Sasikanth | - Page 17

Ci Gusta | Restaurant Review

Place: Ci Gusta
Location: Kavuri Hills, Madhapur
Cuisine: Italian, Desserts
Meal: Lunch

As part of a foodie meet, dropped into this place last Sunday. Ci Gusta happens to be more of a dessert place also serving Italian food. Walking in, I thought the place was brightly lit and very nicely done. As part of our special meal, we were to start with frozen yogurt, head for starters and main course along with a drink, and finish with gelato and some more frozen yogurt. This was to be quite a meal!!

For Froyo, they had self-serve charged by weight dispensers right at the entrance. This was the first time I came across a self-serve dispenser in India, and was pretty impressed. After trying out all the available flavors, I opted for Forest Berry and Mango combo, topped with some nuts and Blueberry sauce.

I loved the Forest Berry the most of the lot for it had a very distinct flavor. The Mango also tasted pretty good but it wasn’t the best.

For starters, we were served with Chef’s special dishes: Potato Wedges and a some kinda Chicken starter. The wedges were tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce which gave them a nice flavor. I would have preferred them to be served with some kinda dips to add more taste.

We had to choose either for a Pizza or Pasta, and I chose for the latter: Ci Gusta Di Mafia, a creamy rich sauce pasta with tomato, garlic and broccoli.

I choose this pasta is for the cream, and to my disappointment, I found the sauce very thin with barely any cream. While it had nice flavor, a thicker sauce would have worked wonders. I would have also preferred more veggies.

For the drink, I opted for a Litchi shake which turned out to be pretty good.

Back to the desserts now. From a range of gelato, after tasting quite a few, I finally picked pannacotta flavoured gelato which turned out to be pretty yum!

And finally, to finish off the meal, we were to choose for Parfait of Caffetine. While Parfait was fruit flavoured frozen yogurt, Caffetine (I hope I’m spelling it right) turned out to be a coffee flavoured one. It was more creamy than the dispenser froyo, and the espresso shot gave it nice taste. It was good finish to the meal.

Overall, it was a decent affair. While I wasn’t really satisfied with the main course, all the desserts turned out to be pretty good. Though ambiance is good, the service needs to be improved upon quite a bit. On price front (in general), everything is on the higher side. I believe that quality of food needs to be improved by quite a notch for them to be worth the price. Also, while the desserts were good, nothing really left me in awe. Bottom line, I’m probably gonna go back for the desserts, but not for the food.

Food: 8/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 350/- (As part of a deal)

Verdict: 7.5/10

Green Bawarchi | Restaurant Review

Place: Green Bawarchi
Location: Off. Indira Nagar, Kamalapuri Colony Main Road
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Take-away

Have you ever tasted Irani hotel Puri? If you haven’t , I suggest you try Green Bawarchi first for these guys serve yummy Puri Korma, available only in the mornings. Anyways, on this day, I was here to grab something for lunch, and opted for Vegetable Biryani. Oh, about the place, it’s a regular Irani Cafe serving Bawarchi/Paradise kinda food, focusing primarily on non veg delights.

Green Bawarchi Restaurant Review — Vegetable Biryani frm Green Bawarchi

Back to the Biryani. For 120 bucks, quantity served for superb, with it sufficing at least 3 tummies. On taste front, while it was pretty good, I felt that the masala was a little too much, which kinda made is spicy. It had a very strong flavor associated to it as well. The salan served along was decent, and overall, good food.

Being an Irani Cafe, Green Bawarchi is no fancy place. On the positive side, the food is usually tasty and very reasonably priced, so give the take-away a try.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: N/A
Meal for 1: Rs. 120/-

Verdict: 7.5/10

Chopsticks | Restaurant Review

Place: Chopsticks
Location: Srinagar Colony Main Road
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Take-away

I’ve been to Chopsticks a couple of times in the recent past but have been ordering the usual (Singapore Noodles, Veg-65/Manchuria and Shanghai Fried Rice), which taste more or less the same as they did a couple of years ago. As mentioned in my last review, quantity varies every time. Anyways, this time around, I was here to try something different. I read on Zomato that these guys serve good American Chopsuey, so decided to give it a try instead.

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American Chopsuey is supposed to be mildly sweet, but this one wasn’t. I kinda liked this for I’m not really fond of my food being sweet. Crunchy hot fried noodles were served separately and tasted yum along with the gravy. However, I could taste the oil oozing out for these noodles in every bite (Only while they were hot. Once they cooled down, they were very good).

I wouldn’t call it the best American Chopsuey, but it was close. Though the amount of fried noodles was great, I was disappointed with quantity of the gravy. For 130 bucks, it was much less in comparison to any of their other dishes. GIve it a try, and lemme know your feedback!

Food: 8/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: N/A
Meal for 1: Rs. 130/-

Verdict: 8/10

Hari Balaji Dhaba | Restaurant Review

Place: Hari Balaji Dhaba
Location: Lane adj. Durga temple, Opp. Gurudwara, Ameerpet
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Take away

I was kinda bored with the same food everyday and wanted to eat something spicy. So I headed out towards Ameerpet to find good food. My first choice Dwaraka closed down recently, so I stopped by at this dhaba I once visited with my brother long ago. It’s on the first floor of a jewellery shop building bang opposite Ameerpet Gurudwara. The ambiance isn’t really great, so opted for a take away.

I ordered for Paneer Butter Masala, Masala Kulcha and Kaju Biryani. It took about 10 minutes for my parcel to be ready.

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Once I unpacked everything, I found the quantity of the curry to be very good while was a little disappointed with the rice. On taste front, the Paneer Butter Masala had too much garam masala which kinda ruined the taste. The paneer too wasn’t really soft. PBM at a dhaba is a metric on how good the food is, and the one at this place was disappointing. The Kulcha was alright.

Compared to Kaju Biryani of any other place, this one was boring. The number of cashew nuts were minimal, and the masala wasn’t really that tasty. To add to that, the gravy served along was terrible.

Overall, a sad meal. But for the Kulcha, I wasn’t really happy with anything else. The price I paid wasn’t minimal either. I’d probably give this place one more shot before I put it on my no-go list.

Food: 6/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: N/A
Meal for 1: Rs. 250/-

Verdict: 6/10

Autonagar Surya | Movie Review

AutoNagarSurya

I believe any movie needs a strong plot. Even if isn’t conveyed on-screen, the director should know his script. Unfortunately, Deva Katta has no clue on what he wants to convey, and so Autonagar Surya is close to a disaster.

Set in the 1990’s, Surya is our rebellious orphan living in a union run colony controlled by mafia. Like any other movie, our hero fights the goons from the word go, so much to an extent that he lands up in jail for murder at an age of 16. The rest of the movie is all about him fighting more goons and murdering more people, this time without being arrested. Looks like Deva Katta was very inspired by Hrithik Roshan starrer, Agneepath. I initially didn’t get why he chose to showcase the story in the 1990’s, but later realized that if he portrayed such violence and atrocities in the current age, people would laugh at him. Dev Katta got so confused that he had no clue on what to do towards the end, resulting in one of the quickest climax in recent times. But for the dialogues, the direction and screenplay are pretty weak.

Did I say Naga Chaitanya improved as an actor in Manam review? I would take that back but for the fact that this movie was shot much before Manam. He is absolutely pathetic. Just like Ram Charan in Racha, he tries to imitate his dad and fails miserably. Any B-grade actor would have probably performed better. Samantha looks cute but is as good as a doll. There is a huge cast, most of them come up with average performances. Most disappointing was the characterization of Sai Kumar for he is totally wasted in a purposeless role.

Music by Anoop Rubens is mediocre with songs popping in between for no reason. Cinematography by Srikant Naroj is average while editing by Goutham Raju is pathetic. The film is unnecessarily long with a number of scenes which make no sense. Visual effects by my childhood buddy Asif Bhushan are neat.

Is it worth your time and money??: I don’t think so. Give it a month’s time and it’ll be playing on your television. It’s a different discussion as to whether it’s worth watching it on TV as well.

Worth mention: A couple of powerful dialogues being uttered by one of the most untalented actor in recent times.

Acting: 5.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 5/10
Technical Aspects: 5.5/10

Verdict: 5.5/10

Fremmy | Restaurant Review

Place: Fremmy
Location: Opp. Rainbow Hospital, Road No. 10, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Global
Meal: Lunch (with my cousin)

There was a foodies meet at Fremmy last Sunday and I dropped in with my cousin. I’ve been wanting to try this place for a while now, so here was an opportunity. It’s a small do, with about 5-6 tables, and open kitchen. It actually gives you a feel of walking into a Subway, with a similar concept in store – make your own food.

As part of the meet, there was a special deal where we were to get either a pizza or burrito, a donut and a drink for 200 bucks. We were handed out a piece of paper with all the options for the make yourself pizza or burrito. We chose for a pizza with garlic base, basic veggies and Paneer in Pesto sauce as an additional topping. For the burrito, we asked for Dal Makhni, veggies and Schezwan Paneer. Do note that the burrito served here is very Indianized.

The burrito was served in about 10 minutes and looked very different from what I expected. I knew it was gonna be served in a bowl (ya, not a roll), but still, the concept of serving rice with separated toppings on top didn’t feel like a burrito. What’s worse, it actually looked very different from the burrito served to other foodies. I expected the toppings to be mixed at the least. On taste front though, it tasted alright. The Dal Makhni wasn’t that great by itself, but with the rice and along with the toppings, was good. My cousin loved the rice.

Because of the huge gathering (thanks to the meet), there was some confusion with our pizza and it took a little longer than expected to be served.

The thin crust pizza looked like a set of crackers put together, topped with cheese and veggies. And it tasted exactly like a cracker. I absolutely loved the crust for it was very different from any pizza I’ve tasted before. I would have preferred for more base sauce, but it was still a yummy pizza.

We were served with Blue Curacao for the drinks which were good. We bought our Donuts (Almond and Chocolate) home, and they were actually very good, especially the almond donut. It was creamy and yummilicious.

Overall, a decent meal. It looks like the guys are still settling in and it might take a while before they get everything right, but worth a visit for sure. Everything is priced reasonably as well. They need a better exhaust system for the place got stuffy after a while. Give it a shot for their pizza and donuts and lemme know how it goes. 🙂

Food: 8/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 400/- (as part of the deal)

Verdict: 8/10

Flurys | Restaurant Review

Place: Flurys
Location: Food Court, GVK One, Banjara Hills
Meal: Dessert

Having read about this place on Zomato (listed on best bakeries), I decided to give it a try before venturing onto a movie at INOX. It’s a small yet brightly lit stall in the food court, displaying all the pastries and savouries. Their signature Blueberry cheesecake was done for the day, and I opted for a Tiramisu.

The Tiramisu was pretty decent. Though it was creamy, I thought it could have done away with a little sugar. I was actually struggling to finish it off towards the end for it was that heavy. I like my desserts creamy and light, and this met only one criteria.

The price seemed a little too steep for a small slice which didn’t really seem worth the money. I’d give it another try for their Blueberry Cheesecake before I certify this place.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: N/A
Price of Tiramisu slice: Rs. 120/-

Verdict: 7/10

Paradise Food Court | Restaurant Review

Place: Paradise Food Court
Location: Adj. Shilpakala Vedika, Hitech City
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Lunch (with a friend)

A friend of mine visited Hyderabad from Bangalore and wanted to eat Paradise Biryani. Though I told her that there are better places to have Veg. Biryani in Hyderabad, she insisted on Paradise. So at a little past noon, we walked in to Persis restaurant at Hitech City. The place was packed and we sat at a table for two in a corner. Ambience wise, there was nothing great; it actually looked more like a function hall converted into a restaurant.

We ordered what we were here for, the Vegetable Biryani.

And it was served right away, in less than five minutes. For the price we were paying, and in comparison to other places, I thought the quantity served was less. On taste front, the rice was well cooked and the masala tasted pretty good, but overall it was pretty bland. We probably should have asked for double masala. The Salan was good and went well along with the biryani.

To give my friend a taste of Hyderabadi desserts, I asked for one-by-two Khubani ka Meetha with ice-cream.

As expected, this took longer to be served than the Biryani. One look and it seemed like canned dessert (because of the color, but maybe it wasn’t). It tasted alright, not too sweet, but nothing great either.

Overall, an average meal. My tummy wasn’t really full for the quantity of biryani was dismal for 200 bucks. The service wasn’t great either and neither was the ambience. It just seemed like an overpriced affair in existence thanks to the brand name, and ya, maybe their non-veg food.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 390/-

Verdict: 7/10

PS: My friend also ordered for a takeaway of the Biryani. This cost 160 bucks (AI), and quantity seemed much more than what was served in the restaurant.

Transformers: Age of Extinction | Movie Review

transformers_age_of_extinction

Sometimes you’d never want a movie to end for it’s so good. And then there are times you’d pray for it to get over just to escape from the madness. The latest Transformers film happens to fall in the latter category!

Directed by Michael Bay, this is a complicated as hell storyline. Writer Ehren Kruger should really be commended for writing such an intricate script; boy does he have some imagination. Our beloved Autobots are now being hunted by CIA agents for reasons unknown even by the President of United States. When Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), a wannabe inventor discovers the leader of clan, Optimus Prime, the hunt is on not just for the Autobots, but also Yeager’s family. So what’s the reason you ask? Because one CIA agent is paranoid about the Transformers, and would go to any extent to get rid of them. To what extent? Help build his own Transformers using Megatron’s mind (Decepticon) to get rid of the originals (Autobots), with the help of a new set of alien Transformers (intergalactic mercenaries). Uff! If the story isn’t bad enough, add an overdose of fights/visual effects/sound effects that you, nevermind. The screenplay is a mess, and so is the direction. I wonder what Bay was thinking!

Thankfully, the humans don’t disappoint much (comparatively). Mark Wahlberg comes up with a decent performance, and so does Stanley Tucci. That’s it. The rest of the cast is absolutely mediocre. Nicola Peltz is as good as a sexy plastic doll and Jack Reynor is a stone with barely any facial expressions. Kelsey Grammer is terrible as the paranoid CIA agent. In a scene, he reasons his doings for the safety of United States (aka the money) without a single emotion; I just wonder how someone can act so good :O .

Music by might have been decent; I’m sorry, I was so lost because of the madness on-screen that I barely paid any attention to the background score. Cinematography by Amir Mokri is nothing special either, and neither are the 3D effects. I wish Paul Rubell, Roger Barton and William Goldenberg (editing) could have done wonders by cutting everything out. More than 150 minutes long, the movie actually gave me a headache.

Is it worth your time and money??: I’d say no. But if you’re a die-hard Transformers fan, and/or can sit through hours watching them battle it out while destroying human life and cities like nobody’s business, then good luck!

Worth mention: As much as I’d like to say end title credits, there were a couple of episodes involving Tucci which were actually hilarious.

Acting: 5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 5/10
Technical Aspects: 7.5/10

Verdict: 5.5/10

Chef | Movie Review

Chef

A movie based on food; I couldn’t miss it, could I??

Written and directed by Jon Favreau, Chef is a simple film based on a persons love for food. Carl Casper, the chef of a high-end fine dine in Vegas gets into a brawl with a food critic, and the rest of the story is all about how his love for food and cooking takes him places. Jon was able to showcase Carl’s longing to cook delicious food is a very effective manner. He uses the phrase “the way to anyone’s heart is through his stomach” to maximum, actually resulting in the viewers craving for yummy food all through the movie. Though the direction is good, I thought the screenplay could have been a little better.

Jon as an actor is perfect and does a commendable job. His body language is just perfect. Emjay Anthony is brilliant as Casper’s son, and John Leguizamo also comes up with an exceptional performance. The rest of the cast is alright. But the real star of the movie is its food. Be it the yummy Aglio Olio, the Cheese Sandwich oozing with butter, or even the Cuban Sandwich and the red meats (imagine me saying this being a vegetarian), every dish left me craving.

On technical front, music and background score (various artists) is perfect, and the cinematography by Kramer Morgenthau is excellent. The food looks so yummy all thanks to the way he captures it. Editing by Robert Leighton was decent, but felt a little too pacy towards the climax.

Is it worth your time and money??: If you are a foodie, then this is a must watch. It’s also a must watch if you are a food critic like me. Even otherwise, go watch it for a brilliant performance by Jon Favreau, and the food. It’s food porn! 😀

Worth mention: All the cooking episodes, and the beer episode with Percy.

Acting: 9/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 9/10
Technical Aspects: 8.5/10

Verdict: 9/10