Category: Indian Food

Place: Reshmi’s Classic Restaurant
Location: Opp. Nanking, Parklane, Secunderabad
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with amma and dad)

I’ve been to Reshmi’s a couple of times in the past, and thought it was alright. But recently, I’ve been hearing a lot about this place, stating them to be the best North Indian food serving restaurant in town. A little curious as to what I missed, I visited the restaurant few days go with amma and dad. Ambiance of the place remained the same as I remember, decent. We sat at a table on the far end, facing the road.

I had already gone through their menu and decided on what to order – Smoked Paneer, Lasooni Tadka Palak and their Kofta Biryani. Dad wanted to have starters, so we asked for Shanghai Rolls, which were unavailable. So we asked for Veg. Bullets (I know that their Stuffed Mushrooms are pretty good, but since dad doesn’t eat mushrooms, had to order an alternative). For roti, we ordered a Butter Naan, Pudina Paratha and Tandoori Roti.

We were told that the starters would take around ten minutes. In the mean time, the accompaniments were served.

Ten became twenty and finally the Veg. Bullets were served, and they didn’t look appetizing (because of their shape). On taste front, they were a little undercooked (I could taste the dough) and weren’t great. Not a good start to the meal.

Even before we finished the bullets, the main course was served. The Smoked Paneer, served in a kadai, tasted yum. The gravy was creamy and the paneer pieces were amazingly soft. The Lasooni Tadka Palak was also delicious, but on the downside, it was oozing oil which was quite a turn off.

The Butter Naan had layers and was very good. The Pudina Paratha was soft and equally good. The Roti on the other hand could have been better.

I was pretty excited to taste the Kofta Biryani which was served next. While the rice was good and flavourful, to my surprise (and disappointment), there were no koftas in the biryani. Instead, they had a few hard Manchurian balls. While I do like Manchuria along with biryani, these didn’t taste great for they were pretty hard (and didn’t seem fresh). And moreover, they weren’t koftas!

Overall, a decent meal, but nothing extraordinary. Yes, the place did serve some authentic North Indian food, most of which was yum, but I wouldn’t call it the best in town. The service was pretty good, and everything was priced reasonably. However, I thought the quantity of the curries could have been better. And the Manchuria instead of Kofta was a huge disappointment (did they think no one would notice??)

Bottom line, give it a shot if you haven’t yet for it’s a decent place, but don’t expect anything extraordinary.

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 760/-

Verdict: 8/10

Place: Delhi-39
Location: Near Gachibowli Flyover
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Lunch (with friends)

A couple of weeks ago, we headed out for lunch towards Gachibowli and decided to stop at 13 Dhaba. At around 12:30, the dhaba wasn’t open yet, so instead dropped into Delhi-39 across the road. Walking in, the place looked pretty shabby, but a friend who had tried this place in the past spoke well about their food, so decided to stay. The A/C was turned on, and we settled.

After extensive thought, we ended up ordering Delhi-39 special subji, Malai Kofta, Dal Tadka along with some Roti, Masala Kulcha, Laccha Parothas and a Delhi-39 Special Naan.

It took a while for the food to be served (around 15 minutes), but it sure did look yum when served. The Delhi-39 special curry turned out to be paneer masala in a rich creamy gravy. The paneer was very  fresh, and the gravy was finger licking good. It was one of the best panner subji I’ve had in recent times. The Malai Kofta too was excellent, with rich gravy and soft kofta balls. The Dal was decent.

The Masala Kulcha was perfect. I expected the maida Parothas, but they were instead made with wheat flour and tasted great. But for the tandoori roti (which was very dry), everything turned out to be soft and yum.

Overall, an excellent meal. The ambiance might paint a bad picture, but the food totally made up for it. The service was decent, and the pricing too was nominal. I’d gladly give this place another try instead of the hyped dhaba across the road. Go hog!

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 5.5/10
Meal for 5: Rs. 550/- (approx)

Verdict: 8.5/10

Place: Dwaraka
Location: Adj. Nims, Panjagutta
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner

After a movie, I walked in to Dwaraka at Panjagutta hoping to hog on Handi Biryani. It was really a courageous decision on my part to try Dwaraka again after my recent experience at Lakdikapul. Anyhow, hoping for the better, here I was. The ambiance is almost exactly the same as their main branch, and I got comfortable at a table near the entrance.

To my disappointment, even these guys didn’t have the original Handi Biryani. What more, they didn’t even have the Paneer Handi Biryani (apparently they have it only at Dwaraka Lakdikapul). So I ended up ordering a Kaju Biryani.

The Biryani was served in about ten minutes. On first look, it didn’t really look that appetizing, but it actually turned out to be pretty tasty. Full of cashew nuts, the rice had nice flavor, and tasted yum along with the gravy served along. Not an excellent biryani, but it wasn’t bad either.

So after my terrible experience at the main branch, this outing turned out to be good. I’d like to try their reasonably priced combos next time around. Overall, a decent experience. Service was pretty good as well. Give it a try.

Food: 8/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 143/-

Verdict: 7.5/10

Place: Moti Mahal Delux Tandoori Trail
Location: Sun Tower, Hitech City
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Lunch (with a friend)

My friend wanted to try Moti Mahal in Hitech City, which boasts to be the inventor of Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken and Dal Makhni. Forget the chicken, didn’t people eat Dal Makhni before 1920? Hmmm. Anyways, we walked in to the restaurant a little after noon to find the place pretty much packed. The ambiance was pretty decent, and we made ourselves comfortable at a table near the entrance.

A couple of heavy menus were handed to us soon, which indicated a wide range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian offerings. We ordered a Makhni Meal which included Paneer Tikka, Seekh Kebab, Paneer Makhni, Dal Makhni, Butter Naan, raita and soft drinks, and served two people.

The starters were served pretty soon, just a couple of kebabs and 4 pieces of tikka. The kebab was very dry and tasted alright, while the paneer turned out to be terrible. They weren’t marinated properly, and there seemed to be something wrong with the paneer .

Of the main course, the Dal Makhni turned out to be really good. It was creamy, full of flavour and delicious. It actually made me ponder if these guys are actually the inventors.

On the other hand, the Paneer Makhni turned out to be bad. Again, the paneer was terrible, and it ruined the taste of the curry. The gravy too was pretty thin.

The Butter Naan was soft and very good.

We had quite a bit of Dal left, so we ended up ordering some Jeera Rice, which was palatable.

We complained to the steward about the paneer, and the kitchen agreed that there was something wrong with it. To make it up, they served us complimentary Phirni, which was decent.

Overall, an average meal. The Dal Makhni, and to an extent the Jeera Rice made up for the mediocrity of rest of the meal. While quantity of starters was minimal, the main course was very sumptuous. Service was alright, and it was good to notice that they actually acted upon our feedback rather than just ignoring it. On price front, the restaurant might seem heavy on your pocket. Nevertheless, I’d give it another visit just for their Dal Makhni.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 800/- (approx)

Verdict: 7/10

Place: Mayura House 
Location: Opp. Film Nagar Club, Film Nagar
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Lunch (with amma and dad)

Dad’s been wanting to go to this place in Film Nagar for a long time now and so one fine day last week, we headed off for lunch to Mayura House. Walking in, the place looked decent and was partly crowded. We made ourselves comfortable at a corner table, away from the crowd. Both amma and dad wanted to have meals, and so I opted for the same as well.

 The meal was served pretty soon and it was quite a sight. It had so many items – four different rice items, dal, three curries, four varieties of rasam/pulusu, vada, poori, a sweet, different kinds of pickles/chutneys and other accompaniments.

The vada was crispy and good. Unlimited number of pooris were served on the meal, and they tasted good along with the aloo korma.

Of the rice varieties, Tomato rice and Sambar rice tasted yum while Pulihora and Biryani were mediocre.

The Dal was decent, and so was the brinjal curry. The korma was pretty good while the raw banana (aratikaya) fry could have been better for it was very dry.

Rasam and Sambar were both alright. Majjiga Pulusu was good, but the best of the lot was the Mukkala Pulusu which tasted yum.

The semiya payasam turned out to be a disappointment for it was very watery, and lacked taste.

Overall a decent meal. Most of the items were tasty, and the quantity served was pretty good. However, the service was absolutely terrible. Forget table service, the servers lacked basic etiquettes of talking to customers. There was a power cut a few minutes after we started our meal and we were told that the generator was being turned on. We started sweating profusely, and when we enquired again after about 15 minutes, we were told that there was no generator in a harsh tone. Their attitude and callousness was bewildering. The place has no fans or windows, and it was suffocating to sit in there. And this apparently is a usual sight during daily power cuts. At this point, we just wanted to finish our meal and get out of the place, not wanting to come back again. When Dad spoke to the manager, they offered us a 10% discount, but still, though they had good food, this was the first and last time I’m visiting Mayura House!

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 5/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 540/-

Verdict: 6/10

Place: Dwaraka
Location: Hotel Rukmini Riviera, Lakdikapul
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner

Wanting to eat some yummy Biryani, I dropped into Dwaraka Lakdikapul a couple of weeks ago. Their Hundi Biryani, which I last had in their Ameerpet branch (now closed) happens to be among the best in the city. It’s been ages since I last came into Lakdikapul Dwaraka. Times have changed and so has the place, and here I was at the newly revamped restaurant inside Hotel Rukmini Riviera. Brightly lit, the restaurant had decent ambiance, and I made myself comfortable at a corner table for four.

For a relatively new place, their menu was in shreds with pages falling apart. To my disappointment, the Hundi Biryani was replaced with Paneer Hundi Biryani. Not wanting to experiment, I enquired about the Dwaraka Special Thali. I was informed it is North Indian Thali with an additional dish, and ice-cream. I went for it thinking what could go wrong with a thali. Alas!

The Tomato Soup was served in about five minutes, and tasted pretty good for it was thick and creamy.

Before I finished the soup came the Thali. It had Paneer Butter Masala, Channa Masala, Mixed Vegetable, Bhendi Fry, Manchuria, Biryani and Gajar Halwa, and came along with a Plain Naan. Of the curries, while the PBM was decent, the other two weren’t great. The Manchuria was dripping in oil, and the Bhendi fry was cold and hard as rock. When I informed the waiter about the oil in Manchuria and showed it to him, he retorted saying Chinese dishes come with oil. Argh! The Naan was decent, but the biryani was terrible. When I asked for more Naan, I was informed that I would have to let go of the white rice in such case. I didn’t want the rice anyways, so asked for it and had to wait for about ten minutes. The Gajar Halwa was decent.

I finished a disappointing meal and was waiting for the ice-cream. But I was instead served the bill. Curiously, I asked if they forgot something, and everyone seemed clueless. I then had to demand for the ice-cream. After forever, Strawberry ice-cream was served.

Overall, close to a disastrous meal. Did I say I didn’t want to experiment? But for a couple of items, the thali was terrible. What was more surprising was the indifferent attitude of the waiters. For a small restaurant, they had a handful of waiter, most of them standing in the corner and chatting away to glory, unbothered about the customers. People at every table had issues with them. And for 165 bucks, the quantity served was minimal. I could have had an unlimited yummy thali for around the same price at Shanbhag. Bottom line, looks like I’m not coming back to this place again, for good!

Food: 6/10
Service: 4/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 165/-

Verdict: 5.5/10