Dec 22 2017, started at 19:30.
Drive Summary:
- Bengaluru to Gonikoppa – 220Km – 4.5 hours- Good roads – Heavy Traffic
We all gathered at my home and we started at 7:30pm from Bangalore Heading to Gonikoppa via Mysore. As expected, because of the long weekend there was lots of traffic on the Bengaluru –Mysuru highway. A very well known busy highway with lots of eateries and petrol stations all along the way till Mysuru.
The food drive had begun the engine was revving and we were hungry.

our first stop for the long trip was for dinner at Maddur.
Food Summary :
- Dinner – Empire restaurant – Near Maddur- Mysore road
- Dishes tried - Coin Parotas with Brain fry, Pepper Chicken and Mint Lime Soda
- Cost for dinner – Rs 1300
The Empire restaurant, the restaurant is not new to us. We know what to order. We ordered and enjoyed awesome Coin Parotas with Brain fry, pepper chicken and Pudina (mint) Lime Soda. We were a long way from our destination. It was already 10.30 by the time we finished our dinner. Alan drove for the rest of the night and Reached Gonikoppa at 1:15am.
Once we take the deviation to Coorg from the Bengaluru-Mysuru hghway, the highway has fewer petrol stations and restaurants but the roads are good and we can cover 50Km/hr on a normal day. Since we were travelling in the night and we had cross a small patch of Rajiv Gandhi national park we thought we can spot some wildlife, but we did not see any :cry:. Nevertheless we spotted a Tiger on a bike

LOL.
We stayed at SPICE RACK (The Coccon) hotel, Gonikoppa. The hotel is relatively new with descent size room and it was neat and clean. Of course there are numerous stay option in Coorg if you are looking for homestays but we had less time to sleep as we had to start early in the morning to continue the journey so we choose this hotel which is on the highway. The hotel also has a restaurant.
Dec 23 2017, started at 8:00
Drive Summary:
- Gonikoppal to Kannur – 92 Km 2.5 hours – narrow roads, road under construction, normal traffic
- Kannur to Kozhikode – 90 Km 2.5 hours- narrow roads, normal traffic
- Kozhikode - Kunnamkulam – 100Km – 4 hours - narrow roads, heavy traffic (due to Christmas)
We were woken up by the adjacent mosque at 5:00 am. We were all in full josh and started to Kannur at 8:00. Our plan was to have breakfast in Kannur. We had to drive through the narrow lanes in Coorg and cross ghat section and enter the Kerala. The distance is 90kms but due to the road construction going on and the traffic we needed 2.30mins to cover this distance. A total 2 and half hour drive through beautiful scenery and bad roads under construction. Crossing Iritty Bridge over the river, a real treat to watch.
Girls in dhavani, Guys in Vashti and Lungi, fresh air, greenery everywhere, hardly any building more than two floors, we were in Kerala on our destination for food
We reached Kannur at 10.30 and parked our car in Kannur railway station which in the heart of the town and walkable to the restaurants we wanted to try. Even otherwise I would suggest parking the car in the station is a good option and going around the town in a rickshaw is time saving and saves the hassle of trying to find parking spots in the narrow lanes of the old town and market.
We wanted to try Onakkan Bharathi restaurant, it's a old restaurant, with just about 8-10 tables and with the local crowd and serving local dishes. They serve dishes like Puttu, Kappa with various curries. No English speaking waiters. Learn a few words in Malayalam before going here and they do not have restrooms aswell.
We tried Puttu, Appam, Kappa, Mutton Chops and Chai. Our first stop in Kerala and It was just awesome

.
We also tried some snacks in MRA Bakery very near to the restaurant and railway station. Snacks at MRA Bakery - English Cake (a mini delight), Arabic Plum cake, Sweet Banana chips, a fish palaharam and Pazhlam Pori
(Banana Bajji). We stocked a few snack items for the journey ahead. The Bakery also has a restaurant and a fast food counter. I am sure this would be a busy place if you visit for lunch or dinner.
After a heavy breakfast or rather brunch, we then had to continue our journey to Calicut. On the way to Calicut (Kozhikode) via Thalassery. It's a 90km drive but due to heavy traffic and narrow roads it takes 3 hours. We Reached Calicut at 15:30. A long but delightful drive as we reached the famous Paragon restaurant for lunch.
The restaurant has AC and non AC section but we had to wait for a long time to get a table and we had gone just in time before the lunch time closes. The restaurant is very busy lots of menu items to choose from we also saw a few foreigners dinning there. I felt the ambiance in the non-AC section was more lively. We ordered Mango Fish curry, it was lip smacking good.We also ordered the Malabar Biryani which is supposed to be the best in paragon. We tried the Chili beef and Praveen had ordered for a Special meals. The food was very good and satisfied the hungry soles. I would recommend this restaurant any day if you visit Kozhikode with friends and family alike.
We wanted to try the milk sarbat opposite paragon restaurant. Its only a shop and no seating area. We tried the milk sarbat , soda sarbat, and a plain sarbat. Milk sarbat tasted good, the others did not taste so special to us. The sarbat shop was crowded and if cleanliness is your priority, it's better you avoid.
We started from Calicut at 4.30. On the road from Calicut towards Trissur, the traffic on the road was heavy because it was Christmas weekend. We had to cross lots of jams and blockages on the way. The Google maps showed 4 hours and we were really tired by the time we had reached half way. I then asked my friend Boby who is from Kunnamkulam near Gurvayur, to help in finding accommodations in Gurvayur. So, Boby arranged for a stay in Kunnamkulam. which was obviously cheaper than staying in Gurvayur on a long weeked. We reached Kunnamkulam at 20:30 after a long trying drive. Alan was the worrier who fought the traffic, 3 cheers to him. In Kunnamkulam we met Boby and he helped us to find a hotel and check in. Hotel name - Lewa Towers, 950 for 3 people, non AC room. It was a low budget hotel but good enough for a trip like this.
Boby took us to a nearby bar where we ordered the BDF (Beef dry fry). That is 1 awesome dish to try along with some beer. It was lip smacking good

. We also tried beef in a Chinese style dish which was also good. We then visited a sheet vendor we tried Kappa beef curry and some Idiyappam . They were just too good. We enjoyed our dinner in a typical mallu style was super tasty, low budget and satisfying.
Food Summary
- Breakfast – Kannur – Onnakan Bharathi & MVR bakery https://goo.gl/maps/EH1xxe2SbGF2
- Lunch – Kozhikode – Paragon restaurant & Milk Sarbat center https://goo.gl/maps/ghW6N6Z5t3F2
- Dinner –Kunnamkulam- Street Food
- Dishes tried - Puttu, Appam, Kappa, Mutton Chops, English Cake (a mini delight), Arabic Plum cake, Sweet Banana chips, fish palaharam, Pazhlam Pori (sweet Banana Bajji), Chai, The best Malabar Biryani, Chilli beef, mango fish curry, Paragon Special meals, milk sarbat , soda sarbat, and a plain sarbat, BDF (Beef dry fry), Kappa beef curry , Idiyappam.
- Cost for breakfast – Rs 245, Lunch – Rs 650, Dinner – Rs 400