A morning at the Chinese nets and the Vypeen ferry
Fort Kochi’s fishing nets, the ferry ride and the fish auction on the shore: a short morning route for visitors.
What a week of fish costs a Kochi family
Sardines on Monday, seer on Sunday: a realistic weekly fish and meat budget for four, at this month’s prices.
Fish is part of most meals in Kochi homes, and prices swing with the catch. Here is what a typical family of four spends with us in a normal week, using our average prices this month.
Most families build the week around sardines and mackerel. Two kilos of sardines at about ₹220 a kilo, for a fry and a curry, cost ₹440. A kilo of mackerel at around ₹260 adds another curry. Anchovy, when it lands, is the cheapest of all, often ₹160 to ₹180 a kilo, and makes a quick thoran-style fry.
Mid-week, many families add a chicken dish: 500 g of boneless breast at ₹290 or a kilo of curry cut. For the weekend, the bigger fish come in. A Sunday lunch of 500 g of seer steaks costs about ₹640, and 500 g of tiger prawns about ₹760. Families with guests sometimes add a live crab at ₹1,150 a kilo.
A family eating fish or meat at most meals spends around ₹2,800 to ₹3,500 a week with us. Choosing sardines over seer twice in a week saves nearly ₹800. Delivery is free above ₹600, so combining two days’ needs into one order saves the ₹40 charge. Our 7 am WhatsApp message lists the day’s prices; on days when one fish lands in large numbers, it is often the best value on the board, and our staff will say so.
