Casamigo in Thiruvananthapuram serves a blend of international flavours in a cosy bistro setting

Casamigo restaurant interiors
| Photo Credit: Nainu Oommen

The wicker basket of toasted bread and butter positioned on a desk coated with a inexperienced plaid tablecloth at Casamigo transports you to an Italian supper setting. Resembling a European bakery, the bistro, situated at Ambalathumukku in Pettah, Thiruvananthapuram, reveals a cosy inside with heat hues illuminated by lanterns. An abundance of imitation crops and flowers adorn the ceiling, whereas desserts gaze intently on the entrance by a misty glass case on the counter.

“It took us around a year to set this up,” says proprietor Anusha Ann Antony, who labored in the aviation sector in Africa together with her husband earlier.

Casamigo proprietor, Anusha Ann Antony
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

“I was in Africa for 10 years, but I didn’t feel like I fit into my job there. I was idle for a bit and then started baking for my friends and neighbours — a mixed crowd of Lebanese, French, American, and Europeans. They motivated me to start baking as a business, and I did that there for seven years,” says Anusha, who not too long ago moved again to Thiruvananthapuram after her stint in Africa.

“When I got here, I wanted to do something more than baking cakes. I wanted to bring in the taste of my travels to the table,” says Anusha, making an attempt to showcase fusion meals, combining components of Asian, French, Italian and African cooking, with the assistance of her buddy Roby Daniel. At Casamigo, cuisines blend seamlessly, from the candy and spicy wings to fly to stewper boeuf (a model of French beef stew).

Roby Daniel and Anusha Ann Antony at Casamigo
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen

Wings to fly is a rendition of the basic wings tossed into a wok with a sticky, candy and spicy sauce, generously coated with chopped shallots, scallions, chilli flakes and so forth. The baked wings are tossed into the sauce which is wealthy in aroma. It is a nice begin to a meal at ₹180.

Wings to Fly from Casamigo
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen

While the title stewper boeuf may sound international, the flavours share similarities with the Kerala-style beef stew. The marbled meat is braised for six hours in the oven with mushrooms and Italian herbs. It is generously seasoned with powdered pepper and peppercorns. The beef fats from the braising, creates a wealthy gravy. It is pure bliss to scrape off the gravy with a piece of buttered bread, and a small piece of tender meat with a mushy, fats lining. It is priced at ₹340 and is accessible with buttered bread and rice.

Stewper boeuf from Casamigos
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen

Amigos spaghetti is a bowl of Italian pasta served with an array of luncheon meats and a fried egg. The lengthy and skinny pasta is tossed in a butter-based sauce and garnished with chilli oil, which breaks the richness of the butter. While tomatoes are used in the sauce, it steers clear of being the standard red-sauce pasta dish. The flavours of oregano and different Italian herbs sing by this pasta dish at ₹290.

Amigos spaghetti from Casamigo
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen

Their menu additionally contains dishes similar to amigos hen, a plate of shredded slow-cooked hen flavoured with African spices and Italian herbs. It is served with porotta or rumali roti and is accessible at ₹280. Belly stomach bake (₹240), a baked and stuffed bell pepper dish, and paneer blanche (₹250) with mushroom gravy can be found for vegetarians.

Desserts at Casamigo have gained social media consideration since their opening in April. Their strawberry cheesecake with an Oreo biscuit base might be instructed for individuals who like their desserts, a little much less candy. The strawberry jam on prime provides tartness to the dish whereas the crumb and cream cheese contribute to sweetness. However, this dessert was on the marginally heavier facet and could possibly be served in a smaller portion.

Blush milk cake from Casamigo
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen

Blush milk cake from Casamigo is the star of the dessert menu. This rendition of a tres leches cake with rose milk is the proper ending to a meal. The mushy, spongy, moist cake soaks in the aromatic rose and saffron milk, which oozes out on a tender contact of the spoon. Topped with a white chocolate mousse, every chew is a contrasting sensation of textures — mild, moist sponge with a barely heavier however easy mousse, dry rose petals and a few nuts too. It is inevitable to pour rose milk into the plate till you run out of cake and all you are able to do is drink it instantly and rely the energy. The dish is accessible at ₹180.