deep-fried-food aficionados.
Perfect hangout
A crumb fried chicken is the chef’s next serving. The flat slices have a thin panko coating and are served alongside a mild tartar sauce. “The brand is always experimenting with new dishes and we make slight changes in the menu every six months to keep the dining experience fresh and exciting,” says Ahammed.
A ‘Hulk’ version of basa fish (slathered with green pesto sauce) has our attention, however, the excessive taste of basil fails to captivate my interest. Not a wise move maybe, but I brave the fiery chicken pizza to close my meal and it fills my mouth in a spicy wash of red and Peri Peri sauces.
From noon to 2 am