[mobike008]

Ardy, citing a couple of examples :-

When i visit Delhi, i cannot eat Idli, Dosa and Vada. I simply thrive on NI food like rajma, paneer and chole. And, same things dont hold the same cravings when i am in Hyderabad.

Similarly, used to carry gold flake to trips to US but, couldnt smoke as felt them too harsh. And, Marlboro lights was too light for indian conditions.

Taking the above analogy, I more or less agree with what MC has mentioned about international cuisine. We (as in indians) living in India havent developed a taste for such cuisine yet maybe due to personal tastes or weather conditions, tongue is so spoilt with years of masala abuse OR maybe something all-together else.

I personally feel it largely has to do with environment including the weather. More than 95% of population loves to experiment on different cuisine but, they wouldnt want to eat it regularly. I am one such prospective customer. Give me international cusine, i love to enjoy it.

But, please dont ask me to eat that regularly. I just love my roti shoti more than anything else.

If your friend has deep pockets and is targetting a niche segment then i would suggest him to give Mongolian cusine a shot as i dont think its yet introduced in Hyd.

Large colorful restuarant with a gigantic tawa at the center with meats and veggies available in open glass counters ( like those in ice-cream parlours) for customers to choose and garnish it themselves and give it to cook sitting on tava to cook it for them. Menu, style and presentation can be customized to suit indian palate and expectations.

Fixed price per person ( a.k.a Barbeque Nation) and i am sure it will be a hit.

I can tell you right now, i will be your friend's first customer

I tried that a couple times in Chicago, totally awesome stuff.

[Ardy]

Thanks Ani & Avi for the value comments. I shall pass them back.

Cheers,

[msvg]

Guys i have been in Hyderabad from past one month and find that the taste of food is ok when i expected it be awesome ...
I live in Gachibowli and need advice for daily dinner options in and around Gachibowli, Kothguda junction,Kondapur.(Good Andhra mess highly appreciated)
I am a great fan of 4 seasons Chicken Biryani (been eating on every visit to HYD from past 4 yrs),its awesome and recently tasted Annapurna Biryani that too was good...Plz suggest new places (already tasted Hyderabad house,Paradise,Bawarchi and all the big names etc)
Couple of years back i had been to one restaurant in Jubilee hills i guess where the ambiance was that like a bird santuary,birds were caged outside the restaurant it was good but happen to forget the reaturant name can anyone tell me the same? would like to visit it some time soon...something like chillies and pepper sort plz confirm
Last but not the least i am a great Fan of sea food(especially Fish,Prawn and crabs) all kinds plz suggest an authentic Andhra style and other cultural food places to have a taste bite.

[Dry Ice]

Guys, any good places to eat out which are open post midnight?

Actually, I usually have this craving to ride my bike during the ghostly hours, at times i venture out 2 far!!

Any places around Gachibowli would be specially helpful.

[bblost]

You venture out to far till Gachibowli

well, this post reminded me of myself some 5 years back. You are in luck as Ramzan is fast approaching. Most of the hotels in the Mallepalli and Charminar areas will remain open thru the night. Shahdab Shorba is an excellent dish for cold nights. I remember entering the hotel freezing in December 2003. Then sweating as I ate the awesome soup with Shermal roti.

I think DineHill at Masab Tank is also open during Seheri time. Mallepalli had a bunch of restaurants that serve the best beef open. You would get very good Khichdi and kheema. Used to cost less than Rs 20.

Charminar area will look like a grand mela. As most people venture out for shopping and stuff. The intensity increases as Ramzan will progress towards Eid. With the time around Sept 2010 beginning being Grand.

Or you can venture out onto the National highways. Some 90 kms from Hyderabad is Jadcherla. There are a bunch of dhaba's open there. Good food at decent prices.
The Medchal highway is another good place.

BUT, please take care. Ride safe, Keep all your vehicle papers and be extremely careful of drunk drivers.
Ride with a jacket that has reflective stickers.

Enjoy.

[traveloholic]

Originally Posted by bblost

Most of the hotels in the Mallepalli and Charminar areas will remain open thru the night.

+1 on that. You can find most of the hotels open throughout the night, serving food. But this is only for a month, so post ramzan, it would be back to normal again.

Originally Posted by bblost

Shahdab Shorba is an excellent dish for cold nights. I remember entering the hotel freezing in December 2003. Then sweating as I ate the awesome soup with Shermal roti.

The mere mention of Nihari at Shadab makes my mouth water. Can't help drooling over that pipping hot bowl of Nihari. Winters, I would say worth the try. A pipping hot bowl of Nahiri on a cold winter morning makes you feel like heaven. If you are at Shadab and would love to taste Nihari, then I would say go for JABDA. Jabda in Urdu means JAWS of a Sheep & believe me, its AMAZING. Don't feel awkward at the mere mention of JABDA (JAWS), I would say TRY IT.

Originally Posted by bblost

I think DineHill at Masab Tank is also open during Seheri time. Mallepalli had a bunch of restaurants that serve the best beef open. You would get very good Khichdi and kheema. Used to cost less than Rs 20.

Right from Nampally Alhamdulillah to Mehdipatnam Prince.... Food served till Seheri Time. I would recommend Mehdipatnam Prince, heard their Talawa Ghost with Roti is amazing (I don't generally eat Beef, so never tried but heard a lot)

Originally Posted by bblost

The Medchal highway is another good place.

I would not recomment Dhaba's on Medchal Highway these days as they've raised their prices to be at par with the Restaurants in the city. They aren't that economical anymore and moreover, they are downing their shutters by 11.00 Max, due to the recent laws enforeced on them. So, post 11:00, finding good food would be a herculean on Medchal Highway.

Originally Posted by bblost

Or you can venture out onto the National highways. Some 90 kms from Hyderabad is Jadcherla. There are a bunch of dhaba's open there. Good food at decent prices.

We generally frequent a Dhaba "Meera Devi Dhaba", near Kalakal Village on the Hyderabad-Nagpur Highway. It's about 40+ Kms from Hyderabad, but is open 24x7. It's a good dhaba with all the aminities on the right side of the road, when you are travelling from Hyderabad. Serves amazing food.

Route: Hyderabad-Bowenpally-Kompally-Medchal Village-Dabeerpura-Yellampet-Kalakal

Originally Posted by bblost

Charminar area will look like a grand mela. As most people venture out for shopping and stuff. The intensity increases as Ramzan will progress towards Eid. With the time around Sept 2010 beginning being Grand.

I am going a bit OFF TOPIC on this, so excuse me guys

Charminar glitters during ramzan and a word of caution, if you plan to venture out to Charminar during Ramzan, I would suggest that you park your bike somewhere near Madina/Afzal Gunj and walk towards Charminar. I am not trying to scare you, but letting you know that walking is the best way to enjoy the Pre-Ramzan rush at Charminar.

A walk through the busy lanes of Charminar during ramzan is a memorable experience & it also helps you to evade the huge traffic jams/pedestrians, that generally jaywalk on the roads during the shopping season.

If you are a street photographer types, who love to capture the whole experience on a film, then I would request you to be considerate as to whom and what you photograph. If you really wish to photograph something, do it with the consent of the person.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by bblost

You venture out to far till Gachibowli

I live here!! Saves me the commute time to office!!

Originally Posted by bblost

well, this post reminded me of myself some 5 years back. You are in luck as Ramzan is fast approaching. Most of the hotels in the Mallepalli and Charminar areas will remain open thru the night. Shahdab Shorba is an excellent dish for cold nights. I remember entering the hotel freezing in December 2003. Then sweating as I ate the awesome soup with Shermal roti.

I think DineHill at Masab Tank is also open during Seheri time. Mallepalli had a bunch of restaurants that serve the best beef open. You would get very good Khichdi and kheema. Used to cost less than Rs 20.

Charminar area will look like a grand mela. As most people venture out for shopping and stuff. The intensity increases as Ramzan will progress towards Eid. With the time around Sept 2010 beginning being Grand.

Or you can venture out onto the National highways. Some 90 kms from Hyderabad is Jadcherla. There are a bunch of dhaba's open there. Good food at decent prices.
The Medchal highway is another good place.

I'll explore the charminar during the festive season for sure, heard a lot about it. I hope this thread will have updates as and when the festivities begin!!

Originally Posted by bblost

BUT, please take care. Ride safe, Keep all your vehicle papers and be extremely careful of drunk drivers.
Ride with a jacket that has reflective stickers.

Enjoy.

Sure enough sir, exact same lines I get to hear from my elder bro!!

Originally Posted by traveloholic

The mere mention of Nihari at Shadab makes my mouth water.

Hey, traveloholic never heard of it! Can you please tell what dish is this?

Originally Posted by traveloholic

We generally frequent a Dhaba "Meera Devi Dhaba", near Kalakal Village on the Hyderabad-Nagpur Highway. It's about 40+ Kms from Hyderabad, but is open 24x7. It's a good dhaba with all the aminities on the right side of the road, when you are travelling from Hyderabad. Serves amazing food.

This looks like a good option. Hows the highway though?

Thanks bblost, traveloholic for the recommendations!!

[SILVERWOOD]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Hey, traveloholic never heard of it! Can you !!

Here you go
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihari

Shadaab makes Nihari every day,execpt saturday night.He makes chicken shorba, the equivalent of Nihari which he serves on Sunday morning as well.Visit Shadaab on evenings for this tasty Nihari.For me, breakfast at Shadaab is something i cherish. He serves the tastiest Khichdi & Kheema, Gurda Bhaji.

Mods:Not able to edit my posts for the last few days.Please help.

[traveloholic]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Thanks bblost, traveloholic for the recommendations!!

Keep checking this thread for more updates on food and the forthcoming Ramzan Season

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

This looks like a good option. Hows the highway though?

The Highway is amazing. Huge and very very clean. You will surely enjoy the drive. We generally don't go there early. We start a bit late, something like 10:30ish, so that we enjoy the drive to the Dhaba and spent a quality time there. Then back home. We don't wrap up things early there. It's something like we reach there at 11:30 or 12:00 and return back post dinner and shinner at 4:00 or 4:30. Sometimes we've been there past sunrise too .

Let me know, if you are planning to go there. Shall tell you a couple of things, what to have, what to do & what's best there.

[Dry Ice]

Thanks for the link Silverwood.

Traveloholic, that seems quite fun! But i guess only for the weekends!
Wil surely get in touch with you before visiting.

Thanks mate!

[mobike008]

Last evening been to Chiran Fort Club for a re-union kind of get-together.

This club is weird and not like other clubs, you can settle your bill there and then. God knows why its called a club !

We ordered :-

Tandoori Chicken Full Plates ( 3-4)
Reshmi Chicken Kebabs
Mutton Sheek Kebabs
Mutton Roganjosh
Punjabi Chicken
Veg Corn Kernels
Mutton Biryanis

Total Damages : 7900++ ( 8 people : 1K per head)

Tandoori chicken was very good, almost as good as pakwaan

Reshmi Chicken was good

Sheek kebabs were mouth watering

Roganjosh was all water and no meat. Crap !

Punjabi chicken was outstanding

Corn Kernel was delicious, ordered several plates

Mutton Biryani was excellent. However, terrible saalan ( watery types)

After the dinner, we drove around and had paan at Mayur Paan Palace and also had some heated conversation with a patrolling jeep. But, that constable saw my new car and said, "kushi se kuch inaam dedo"

I wish we had gone to "Ebony" 1K per head was not worth at all

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I wish we had gone to "Ebony" 1K per head was not worth at all

Earlier the "Ebony" deal used to be valid only on weekends (Friday, Saturday & Sunday). Is it now valid all week long?

Rs. 601 per head all inclusive for dinner during the week sounds very tempting ...

[MileCruncher]

I had been thinking of having a proper Hyderabadi meal and where better to get it other than the old city. So headed to Shadab last evening.

Reached Shadab at about 7.15 and the place was just about warming up. We ordered

1. mutton seekh kebab,
2. pahadi chicken tikka
3. rejala mutton curry-
4. Sheermal
5. Lassi
6. Green Salad
7. 2 Bottles of Water

And the meat dishes were what the waiter recommended. The seek kebab was very dry, and served luke warm - taste was barely passable. We think it was stale. Same for the chicken tikka. Meat was dry and flavourless. We asked the waiter to replace the dish, which he did. It was only marginally better then, but I don't think the meat was marinated. The mutton curry was average. We did not even finish half of it as there was too much floating oil and it lacked flavour. We ordered 3 items, hoping atleast one would be good - but they were all very bad. Service overall was slow and inattentive.

To top it all of, we got served a USED FINGER BOWL! Would have nearly dipped my fingers into it - just noticed in nick of time. If that is the standard of service there, I dread to think about how they prepare food.

Damages :Rs 650/-with Tip
Rating : 1/5

After this fiasco, we went to Famous Ice Creams at Mozamjahi market and we ordered an All Mix, which was a mix of Vanilla, Pista, Strawberry, Tutty Fruitty and dressed with wafers and chocolate sauce.

Damage : Rs 80/- with Tip
Rating: 5/5

Famous was the saving grace last evening

[MrinalSinha]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

I had been thinking of having a proper Hyderabadi meal and where better to get it other than the old city. So headed to Shadab last evening.

Reached Shadab at about 7.15 and the place was just about warming up. We ordered

1. mutton seekh kebab,
2. pahadi chicken tikka
3. rejala mutton curry-
4. Sheermal
5. Lassi
6. Green Salad
7. 2 Bottles of Water

And the meat dishes were what the waiter recommended. The seek kebab was very dry, and served luke warm - taste was barely passable. We think it was stale. Same for the chicken tikka. Meat was dry and flavourless. We asked the waiter to replace the dish, which he did. It was only marginally better then, but I don't think the meat was marinated. The mutton curry was average. We did not even finish half of it as there was too much floating oil and it lacked flavour. We ordered 3 items, hoping atleast one would be good - but they were all very bad. Service overall was slow and inattentive.

To top it all of, we got served a USED FINGER BOWL! Would have nearly dipped my fingers into it - just noticed in nick of time. If that is the standard of service there, I dread to think about how they prepare food.

Damages :Rs 650/-with Tip
Rating : 1/5

You still tipped them? Man you are a saint!

[mobike008]

@Ani, its good to talk about outlets at Charminar and their authenticity.

I would not go there due to hygiene and ambience issues. In addition to the food not being that great. I make an exception only during ramzan for haleem.

Yesterday was mom's birthday, decided to give her choice a try. She wanted to eat Thai Cuisine.

Far East ( Ohris, Rd.No 12 Banjara Hills) happened to have a Thai

Festival. Rs.457/Head for dinner all inclusive. Total Damage : Rs.1400

We reached the restuarant around 9:30pm and it was crowded as usual.
There was supposed to be 30 main items and around 8-10 desserts

Wen there for Tom Yum Soup but was served some glass noodle soup. It was pathetic.

Welcome drink was Lemon and Honey drink but, cold. Waiter removed a half empty glass when we went for a refill of our food

Veggies had very less choice ( Spicy Pumpkin, Salads, Corn and Mushroom)

NV Starters were Chicken Sesame, Chicken Satay ( which was being grilled in front of you)

Main course was the usual suspects, Green Curry, Red Curry, Fish in Gravy, Lamb in Coconut gravy and again very less option for veggies.

Desserts were Roasted Banana, Corn Kheer, Ice-creams and different type of pastries.

There was a peculiar smell in the restuarant ( Thai smell?) and it made food consumption pretty difficult. I somehow managed to enjoy the meal to a small extent but,mom and wifey were totally dejected as they didnt like anything.

Wifey was mentioning she enjoyed our Thai meal in Shangai Chef more than this upmarket restuarant. I am beggining to think Ohri's is losing its charm as their quality isnt as before.

I even developed a slight pain in stomach and had to use the age-old "buttermilk" remedy to solve it.

Overall, it was a terrible experience. I will stay away from "supposedly" original Thai cuisine for sometime and stick to our standard roti-shoti