Restaurant Reviews

Urban Asia | Restaurant Review

Place: Urban Asia
Location: Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner (with amma and bro)

Thanks to Zomato’s voucher, we made an impromptu visit to Urban Asia on a Friday night. Walking in, the place looked quite similar to Via Milano located above. The decor had an Asian touch, and the ambiance was pretty neat. We were quite lucky to have found the last table for it got full after we walked in. We were seated at a table for four in the center of the restaurant.

Their menu looked quite huge. After a lot of thought, we decided to try their Vegetable Sushi and Crispy Corn Chilly Pepper for starters, Three Flavored Hakka Noodles, Butter Garlic Fried Rice and Mushroom in Pepper Sauce for the main course. Once the order was placed, Kimchi salad (which was very good, crunchy) and a bowl full of cut carrots and cucumber were served.

The sushi was served in about 15 minutes. It was presented very well and served along with garlic and yummy sushi sauce. I’ve never had sushi before, but absolutely loved the ones served here. Crunchy and fresh, they tasted heavenly along with the sauce. Yum!

The Crispy Corn tasted pretty good. The corn basket was crunchy and was equally good.

After about 15 minutes, the main course was served. The Three Flavored Noodles, the flavors being Chilly, Ginger and Vinegar, was very good.

I’ve been craving to have some good Fried Rice for a while now and the one here was just what I needed. The butter and garlic taste was very prominent, and the rice was very well cooked. Loved it!

The Mushrooms in pepper sauce was tasteful as well. The mushrooms were fresh and the pepper sauce was quite tangy.

Overall, an excellent meal. The portions of food served was very good and we finished everything we ordered (literally cleaned the plates up). The food is nothing extraordinary, but tasty enough to satisfy your palate. The service was pretty good as well. The prices are a little on the higher end, but the ambiance and the yummy food had them justified. If you love Chinese food, this is one place you should definitely dine at.

Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Ambiance:9/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 1277/-

Verdict: 9/10

Mocha | Restaurant Review

Place: Mocha
Location: Road No. 9, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Cafe & Lounge
Meal: Lunch

Though it’s located right next to my office, I’ve never visited Mocha so far, for I had a very bad experience the last time around. Walking in, the sections on the ground floor were all closed and I walked up to the first floor into the separate non-sheesha zone and seated myself in a corner. The seating was quite uncomfortable and the table was too high for the seat. Added to this, the cushions looked very dirty. The place in general looked quite unclean and everything around looked rugged and old.

Once seated, the waiter placed a torn menu on the table. I had already gone through their menu online, so asked for a Dutch Truffle Cake Shake, a Garden Fresh Panini and a Lava Lava desert.

It took exactly 20 minutes for my shake to be served. It looked good and tasted yummy. Apart from the whipped cream not being fresh, it was a perfect drink.

The Panini was served in the next 5 minutes. The bread looked a little dry, but along with the pesto sauce served, it tasted good. The vegetables were crunchy and the cheese gooey.

The desert, the Lava Lava cake turned out to be a disappointment. The brownie was very sweet and there was no hot chocolate sauce in it (no lava in the lava cake). The cappuccino ice cream served along was pretty good though.

Overall, except for the desert, rest of the meal was decent enough. Everything else about the place though was quite a let down. The ambiance was pretty much grimy, and the service was horrendous. Once I placed the order, there was no one around even to serve water. The prices too are on the higher side. With so many new and better cafes in the city, I wouldn’t recommend this place. Good food alone isn’t good enough, right?

Food: 7/10
Drinks: 8/10
Ambiance: 5/10
Service: 5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 479/-

Verdict: 6/10

Rajdhani | Restaurant Review

Place: Rajdhani
Location: First Floor, Uptown Banjara, Opp. TV9, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Rajasthani, Gujarati
Meal: Dinner (with bro)

Rajdhani used to be one of my favourite restaurants while I lived in Mumbai. Their food was finger licking good, and the service impeccable. Though their restaurant in Hyderabad opened a while ago, I was hesitant to go for I was apprehensive on whether the food and service here would live up to the Mumbai standards. My brother visited this place a couple of weeks ago and said quite a few good things about it. So here I was to check it out myself.

Walking in, the place had a traditional touch, and the ambiance was good. Being a weekday, the place was pretty much empty. We sat down at a table for four. Like with De Thali, the thalis was pre-arranged on the table. Once we were seated, the service started.

They had a Mango festival all through the month of May, so most of the food had mango in it. This day, they had Aam ka Panna as the welcome drink, Punneri Misal, Khapoli Wada and Dal Bati Churma for starters, Lilla Kinda Pitlo, Paneer Hariyali, Batata Raswala and Ragada Vatana for Vegetables, Spicy and Sweet Dal, and Kadhi, Pulkas, Poori, Biscuit Bakri, Mithi Paratha, Kichidi, Biryani, Aam Ki Lungi, and for deserts, Aam Ka Ras and Fruit Custurd. Uff!!

The Aam Ka Panna had the perfect sweet and sour taste. The Punneri Missal was more of a mixture, Dal Bati Churma was very good, and the Khapoli Wada was excellent. I ended up having almost 3 or 4 Wadas. Off the subjis, my favorite was the Pitlo. It was besan (gram flour) curry, cooked to perfection. The paneer was so so, aloo curry decent and vatana alright. The Pulka was a little too dry for my taste, but the Pooris were awesome. Both the Dal’s were yummy, while the Kadhi was decent.

The Kichidi was rich and awesome. The Biryani was simple, with not much masala, but was equally yummy.

Both the deserts were just awesome. The Aam Ka Panna was not to sweet, and the custard was thick. Heavenly!!

Overall, an excellent meal. I should say that the thali was much better than what I remember from Mumbai. The service was exceptional, and all the waiters were courteous. Compared to De Thali, the place is expensive by about 70 bucks, but the difference is totally worth it. But just like the former place, it’s not a restaurant you can visit often.

Dig into the Khandani Rajdhani Thali soon!! Do check out their daily menu online before dropping in 🙂

Food: 9/10
Service: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 274/- (all-inclusive)

Verdict: 9/10

Singh’s Restaurant | Restaurant Review

Place: Singh’s Restaurant
Location: Opp. Gandhi Statue, M.G. Road, Secunderabad
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with bro)

While roaming about in Secunderabad, we came across this place right in the center of M.G circle. Wanting to try out something new, me and my brother dropped in, hoping to taste some yummy Punjabi food. The restaurant is on the first floor of an old building located right next to the General Bazaar lane. Being a Saturday night, the place was almost packed. Through the entire restaurant was air-conditioned, we sat in a separate enclosure, which was relatively empty and much more cooler. The place was more or less a dhaba. Ambiance was decent but the seating was a wee bit uncomfortable.

Looking at the menu, all the items seemed expensive than any of the other dhaba’s around. Playing safe, we ordered a Malai Kofta and Kaju Paneer along with Tandoori Roti. We also ordered a Jeera Rice.

The food was served in good time, but the quantity served was disheartening. We were still hoping for them to taste good, but were again disappointed. The Kofta in the Malai Kofta was very hard, and close to burnt, while the gravy was under-cooked. We could taste the raw tomato in the dish. The Kaju Paneer was more or less the bhaji of Pav Bhaji with raw kaju and paneer added. For 14 bucks a piece, the Roti was unbelievably small, and was done in about four bites.

The Jeera Rice was little better. Though the rice was broken, it at least had some flavor and tasted like it should have.

Overall, for a place which calls itself Singh’s, there is nothing Punjabi about it. As if the bad food wasn’t enough, even the service was horrendous. After a totally unpleasant meal, the bill turned out to be a whopping 420 bucks. Atrocious!! This was the most expensive yet sad dhaba experience ever. Stay away from this place!!

Food: 4/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 5/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 420/-

Verdict: 3/10

All Seasons | Restaurant Review

Place: All Seasons
Location: 2nd Floor, SBR Gateway, Opposite Motorola, Hitech City
Cuisine: Buffet
Meal: Lunch (with couple of friends)

Wanting to try out the new place next to her office, my friend invited me for lunch at All Seasons. She called and reserved a table for 3, so though it was packed when we walked in, we didn’t have to wait. The restaurant was brightly lit and had the buffet spread on one side. We were given a table in one corner of the place, which looked cozy and comfy, but was very uncomfortable once we sat down. There were fluffy cushions placed against a wall, which felt awkward. Also, the table was too small, so when I pulled it closer, it was inconvenient for my friend on the other side.

The soup and starters were not served on the table, so we helped ourselves. There was one veg and one non-veg soup, a couple of veg and non-veg starters.

The Veg Manchow soup was alright. It was thick and had a decent flavor. Of the starters, the Crispy Vegetables were good, but the Corn Tikkis were horrible. They were dripping oil and were very hard. My friend neither liked the non-veg soup nor the starters. The Chicken was apparently very hard. So more or less, the soup and starters were a disappointment. But the best part of the meal was yet to come.

For the main course, they had Gobi Masala and Mixed Vegetable and two non-veg curries, Veg Noodles with Vegetables in Hot Garlic sauce, Veg Biryani and Mutton Biryani. They also had Dal and White Rice.

It was a real surprise that there was no Paneer curry on the spread. In fact, there was no Paneer dish on the entire buffet. Wonder what the chef was thinking. When it came to the veg curries, both were horrendous. The Mixed Vegetable was at least edible, but the Gobi was horrible. It had huge chunks of raw Gobi, and the masala had a strong cinnamon flavor. I was told that the non-veg curries weren’t anything better. The Naan and the bread were served on the buffet as well, in a casserole which was empty on most occasions. I luckily got the last piece of Butter Naan, which was alright.

Thankfully, the Noodles and the Hot Garlic sauce were decent. Nothing great, but much better compared to the other food around. The Biryani again was pathetic. It was dried up rice with a few vegetables seasoned with tons of oil. Inedible!!

After a disastrous meal, we were hoping the deserts to fill our tummies. Luckily, except for the Gulab Jamoon which was very hard, the rest were good. The Kurbani Ka Meetha was fresh, Gajar Ka Halwa decent, and the fourth desert, which I believe was some kind of souffle, was the best of the lot. There were fresh-cut Watermelon pieces as well.

The best part of the entire buffet was the regular Strawberry Ice-cream (which I normally don’t like). After surviving their buffet, this seemed like heaven. Thank god that it was out of the box, for otherwise they probably would have ruined it as well.

Overall, an awful meal. To add to the terrible food, the service was atrocious. The salad plate on the buffet was empty so I asked the waiter for some onion. He said something which wasn’t audible. I asked him again and he did the same, this time more like a mumble. Wanting to hear what he had to say, I went next to him and asked again, and he irritably said go get it from the buffet. I was like LMAO!! The table wasn’t cleared after we were done with the plates either. We had a Snapdeal coupon and mentioned this right at the start of the meal. In spite of this, this is how our bill was presented.

Wow!! To beat this, there was a large group sitting at the next table, who ordered from the a-la-carte menu. Almost 20 minutes after they place the order, the waiter came and informed them that their kitchen is closed, and they are not serving a-la-carte. They were then asked to go for the buffet. One of them asked if she could at least get a Curd Rice, and he informed her that they would charge her for the buffet and again for the Curd Rice. It was hilarious to see all this happen.

Though the purpose of the meal wasn’t met, thanks to all these moments, we ended up having a good time. We royally cursed our friend for making us a part of this disastrous meal. Unless you wanna take revenge on someone you don’t like, stay away from this place!!

Food: 4/10
Service: 2/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 299/- + Taxes

Verdict: 4/10

Taj Mahal Hotel | Restaurant Review

Place: Taj Mahal Hotel
Location: Next to Chandana Bros., S.D. Road, Secunderabad
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with family)

Taj Mahal happens to amma’s favorite restaurant in town. Whenever we plan to go out, she always suggests Taj. Be it Secunderabad, Himayath Nagar or Abids, their Cutlet and Upma are the best in town. We dropped in at the Taj Mahal, Himayath Nagar a couple of weeks ago for lunch, but except for the mentioned Cutlet, the rest of the meal was nothing great. So, coming to this place, my expectations weren’t really high.

We walked into the air-conditioned section of the restaurant and were courteously seated at a table for four in the center. Ambiance wise, the place is simple, and you can easily make out that it’s a very old restaurant (it opened in 1960’s). Amma opted for a Uthappam, dad ordered Upma, South-Indian Thali for my bro, and a Taj Special Thali (North-Indian) for me. We also ordered a single Cutlet.

Their Cutlet, without doubt, is the best you will ever taste in town. Stuffed with spicy curry, its breaded to perfection, and is served with a tangy Tomato chutney/sauce. Heavenly!

The Uthappam was alright, and Upma was yum, full of ghee and cashew nuts. Their Sambar isn’t the best, but pretty decent. The South-Indian Thali was much better than what we had the other day at Himayath Nagar. Poori, Pulao, Dal, Aloo Capsicum, Kootu, Rasam, Sambar, Curd and Ice-cream were served in it, all unlimited. The special Thali came with the same stuff in addition to Tomato Soup, Naan (instead of Poori), Paneer Butter Masala and Mixed Vegetable Curry (all unlimited, except for the curries).

The Soup was tepid and a little spicy. Not the best, but decent nevertheless.

The Naan was a dry and hard. There was not much paneer in the PBM, but the gravy was yum, and the Mixed Vegetable was excellent. The Pulao was very good as well. The rest of the meal was alright.

Overall, a decent meal. The service was a lil old-fashioned, yet effective. Our waiter was pretty sweet and served us extra Ice-cream. The prices are very reasonable as well. Give it a shot when you are looking for a simple yet yummy meal. Do try their Cutlet and Upma for sure, and let me know your thoughts 🙂

Food: 8/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 4: Rs. 406/-

Verdict: 8/10

Chung Hua | Restaurant Review

Place: Chung Hua
Location: Behind Balaji Grand Bazaar, Basheerbhag (Road next to Mor Medical Hall)
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner (with amma and bro)

Having tasted their Manchurian noodles a couple of weeks ago, here I was at Chung Hua with amma and my brother on Sunday night for dinner. My brother used to visit this place about 15 years ago, and loved their food. He tells me that along with Nanking, Alex Kitchen and Blue Diamond, this is one of the oldest Chinese restaurants in town.

The place might be a little tough to find, for its located inside a building. Walking in, the place was decorated with Chinese artifacts, was pretty loud, and the tables were placed quite close to each other. It was packed (being Sunday night), but it didn’t take long for us to find a table. We decided on our food pretty soon, and ordered Manchow Soup, Spring Rolls, Hakka Noodles, Hong Kong Vegetables and an American Chopsuey.

The soup was served in about 10 minutes. It was unbelievably spicy, full of red chilli powder. We tried to make it better by adding some vinegar and soy sauce, but for no use. We had to ask for a replacement cos it was inconsumable. The waiter initially hesitated, but agreed to replace it. The substitute was better, but still spicy. Our mouth’s were on fire!!

The Spring Rolls were served soon. They were fluffy, crisp and yum. I would have preferred them to be little more fried.

We asked the rest of the food to be made less spicy after the soup fiasco, so the Noodles were pretty much served bland. Nevertheless, they were good. The Manchurian Noodles I had the other day were very oily, but today, minimal oil, just perfect.

The Hong Kong Vegetable was nothing but Manchurian balls in Hot Garlic Sauce. The balls were perfectly fried and the sauce was delicious.

After having some bad American Chopsuey in recent times, I was not looking forward to it. But the one served here was very much better the rest. The sauce was luscious and the noodles were crunchy. Yummy!

Overall, a delicious meal. Except for the soup, everything else tasted good. The service was a little hasty, but otherwise alright. The quantity of the food served was decent. The prices were a little on the higher side, but not bad. On the whole, a good Chinese meal after a long time. Give it a shot. They also have a branch on Minister Road.

Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 654/-

Verdict: 8/10

4 Seasons | Restaurant Review

Place: 4 Seasons
Location: Opp. RTA Office, Tolichowki
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with couple of friends)

Wanting to try a different place, we drove to Tolichowki to drop in at 4 Seasons. I’ve heard quite a lot about this place, and wanted to check out if it was worth the talk (I was aware that this was a place famous for its non-vegetarian food, but still). So here we were on a Thursday night at about 9:30 PM. To our surprise, the place was packed and we had to wait for about 15 minutes before we got a table.

Ambiance wise, the restaurant has nothing much to offer. The place was brightly lit and looked pretty clean. Once seated, a chilled bottle of water was placed on our table along with these huge, heavy, laminated menus, which had pictures of almost all the dishes in it. All the pictures looked pretty tempting. Me and my vegetarian friend ordered a Sweet Corn Soup, Paneer Tikka and Sautéed Mushrooms, while my other friend ordered a Chicken Kalimirch Kabab and Goan Fish Kabab for himself, and a couple of cold drinks

The soup was served in about ten minutes. It was thick and full of vegetables, just the way I like it. My friend had trouble though. He thought the pepper served on table was stale, and informed this to the waiters, but their attitude was totally ungracious. This was quite a turn off.

The starters were served pretty soon. The quantity of Paneer Tikka served was very good, and it was presented well. But taste wise, it was just alright. The paneer seemed over marinated, and it could have been grilled better.

The Mushroom was very good. Tender mushrooms, perfectly baked and sautéed. Yum!

For the main course, we ordered a Kaju Vegetable Curry, Paneer Naan, Garlic Naan and a Vegetable Biryani, and a Chicken Biryani.

The Kaju Vegetable Curry turned out to be nothing but Vegetable Korma. We struggled to find cashew-nuts in it. There were a couple of par-boiled potatoes, but on the whole, it was a decent korma. The Paneer Naan was similar to a stuffed kulcha, and pretty good. The Garlic Naan was alright.

We were expecting an awesome biryani, but it wasn’t anything great. There was lot of cinnamon in the dish, which gave the rice a very strong flavor.

On the Non-veg front, my friend liked the Kali Mirch Kabab the best. He was disappointed with the fish and the biryani.

Overall, an average meal. The food was decent, but what put us off was the terrible service. Apart from the soup incident, the starters dishes were cleared even while we were still not done with them. The prices were on the higher side as well (a chocolate shake was priced 120 bucks), and there is not much to choose from for the vegetarians. We thought the bottle was complimentary (like most other places these days), but later realized that we were expecting too much. Fortunately though, there are no taxes.

On the whole, except for the laminated menu, there is nothing so special about this place. Give it a shot if you please.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 2010/-

Verdict: 6.5/10

Veggies 365 | Restaurant Review

Place: Veggie 365
Location: Madhapur Main Road
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with family)

De Thali, which I loved the first time, turned out to be a disaster the second time around, and so is the case with Veggies 365. Since I was very much impressed with the place the last time (review), went with my parents and bro on a Sunday, promising them some good food. Alas!!

We dropped in at about 8:30 Pm, and the place was pretty much empty. We sat ourselves at a table for four, and were attended to after about 10 minutes, asking if we wanted regular water or bottled water. We asked for regular, and were served hot water (in summer). We asked for some ice, they didn’t have any. Hoping that the bottled water would be chilled, we asked for it, but that wasn’t cold too.

Anyways, we had a Snapdeal coupon (buy one get one), so ordered four Thalis – Amritsari Tadka, Parantha Gali, Ghar Ki Thali and Flavours of Dakshin. They had a new starters menu, ordered Honey Chilli Potatoes.

The starter was served in about 15 minutes. Battered French fries, deep-fried, and sautéed in Honey and Chilly sauce – this should actually taste yum, but unfortunately it wasn’t. The battered potatoes were hard, and there was no chilly in the sauce, just honey. It tasted decent, but a disappointment nevertheless.

After a while, the thalis were served one after another. The first one was Dad’s Flavours of Dakshin – 1 Masala Dosa, 1 Utappam, 1 Idly, 1 Vada, Coconut chutney, Laal chutney, Rice, Sambhar, Rasam. There was no Rice, but a Gulab Jamoon in our platter. The Idly and Utappam tasted alright, Dosa was soggy, and the Vada was made with spoilt batter. We informed this to the waiter, but he had no clue of what we were talking about.

Next came Amma’s Parantha Gali – 1 Aloo Parantha, 1 Pyaz Parantha, 1 Paneer Parantha, Dal Makhani, Green chutney, Salad, Raita, Gulab Jamoon, Butter cube. Except for the Paneer parantha, which was very hard, the rest tasted good. The Dal was decent. Best thali of the lot.

Next came my Amritsari Tadka – 1 Chur-chur Naan, 1 Kulcha, Kadhi, Paneer subji, Chole, Rice, Salad, Raita, Gulab Jamoon. This I though had the least quantity of food compared to other thalis. The Paneer subji tasted decent, better than the last time, and the Chole was alright. The Kadhi was very sour, and so was the Raitha.

The last one served was my brothers Ghar Ki Thali – 3 Phulka, Bhindi Pyaaz subji, Aloo Subji, Yellow Dal, Rice, Papad, Salad, Raita, Gulab Jamoon. This one was pretty decent, but the size of the Pulkas could have been better.

Overall, an average meal, but a disappointment all together. The service on this night was horrendous. The place got full as the night progressed and they just had 3 guys to attend to about 15 tables. It took about 15 minutes for the bill to arrive, and another 10 minutes for the payment to be processed. When we spoke to the owner about the Vada, he informed us that the cook wasn’t in and that is the reason the thali wasn’t good. Why serve it when you can’t?? I said ‘This is one place I am definitely coming back to’ in my last review. I take back my words.

Food: 6.5/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 4: Rs. 551/-

Verdict: 6.5/10

Cafe Nandini | Restaurant Review

Place: Cafe Nandini
Location: Jubilee Hills Checkpost
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with amma and bro)

Wanting to go to a no frill place, dropped into Nandini on a week day for dinner. Similar to Sandarshini or Swathi, the place is more of a tiffin center with an air-conditioned dine in. The restaurant is pretty neat and the ambiance is decent. The place was pretty much empty when we got in, but eventually got full as the night progressed.

Amma wanted to have South-Indian food, so she ordered a Masala Dosa for herself. Me and bro ordered a Nargisi Kofta with Stuffed Kulcha and Tandoori Roti.

The Masala Dosa was served first, in about ten minutes, with the regular chutney, sambhar and Imli chutney. It was crispy and tasted good, but I thought the batter was a little sour. The sambhar was decent enough.

It took forever for the rest of the food. After repeated reminders, and more than 30 minutes, the Kofta, Roti and the Kulcha were finally served. I’ve had the Nargisi Kofta once here before, and this one looked very different from what I had the last time. It had two kinds of gravy’s with paneer kofta balls. It seemed like they were out of the gravy masala midway through, and tried to make up something to fill the dish. However, it tasted pretty alright. A little oily though.

The Stuffed Kulcha was soft and very good. One of the best Kulcha’s I’ve had in recent times. The Roti was decent as well.

To finish it off, we ordered a Jeera Rice, making sure that it wouldn’t take long to be served. It came with biryani gravy and tasted fine.

Overall, a decent meal. The food was tasty and the quantity was on the good side. But for a low fare place, the prices were very high. The Roti was 20 bucks a piece while the Jeera Rice costed 90 bucks. The service too was not so great for it took an eternity for the food to be served. Give it a shot when possible, but don’t expect anything great.

Food: 8/10
Service: 6/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 338/-

Verdict: 7/10