We had some memorable meals in Kochi: Malabar biryani, a Dutch bread, and wonderful sea food. On our last night in Kochi we could go back to the place which we’d liked most till then, or explore a new place. We opted to explore something new which had good ratings. The reviews on various restaurant sites were good, and the photos of the dishes also looked good. It was only when our order came to the table that we realized that the chef spends all his energy on making the food instagrammable. The seared octopus that you see in the featured photo looked wonderful, and I took a photo before digging in. There was no seasoning at all. The dark grains were carbon. The crisp black and white wafer was sago granules in carbon. Talk of food turning to ashes in your mouth! The rest of dinner proceeded along the same line.
To the adage “Never judge a book by its cover” we must add “Never judge food by its photo”.
Don't hold your breath 
How disappointing. Why the good reviews I wonder? We too have learned the hard way that reviews have to be taken with a pinch of salt.
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Yes, the simplest rule of thumb is that high ratings from a small number of people is not comparable to one from a large number of people. This place passed this test, and so left me puzzled.
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Well prepared dish. I like the presentation. 🙂
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The presentation was the best part of the dish 🙂
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Indeed, it’s all about making it look good on instagram, to draw people in.
At the moment I like watching street food cooking on youtube, including from India. A lot less pretty but it looks delicious.
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Less pretty maybe. But you can definitely get better photos when you look at street food in its full setting. I’ve also been following videos on street food on youtube and elsewhere, trying to figure out what to eat after the coronavirus has receded.
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This is a classic case of style over substance and it is a shame it happened to you.
Like others here, I am a dyed in the wool street food man and that goes for anywhere in the world.
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It was style and substance, so to say, without taste. So yes, morally without substance. 🙂
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