[NoRules]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

I understand there are multiple configuration options for the Paradise biriyani - double meat, double masala etc. What is the recommended configuration if I like my biriyani spicy?

Ask for double meat (they aslo call it 'special' mutton biryani) double masala if you like it extra spicy.

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

Any recommendations for places selling beef or buffalo seekh kababs?

For beef biryani, try Alhamdulillah, Nampally or Prince, Mehdipatnam. They serve yummy talawa gosht (boneless beef kebabs deep fried) with rumali roti and beef biryani.

For Andhra food near Kondapur, try Abhiruchi behind Fortune towers, near Nectar Gardens. The thaali with mutton fry is nice but if you can, do visit Kakatiya mess at Ameerpet for a take away of mutton fry and mutton curry.

[DieselDon]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

I would like to eat very good biriyani, haleem

Just FYI (in-case you want to get technical): There is a yearly 'Best Biryani & Haleem contest' which Times of India conducts. (among several others)

Last Year(2011) Winners (Though most Hydeez may not agree)

Biryani

• 1st place - Jewel of Nizam (retains texture even after an hour; pretty costly though)
• 2nd place - Paradise
• 3rd place - Four Seasons

Haleem

• 1st place - Shah Ghouse
• 2nd place - Pista House
• 3rd place - Sarvi

After your visit, vote on the Times of India contest and contribute your 2 cents in deciding the 2012 winners. Do leak your results to us .

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

There doesn't seem to be any "Thanks" button for this thread. I was able to thank people in the Reviews thread, so not sure if it is a problem with my computer or the configuration for this thread.

Your computer is good. Some threads no longer have the 'Thanks' button.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by DieselDon

Some threads no longer have the 'Thanks' button.

Off Topic!

Posts on threads in Shifting Gears don't count towards your post count. And the posts also don't have thank button. This is as per new TBHP policy.

Cheers

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

As there are 300+ pages in this thread, I would be grateful if someone can summarise the list of must-eat places in Hyderabad or provide a link to the post, if this has already been done.

NoRules covered almost every place that you can enjoy for a VFM food in Hyderabad. I am just adding in bold a few more places you can try if your stomach hasnt started complaining by then

Visit Shadab near Charminar for typical old city breakfast of paya, zabaan, kheema, sheermal and khichdi;

Shahghouse, Tolichowki / 555, Masabtank for haleem

Kakatiya Deluxe mess for andhra meals, mutton fry, mutton curry, kheema fry and prawns fry;

Southern Mirchi or Southern Spice, Banjara Hills / Spicy Venue, Jubilee Hills for upmarket Andhra thaali with fish fry / quail fry / naatu kodi iguru or curry; you can also try the chicken biryani / natu kodi pulao at Southern Mirchi;

Hotel Green Park for their midnight biryani / haleem / kheema pao;

Megacity for sambar rice;

Kritunga, Erramanzil for raagi mudda, jonna rotte, rayalaseema mutton curry, naatu kodi curry;

Hotel Indu Deluxe, near Assembly for meals, kheema fry, mutton fry or Hotel Rajdoot for meals, ulava charu and bommadala pulusu;

Dinehill, Masabtank for grilled chicken, arabic tandoori chicken, mutton biryani;

Abhiruchi, near Paradise circle for meals and mutton fry;

All these are tried and tasted and come strongly recommended. Also do try the Paradise and give your opinion about their biryani. Most of us Hyderabadis believe it sucks and is all hype but there are a few among us who believe it is good. Would like to know what you think.

Pakwaan ( Bowenpally) : One of the best tandoori Chicken in Hyderabad

Pakwaan (Lakdikapul): Really awesome Fish Tikka

Niagara Hotel : Nihari is available on Fri or Sat. Not sure which day

Bade Miyan Kebab (Somajiguda) : Pathhar Ka Ghost available daily

Bade Miyan Kebab (Tank Bund) : Patthar Ka Ghost available only on Sundays. But, I like this outlet more than the Somajiguda

Paradise Hotel in Sec'bad ( Original Outlet) : Whatever others say. Paradise serves the best biryani in town. Period. Sit in their Persis section and visit exactly during lunch/dinner timing and ask for double masala. I will change my name if they dont serve you a biryani with melt in mouth mutton. Best thing about Paradise is they serve good quality meat. Other restuarants serving biryani will have either tough as nails meat OR full of bones

Some other pointers :-

1. Dont try biryani in Shahghouse, Shadab or some such small hotel. They usually serve a huge quanity of rice with bad quality meat. Just eat Haleem at these places which is extraordinary.

2. Dont miss Kakatiya Delux Mess (KDM) for their Kakatiya Mutton Fry and Fried Prawns. I am seriously addicted to their mutton fry.

3. For decent dining experience. Try "Blue Fox" and "Sholay"

4. Fine Dining Experience? Then dont miss Tansen, Sahib Sindh Sultan, Rubaiyat, Serengeti

I have some more reccomendations. Will type in later

[nagvasireddy]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

The Andhra meal I will probably have near Kondapur (where I'll be staying with relatives). If there are any good Andhra meal joints near Kondapur, please let me know.

@Anoop, don't have any expectations reg. Andhra fare in Hyderabad, the one you find in Bangalore is slightly better. You may try Kritunga near model house (Panjagutta) or rayalaseemaruchulu (multiple locations) for, of course, rayalaseema variety of Andhra cuisine.

[traveloholic]

One place I would love to tuck biryani at, Hotel Alpha near Secunderabad Station. Devour their Biryani and then enjoy their Pudding and Custard.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Niagara Hotel : Nihari is available on Fri or Sat. Not sure which day

Nihari is sold every day at Niagara, Shadab and etc. Saturdays it is mostly Chicken Nihari as Mutton is not served on Saturdays. This being Ramzan, you will get Mutton Nihari on Saturdays too.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Dont try biryani in Shahghouse, Shadab or some such small hotel. They usually serve a huge quanity of rice with bad quality meat. Just eat Haleem at these places which is extraordinary.

Are you sure about counting Shahghouse and Shadab as Small hotels Avi Bhai?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by traveloholic

Nihari is sold every day at Niagara, Shadab and etc. Saturdays it is mostly Chicken Nihari as Mutton is not served on Saturdays. This being Ramzan, you will get Mutton Nihari on Saturdays too.

My bad. I meant Chicken Nihari. I remember a cousin of mine was a fan of their chicken nihari.

Originally Posted by traveloholic

Are you sure about counting Shahghouse and Shadab as Small hotels Avi Bhai?

Absolutely. They are indeed small hotels as they dont have the ambience to be called even a decent hotel and moreso they are not at all family friendly considering the type of majority crowd that visits these outlets.

If you look back a few years, who even knew about Shahghouse? It was just a small irani type of hotel in Shalibanda and they shot to fame because of their haleem in last 2-3 years. However, even till now their hotel's aura is more like a cafe than a restuarant.

[autotranny]

Anyone know of any Andhra style mess in Kukatpally/ KPHB / Miyapur area where I can get Andhra meals take away and maybe the Mutton Pepper fry.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by mobike008

If you look back a few years, who even knew about Shahghouse?

Hyderabad is big city with a large population that is spread across both sides of the river Musi.

A very interesting trivia about Madina Building.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_City,_Hyderabad

Madina, near Charminar, is one of the oldest commercial suburbs in the city opened in 1947 on the premises of the Aladdin Wakf. Before the discovery of oil in that country, Hyderabad was richer than Saudi Arabia and the rents received from the area's buildings were sent to Saudi Arabia to help poor Muslims in Medina.

[traveloholic]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Absolutely. They are indeed small hotels as they dont have the ambience to be called even a decent hotel and moreso they are not at all family friendly considering the type of majority crowd that visits these outlets.

The Majority of the Crowd who you speak about do not visit the Family Dining area of these places. Family Dining's are generally dedicated for Families and are decent for sure. Bawarchi even though flocked majorly by people-knocked-out-of-their-senses, none of them actually come to the Family Section, reason well known to everyone. So is the case with a zillion places out there.

Originally Posted by mobike008

If you look back a few years, who even knew about Shahghouse?

If I look back, Shahghouse been at that same place for a long time.

Originally Posted by mobike008

It was just a small irani type of hotel in Shalibanda and they shot to fame because of their haleem in last 2-3 years.

IIRC, so was the case with Paradise, Shadab and etc. Just to rekindle those memories, Madina, the pride of Hyderabad was a small cafe which was very famous and people visiting Hyderabad used to make sure that they saw and experienced being at Madina. Paradise was a small irani type cafe, which used to sell Irani Chai, Osmania Biscuit, Bun Maska and etc before they ventured into Food Business. Paradise was never setup as a proper Restaurant, it was an Irani Cafe Joint, which later transformed into a Restaurant. Same is the case with Shadab and etc. Families still throng the First Floor of Shadab, which is for the Family and is a designated Family Section.

Originally Posted by mobike008

However, even till now their hotel's aura is more like a cafe than a restuarant.

Would you say the same thing about Pre-2000's Paradise? They started expanding way later and nothing more than that. Paradise till late 90's was still an Irani Cafe serving Biryani. Post their advent into Restaurant on the 2nd Floor did people start thronging it left-right-and-center.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by traveloholic

Would you say the same thing about Pre-2000's Paradise?

When I moved to Hyderabad in 2003. My regular dinner used to be Potato Curry with Tandoori Roti at Paradise.

Including a cup of tea the bill used to be less than Rupees 30 or 40.

I almost always ate in the ground floor cafe.

[NoRules]

Originally Posted by nagvasireddy

@Anoop, don't have any expectations reg. Andhra fare in Hyderabad, the one you find in Bangalore is slightly better.

Are you talking about the food you get at the Nandinis, Nagarjunas, RRRs in Bangalore? Almost each and every mess at Hyderabad which serves a full meals with a fry veggie, gravy curry, daal, chutneys, pickles, sambar, rasam, curds, papad, vadiyaalu for as less as 45 rupees is better than those places at Bangalore which charge in excess of 100 rupees for the sad fare they serve.

I lived at Bangalore for almost 3 years and absolutely hated the pricing versus food served at those Andhra food joints. And the so called Hyderabadi biryani served at most restaurants in Bangalore is absolute blasphemy.

Kritunga and RR serve good Rayalaseema food and I like both of them. Even Kritunga is multi locational. They have an outlet at Madhapur, another at Nampally.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by traveloholic

Just to rekindle those memories, Madina, the pride of Hyderabad was a small cafe which was very famous and people visiting Hyderabad used to make sure that they saw and experienced being at Madina.

True.

I visited Madina and had food there way back in 2003 along with parents. Food was delectable. Surroundings not so much. But as you said there were a lot of families out there to experience the food and surrounding for a normal weekday lunch.

Cheers

[nagvasireddy]

@NoRules - I was not counting "Andhra messes" when I compared Andhra style restaurants in B'lore Vs Hyderabad. Hence, let's agree to take price out of the equation. Even in terms of sheer numbers, B'lore has more restaurants that serve Andhra cuisine than in Hyderabad (even after relatively high growth of Andhra restaurants in Hyderabad in the past decade). When it comes to quality & taste, I find the average in B'lore higher than Hyderabad. I should know, I am from Guntur

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by nagvasireddy

@NoRules - I was not counting "Andhra messes" when I compared Andhra style restaurants in B'lore Vs Hyderabad. Hence, let's agree to take price out of the equation. Even in terms of sheer numbers, B'lore has more restaurants that serve Andhra cuisine than in Hyderabad (even after relatively high growth of Andhra restaurants in Hyderabad in the past decade). When it comes to quality & taste, I find the average in B'lore higher than Hyderabad. I should know, I am from Guntur

Totally agree with you,after having stayed an equal amount of time in both the cities,I can safely vouch for the fact that BLR does have a higher number of so called Andhra restaurants as opposed to Hyd.Even today,Hyd does not have an authentic-easy on pocket-Decent surroundings kind of restaurant.The Rayalseema Ruchulus are a big time rip off.Southern Mirchi is on the fringes,apart from these,I cant think of any restaurant that qualifies to be called a hard core Andhra Cuisine restaurant,and I have always wondered why is it so.I hope nobody pops up Abhiruchi as an option-it is the dirtiest possible option possible(atleast the one in Paradise is definitely dirty.It was manageable a couple of years back).Even the so called Ameerpet area which people claim is a hardcore Andhra food area,there is hardly any decent Andhra restaurant which can match the cleanliness of a small Nandini or a RR or a Amravati.There was an Amravati that opened up on RP road below CMR,next to SriKrishna Sweets,but the place mysteriously wound up in a couple of months.The place was spic and span,the thali and other things were priced very decently and food was excellent.But somehow the place never sustained.Another thing that is surprising is why arent the Bangalore Andhra restaurants foraying into Hyderabad which is a huge market?There must definitely be something that is going on which is preventing this particular cuisine restaurants from coming up,till then it is people like us who die to eat some authentic veppudus and pappus and kooras who are at a loss and have to depend on the so called unclean mess which are more often than not always a MESS.