Kochi is a seafood paradise. Varieties of fish, prawns, lobsters cooked in traditional Malabar way with oodles of coconut milk and grated coconut; their sweetness offset by throwing in a handful of chillies. Do check out the Grand Hotel, on the MG Road, their meen pollichadu fish cooked in coconut leaves is a taste which lingers on the palate.

There are a lot of restaurants on the MG Road. The Rice Boat at the Taj in Wellingdon Island is shaped to give a feel like you are inside a huge kettuvallam, a house boat. It is spacious and you can also watch the ships chug out to the oceans.

The Bimbis chain has three restaurants. Walk into the one at Marine Drive. The Pandhal on the MG Road and Sri Krishna restaurant on Warriam Road are two places which are brightly lit and adorned with paintings. Check out the Dwaraka too, it is every veggies' dream come true. The Mysorepak at Sri Krishna sweets is a must check out. Unlike the traditional Mysorepaks, the mysorepak here is soft and just melts in you mouth. Check out the small wayside eateries called thattukadas which spring up along the seaside once evening sets in. And of course no trip to Kochi is complete without stepping into the Pai Dosa shop near the Padma theatre on the MG road.

It's mostly open beyond 12 midnight and is famous for more than 61 types of dosas. From lahsoon dosa, egg dosa or bull's-eye dosa, it's amazing how one can be so creative with dosas. After a late night movie at Sridhar, this is where all the youngsters head to. If you're not too bothered about the ambiance, help yourself to a plastic chair and relish mammoth size dosas with mouth watering chutneys.

If you love dosas, this is the place for you. Could you ever imagine that dosas can get non vegetarian also. Well it does here. The shop dishes out about 50 varietis of hot sizzling dosas, of which about more than half are non vegetarian. You cannot miss this small eating joint, the smells beckon.

Kochi is an amalgamation of cuisines from all over India and the world. If you're looking for authentic Italian cuisine, then go to Upstairs in Fort Kochi, run by an Indian and Italian couple who take pride in serving authentic Italian cuisines.

Kasi Art Cafe is a hang out place for most of the art lovers, artists and film makers. Not so much for the night life, but one must visit Kasi Art Cafe.

Almost every corner of Fort Kochi has a delightful restaurant or shack. From Chariot, Salt-n-Pepper, Tea Pot, Dal Roti and of course the 'You buy we cook' shacks you will not run out of options.

For pure vegetarian food, head to Bharat Tourist Home (BTH at Wellington Island) and Dwarka (MG Road) are absolutely amazing.

For North Indian cuisines - head to Tandoor and Kebab House on MG Road. Tandoor is famous for its lip-smacking tava chicken and garlic naan, while Kebab House has a lovely assortment of kebabs.

For authentic biryani, visit Kayee's opposite Exhibition Grounds for vegetarian and non-vegetarian briyani served with accompaniments.

For Chinese, head to Chinese Dragon and The Wok on MG road.

If you're looking for burgers, sizzlers or steaks head to the Attic opposite Bay Pride Mall.

Top end restaurants and hotels that one must visit are - Hotel Casino, Taj Malabar, Avenue Regent and Avenue Centre. The buffets here are total value for money, especially if you're looking for a complete south Indian fare and want to taste a bit of everything.

Visit GCDA where you can try out Shawarmas from a couple of fast food joints.

There's an Abaad Food Court in Bay Pride Mall, which is also pretty good and has - north Indian, south Indian and Chinese cuisines on the offer. Bay Pride Mall also has a Barista and on MG Road, you can stop by for a cuppa at Cafe Coffee Day.