There’s a new scourge doing the rounds in metros across the country. Until now only a slim minority of the burgeoning citizens were caught in its gooey trap. Now, the average urbanite is gaining the march. It’s called platefulitis…or gluttony in simple English. And we have got more than our fair share of it! After all, doesn’t society encourage us to be well rounded individuals? Unlike most childhood afflictions, platefulitis grows on us. Literally we can pick it up anywhere! But, the first appearance is invariably when food is both abundant and more importantly, ‘free’. A strange effect can be seen- the eyes graze over the culinary with lust, gastric juices go into the drive, the brain stops functioning rationally and the hands shoot towards the nearest plate.. Helping by helping!
Mocktails (and…cocktails) vanish mysteriously.. The starters are a class apart.. Soups are red herrings placed by the enemy to distract us. So, they are politely given a wide berth.. The main courses and the side dishes are attacked with a vengeance worthy of rating an “A”… One need not talk of the desserts at all.
And…hehe….myself being such a platefuli took most of the opportunity when my sister invited me to a ‘Chinese expedition of Hyderabad’ the last three days. I knew of only some comfy places in Hyd before. The others I had heard of, but never could administer my time for… ‘ve been living in Hyderabad for not more than 2 months an year from 5 years u see! But, this time I postponed everything else….. ‘coz I want to run all over these places later with my “ox” (puzzled@#$%?!.....read on to know.)
Returning to the focus, `Rules are meant to be broken’…….and plenty of chefs all around my place-Hyderabad are doing just that right now!
Good cuisine, for me, should be sumptuous but not overwhelming; highly imaginative without being contrived; fully religious in nature, but classic in its execution.
And I get all of it at every place I go with my sister to! She is the national topper for three years in her Hotel Management Course at the IHM!!
It is the food which lingers at all these places, strong and sweet in my memory along with the people who prepared it and served it- and with the place which hosted it.
Right now what u hold before your eyes is an open invitation- come join me here. We Hyderabadis make sure that this is the gourmet hub…….the meeting place of culinary expertise.We even have the Thai, Italian and the Spanish cuisine!! (But, do not try out the Italian or the Spanish…. They r not to our taste...)
Here I inform u of the won’ful places serving the Chinese….. Other cuisine in my later revus. All ye connoisseurs out there, hark!!-
Baseera- Ohri’s...
At Basheerbagh. A great private dining room. Just 4 yrs old ay Hyd.
Has four sections: Ming’s court, Gufaa, Silver Metro and Havemour.
Gufaa serves frontier food… The food is damn rich….everything spiced up with cashew…mmm!
Silver Metro serves Indian…. Not great…. I find the settings irritating infact….. food too is just ok!
Havemour is just for ice creams and chat (snacks)….. yummy!!
Ming’s court is the Chinese one…. Everything’s great here… from the bamboo ‘bowl’ to serve u fried rice to the manager Mr. Robert who had taught me how to use the chop sticks a year ago!
I generally have the mocktail “Caribbean Exotica” (made of coconut milk and pineapple..) with peanuts, the good ol’ Manchurian for starters and skip the soups to take a plunge into the main course being a typical platefuli J U can try out the Chinese tea.
The interesting part is the fortune cookie (even if u find it in every decent Chinese place). This time the parchment we found inside predicted accurately… I gained 4k that day and my sister spent that 4k on me as the parchment had said!!!!! The Chinese zodiac too, I felt, was accurate… U r sorted into animal groups according to the year of your birth…. I had looked for mine before so looked for my “friend’s”. My “friend” was classified an “ox” and was told of as being “a bit slow in warming up”…”but, revealing everything once warmed up to u and if u get to marry one, u r the luckiest”!! I have put in this part in this revu ‘coz that “fr’en” will be here to read this….. J)
The Chinese ceramic display, the fountain and the huge paintings are an added delight! Just take your business partner or your spouse there and u won’t ever forget it! Even my sister’s vice-president at G.E was impressed when she took the delegation there…. And big corporate clients- u have a discount and special attention there. My sister always gets a bookin’ even after the shift timings and gets a discount of around 20%!
And I forgot, any Chinese restaurant is open till only 3:30 in the afternoon. So don’t be late…. Only Havemour at Ohri’s is open till 11 in the night without a break.
Mainland China:
Banjara Hills, Road no-1.
It was under renovation the last time I was around. Check it out.
A must eat is the Golden Fried Prawn for starters..
Chinese Pavilion:
Banjara Hills, Road no-1. A 2yr old one.
The stained glass doors and the BBiiiiiiggg aquarium (it actually looks big coz of the mirrors all around) with eels and gold fish are great..
The service is excellent.
Must eat r the “sizzlers”… I won’t tell u what it is… but, just that it’s special!
High King:
Narayanguda. A 20 yr old place.
All the who’s who of Hyd can be seen here often.
Every thing here is in marble…the railing is in cream as if in ivory!
Try out the Mancho soup (veg and tomatoes spiced up to the extreme extent) and Babycorn 65.
Coconut Pancake with ice-cream is simply ……. sssss slurp…. my mouth waters and my tummy rumbles!
But let me warn you that the service is not remarkable.
Nanking:
Park lane, Secunderabad. A small crowded and cozy place.
Economy is what makes it special. Some people go only there from years!!
Sports an “uh-ho! Not so good” service.
One can try out the Onion Chicken, the Chicken Drumsticks and the Cantonese soup.
The most special place r talked abt in the comments...
And now I write this with a sour tummy (my mom can hear the groans from the next room!), but with a relished mind and heart for u all (so, plz duh rate an’ commentJ).
As for you, if you are sitting there smugly, thinking you don’t belong in here, forget it! Most of us are addicted to food, in some way or the other. Still, the next time you pile up your plate really high or ask for a “li’le“ extra cheese on your pizza, don’t think twice about it. After all, what’s life without an extra helping or two?
