(Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)

I recently had to spend a couple of days in Ottawa for work. Once the work day was over, I went looking for an interesting dining option in the Byward Market area.

I had a craving for Thai food, so I set out for Khao Thai…a nice place on Murray Street that I have visited in the past. Alas, when I arrived, a crowd of people was outside the front door. They were waiting for tables to open up. Clearly, I would have a long wait before having a chance to eat.

I then recalled a humble-looking restaurant on the corner of Murray and Dalhousie. It was called Kochin Kitchen, and it specialized in food from the southern Indian state of Kerala. I’ve had Kerala cuisine before, and it had been spicy even by the standards of the subcontinent. I decided I was up for the challenge. And I had the nagging feeling that I had tried to eat at this restaurant before…but had to make a last-minute change.

I took a quick look at the menu before going in, and was pleased to see very little overlap with typical Indian restaurant menus in Canada. And then I saw a dish featuring “roasted coconut paste”. That did it – I now had to give Kochin Kitchen a try.

I knew the karma here was good, because I heard somebody call my name shortly after I ordered. One of my work friends, from the neighbouring Quebec city of Gatineau, was in the very same Ottawa restaurant! He confirmed that I had made a wise choice: he and his friends came here almost weekly.

I went with my gut – the Kodanadu Chicken, with the advertised roasted coconut paste. It was really flavourful: even though it wasn’t described as spicy, it still had quite a Kerala kick on top of the sweet coconut. And I opted for parotta instead of rice: this turned out to be an inspired choice. Described as a layered flatbread, parotta is kind of like a buttery cross between a crepe and flaky pastry. I’ve never had it before, but I thought it worked very well with the spicy coconut paste.

This was a rather rich meal, so I decided to take a long walk afterward. I headed down Murray Street, and just kept going…to Quebec! As it turns out, Murray Street is the extension of the Alexandra Bridge, which connects Ottawa to Gatineau. So I visited the grounds of the Canadian Museum of History (formerly Canadian Museum of Civilization) in Gatineau, took a few photos, and eventually found my way back to my hotel as the sun set over Ottawa.

Once again – going with the flow yielded some nice surprises. I didn’t have any Thai food that evening, but I’m sure I will have some again soon.