[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

the Sambhar Rice at Haveli at Begumpet too is quite good. Its quite generous in quantity, is spicy and is served piping hot with just the right amount of viscosity. Sambhar Rice with freshly made papads is a must try at Haveli.

Haveli remains my all time favourite for a variety of dishes ranging from "Crispy Loose Prawns" to "Crispy Loose Corn" and "Masala Papad" among others.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Never expected this, but, the Sambhar Rice at Haveli at Begumpet too is quite good. I have never been to Megha before, but I am quite sure that it will please you. Its quite generous in quantity, is spicy and is served piping hot with just the right amount of viscosity. Sambhar Rice with freshly made papads is a must try at Haveli.

I have had sambhar rice at the following places where they claim to serve good ones

Mega City
Golden Deer (Ranigunj)
Golden Dragon ( Parklane)
Bar-One (Tadbund)
Home ( Mom makes some fabulous sambhar, rasam, avial etc..)

All above places were good and sambhar rice being such a simple dish, nobody can actually mar it. But,whats important is taste of the sambhar which has to be unique and I found that taste only at Mega City

Lets see if my opinion changes after having it at Haveli

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by mobike008

-------and sambhar rice being such a simple dish, nobody can actually mar it.

I cordially invite you to taste the Sambhar rice at my office canteen. You will actually wonder how certain caterers can spoil such a simple dish. Even a curd rice tastes awful here....

[Honda2k]

Hmmm... looks like Megha City is gonna get a lot of business from Team-BHP ! I'm looking to squeeze in some time out just to grab a parcel of Sambar Rice. By the way, is it advisable at all to take this as a parcel, and have it at Banjara hills - at least a 15-20 min ride from Basheerbagh ?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Honda2k

By the way, is it advisable at all to take this as a parcel, and have it at Banjara hills - at least a 15-20 min ride from Basheerbagh ?

Any dish as you know would taste way better if gobbled down at the table. But, they parcel SR in a silver packing which keeps it hot for 30 minutes atleast.

Hop onto your ride at 9:30pm and buy and ride back as at that time, less traffic. Make sure to ask him to give you extra drumsticks, pickle and ghee. And, next day expect a few pounds to appear magically

WARNING : As each and every table has atleast one sambhar rice ordered, they run out of it latest by 10:30pm, sometimes even by 10:00pm

[Honda2k]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Hop onto your ride at 9:30pm and buy and ride back as at that time, less traffic. Make sure to ask him to give you extra drumsticks, pickle and ghee. And, next day expect a few pounds to appear magically

WARNING : As each and every table has atleast one sambhar rice ordered, they run out of it latest by 10:30pm, sometimes even by 10:00pm

Thank you, Mobike008, for your tips ... will follow instructions to the 'T', and report back on this new discovery...ASAP !

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by Honda2k

By the way, is it advisable at all to take this as a parcel, and have it at Banjara hills - at least a 15-20 min ride from Basheerbagh ?

I carry it home and eat it after 30 minutes and it is still piping hot.

Originally Posted by mobike008

they run out of it latest by 10:30pm, sometimes even by 10:00pm

And they do not have it ready before 1pm, if you want it for lunch.

[CtrlAltDel]

Originally Posted by mobike008

A clarification on a myth here :-

Iam told you should never eat prawns and curd together? It's believed that it will lead to skin dieases?

Is it true or indeed a myth?

All these food fads are myths. If you notice these fads are regional. Such beliefs in one region is contradicted by the cooking practices of another region.

[Farukh]

Originally Posted by jayded

There is a new coffee shop that opened up just besides Subway opposite Deloitte Drive. Just happened to get inside with a friend, but then decided to have a sub and walked out. The interiors looked good and upmarket. No idea about the menu though. You might want to give it a try. It's just to the left of Subway.

Thanks for the tip Jay. Sorry for the super late reply. The name of the place is Cafe Ristretto. I did visit this place on the same day. The interior is good.

Pesto chicken salad - Fresh vegetables and chunks of chicken with some greenish dressing. It was okayish.
Chicken hot wings - Super hot for my sensitive spice-o-meter.
Mocha - Good but nothing outstanding.
Iced cappuccino - Usual taste.
A water bottle.

Total bill - Rs.556 (all inclusive).

It is kind of a coffee shop where you could have a conversation without shouting (low volume music). Will I go there next time? Probably not when I am in the mood for a good coffee but yes when I have to meet somebody without going a long distance from my office.

My rating:
Food/beverage - 3.5/5
Ambience - 3/5
Service - 3/5
VFM - 3.5/4

[NoRules]

Originally Posted by Farukh

The name of the place is Cafe Ristretto.

This is the one owned by Sania Mirza, Right?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by NoRules

This is the one owned by Sania Mirza, Right?

Yes indeed the same owned by "yours truly"!There was even an offer run(not sure if its still there)that if you go like the Ristretto FB page,3 lucky people get a free coffee Dont we have enough of these no brainer coffee lounges that we need one more to add to the clutter!

Originally Posted by Farukh

A water bottle.

Hey Farukh,does the place serve normal regular filtered water or is it mandatory to buy the bottle?

[jayded]

Originally Posted by Farukh

It is kind of a coffee shop where you could have a conversation without shouting (low volume music). Will I go there next time? Probably not when I am in the mood for a good coffee but yes when I have to meet somebody without going a long distance from my office.

Thanks for the review Farukh. The rates seem okayish if I should say, and a tad lesser compared to CCD? Didn't know the place was owned by Sania.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

3 lucky people get a free coffee...

......with Sania? I'm just kidding.

[autotranny]

Did Ristretto open. The last time I was on that road, I thought they were doing up the final touches.

Sania has big plans for the place. They are planning to have pool tables, Air hockey and maybe even a bowling alley in there. They also wanna open outlets in other cities.

EDIT : Are we all talking of the same place. The one Jayded mentions is in hitec city, opp Cyber Pearl, but Ristretto as far as I know is located in jubilee hills rd. 45.

EDIT 2 : Further reasearch done - I presume that Cafe Ristretto is not Sania's place. Apparently the one in HITEC has been there for a while and is featured on Zomato too. The one proposed by Sania is in Road No. 45, further down after the Hotel 45 Jubilee Hills. Its called just "Ristretto". See this article. (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle4383194.ece). They also have a facebook page, where they have given some sneak peaks, but does not mention anything about the place opening.

This is a huge place, much bigger than CCD lounges. Last week I saw final works being done, though I'm not sure if it opened or not.

[jayded]

Oh, so finally it's not what we thought it was.

And the real Ristretto looks really upmarket from the image in that link. Nice interiors.

[Farukh]

Originally Posted by NoRules

This is the one owned by Sania Mirza, Right?

Originally Posted by jayded

Thanks for the review Farukh. Didn't know the place was owned by Sania.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Yes indeed the same owned by "yours truly"!There was even an offer run(not sure if its still there)that if you go like the Ristretto FB page,3 lucky people get a free coffee

And I was like... What did I miss?

Originally Posted by jayded

The rates seem okayish if I should say, and a tad lesser compared to CCD?

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Dont we have enough of these no brainer coffee lounges that we need one more to add to the clutter!

Yes, lesser than CCD but I wouldn't mind paying more for a better coffee. I am totally against the idea of chain of coffee shops. They lose the passion and are pure commercial setups and not always provide the same quality. But at CCD, the coffee is good (barring few incidents and the callous attitude of the staff).

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Hey Farukh,does the place serve normal regular filtered water or is it mandatory to buy the bottle?

You have to buy like most of the other coffee lounges.