Thyme and Whisk

What a find (patting myself on the back)! This is a vegetarian only place. The Asparagus nuts soup is very good. The most heavenly experience though is their – very nicely named - Blue Butterfly Pea Water Chestnut Cream Cheese dimsum. I don’t know if it is the cream cheese or the water chestnut or whatever it is they put to make it look blue – but this dimsum was heavenly! Though their Hot Cow Boy sizzler sounded like an exciting dish, we ended up ordering the Pattaya Massaman Sizzler and just gobbled up the whole thing! The sizzler used nice glass noodles and the right amount of vegetables and spices. The Jalapeno Cheese poppers were also a good appetizer to begin with. 

Taro

 Taro has many things going in favour of it – location, ambience, menu, and most importantly taste! This is Asian restaurant and serves a variety of Sushi (until I went here, I didn’t even know that there are varieties in Sushis depending on how they are wrapped – Urumaki, Ngiri, Tataki etc!). To uncomplicate things, we just ordered the Sushi and Dimsum platters, so that we can get to taste a variety of them! I liked all of the items, avocado, asparagus, chicken, prawns etc! For soup, we had the Laksa which was really good but the mistake we made for main course was that we ordered the Singaporean Chicken curry , which basically is very close to how Laksa tastes (it’s not bad, it’s just that we repeated the same taste!). We also had just the Edamame (not too many places serve this) and weren’t disappointed at all!

Hashi

Not to be confused with Tashi 😊. Hashi is an Asian cuisine restaurant and true to it’s cuisine, it does offer dishes outside of the traditional Chinese dishes alone. The Som Tom Salad is a dish that only a handful of places offer and Hashi is one of them. The salad was not only fresh but created the necessary impact on the taste buds too! We went ahead and ordered the Assorted Vegetarian Sushi platter so that we don’t end up missing the key items and loved all the Sushi that came along. There is really something with eating a Sushi with a little bit of Wasabi and pickled ginger. I don’t know what it is, but there is something about it! The chicken Gyoza was also really good. After eating so much, it is difficult to eat anything main course, but we still went ahead and ordered the Japanese Golden Curry with Katsu Chicken. It was a very tasty yet light on the tummy dish! Hashi has so many other offerings and it will take multiple trips to enjoy these.

Taro

Taro is one of the few Asian cuisine places that offers nice real Asian flavours in their menu! Their Tom Kha soup was really refreshing to begin with – their optimal usage of the coconut milk to get the authentic flavour is perhaps one of the best in the city. We had a platter of Chicken and Veg Dimsums – a total of 6 varieties were served and every single one of them was really good. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the names of these dimsums 😊. For main course, I did the mistake of ordering Singapore Chicken Curry. Mistake not because the taste wasn’t good, but mistake because I forgot that this curry also will be coconut milk based, so it tasted like a repetition of the soup 😊. But all this was made by their superb Pad Thai with egg. Especially, the masterly preparation of the egg was impressive 😊. For the first time, I also got to taste Mocha Ice Cream and came to know how rice paper is used in the preparation of this ice cream!  

Oki Poki

You see the name and go a little hehe 😊. Their food is also as interesting as their name is. Wild Mushroom & Thai Herb flavoured Sushi was quite an unique dish – I’ve never had this kind of flavour and liked it a lot. To be on the safer side, I ordered Steamed Wonton Chicken dumpling too and wasn’t disappointed at all with it! Oki Poki for sure will keep getting more orders 😊.

Shoyu

My brother calls me and wonders why I haven’t ordered from Shoyu yet! Unable to bear that pressure (😝), I placed an order. And then I realised why my brother was putting so much pressure! Shoyu serves some real tasty and excellent Asian cuisine – my favorite (like many others) is their Trufle Asparagus and Avocado Sushi. I’ve probably had it some 3 times in the past one month! I liked their other Sushis and Dimsums too – Spicy Chicken Shumai, Pan Fried Chicken & Rice Paper Dumpling, and their Katsu Chicken Roll. Their packing is very neat and you get a good portion of Wasabi as a side 😊. Shoyu is quite costly though but it’s understandable why it’s so costly too!

Chubby Cho

Interesting name no 😉. Their menu and food is also equally interesting. We had the Tom Kha soup (and not the traditional Tom Yum soup) and it was very refreshing! Another time, we had their lemon coriander soup and it was one of the best we had – right combination of lemon and coriander made it one of the best! Their Nunuki Fried Rice was also very tasty but the only disappointment was that they didn’t actually use sticky rice for making that. The Tibetean Thupka bowl totally made up for it though. Definitely a place to repeatedly eat their multiple offerings!

Far East Asia

 There are very few restaurants who make the awesome Tibetean Thupka. And Far East Asia is one of them! Their Thupka Noodles bowl is a festival for the digestive system! The momochas are one of the best light starters one can imagine of having before a hearty meal. Their coconut milk flavoured Khow suey Noodles bowl is also really awesome. Their Thai curries (both green and red), with the rice bowls are worth trying multiple times too!

Prost Brew Pub

 This will perhaps be the first review of a pub where drinks won’t be discussed! The food here is really really good. They offer a really large variety of cuisines and nothing has disappointed us so far! Chico Nachos are gooood, sauteed mushrooms (dish is called Prost Pilze) are nice, the chicken wings are awesome but the best starter I think is their Chicken 65! You should also try the Spicy Calamari, fish fingers and onion rings! The chicken popcorn and jalapeno cheese balls are also also good to be munching all along. One of the best things here is their Mini Burger Platter – we can happily taste of different burgers in small sizes instead of worrying about choosing which burger to eat! The Thai Curry, Chicken Biryani, any Pizza and Nasi Goreng are great main course dishes to have here.

 

GudGudee

 I never thought I will like something made out of beetroot! Their description of Beetroot Kebab reads –“Pan fried beetroot kebabs packed with the goodness of beetroot with an interesting blend of flavours”. Am telling you – the flavours in the kebab are very (very) interesting! If I had to order just one item, it would be their beetroot kebab! This is to not take away anything from their other dishes. The Vietnamese Noodle Soup and Spicy Tom Yum soup were refreshing soups from the usual Chinese soups 😊. Exotic Vegetables in Hot Chilli Basil sauce with their piping hot noodles is a very good main course to have! Oh, and ofcourse the Jalapeno Cheese Poppers too!

Haiku

What a place, what a place! This is located on a rooftop in Banjara Hills. What a place really! We can never forget the food and ambience of this place! This place serves Asian cuisine, and some of them taste so good that you might actually think you are eating in that country only! We had the Japanese Noodle soup that tasted delicious. They recommended to have the Spicy Miso Glazed chicken wings, and we also had Crispy fish with Malaysian Chilli. 

We then went on to order from the Teppanyaki page – a Hibachi Basa fish with teriyaki sauce! They served this with some nice grilled veggies and rice. Along with this, we also ordered a Vietnamese Fried Rice. The best was yet to come though! For desserts, we ordered “Lemon Drop” – oh man, what a taste it was! I’d very strongly recommend that you keep some space at the end of your meal and order this “Lemon Drop” dessert! You will not leave this place disappointed at all!  

Wok Republic

Very few places in Hyderabad serve Thai Papaya Salad! So the moment I saw it, I ordered it! And these folks didn’t disappoint with the dish. For Starters, chicken wings (dish named Wings of Fury!) and Java floater are quite good. However, the main course is where it gets interesting, because you get to choose your own ingredients! Am not sure if any other place in the city allows you to chose this way! So you get to choose your own vegetables, non-veg, sauces, noodles, and rice! Almost all of their sauces are quite good, and it is difficult to pick any one! I’d say, try this place out 2-3 times to get  a real flavor of their offerings 😊.

Tim Tai

True to their attractive name, they also offer an attractive menu of Asian cuisine. The Tom Yum soup here is as good as it can get for us 😊.  For starters, their steamed fish wrapped in banana leaf is one of their best dishes. The Dimsum platter (both veg and non-veg) are super light, and tasty too. Similar to Calamari dish, they have tempura squid too. I’ve had the Thai Chilli Basil noodles and Khao Pad rice during one visit. Nothing to complain about 😊. However, what stood out in a later visit was the Thai Massaman Curry and Malaysian Rendang Curry for the main course! These dishes were again as good as they could get!

Mama Goto

This place serves very good Asian Buffet! The wait time to get the first starter served is also quite less. I found their momos (both Veg and Chicken) to be quite light and very tasty. Their fish and prawn starters were also quite good, but their soup did stand out in its taste! For the main course, they had a cariety of Thai and Chinese dishes – all of which tasted quite good. At some places, the stomach feels heavy after eating only a little fried rice. Not here! The cost is decent too – I would recommend this place anytime 😊

The Wonton

It was an unexpected dinner plan because of which we landed here. I was so impressed with the place, that I took few more colleagues back the very next day!

What stood out was the Tibetean Thukpa – basically a noodles soup! This is a staple diet in many places in Tibet and China too. The broth is something to come back repeatedly for! I had both the Chicken and Vegetable broths, and I liked the Chicken broth more (Surprise :P).

Even the vegetarian options in the starters were quite good. “Cauliflower with Pineapple and Celery” was such a refreshing change from the Gobi Manchuria we always have on the menu! The Stir Fry Chinese greens were also tasting good and were light on the stomach too! Both the veg and non-veg dimsums were yummy too! We also had the Five spiced lamb, which was good. For main course, the main dish I had was the Tibetean Thukpa. However, tasted a bit of Thai Green curry too, and it didn’t disappoint either! 

Sheraton

Thanks to some office meetings, I have been here quite a few times for all the three meals of the day! I love their breakfast and lunch buffet options! Both their Indian and Western dishes taste quite good. Their parathas and dosas in the breakfast are quite good. The fresh fruit juices induce some freshness into your day too! They have a good spread of breads and cheese too (And these are not the regular mozzarella stuff we get outside!)

Their lunch options are equally good too. I generally become a fan of buffet the moment I see something like Baba Ganoush and Hummus! Added to this, some nice fish items that satisfy the palette are like an icing on the cake! Speaking of cake, oh boy, their dessert options are also awesome! You must keep some place aside to check out the multitude of options!

The Trident

Best Buffet after Westin (in the star hotels category)! Trident has a wide variety of choice – ranging from middle eastern to Thailand! Very few places serve the Thai Red Curry – on one of the days we went, they had Thai Fish Red Curry J. Most days, they also serve dosas – so an egg dosa with chettinad mutton will simply make you forget all problems of the world J. Since this is 5 star, the cost is on the very high side, but it’s worth to go once in a while – just to try out various cuisines. 

Cafe Heart Cup

This place is tucked away under the more famous F9 lounge bar in Kondapur, and was a great find by Sandeep bhai! The place serves European and Indian cuisine. Best part is that they serve stuff in lunch portions and not in bulk portions. So if you order their Mutton Rogan Josh lunch combo – you get the right amount of curry with the right amount of white rice – thereby making your life easier! 

You can also try their pastas, which are quite tasty. For starters, you SHOULD order "tawa fish" and "chicken barbeque drumsticks". They are just brilliant, especially the tawa fish that is neatly wrapped in a banana leaf  and is piping hot! For main course, you can try the option suggested above. Or you can order their "Steamed fish with brown rice". This will fill your stomach till dinner time for sure! Or order the Sea Food sizzler - another filler till dinner! (whatay rhyming ;) )

This place deserves multiple visits to do full justice. I'd say, if your friend is ready to burn some money, choose this place!

Avasa

This is one of the few star hotels that have a nice buffet for the price they charge. They have a live counter for starters – two chicken, one fish and one prawn starter. All of them were mouth watering tasty! We must have had atleast 3 servings of all the starters! Their main course spread is also quite vast – multiple chicken, mutton and fish curries! 

Served along with an assortment of breads and naan’s – this place is truly a culinary delight if you go with a hungry stomach! They have some cold starters/salads too – which are quite tasty. Desert spread is also vast, but we were so full with the main course, that we postponed desert for the next visit! This place is surely recommended for team lunches, or lunch when you are very hungry! 

N-Asian

The moment you enter, you are greeted by the majestic sight of steps leading to the first floor! It will feel as if you are  True to it’s cost, the ambience of this place is very nice. They have a variety of Asian cuisines on offer and have a glass kitchen – so you can see while the chefs get busy dishing out stuff. It’s been a while since I went there so I don’t recollect the soup that ordered there – Lung Fung or Manchow – but I do remember that the soup was very good! For main course, we ordered Thai fried rice and Malaysian fish curry. I vividly remember the waiter was suggesting that there is a better item than the fish curry on the menu. Somehow never understood why waiters tell us that a particular item is bad! Anyways, we enjoyed the food and the ambience but the cost is on the higher side, so there won’t to be too many visits to this place! 

Price: Rs. 1500 for two !

Location: Jubilee Hills (near Chutneys)