Mandhar

Well, if you order Apollo Fish, that's when the cost goes up to 500, because Apollo Fish alone costs Rs.200/- !!

This restaurant is located in the same compound as that of Four Seasons. Have the Tangdi Kabab along with the Apollo Fish, and your apetite will be satisfied! Also, the Chicken Biryani here is good, and tastes a little different than other traditional places. If you are working in Hitec City, then this place is just a 15 minute drive, and it so worth it!

I am planning to go to this place many more times, and will keep updating this space with more dishes J

Location: Toli Chowki

Cuisine: Continental

No Buffet

Cost for two: Rs. 500/-

Poorna Tiffins

There is never place to stand inside and eat too. People have to stand outside and eat many times. People coming in car find parking difficult here. All this is because Poorna Tiffins serves one of the best tiffins in the city. The soft idlis with hot ghee, the pesarattu with yummy upma in it, the masala dosa, ohh, you name it, you will like it! This place is very simple from the outside, and at peak times is full of people. There is nothing to caution you about here, so if you are around that area in the mornings, don't miss a chance to break your fast here (ok, I know it is a poor joke :D!)

Location: Actually, get to Krishna Nagar road near Yousufguda, and ask anybody. They will point you to the lane in which this hotel is there. Cuisine: Tiffins Cost: Tiffins for 2 – Rs. 50-75/- (depends on how much you eat: D)

Chutneys

This restaurant recently got into national news because Rahul Gandhi had tiffin at this place. He had Guntur Idli and Steam Dosa. Both good choices, I must say! It took me a long time after the restaurant actually opened to visit it, but after my first visit, I liked the place much better than the "Grand Old Hotels", Shanbhag and Kamat. This place serves us with 5 chutneys unlimited, for any kind of tiffin we order. Both the Guntur Idli, and the Babai Hotel Idli are must for anyone entering this place. If your apetitite still permits, have the mint dosa, or the steam dosa. If your apetitite still permits, have the onion and tomato Uttappam. By now, your apetite would have been saturated :D! There is also this dish in which they serve us with four different small uttapams ( mint, onion, tomato, and karam). I did not like the mint and the karam uttapam as much I liked the other two, so I ordered just the Onion and Uttappam during my next visit J. aND DON'T FORGET THEIR COFFEE! This place also serves South Indian and North Indian thalis for lunch and dinner, but is best known for tiffins and hence we shouldn't miss a chance to have them instead of the regular meals.

Punjab ki Rasoi

This being close to office, we used to order a lot of starters from this place. And I also went to lunches here with other friends. This is not the truly Punjabi ambience restaurant, but the food is good here. Chicken 65, Pepper Chicken, Tandoori Chicken are all good options to have as starters. Ohh, don't forget to eat the papad they give along with the mint chutney, it's awesome J

For main course, I never like the biryani option here. Naan/Roti along with Butter Chicken or Chicken Tikka Masala, Jeera rice along with mutton rogan josh are good to eat.

This restaurant is quite reasonable in its rates, and is quick in service too. It is indeed a nice place to occasionaly eat lightly!

Location: Gachibowli Cross Roads

Cusinse: The name says it all ;-)

No Buffet

Cost: Meal for 2: Rs. 250 -300/-

Hyderabad House

Simple menu here too. Biryani with Thumsup. Don't forget to add extra masala. This guy's fruit salad is very very nice. Not all locations offer it, but if the place you go is offering it, order that without second thought !

Location: Multiple Locations all over the city Cuisine: Biryani :D No Buffet Cost: Meal for 2: Rs 250/-

Paradise

Like Bawarchi, it offers one of the best Biryanis in twin Cities. The junction at which this place is located is actually named after this restaurant! Your order is very simple here. Chicken Biryani ( don't forget to add extra masala ), chicken 65, and thums up. Don't forget to order Falooda here. It is out of the world :) If you are a light eater, then 1 biryani is enough for two people. And when you come out, eat a pan, go home and sleep happily!

Location: Paradise Circle, Secunderabad Cuisine: Biryani :D No Buffet Cost: If you cannot eat a full biryani, then ~150 ! Else double it ;-)

Bawarchi

Very simple to write about this place. It offers one of the best Biryanis in twin Cities. Your order is very simple here. Chicken Biryani ( don't forget to add extra masala ), chicken 65, and thums up. That's it. If you are a light eater, then 1 biryani is enough for two people. And when you come out, eat a pan, go home and sleep happily! PS: There are no branches in the city. Some people have added prefixes and opened hotels - dont get carried away by the name!

Location: RTC X Roads Cuisine: Biryani :D No Buffet Cost: If you cannot eat a full biryani, then ~120 ! Else double it ;-)

Malgudi

Very few restaurants offer an ambience as this one does. Actually, it the way the employees dress that pleases the eye once we enter. The utensils are all also of copper, and it gives you a feeling of eating at your relatives place! The Chicken Soup/Mutton Soup they offer on the menu is similar to what mom's make at home :-). After the Chicken/Mutton Soup, the fish fry is a must. Along with it, the chilly chicken and the baby corn manchuria for the vegetarians, are also good accompaniments. For the main course, white rice along with chicken chettinad, mutton fry, fish pulusu will all make you feel like you are eating at home! The pulao is also good, but sometimes these people tend to mix up Biryani and Pulao. We've had to fight with them a couple of times to actually get the pulao. This pulao is like the one we make at home, and the biryani is supposed to be Dum Biryani (which isn't worth ordering here). The fruit salad with ice cream is the best way to finish your full coarse meal.

Malgudi is located at three places, but always prefer to go the one in Lifestyle building. The other two places often don't have south Indian varieties to eat!

Location: Gachibowli Main Road ( towards Toli Chowki ) Life Style Building Banjara Hills Rd.No.2 Cuisine: Tamil Nadu/Andhra No Buffet Cost: Meal for two - Rs 300 - 400

Tex Mex

Well, It's been more than an year since I ate here, so I don't remember the exact menu, but I had real fun having the sizzlers, and also a mexican fish variety. When this restaurant was first started some 8 years back, the ambience also used to reflect Mexican place, but now it has been clubbed with another Indian restaurant – Shikaar. All I can say is that this is a good place to go and try out a different cuisine.

By the way, the newly opened KRR mall opposite L.V.Prasad Eye Institute has a Mexican Food Joint called Jalapenos (pronounced as Halapenos!). Have the Guacamole there – that's the Mexican special! It is just a side dish though!

Location: Near TDP Office, Jubilee Hills Cuisine: Mexican Cost of meal for two: Rs.400-500/- Phone Number: 040-23542835

On the rocks

Simply put, "On the rocks" simply rocks :-) For a more complicated version, read on!

Literally situated on the rocks, adjacent to the State art Gallery near Madhapur Police station, this small yet beautiful place offers a treat to the taste buds that is truly unique in its nature. The Manchow soup, both in its veg and non veg forms is simply superb. The vegetarians can then start with munching their excellent baby corn manhurian and veg Manchurian. The non-vegetarian freaks can order chicken 65, drumsticks and Apollo fish ( in that order of preference :-) ) to be sure of a perfect way to start your meal.

The appetizers itself full up your tummy that the very thought of main course is now a distant one! However, it is not fair not to write about the main course in this page ;-) The Schezwan Fried Rice, the Ginger Fish, and the paneer butter masala all form the perfect recipe to end your meal on a high note. So let's repeat again - "On the rocks" simply rocks :-)

Location: State Art Gallery, Madhapur Cuisine: Continental Cost of meal for two: Rs.250-350/- Phone Number:

Dine Hill

The first time Sandeep bhai took me there, I said no even before getting down from the bike. The outside did not "appeal" to me. On a different day, after multiple games of badminton, I was finally taken to Dine Hill and it was then that I realised what I missed all those days :D Now, Dine Hill is housed in a nice big place on Road No.1, Banjara Hills. So ambience is no more an issue ;-) The menu I am going to suggest has some tinge of variety to it, but after trying some options there, this is the best combination I can think of! The speciality of this place is Arabic Tandoori Chicken, more fondly known as ATC! If you are just two people, order half ATC; if you are four people, then order full ATC! Alternatively, you can also order the Grilled Chicken likewise! Make sure you tell the waiter to make it more juicy. Don't forget to order a Rumali Roti along with ATC. This alone will make you feel extremely energized! And for the main course, we always prefer the Chinese cuisine here! Well, it's actually the best Indianized version of Chinese ;-). Order the chicken fried rice (make sure you tell them to make it spicy, else the taste will be bland). And chilly chicken is the best dish that will go along with the rice. Ohh, by the way, do drink Thums Up and Thums up only, while you are enjoying these items.

Location: Banjara Hills, Rd.no1 ( nearer to the Masab Tank Junction) Cuisine: Grill, Chinese Cost of Meal for two: Rs. 300-400/- Phone Number: 040-65579221

Siddique Kababs

Actually the "meal for two" is a mis-nomer here, for one cannot have a "meal" here :D We have always parceled the food from here, met at Sandeep's place, watched a match, played "7 card" show and dispersed with a heavy stomach! Tangdi Kabab, Tandoori Grilled Chicken (half and full), Reshmi Kabab; I keep forgetting the name, but the chicken is in green colour ;-); all these are very good snack items. Make sure you don't eat the fried rice, or any other item that is put in the dishes there. Not only are they bad, they actually spoil the fun of tasting the truly awesome kababs here.

New Kritunga

Outside of a mess, when was the last time, you had just white rice and curry? Better yet, if you are a fan of Rayalseema food, when was the last time you ate "raagi sankati" and "jonna roti" in a hotel outside of Rayalseema?! New Kritunga offers you precisely that menu, and there is just no doubt that is scores very high points. I am not a big fan of neither the sankati nor the roti! So, I have only tasted the curries here along with white rice. Most of the times, I get them parceled to home, because the size of these places are small and they are almost full. Rayalseema mutton fry, chicken fry, mutton curry, chicken curry, brain curry, and even the liver fry are all ethnic in their taste. You can have any of these curries with "ragi sankati" and "jonna roti". Like I mentioned before, white rice adequately compensates for these two items. The pricing is also very moderate. A meal for two will cost no more than Rs.300/-. I think with the kind of business this guy has been getting, he will be expanding the space inside, sooner or later. Maybe then we can sit in and eat there more regularly. I haven't actually eaten in Rayalseema to know how the food should actually taste, but I am pretty sure this guy is close!

Location: Adjacent to Madhapur Petrol bunk Lane next to Model House, Punjagutta Cuisine: Rayalseema Cost of Meal for two: Rs. 250-300/- Phone Number: 040-66822550

Ginger Court

If you are working in Hi Tech City, you must have already been familiar with this restaurant. But if you are not, then plan for the lunch buffet at the next immediate opportunity!

The whole place is quite spacious, and we often see large groups of people coming to this place. The Chilly Chicken starter is something that we all love, and make it a point to empty atleast one full serving from the buffet table!! Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians alike will like this place because the main course offers a nice variety. Right from salads to desserts, almost every time is good in taste. The mutton rogan josh with white rice, or the biryani of the day with chicken curry, egg curry with rice/biryani, veg noodles with chilly chicken/veg gravy, gulab jamun, fruits, ice cream.... well... the list will go on :) Never miss a chance to keep visiting this place once in a while, for his menu is excellent. I've never tried dinner here, but I guess it will not be as satisfying as the lunch experience!

Location: Near Madhapur Police Station Cuisine: Continental Buffet for Lunch Cost of buffet per head: Rs.225/- plus taxes Phone Number: 040-23113731

Canton

Well, this is more like an offspring of Wang's Kitchen ;-).

However, the Lung Fung soup, and Mo-Mo (recommended by Akanksha), Prawns stand out at this place. Different kinds of rices, and noodles are similar to what Wang's offers, which means the food is good here too! If you visit this place, then the recommended items above are a must!

Location: Near Gachibowli Cross Roads ( towards IIIT) Cuisine: Thai, Malaysian, Chinese No Buffet for both Lunch and Dinner Cost of Meal for two: Rs.400-500/- Phone Number:

Wang’s Kitchen

As you enter this place, you might not get to see Mr. Wang, but you will definitely get to see his kitchen inside! There is a glass window separating the kitchen and the actual restaurant, and so you can peek while the chef conjures up his culinary products.

And Mr. Wang's Kitchen must be visited, if only for the Hanoi, hot-and-sour, and Tom-Yum soups. If you are a non-vegetarian, Fish Phuket and Dry Schezuan Chicken are a must. Especially the fish phuket, a Thai speciality, is bound to entice your taste buds. Spring rolls and Schezuan vegetables are good choices for vegetarians. Main course will go along the standard lines of eating rice or noodles with a curry. Wang's fried rice along with Schezuan fish is again a good option, but if you have already had fish for starters, you can try any prawn dish.

This place offers all Thai, Malaysian and Chinese cuisines, so if you order one item from each of these, you will have tasted all of them!

Location: Opposite Cyber Towers, Below HDFC bank, Hitec City Cuisine: Thai, Malaysian, Chinese No Buffet for both Lunch and Dinner Cost of Meal for two: Rs.400-500/- Phone Number: 040-23116266

Angeethi

If you ever feel like having fish for lunch, then there is only one place in the city where you should go. No prizes for guessing which one!

The ambience of Angeethi itself is striking - it gives you a feel of a dhaba. Start your lunch with the awesome shorba (traditional soup) they serve (don't forget to add the coriander), some salads and the fish fry. If you thought the first round was good, the second round (and the third round and so on) will leave you lusting for even more.

Have the biryani with raita, fish fry (yes, again!), and the non-veg curry they serve for the day. And I am pretty sure you will go back and get more fish fry!

For the vegetarians, the rich spread of different curries is bound to be a pleasure. And for the health freaks, the variety of fruits available compliment the rich food, so don't get scared off! Desserts, particularly the gulab jamun and malpua should not be missed.

Finally, do NOT leave Angeethi without having their wonderful pan. You will come out with a heavy stomach and light head, and it requires a great deal of will power to go back to office and work after the lunch! I have been to dinner at this place once, and did not enjoy the experience as much as the lunch one. So, given a choice, I would advise you to prefer lunch.

Location: Adjacent building of City Centre Cuisine: Indian Buffet for Lunch Cost of Meal: Lunch Buffet – Rs. 250/ + taxes Phone Number: 040-66252941

Barbeque Nation

This restaurant has only buffet for both lunch and dinner. And for those of us who are bored with routine chilly chickens, dum biryanis, paneer tikkas, tandoori masalas etc – Barbeque nation is a refreshing change from the ordinary. The concept of starters is interesting here. Once you settle down, the waiters will bring and place a grill (with hot coal in it), right in the central opening on your table. And on this, you can grill your own starters! For lunch, you have 5 starters. 3 vegetarian, and 2 non vegetarian. I must say, though am not a big fan of veg, the veg starters were also very good in taste. Non Veg starters are typically chicken and mutton. All these are bought to the table in the on barbeque spikes, and we get to use the grill on our table to heat them up! Isn't that an experience you would want to have? For dinner, you have more starters! Infact, you have 5 non-veg starters! Fish, Prawns, Chicken and Mutton J. Especially the prawns are a very big hit during dinner time. Ohh, and mind you, we haven't even looked at the main course buffet yet! It is similar for both lunch and dinner. There are 4 non veg items (yes, you heard it right! Apart from the starters, there are 4 more non-veg items), some 8 veg items, 6 salads and 8 desserts!! You can add your own flavour, from a choice of three flavours, to your ice cream. The mini gulab jumans are a treat to watch and eat ;-). The pastries, puddings etc are all soft that melt as soon as you eat them! Now, for the bad part L. When the restaurant is full (which it is for most of the time), the service gets very tardy and slow. Especially during dinner time, I have always had bad experiences with the service. I generally made it a point from then on to go there early so that I can get the best service. Apart from this one glaring glitch, the experience of eating food here (multiple times, that too ;-) ), has always been fulfilling and appetizing. You must surely enter this nation of the barbeques!

Location: 5th floor, City Centre, Banjara Hills Cuisine: Indianized Mediterranean Buffet for both Lunch and Dinner Cost of Meal: Lunch Buffet – Rs. 250/ + taxes (inclusive of one drink) Dinner Buffet – Rs. 450 + taxes (no drink!) Phone Number: 040-64566692/3

Aromas of China

Walking on a glass floor with water flowing beneath is not the ideal things you would expect when you walk in to a restaurant. But the ambience, hospitality, the actual menu and more importantly the food – all make up for this little innovative "gaffe" ;-) My aromatic experience at this restaurant began with the thick lemon coriander soup. By far, the best soup I have had. Appetizers like the Singapore chilly prawns, drums of heaven, three flavored chicken, and spicy fried chicken will all delight your taste buds. If you are going in a bigger group, my recommendation is that you order all four of them! What about vegetarians then? The Taiwan Chilly Baby Corn is the only dish I tried, and I liked it very much! With such delightful starters, we were well on course for our main course ;-)! For a change, I decided to ask the waiter as to what he thinks will be good options. The standard rice and noodles apart, he came up with chicken in Oyster sauce and Fish in Hot Garlic Sauce, which were, needless to say, excellent! We also tried the Rice Noodles, but they did not taste as promising as the Hakka noodles, so the recommendation is to go for the Hakka Noodles! Vegetarians – I apologize L . I did not observe what was ordered, and hence have no recommendations! The prices of Aromas of China are a bit on the higher side, but the food is definitely worth it. This is a place which we cannot frequent because though the experience fills our stomach, it will empty our pockets! One thing is for sure – you cannot return disappointed with the food. Go and savor the Aromas of China!

Location: 5th floor, City Centre, Banjara Hills Cuisine: Chinese No Buffet for both Lunch and Dinner Cost of Meal for two: Rs.500-700/-

Phone number: 040-66570000

Unique “World Cup” …

Take a look at the format of the Twenty 20 Cricket World Cup. I find the format of this tournament truly appalling.

If you win just one game, then you are in "Super Eight". And then if you win two games in that league, you are in semifinals !!! All it takes is 3 wins to be in semis, and 2 more to lift the cup!!!

I think no other team in any other sport will have to win so few matches to be claimed "World Champions" !

And it's not like all 5 wins will be against quality teams, chances are also there that 2 of those wins will come against minnows !!

I just wonder how such logic skipped ICC. Atleast in the Super Eight, each team should have played with the other team. That way, each team gets to play 7 matches. And we get to see some quality cricket.

Like my friend was saying, this tournament should be renamed, Knockout World Cup T20!

...And then there is Roger Federer!

I am reminded of this line from McEnroe ( i think sometime last year )..

"There are clay court specialists; there are hard court specialists; there are grass court specialists; and then there is Roger Federer"

I guess this summarizes everything :)

I wonder how, I wonder why ...

... well I am not going to write the lyrics of the Full song :D. I happened to listen to this song in the morning, and these words aptly suited for the title of what I wanted to write.

I am actually surprised. AP sent 34 MP's for the Congress alliance in 2004. The highest from any state. We get 5 ministerial berths. AP again sent 33 MP's in 2009 and we still get 5 berths ( 4 of them are Ministers of State - that means you really cannot do much on your own) !!

Winning the second time is much more bigger than winning the first time. It is not that there is a dearth of leaders. Surely, if you won twice they must have had potential, and ohh surely, anyone would have been a much better choice than Vilasrao Deshmukh !!! I think this will be the single biggest mistake Madam has made. Vilasrao failed the state when it was in a severe agrarian crisis, and then failed it again during multiple terror attacks. And yet, somehow he becomes a minister in the Cabinet !! Wow, so much for the politics of appeasement!! It still beats my mind how he was inducted into the ministry.

Last time too ( 2004 ), I was miffed. But a friend of mine put forth the argument that it is not the number of MP's but it is talent that should matter. I bought the argument then. However in 2009, I am not inclined to buy it, because people winning 2-3 times are no small leaders. And also in a democracy you HAVE to respect people's will. The people of AP have reposed their strong faith for Congress at the centre, and yet their representatives get nothing! Karnataka sent 6 MP's, and you reward them with 3 Cabinet minister posts !! I keep wondering why AP is taken so lightly always by the high command... Maybe next time, they will be more considerate, considering that the people of this state have been considerate enough to re-elect them.

Anyways, the Congress has a good enough majority, so it is upto them to choose how they want to function, my protests are like a drop in the ocean. Good luck with the next 5 years !

Monsoon is coming soon :(

Under normal circumstances, I would have welcomed the early monsoon. It must have been clear by now, I am not welcoming it. So what is the not so normal circumstance??

After facing a lot of pressure to buy an AC to beat the heat at home, I finally bought one 2 weeks back. And just when I began to fully experience the coolness inside, the monsoon has decided to rob me of the pleasure :(. I should have listened to some saner voices and bought the AC much earlier :D

That is the matter of India !

But keeping in mind the "larger interests of the nation", let us welcome the monsoon that has come soon :-)

Something to remember ...

I got this brilliant idea in the morning. Why not be the first person to cast vote today? Thrilled at that prospect, I reached the polling station at 6:52am. And there I see that 12 people are already standing in the line :(

And then when I enter the booth, the polling agent asks me for the "slip". I am like... ahem..I don't know what you are talking about! He was like, they will give you a slip on which there will be a serial number. It is easier to search your name if I have that serial number. I am like...ahem.. the card has a serial number right ? He's like, that's too big, there is another serial number that is easier to find... you need to go outside and ask some of the agents sitting a little away from the booth !! I could sense the impatience of people behind me, so I came out and went to some agents sitting outside ( well, 100m away, right outside my apartments!).

These guys belong to political parties.. they help with idetifying if your name is in the electoral rolls. Since they belong to political parties, there will be atleast 3 benches with 3 people manning them. So now, I approach one bench. That guy looks in a couple of pages, and he's like.. your name is not there!!

I was like again ... ahem..... I checked online last week, my name was there in the list. He's like, ohh you registered last week aa, then we have to check new list. I then explained to him that I registered last year only and last week, I only checked! He insisted that my name will be there in the new list pakka! He was constantly being pepped up by his colleague... untadi anna, ekkadiki potadi peru.... ( It will be there, where will the name go!) And ofcourse he didn't find it there.

So then I tried to explain to him the logic in searching, and found that he was not very keen anymore! So, I took the book and searched, and then showed to him where my name was!! The colleague now says... "cheppa kada anna, ekkadiki potadi peru" ( I told you no, where will the name go) !!!

It was already 7:45, and I go back to the booth only to find 10 more people in the line. And finally at around 8, I was the 59th voter in that booth to have casted my vote :-). From wanting to be the first to being the 59th .... well, I don't know how to describe the feeling :D :P

While I was standing in the line, I could get to see real democracy at work. Old people, who were finding it difficult to walk turning up at the booth and dutifully casting their vote was a wonderful sight. One lady even got a small stool from her house so that she can easily climb the steps ( there was only 1, but it was a little high ), and voted. I know a couple of friends who travelled back to their native places to vote. Visuals on TV were also inspiring.

Surely, my first voting experience is something to remember :-) .

Collection...

http://election-thoughts.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post.html