[mobike008]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

But I hate Paradise Biryani from the bottom of my heart. I like both Bawarchi and Astoria. Actually sometimes feel that Astoria is slightly better in taste from Bawarchi and definitely gives larger quantities than its neighbour.

That's the biggest problem of expectation of a hyderabad biryani. Instead of quality taste and most importantly well-cooked meat, most people expect LARGE quantities of rice with lots of hard to eat meat in it for a measly price (Rs. 140 in every other outlet vs Rs.220 in Paradise)

Bawarchi and Astoria are good places and at time were the Junta biryani joints. What I agree with you is that Astoria is better than Bawarchi. But, both are still miles away from being the best.

Their modus operandi is :-

a) Large quantities of rice
b) Just one huge piece of chicken (which looks ghastly on a plate) OR if its mutton biryani, lots of HARD mutton pieces and i dare anyone to bite into any one piece which can be confirmed as succelent. Even their boneless pieces are some odd parts which is unrecognizable to my untrained eye
c) Mirchi ka saalan which is equivalent to your water's thickness
d) Raitha so sour, its guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes

If above is not enough, their consistency changes by the hour.

I am not saying i am an expert on biryani but, come on, trusting one's taste buds isn't that hard

[hyd_traveller]

I am also fond of Paradise Biryani but only if eaten there. The white rice turns dry if taken away in a parcel so I never get it home from Paradise.

I had 2-piece-chicken double-masala biryani from Bahar yesterday for an early lunch. There was not even a single grain of white rice in the whole parcel. His dahi-chutney is just water and a total horror. The lack of white rice could be since the packing was done very early in the day at 12:25pm and he felt liberal enough to give more masala but who am I to complain?

I would not mind joining you all in the biryani comparison meet, not to opine but to eat and enjoy.

Milecruncher, New Astoria (RTC Cross Roads) and Astoria (opposite RBI) are two different restaurants.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

What about the price?

Prices have been increased for sure.

[saikatmandal04]

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

I would not mind joining you all in the biryani comparison meet, not to opine but to eat and enjoy.

Its turning out to be a TBhp meetup. Why dont we plan for a lunch meet at Paradise and witness the verdict being read out by traveloholic ?

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by mobike008

That's the biggest problem of expectation of a hyderabad biryani. Instead of quality taste and most importantly well-cooked meat, most people expect LARGE quantities of rice with lots of hard to eat meat in it for a measly price (Rs. 140 in every other outlet vs Rs.220 in Paradise)

I am not saying i am an expert on biryani but, come on, trusting one's taste buds isn't that hard

Its not the money or quantity. As it is I can hardly eat half a biryani myself at one go. What I really dislike about the Paradise Biryani is the lack of flavour or taste. It seems too bland, may be made to suit the foreigner palate. Have been eating at Paradise since 2003 and their taste has definitely gone down.

One Biryani that I'm tending to like is the Double Masala and Double Gosht Mutton Biryani of Zurna.

Cheers

[NoRules]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

One Biryani that I'm tending to like is the Double Masala and Double Gosht Mutton Biryani of Zurna.

Cheers

I am sure you know Zurna is an extension of Garden Restaurant. The cooked handis are brought from Garden.

On the topic of biryanis, I dislike chicken biryani in any restaurant where they serve big pieces of chicken and eat only mutton biryani when I eat out except for places like Southern Mirchi which serves medium size chicken pieces.

[gauravdgr8]

Was early to work today for some meetings. After a couple of hours felt hungry to went to McD for their Breakfast meals.

Nothing new as have been eating the same in Mumbai for quite some time. hAs a scrumptious breakfast which included:

1. Hot Cake with Maple Syrup and Butter (My Fav)
2. Veg. McMuffin Supreme
3. Hash Brown
4. Cold Coffee

Felt good

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

What I really dislike about the Paradise Biryani is the lack of flavour or taste. It seems too bland, may be made to suit the foreigner palate. Have been eating at Paradise since 2003 and their taste has definitely gone down.

Paradise Biryani is as authentic as it can get and I can never eat bland food myself. What you mentioned about Paradise was a few years ago when their taste had gone down the dumps.

Now they revived themselves with a bang and massive crowds is proof enough of this testament. I always ask my biryani to be served with double masala and sometimes the waiter gets the masala as an addition in a separate plate

Paradise Biryani's characteristics

Rich brown color
Super long grained rice
Flavour/Scent to knock off a healthy mule
Masala so heavenly it can only bring water to your mouth
Mutton is so tender that its simply unbeilevable and each piece served is edible
Mirchi Ka Salan is thick and you can actually taste it
Dont recall taste of their raitha but, i am sure is better than others. Besides, I dont have much use for raitha in these restuarants as almost all these biryani joints fail miserably in raitha department

Paradise Biryani can be perfectly jingled as " Dhane Dhane mein khushee (every morsel brings happiness)"

P.S: Above is true only if you devour the biryani in their restuarant during proper lunch/dinner timing. Take-aways always turns a good biryani into a disaster. That's why I dont prefer takeaways unless the urge is too strong.

[CtrlAltDel]

Originally Posted by NoRules

For company we can take CtrlAltDel. Oh no..He does not eat red meat. May be Nikhil.

I can judge the Chicken biryani !

[SILVERWOOD]

Originally Posted by NoRules

On the topic of biryanis, I dislike chicken biryani in any restaurant where they serve big pieces of chicken and eat only mutton biryani when I eat out except for places like Southern Mirchi which serves medium size chicken pieces.

Ravi-

Try KIMS hospital chicken biryani once and see the difference.

3-4 small & perfectly cooked chicken pieces for Rs 90.

[mobike008]

Chocolade's Water Melon and Dry Fruit Choco Ice-cream. The latter was outstanding.

[NoRules]

Originally Posted by SILVERWOOD

Ravi-

Try KIMS hospital chicken biryani once and see the difference.

3-4 small & perfectly cooked chicken pieces for Rs 90.

Thats on my to-do list. Will definitely try it out in a week, been hearing a lot about it.

And recently I got chicken biryani from Indo American Cancer hospital canteen, my kids loved it and ask me to get it every now and then.

[traveloholic]

It was time to get Grilled with some amazing food at Grills'n'Steaks. Been waiting for long for Grills'n'Steaks to reopen after rennovation.

G'n'S (Grills'n'Steaks shall hence forth be referred to as G'n'S in this review) was on our Must-Visit-Again list for a long time.

Been there earlier and loved the food served there. The urge to have some good food made us visit this place again.

G'n'S did not dishearten us this time too. It is a place; I would love going back to again and again.

The whole foodie binge started off with a bang with the ample servings of the starters, which were had to the heart content. There was never ever a case, where we disliked something served.

Let the pictures do the talking. After the awesome lunch, I feel kind of lazy to review the dishes in detail. Will try to do it sometime later. Till then enjoy the pics and salivate yourself.

What was served as starters?
Non Veg Starters (Grilled Prawns, Mutton Kebabs & Grilled Chicken/Malai Chicken Tikka)




Veg Starters (Paneer Tikka, Gobi 65 & Grilled Mushrooms)




Had a variety of Veg Salads and Non Veg Salads served with either a Sweet Corn Soup or Hot & Sour Chicken Soup.



Not being much of Main Course kinds, I just skimmed through the offerings and took a helping or two of what I felt would be ok.
What was served for Main Course?
Fish Curry
Chicken Curry
Thai Roasted Prawns
Veg Cream Fuseli
Chicken Biryani
Dal Tadka
And a few more dishes I don’t remember like Paneer Jalfarezi and etc.




Deserts was something I always love at G’n’S.
Fresh Fruit Cuts, Pastries and Gulab Jamun’s were on the menu.




Some more pics of the deserts to tantalize those taste buds and give your sweet tooth the much needed kick.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by traveloholic

It was time to get Grilled with some amazing food at Grills'n'Steaks. Been waiting for long for Grills'n'Steaks to reopen after rennovation.

Were the pictures of food portions pertaining to one person? That looks like 2000 calories in one helping with generous dose of processed sugar involved.

Sorry to say, but looks like a sure shot recipe to obesity and heart attack in the long run!

We all like good food but as one person said, be a Gourmet and not Gourmand!

[mobike008]

Excellent Pictures Nikhil, I am totally drooling out here looking at those lovely pictures. Btw, those prawns look huge and why is it full? I mean didnt they clean it and serve like how prawns are usually served?

Lets do this lunch meet now for sure in near future

Here is a picture of Kakatiya Mess's Mutton Fry; one is complete dry and other is slightly with gravy. Both are wonderfully delectable

I liked the dry one even if its was a bit chewy and very spicy

[Neilguy]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Were the pictures of food portions pertaining to one person? That looks like 2000 calories in one helping with generous dose of processed sugar involved.

Sorry to say, but looks like a sure shot recipe to obesity and heart attack in the long run!

We all like good food but as one person said, be a Gourmet and not Gourmand!

I can understand your apprehension while counting calories, but why did you assume that just because the photos were posted by a single person, all the food was also eaten by a single person. The photos are only a partial representation of the variety available in the buffet and was consumed by a party of 3, that too with varying proportions each.

But while saying that, I have to say that the taste was really awesome and having hot grilled food (starters) brought on the table made us all eager to try it and confirm that the nonveg and the veg food tasted great. The shrimp was loaded with grilled masala and the chicken was enticingly soft. Mutton kebabs were truly out of this world, and even the grilled mushrooms, cauliflower and paneer starters were outstanding.

I liked the fish curry (but fish, eventhough tasty, was not boneless), Thai prawns, and fusili pasta. Went great with tomato dal, roti and rice. I could not venture much at the veg main course side, so can't comment on that. A lot has been spoken about the desserts already, so let me just add that the desserts complemented the food perfectly and did not feel heavy at all even after a grand meal.

All in all, had a good time and would surely go again. I haven't seen so much seafood (there was fish salad too) available in a lunch buffet anywhere else in hyderabad.