Ammi's Biriyani

Ever since our biriyani extravaganza in Hyderabad, S has been craving it , and homemade biriyanis were just not cutting it.I'm not such a big biriyani freak, but after tasting the original hyderabadi stuff , I have become a convert.
So, one sunday afternoon we decided to try Ammi's to see how it rates.We decided to go for the Gosht Hyderabadi Biriyani and gave them a call. After a 45 min wait, it finally arrived.

First thing I noticed was the packaging . It looked like a pizza box , very neat stuff.
On opening , I was surprised seeing each item neatly packed and labeled , with the biriyani , raita , mirchi ka salan and rice kheer for dessert.

Gosht Hyderabadi biriyani and accompaniments

There was even an empty container for the bones, and a package with a tissue,spoon and toothpick .
The hot and spicy biriyani was very yummy , and the mirchi salan and raita just added to the flavor. The kheer was just ok, but rounded up the meal nicely.The quantity was also pretty substantial . Overall , we enjoyed our meal and looking forward to trying the other items on the menu .

Location - Near Spring Field Apartment, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore
Rate ( for 2) - Rs 310
Yum-O-Meter - 3.5/5

Benito's

We walked into Benitoes one evening with no clue what to expect – how would the food, ambience etc be. We had some grocery shopping to be done and then didn’t feel like heading back home , but at the same time dint feel like taking a drive outside the HSR area- the traffic and endless signals were a big put off .So got in with just the intention of having a dinner out and  no high hopes.

The ambiance is cozy, simple and the tables are spaced out well .The menu is predominantly continental – sizzlers, burgers and the like .

We started our meal with spicy chicken wings and , leek and chicken soup.

Chicken and leek soup

The soup came with a slice of toasted bread. It completely hit the spot – warm with no extra condiments required, the flavor of leek was infused throughout .Baby A enjoyed it a lot – he almost finished a whole bowl .Suffice to say that would make any mommy happy.

Spicy chicken wings

 The spicy chicken wings were good quantity but no dip accompanying it.Normally I’ve had it with a blue cheese dip or some mayo dip. It was spicy and messy, nicely coated with the mix. But I did miss having a dip to dunk it in.

For mains, I ordered the beef Bolognese with spaghetti.

Beef bolognese

It was warm and hearty, S just loved it , seemed like a complete boys meal-spicy but not overwhelming , and tangy with vinegar.

S ordered a vegetable ratatouille in a mild cheese sauce.

Vegetable Ratatouille

 It looked pretty daunting seeing all the cheese over it and made us wonder if we should get it packed instead, but once we dug into it there was no stopping us. It was actually quite light with the sheets of pasta and roasted vegetables. Both came with slices of toasted garlic bread.

We opted out of dessert cos everything sounded too heavy and decided to have some light chocolate mousse from a Corner house nearby instead.

We were pretty surprised when we got the bill – it is really rare to have a filling and satisfying meal and then pay less than 1000 rs nowadays.

We liked it so much that a couple of days later we picked up some pasta as takeaway .

We tried the spaghetti carbonara – which is usually spaghetti in a creamy white sauce with bacon and egg.

Spaghetti carbonara

In this case it was chicken instead ( there  is no pork served here) . It was good but not as good as the version with bacon in it .

Another dish we tried was the penne chicken alfredo .

Chicken Alfredo

It was quite good – tangy tomato sauce and chicken, with a liberal sprinkling  of parmesan cheese.

Also had the lasagna – which was layers of thin pasta layered with tomato based rich sauce and minced chicken and cheese.

Chicken lasagne

 Very,very sinful but oh so tasty. But I must admit my favourite lasagna all time  is the one I've had from Juke box in Koramangala. All these dishes are really filling  and very good quantity as well.  So, don’t overdo the ordering. 

Definitely worth a try and I'm  sure we would be going back again to try out other items on the menu.

Location – Next to Pragathi Motors, Near Wipro Corporate Office, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore

Price ( for 2) – Rs 700

Yum-O-Meter – 3.5/5

Golconda Chimney

I’ve passed Golconda chimney in my to-fro office journey from the time I’ve been in Bangalore, it always looked like an interesting place but never got a chance to try it until recently and I must say, I should have visited it earlier .

The interiors are very simple yet elegant with stone walls and pretty colored glass lamps.

The menu is a mix of Indian and also a bit of Chinese but we only had the Indian .

For starters, we ordered the special Chimney kebab.

Chimney Kebab - notice the way its served!

After a little bit of a wait, we got some pretty decent sizes of boneless hot n spicy chicken which  had the smoky taste of being done very well in the tandoor.It was served with a mint n yoghurt chutney( more of yoghurt than mint) and onion salad.

Next we tried the chicken clear soup .

Chicken clear soup

 It was definitely clear with a medley of cucumber,spring onions,spinach and boiled chicken. Tasted healthy, I liked it but my colleagues weren’t so sure.

For mains we ordered the Chicken Zabardast – this was chicken cooked with a heavy masala of spices, tomatoes, lots and lots of curry leaves and garlic.

Chicken Zabardast

 It went very well with the rotis, which soaked up the thick gravy.

One of my friends had ordered the masala kulcha which was soft and tasty with a good filling of spicy paneer.

We also tried a Chicken Dum Biriyani which came with raita.

Chicken Dum Biriyani

 The rice was long grained and it looked scrumptious but it looked better than it tasted. I would have liked my rice a little more cooked and also the masala hadn’t absorbed properly in the rice and chicken which ended being a little bland .

We just couldn’t leave with out having something sweet – so ordered one plate of gulab jamuns(3 in a plate).

Gulab Jamun

Hot and sweet and perfectly completed our meal.

Service is a little slow but otherwise food was fine , quantity was good for the price.

Location –Near Kundanhalli signal,Varthur Main Road, Whitefield, Bangalore

Price ( for 3) – 1100 Rs

Yum-O-Meter – 2.5/5

Coco Grove Beer Cafe

Cocogrove Beer Café is nestled in one of the hot spots, Church street in Brigade road. Not to be confused with the Coconut Grove restaurant ( right next to it ) (which is a Malayali restaurant) ,Cocogrove is a place which is open through the afternoons and once you are done with all your shopping , drop in for a quick bite to eat and maybe a beer to refresh you .

The food is mainly continental with sandwiches , burgers ,finger food and sizzlers on the list .You also have your pick of milkshakes, beer , cocktail and mocktails.

I dropped in here one day , famished after spending a hot afternoon in brigade road with my friend. We didn't have the patience for starters so immediately ordered a soft drink and lamb burgers for both of us.

Lamb Burger

Here, you can see the lamb burger – which is basically a mutton cutlet (reminded me of those cutlets you get in bakeries in Kerala) , served in a bun with lettuce , onions, tomatoes and mayo . It has a side of potato chips- out of a packet( not French fries) .

I tried the special lamb burger which is the same as above ,with an addition of an egg (omelet) and cheese. Not mind-blowing stuff but satisfies your hunger and not bad for the price. The place was filled up when we went there on a Sunday afternoon .Seems to be a nice place to hang out for a couple of hours with your buddies without creating a dent in your bank balance .

Location –Spencers Building, Church Street, MG Road Area, Bangalore

Price ( for 2) – Rs 350

Yum-O-Meter – 2/5

Au Bon Pain

Au Bon Pain is a great place to hit if you feel a rumbling in your tummy – but not enough for a hearty meal.

The first time I went here, I was so impressed with the self service system and the items on display , this was at the outlet in Mantri Mall. We were so tired after walking around and dropped in for some juice .We also ordered a white forest cake for S's mom who was celebrating her birthday the same day . It was nice and moist .Unfortunately no pics of it.

The next time I went, was in the outlet in the Cradle hospital where I went for a scan while expecting baby A. I just had a croissant that day and it was really soft and buttery, you can make out its freshly baked.

An actual visit was when we were in Koramangala during one of those cooler mornings. Dropped in to have a snack.On entering we see some soups on offer and immediately change our mind .

We tried the oriental chicken soup , which was the nonveg soup of the day , the veg option was potato and leek soup.We decided to get it served in the bread bowl – it was a good decision cos the bread soaked up all the goodness of the soup and tasted so comforting and filling- just perfect when there is a slight nip in the air.

The soup was hot and garlicky with just enough spice in it.We teamed that with a chicken wonderwich .Now I expected 2 pieces of brown /white bread with some chicken filling inside but what came was a roll kinda bread with a chicken patty and some slices of tomato and lettuce inside( almost like a burger). Blame it on my poor observation.It was not that great.
The staff are really helpful and welcoming , and I particularly liked the self service part where you can choose whatever you want with the help of some tongs and little baskets . I highly recommend the soup particularly inside the bread bowl.

Location - Intersection Of 100 Feet Ring Road And 80 Feet Road, Sony Center Signal, Koramangala

Price ( for 2) - Inside 200 Rs

Yum-O-Meter - 3/5

Heera

We visited this place with high expectations for my birthday dinner. First impressions – wow, looks pretty interesting! The walls , curtains, chairs are all blinged up and there are lovely chandeliers all around to give it a sort of Mughal palace feel. There is a big screen in the middle of the dining area playing old Bollywood cabaret songs.

 I liked the way the lights kept changing shades of colour , almost like a disco light. 

Another interesting thing was they had turbans and extensively decorated waistcoats for the diners to try on ,complete with fake swords. 

That was the only good part of the whole experience- had a good laugh with all of us trying them on and posing for pictures. After that, it went completely downhill.

For starters, we ordered the so called Heera delicacy ‘Lal Mirch ka murgh’ – the description was chicken pieces marinated and cooked with chilly paste and spices in a tandoor. Then we waited.. and waited… and waited.The waiter kept  reassuring us that it would be coming out soon. Finally after 30-40 minutes – seeing our grumpy faces I guess – he came and said it would take more time and whether we want to start with the mains. But we decided to wait for some more time. Finally it came out.

Lal Mirch ka murgh

 One taste and all our faces fell – it was just chinese chilly chicken – with a good amount of cornflour and ajinomoto mixed with some extra chilly powder. And I’ve had better chilly chicken from local places near my house. It was definitely not cooked on a tandoor – we asked the waiter and he said that was the cooking style of this dish , but if so it definitely should not be in the tandoor section. S believes that they just ran out at the last minute and bought chilly chicken from some nearby joint.

For mains, we planned to order a butter chicken and a mutton dish . I say planned because the waiter kindly informed us that none of the mutton items were available as it was over ! That was pretty surprising considering it was only 9pm and the place wasn’t exactly jam-packed even for a Sunday evening. Finally he came back and said that mutton seekh masala was available. So we decided to try that was well.

We also ordered some roomali rotis- which the kind waiter again mentioned is not available –we settled for some plain rotis and lacha parathas.

Again after quite some waiting, the food arrived and we dug into it with gusto – and tasted a mouthful of disappointment. 

Mutton seekh masala ( L) and Butter chicken (R)

 The butter chicken lacked any kind of flavour – I can safely say that it was the worst chicken dish I’ve ever had( including my initial cooking disasters) . The mutton seekh was pretty big in size but lacked any kind of flavour – I guess they just put the leftover seekh kababs into very chinesy gravy – I dunno which part of mughal kingdom the Chinese dishes came from!

The rotis were  good .

By now .we dint want to even attempt any of the desserts and got ready to leave. I think it was pretty obvious we were unhappy as the manager asked us the feedback. He promised me that it would be better in a month’s time but I don’t know if I would have the courage to go back and burn my wallet. S is not convinced and says if they were genuine they would have reduced some part of the really hefty bill.

The food is outrageously priced and below standard. The menu was sticky and had foodmarks on it. And the icing in the cake was the fly in my glass of water. Overall a huge disappointment!

  

Location - 4th floor, Opposite Shoppers Stop,3rd phase, JP Nagar, Bangalore

Price – Around 2000 Rs ( all dishes are around the 300 rs range )

Yum-O-Meter – 1/5 ( just for the laughs provided cos of the dressup and the rotis)

Breakfast @ Taj Falaknuma Palace, Hyderabad!

This is a continuation of our trip to Hyderabad. Since it was in celebration of my parents 30th anniversary , we decided to treat them to a special day and booked a days stay at the Taj Falaknuma Palace, amongst the top most hotels in India, and by the way things are looking , heading towards the top list in the world. It was just a spectacular experience. Get ready to get pampered in style from the moment you arrive - where a horse driven carriage awaits you at the reception, rose petal showers welcome you inside , and once inside your breath is taken away by the wondrous architecture which is a mix of European and Indian. Each and every tile, lamp, clock around  manages to fascinate you by its beauty . I especially loved the lobby with its venetian work , beautiful murals and soft lights.

The lobby

In the evening , you can attend the palace tour by the historian , truly a very interesting tour - his knowledge of the Nizami way of life and times is immense. After which you can relax and listen to some qawwali music on the balcony overlooking Hyderabad city.

Each and every room in this palace is so unique and remarkable, but to mention a few, there was an amazing library with extremley rare books, many first editions ones like the Encyclopedia Brittanica, books by Winston Churchill, a book written by one of the survivors of the titanic. I especially enjoyed thumbing through the earliest Visitors book with entries from British officials.

Library

Every ballroom was lovely with breathtaking chandliers, and the most famous room here is the 101 dining room - named so cos it can seat 101 guests . Its the longest dining table in the world, complete with Versace plates and gold tumblers.

101 Dining room

Truly magnificent and no picture can do justice to its beauty .
We spend the whole day exploring the palace , clicking thousands of pictures and just taking everything in.
Obviously the next morning we were ravenous. Breakfast was an absolute delight , we could choose whatever we wanted from the menu in the Celeste restaurant , and it was made fresh and bought to us.There is a great selection to choose from and ,while you wait they bring you a wide selection of croissants( both white and brown), muffins ,pastries, biscuits,doughnuts and danishes.

This was served with a variety of preserves, honey and fresh juices as well as champagne(!) .
We ordered quite a bit of things and everything was delicious.
Here you can see poached eggs , served on top of toasted muffins, ham and wilted spinach. Really tasty. 

Poached eggs with ham

Where ever we see an english breakfast on the menu , we have to try it , and here it was no disapointemnt with a spread of scrambled eggs done perfectly, chicken sausages, bakes potatoes, toast and grilled tomato.It had a side of baked beans as well .

English Breakfast

For baby A , we ordered the banana pancakes with honey and cream.This was seriously addictive - filled with the richness of bananas and butter. Baby A loved it and so did we.

Banana pancakes

Dad went for the spanish omlette - which is a thick omelette with potatoes and served with some baked beans and toast . He seemed to be enjoying it as he dint even look up while eating it :)

Spanish omelette

Bro tried the orange french toast served with some mascarpone cream - again so buttery and rich and oh so full of calories, but who cares when you are on vacation .

Orange french toast

We also tried sides of ham and pork sausages.

Mom went for indian and tried the upuma , as well as the panner paratha.

Upuma and sambhar

The paratha  was served with a variety of chutneys and tasty with lots of desi ghee but then it was like the ones we get in good north indian restaurants .

Paneer paratha

Now we were totally bursting at the seams after this spread .

Truly a 5 star meal , we all immensely enjoyed the stay as well as the food.Of course, being a Taj property its on the expensive side but I think it was worth every penny. A trip to remember!

Price - Around 1000Rs ( Buffet + included in the stay )
Yum-O-Meter - 5/5