Hyderabad | - Page 9

Ohri’s Banjara | Restaurant Review

Place: Ohri’s Banjara
Location: Road No. 12, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Indian/Continental
Meal: Dinner (with a friend)

Dropped in at Ohri’s Banjara for dinner the other day with a friend, and it turned out to be a dinner full of surprises. We first walked into Serengeti, but since both of us didn’t have a heavy appetite that evening, decided to munch on something at Eatmor on the ground floor. The place was pretty empty when we walked in around 8:00 PM, but got full as the night progressed.

We wanted to try their Andhra Firecrackers (veg). That apart, I wanted to have something new, so decided to order a portion of Veg. Dumplings. I’ve been craving for good dumplings in the recent past and was looking forward to them. I also ordered for my regular at Ohri’s, the Big Chill.

The Big Chill was served first, in about 10 minutes. As expected, the drink was very good – chocolaty, with a hint of coffee flavor, and loads of cookies and cream.

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The Andhra Firecrackers were served next. I usually love this dish of theirs, but on this day, the paneer was stale, and therefore, they didn’t taste good. They infact were soggy and uneatable after a point.

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The big surprise though was when the Veg. Dumplings arrived. Traditionally, dumplings are cooked balls of dough, either based out of flour, potatoes or bread (more on dumplings can be found here). But the ones they served looked very different, so I called the waiter and made sure that he got the right order. Though he concurred, the things they served us are usually called Cutlets, which by the way, used to be very good at the erstwhile Havmor (Ohri’s Basheerbagh). I was in no mood to argue with him and decided to dig in. They tasted alright, but were a little spicy, and a couple of them were a little undercooked. My want of having dumplings down the drain!

For the main course, my friend ordered Chole Batura, while I ordered for something called Mushroom and Herbs. It took time for the order to be served, but since we were in no hurry, didn’t bother much about it. The Chole Batura was served first, and it tasted pretty good. My friend was happy with it.

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The second surprise was when the Mushroom and Herbs was served. What I thought would be a main course in fact turned out to be a thick soup. It was creamy, with loads of mushrooms, but had loads of Dill which wasn’t very fresh. This made it inedible in a way (or atleast, I found it inedible). The garlic bread served along also turned out to be very soggy. It was a big disappointment, and I actually stopped eating mid way through.

To finish things off, my friend wanted to order a Bull’s Eye, and so we did.

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It took forever for the dessert to be served. When we dug in, we realized that the brownie was not fresh and it was really difficult to cut through it. We informed this to the waiter, and he replaced the dessert for us. But again, it was no better, and so we decided to gulp it the way it was. Other than the ice-cream with chocolate sauce, there was nothing good about it.

Overall, a mediocre meal. Except for the Chole Batura, and may be the so-called dumplings/cutlets, everything else tasted poor. To add to this, the bill came to a whopping 1300, thanks to 300 bucks of taxes and service charges. Other than the ambiance and maybe the service, there was nothing worthwhile about our visit, barring the couple of surprises. I don’t think I’ll be going back to this place for a long time, not even for my beloved Big Chill.

Food: 5/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 1300/-

Verdict: 6/10

Peperoncino | Restaurant Review

Place: Pepperoncini
Location: Fourth Floor, Building Opp. Ratnadeep, Road No. 12, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Italian
Meal: Lunch

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I decided to go hog at Viva Italia. But the scorching sun made me think over it for I wanted to go sit at an air-conditioned place. Read about this new place called Peperoncino on Zomato, and decided to give it a try. I dropped in a little after 2:00 PM, and the restaurant was empty (literally). The place looked decent, with well done interiors, a glass kitchen on one side, and a nice aerial view on the other (unfortunately of the slums).

Their menu looked pretty decent, and everything was priced more or less reasonably (for a restaurant of this size in this location). I ordered for ‘Funghi Ripieni’ (fried mushrooms stuffed with cheese and herbs) followed by a ‘Calabrese’ pizza (pepper sauce, mozzarella, onions, mushrooms, garlic and olives).

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Thanks to the glass kitchen, I could see the chefs make everything from scratch. In about 10 minutes, the starters were ready and served. First off, I was a little disappointed with the quantity (It’s maybe because I’ve got used to huge portions of everything in the recent past). Anyways, the stuffed mushrooms tasted pretty alright, but were very oily. The Tomato chutney served along tasted pretty good. On the whole, a decent start, but I honestly was expecting something better.

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The pizza was served right after I was done with the starters. It looked good, with loads of veggies on it but tasted average. Though the crust was crunchy and well-baked, the pizza was too dry and lacked flavor. Tons of oregano made it taste better. It was supposed to be a little spicy because of the pepper sauce, but I didn’t find it spicy, for probably it was unevenly smeared across the base. I asked for extra cheese, but the pizza barely had any cheese on it as well. It was a decent pizza, but not on my list of favorites.

I had read that their desserts are pretty good, so decided to give them a try. I asked the waiter to help me pick the best, and he suggested Tiramisu, followed by Cioccolato Fondente (chocolate cake with molten chocolate in the center). I opted for the latter, and I was told that it would take a while for the cake to be baked.

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After about 15 minutes, the molten chocolate cake was served. For some reason, though it wasn’t mentioned, I expected it to be served with vanilla ice cream. It was good, but again, not satisfying. There was nothing special or ‘wow’ about it; it was just decent, and that’s what disappointed me.

Overall, an average meal. Food, ambiance and service were all decent. However, my want of going and enjoying a meal at a cool place was foiled for the place was burning hot, and I was sweating all through out. Since the place was empty, one air-conditioner was turned on only when I walked in. Midway through, when I complained that it was too hot, they turned another one on. The place was huge, and I was their only customer, but you don’t try to save on your electricity while the customer is sweating do you? The place has the potential to be huge, but it needs to work for it. And being empty on a Sunday afternoon doesn’t speak much either.

Give it a shot, but don’t expect too much. Probably my high expectations thwarted my experience. I’d suggest dinner, cos then you might enjoy the view.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 7/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 650/-

Verdict: 7/10

Holy Basil | Restaurant Review

Place: Holy Basil, Radisson Blu Plaza
Location: Road No. 6, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Chinese, Thai, Japanese
Meal: Lunch

Walked into Radisson Blu Plaza for lunch last weekend. Holy Basil, one of their main restaurants across the lobby serves authentic Chinese, Thai and Japanese dishes. The place is brightly lit, and I made myself comfortable in the center of the restaurant.

Most of the food on their menu looked pretty tempting. Wanting to try a bit of everything, I ordered Veg Sushi and Kung Pao Mushroom for starters.

The Sushi was served in about 10 minutes, and looked very good. I’ve had Sushi only at Urban Asian before and was expecting similar kinda taste but these turned out to be different. These were kinda sticky, and pretty much bland. I spoke to the chef about the taste, and he told me they were supposed to taste like that. However, I liked the Urban Asia ones better.

I’ve heard people talking about Kung Pao Chicken, so was really looking forward to tasting the mushrooms. And they turned out to be awesome. A mix of button and shiitake mushrooms in spicy kung pao sauce, they were absolutely yummy. No wonder people go gaga over the chicken dish.

I also tasted a portion of Veg Tempura, which was very crunchy and had a very nice flavor to it.

For the main course, I asked the Japanese chef to recommend something special, and he suggested I try some Noodles, with Sauteed Tofu and Mushrooms. The food was cooked at the open kitchen near the table and served in a matter of minutes. The Noodles came with lots of crunchy vegetables, and was spicy and tangy, different from the regular Chinese noodles. The Tofu and Mushrooms had a nice flavor to them and tasted pretty decent.

While I lived in the US, I used to hog on Basil Fried rice at a small Thai restaurant at Plattsburgh, NY, which tasted amazingly delicious. Ever since I came back to India, I’ve been trying to find something similar. I asked the Thai chef if she could make any thing similar, and she kindly obliged. The outcome was better than the one I remember having in the US. Spicy, with nice basil flavor, it was simply delicious.

For dessert, I was tempted to try their Chilled Mango Pudding with Fresh Cream and Ice-cream., but zeroed on Chocolate Spring Roll. Two tiny spring rolls stuffed with chocolate were served with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice-cream. The combination was absolutely toothsome.

Overall, it was a delicious meal. I loved their Kung Pao Mushroom and the Basil Fried Rice. The service was pretty good as well. All the dishes are priced on the higher side, so if you can afford, go give this place a try. I’m guessing you wont be disappointed!!

Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Meal for 1: NA

Verdict: 9/10

Hard Rock Cafe | Restaurant Review

Place: Hard Rock Cafe
Location: GVK One, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: American
Meal: Dinner (with friends)

I’ve been wanting to visit this place for a long time, but the lack of company and/or an occasion kept me from it. It was one of my friend’s birthday last weekend, and I dragged everyone to Hard Rock Cafe. I was kinda skeptical if whether these guys would like the place, but thankfully, they did. The place was partly full when we dropped in around 8:30, but got packed as time passed by. We found a booth in the restaurant part of the cafe (the other being the bar section). The ambience and décor were very good, and it felt like I was in a real American cafe. The loud blaring music made sure no one was dozing. 😛

We took our time with the menu, and decided to start with a Veg Jumbo Combo, which included Santa Fe Spring Rolls, Onion Rings, Potato Skins and Tomato Bruschetta with four different sauces. The meat-eating friends ordered for Tupelo Chicken Tenders. We also ordered a drink each, and I asked for a Mango Cooler.

The drinks were served first, and I liked mine. It was a mix of Mango and Orange juices. Soon, the Jumbo Combo was served, and it was huge and every well presented. The Santa Fe Spring Rolls were heavenly and one of the best rolls I’ve had in recent times. Cheesy and crispy, they were yum. The Onions rings were alright, a little too oily, and the Bruschetta was pretty decent. The Potato Skins again were excellent. They were cheesy and perfectly baked. I’m not a big fan of salads, but the accompanying one tasted delicious.

For the main course, I ordered a HRC Veggie Burger with caramelized onions and mushrooms. Other guys ordered for Caribbean Black Bean Burger, Grilled Fillet Steak and Grilled Chicken With Lemon Caper Sauce.

It took a while for the main course to be served, probably because of the steak. When the food finally arrived, it was quite a sight. My burger looked super huge, and I was in for an absolute treat. It turned out to be scrumptious. I struggled to take it all in into my mouth and kinda made a mess of it before I finished, but it was worth all the mess. I only wish they went light on the caramelized onions, for it made it a little too sweet.

I had a taste of the Black Bean Burger, and it tasted pretty good as well. Unlike mine, which was served with a salad, this one came with crunchy Fries. The other guys were happy with their Chicken and Steak as well. I happened to taste the Mashed Potato which came with the steak, and it was again, heavenly. It was definitely the best Mashed Potato I’ve had in my life. Wow!!

We were pretty much stuffed, but I wanted to try their Chocolate Mousse. But the guy suggested we go for Chocolate Cake instead, which could be shared.

And the cake turned out to be luscious, moist and fudgy. It tasted even better with the Vanilla ice-cream. Yummy!!

Overall, an excellent meal. The food was finger licking good, and so was the atmosphere. I loved the music they played, the ambience, and their service. The only thing I didn’t like was the amount on the bill :P. It was expected to be an expensive affair, but to be honest, it was worth it. It was a perfect way to celebrate my friend’s birthday. I’m definitely going back soon to get another taste of their Spring Rolls and Burger!!

Food: 9.5/10
Drinks: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 9.5/10
Meal for 4: Rs. 5059/- (Taxes: Rs. 1164/-)

Verdict: 9/10

Viva Italia | Restaurant Review

Place: Viva Italia
Location: Ground floor, White House, Next to Lifestyle Building, Begumpet
Cuisine: Italian & Desserts
Meal: Dinner (with amma)

Went to Viva Italia after a long time with amma on a Saturday night to have some yummy food. I decided to have a pizza and amma opted for a sandwich. It was nice to see that these guys have worked on their menu and expanded it quite a bit.

They had a new Pasta on Pizza, and from the description, seemed like it was just made for me. Penne, mushrooms, onions and cheese with white sauce on a crunchy pizza base, awesome. I thought it was a little bland initially, but with some oregano, it tasted better. Amma had the Tomato Cheese Chilli toast, and it was delicious. She loved it.

I decided to hog a little more and ordered for a Veggie Hot-dog. I was told that the vegetarian options are gonna be a little different from the regular hot-dogs, yet I decided to give it a try anyways. The bread was really crunchy, but I thought the stuffing inside lacked a little flavor. I would have preferred more stuffing in there. It was good nevertheless.

These guys also started on desserts, serving cupcakes and brownies.

I’m not a big fan of cupcakes in general, but the Raspberry cupcake was very good. Cupcakes in India are generally very sweet, but this one was just perfect. The brownie turned out to be even better. It was Chocolicious!! I so loved it that I gulped down one more. Reasonably priced at 50 and 35 bucks a piece, these are a must try.

Food: 9/10
Desserts: 9.5/10
Service: 9.5/10
Ambience: 9/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 350/-

Verdict: 9.5/10

Cinnamon Fusion | Restaurant Review

Place: Cinnamon Fusion
Location: 3rd Floor, SBR Gateway, Opposite Motorola, Hitech City
Cuisine: Continental
Meal: Dinner (with couple of friends)

After hearing and reading raving reviews about this place, I was here finally on a weekday with a couple of friends for dinner. We were guessing the place to be packed, but to our surprise, it was empty, and we were the only guests when we entered. The interiors of the place were very well done, and the ambience was good. There was a band playing in one corner to an empty restaurant. They were good, but very loud, which started to get annoying after a while.

The place boasts of a lavish buffet on the table – they have a fixed menu from which you get a choice of soup, salad, entrée, pizza, main course and a desert for 579 bucks (same for veg and non-veg). Though the amount of food was tempting, the fixed menu was pretty sad, so we instead opted to order from the menu. The menu looked huge, but the choice was very limited. Surprisingly, without any Indian curries on the menu, they had a page full of breads. When enquired, we were told that they a specialty European restaurant. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Anyways, we ordered a Creme of Mushroom soup, Chilli Paneer Tikka, Stuffed Mushroom Tikka and Till Tilla Zinga (Prawns) for my friend. Instead of the Chilli Paneer Tikka, we actually wanted to order their specialty Paneer Tiranga, but it wasn’t available.

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I was kinda excited about the soup, for it said it would be cream of three kinds of mushroom garnished with smoked milk froth, but it turned out to be very different from my expectations; it was too thin and there were not many mushrooms in it. The quantity served was pretty good, but I would have preferred thicker soup in less quantity than what was served.

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The starters were served pretty soon, and both the vegetarian starters turned out to be good. The paneer was soft, well marinated and grilled. It was a little too spicy, but no complaints for it was supposed to be. The Mushroom Tikka had stuffed mushroom roasted and cooked, and it was yum. My friends Tiger Prawns were a big disappointment thought, for he found them very hard and under-cooked.

It was really tough to order the main course, for there was not much choice. It was either European or Continental, and both had very few vegetarian options. I finally decided to order a pizza and my friend asked for Pan Fried Noodles. My other friend had Grilled Chicken with Pepper sauce.

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The thin crust pizza was served first. I had asked for Mushrooms, Broccoli, Olives and Jalapeno, but they missed the Jalapeno. The pizza was cheesy (just the way I like it), and the base was crispy. There was no tomato base, but I really didn’t care, for it was very good. On the downside, I thought it was too small for 325 bucks.

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The Pan Fried noodles were served with Vegetable broth which tasted delicious. The vegetables were crunchy, and the sauce was yummy, so altogether, it tasted great with the noodles.

My friend was happy with his Grilled Chicken.

Overall, a decent meal. The fact that there was not much on the menu was a disappointment, but otherwise the food was tasty. The service was decent as well. Though the amount of food we ordered was quite minimal, the bill turned out to be the same as what it would have for the fixed menu. Improving their menu and adding more options to their fixed menu would definitely help them. Give it a shot at your leisure, but don’t expect much.

Food: 8/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambience: 9/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 1722/-

Verdict: 7.5/10

Via Milano | Restaurant Review

Place: Via Milano
Location: Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills
Cuisine: Italian
Meal: Lunch (with family)

I last visited this place on my birthday, and loved their food (review). The ambience was perfect, and I thought their concept of Executive Lunch was very thoughtful. So when I saw a Snapdeal offering their buffet at half the price, I took the deal right away and dropped in at the restaurant for lunch with my family. The place was crowded, maybe because of the snapdeal, but we were lucky enough to find a table for four in a corner. The general atmosphere in the restaurant this time around was messy, and everything seemed out of sorts.

Their Executive Lunch concept is now replaced with a Buffet with a fixed main course menu. The salads and starters are part of the buffet spread, while the drinks and the main course are served from the kitchen. They also have a live pasta counter. The buffet menu is fixed, and the same everyday.

Hyde_ViaMilano — Courtesy: Via Milano and Snapdeal

For drinks, I asked for a Virgin Mojito while the rest of my family ordered cocktails. We asked for some bread and headed off to get some starters from the spread. To our surprise, the entire spread, except for the desserts, was exhausted. We stood there for the food to arrive, and a couple of Veg. Starters were refilled. We filled our plated with the Potato Croquettes and Panzirottis and returned to our table. The Croquettes were a little too oily for my taste, but the Panzirottis were awesome. They melt in my mouth, and thanks to lack of other food, I must have had atleast a dozen of them. Yum!!

We waited and waited for food to arrive at the spread. A couple of Non Veg Starters were added, but everything else was still empty. Finally, we got a taste of the Brochette. They tasted alright. Twenty minutes down the lane, the bread was served on the table after constant reminders, followed by our drinks. The bread was very good, and the dips were equally good. My Virgin Mojito was perfect.

We ordered for a portion each of the three Veg main course items they served: Lasagna, Potato Cake and Eggplant Roll. I then headed off to the Live Pasta counter. Since the place was packed, and also since most of the food on the spread was exhausted, almost everyone thronged to this counter, where a couple of Chefs were struggling to keep up with the crowd. After waiting for almost 20 minutes, I got a chance to get my pasta made. I had creamy Farfalle pasta with loads of cheese and vegetables.

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Though made in a hurry, the pasta was very good. It was creamy and cheesy, just the way I wanted it to be.

It had been more than an hour since we walked into the place, and about 40 minutes since we asked for the main course, and that’s when the food was finally served. It was probably because of me getting worked up that I realized that the place was really hot. When I pointed this out, the air-conditioning in the part of the restaurant we were sitting in was turned on. It was a packed house, and they were trying to save on their power bill!! 😀

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The Potato Cake looked very colorful, but he smashed potato underneath the vegetables was bland, and too much carrot gave it a sweet taste. It was alright.

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The Lasagna was cheesy and decent. My family liked it, but I’ve had better lasagna.

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The Eggplant Rolls were the best of the lot. They were very well cooked and stuffed with broccoli. Delicious!

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Now that I’d got the Managers attention, desserts were served at the table. They had Chocolate Mousse Cake, Lemon Cake and Strawberry Cheese Cake. All of them were excellent and I loved the Mousse cake the most. We also had Cashew and Raisin, and Chocolate Gelato, both of which were equally good.

Overall, a so so experience. The food was great, but the service and the general ambience were a total letdown. This place felt exquisite the last time I was here, but this time was like a fish market. The change from the Executive Lunch to the Buffet was a welcome, for it added more value to money, but I believe doing it without having proper resources caused them a letdown. With the Snapdeal, they just asked for more trouble. The exclusivity of the restaurant was lost, and it turned out to be like any other buffet place in town. Thankfully, the on-floor Manager took a note of our grievances, and promised to work on them.

If you haven’t yet, visit this place for their awesome Italian fare, but don’t hope for the best of service or ambience (for the moment atleast!!).

Food: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 6/10
Buffet for 1: Rs. 578/- (Rs. 299 via Snapdeal)

Verdict: 7.5/10

Republic of Noodles | Restaurant Review

Place: Republic of Noodles, Lemon Tree
Location: Opp. TCS, Hitech City
Cuisine: Thai
Meal: Dinner (with amma and bro)

My brother had dined at Republic of Noodles a while ago and loved their food. So when he saw a Snapdeal, we were all for it, and were here on a Saturday night for dinner. The place was empty and we were the only guests for a while. The ambience was pretty decent, and the decor was alright. We made ourselves comfy at a corner table.

We were a little hesitant to order appetizers, but ended up ordering Grilled Mushroom with Burnt Chilly and Tamarind Marinade. We were told it would be very spicy, but decided to try it. For the main course, we had Bangkok Style Pad Thai Noodles and Thai Chilly Basil Fried Rice.

Though the restaurant was empty, it took quite a while (about 30 minutes) for the food to be served. The starters and the main course were served together. The quantity of Mushrooms was very less. They were cold, and not even close to spicy, and all we could taste was the tamarind. Disappointment!

The Thai Chilly Basil Fried Rice was yummy. It had lots of vegetables and the rice was perfect. I’ve been craving for some good Basil Fried rice for a while now, and this was what I needed.

The Pad Thai Noodles were very well presented. The noodles tasted good, but I thought they were a little too sweet than sour. While eating, my brother found a huge chunk of something on his plate. We initially thought it was a piece of chicken or some kind of meat, but to our horror, it turned out to be a paper napkin. We immediately called for the waiter, and he confirmed the same. The whole staff came down to our table and started apologizing for the fiasco. It was apparently a paper napkin they used to clean their vessels before cooking. Whatever the case, that was something unacceptable.

The ambience was decent, and the food was alright. The prices are much higher than any other Thai or Chinese restaurants in town, but not many complaints for that. It was the paper napkin incident that spoiled the meal for us. Thankfully, the staff was courteous enough to accept their mistake. Even after our insistence for the bill, they waved it off for us. I just hope such incidents don’t repeat again.

To be fair, give it a shot at your discretion!!

Food: NA
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
Meal for 3: NA

Verdict: NA

Ruci and Idoni | Restaurant Review

Place: Ruci and Idoni
Location: Above Godrej Nature Basket, Road No. 10, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: European
Meal: Dinner (with couple of friends)

After wanting to visit this place for a long time, here I was finally on a weekday for dinner with couple of friends. The entrance is either through Nature Basket, or from the side of the building. Walking in, the place was brightly lit (a little too bright I suppose), and was partly full. They had a pastry counter at one corner and a glass kitchen on the other side. The ambience was just like any other Ohri’s restaurant in town, pretty good.

Once seated, we were handed over a couple of regular huge menus, and a tablet. The tablet was clunky and pathetic, and its response time was horrendous. Unable to suffer misery with it, I asked it to be replaced with a regular menu. For the European experience they’ve been advertising about, I didn’t find anything special on their menu. Probably except for the Chicken Piri Piri, the rest were the usual Pizzas, Burgers and Pastas. I wanted to try their Pizza, so ordered Cayenne Mushroom Pizza. My friend ordered a Harvest Vegetable Multi Grain Pizza, and the other asked for a Mushroom and Chicken Cannelloni. We also ordered a side of Potato Wedges, Coffee on the Rocks and Confuso Blast.

The drinks were served first in about 10 minutes. The Coffee on the Rocks was very good. It had a strong Mocha flavor. The Confuso Blast was supposed to be Frappe blended with honey and topped with nuts, but it was first served without any nuts. When I informed the same, it was taken back in and a couple of Pistachios were added on the top. It was a bad choice on my part, for it was just plain cold coffee, nothing impressive.

The Wedges were served soon with some mayonnaise. They were crisp, but too oily for my taste.

My friend had asked his Harvest Vegetable Pizza with as minimal cheese as possible, but the Chef seemed to have misunderstood it for extra cheese, for it was full of it. We were really unhappy with it and asked for a replacement, and it was replaced without any fuss.

The replacement pizza looked much better, and there was a harvest of vegetables on it indeed – cherry tomatoes roasted with garlic, basil, peppers, spinach, broccoli and caramelized onions. The base was crisp, and nice. Nothing exotic, but a decent pizza nevertheless.

My Cayanne Mushroom Pizza was cheesy, just the way I wanted it to be. It had button mushrooms, morels, broccoli, roasted garlic, cilantro, onions, olives and mozzarella on a piri piri sauce base. There was not much piri piri, and therefore the pizza wasn’t as spicy as I expected it to be. The base too wasn’t as crisp as the Harvest Vegetable pizza. However, the cheese tasted yum, and overall, a good pizza.

My other friends Mushroom and Chicken Cannelloni was served along with buttered Garlic bread. The sauce was too thin, but the Cannelloni, apparently, was very good. The quantity served was very less though.

To finish off the meal, we ordered an Ebony Ivory Mousse and Awful Brownie sundae. The Awful Brownie had chunks of yummy brownie with vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce. It tasted great. Warm brownie would have tasted even better.

The mousse was a dish suggested by the waiter. It was supposed to be White and Dark Chocolate Mousse with Caramel sauce. I specifically asked him if it was going to be fresh mousse and he said yes. Instead, what they served was something which tasted more like gelato than mousse. It was very sweet and a total disappointment.

Overall, an average meal. The pizzas were good and the rest was decent. The service was pretty neat. We sat for a long time, and were never really bothered. The food is expensive, but that’s a given when you visit an Ohri’s restaurant. Ruci and Idoni is not a fancy restaurant like they make it sound, but a decent one nevertheless. Give it a shot at leisure.

Food: 8/10
Service: 8.5/10
Ambience: 8/10
Meal for 3: Rs 1795/-

Verdict: 8/10

Ming’s Court | Restaurant Review

Place: Ming’s Court
Location: Ohri’s Basheerbhag
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner (with couple of friends)

Immediately after my meal at Shanbhag, my friends forced me to join them for dinner at Ming’s court on the opposite side of the road. Though I was pretty stuffed, decided to give them company. I used to like the food at this place years ago. The ambiance is pretty neat, and the interiors are very well done. We sat at a table in the center of the restaurant.

One of my friend ordered some kind of Fish and Taipei Chicken, and Sizzling Prawn Fried Rice, while the other ordered for Tomato Ginger Fried Rice. I wanted to have Fried Ice-cream, but they were out of it, so opted for a mocktail instead.

The food was pretty good. I tasted a little of the Fried Rice and it was perfect, with a nice authentic flavor. It was served in a Bamboo Shoot kinda dish. The mocktail was alright, but a little too sweet. Actually, everything, including the Kimchi Salad, Cucumber pieces and the Chilli sauce served on the table were sweet. Kimchi was the worst.

The service though was horrendous. It took a long time for the guy to take our order, and then again forever for the food to be served. The guy serving had no clue on what he was serving, and another guy dropped most of the food on the table while serving. To add to the bad service, a guy with a Mandolin walked into the restaurant midway through and started singing old Hindi songs to make money. This might have been alright at an Indian restaurant, but at a fine-dine Chinese restaurant?? Seriously?? And he couldn’t even sing properly!!

Overall, a disappointing experience. The food was pretty good, but the service and the ruined ambiance made us regret our decision of dropping in. To add to this, the bill turned out to be a whopping 1300 bucks for the minimal food we ordered. Thankfully, the quantity of food served was decent. Give it a shot only if absolutely necessary for there are many other Chinese restaurants with similar ambiance serving better food at a better price.

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 1288/-

Verdict: 6.5/10