Hazzel Ice Cream - Gachibowli

12-10-2013

The ambiance is all blue blue and pretty unique and the service was swift and good with the guy suggesting us what we could have. A thumbs up for that.

Chocolate praline 
It was chocolate ice cream with brownie and nutella. I could not taste the nutella and neither could I taste the brownie, though it was visible everywhere but it just didn't taste as I expected. This ice cream can be missed and for Cream Stone fanatics this chocolate based treat is not really worth it.

Fruit indulgence
This ice cream was something I thought could be on par with Fruit Exotica in Cream Stone. The menu had kiwi, lichee And apple.
I was skeptical with Apple as an ingredient , apple in fruit custard is ok, but ice cream? , nevertheless I went ahead.
The ice cream did consist of kiwi but lost somewhere in the mixture and a whole lichee fruit de-seeded on the top as dressing. The ice cream was of a strawberry base. There was hardly any kiwi in there and with a single lichee fruit, the ice cream was complete. The finely chopped Apple was ubiquitous and made it look like I was having strawberry ice cream and apple, which made it a bad combination. Not recommended. None of my companions had it and I ended up finishing it leaving behind a lot of apple pieces. DO NOT GO by the image on the menu.

White chocolate fantasy 
The best of all the ice creams, I spotted it on the display board and not in the menu card. Ice cream with white chocolate base, butterscotch crunch and white chocolate chips. The ice cream was served and the entire taste was due to the butterscotch crunch and caramel. One hell of an ice cream. It was something unique and a lot better than I expected it to be. Highly recommended.

Service-5
Taste-2
Ambiance-4

Testa Rossa - Tivoli

12-10-2013

Saturday night dinner at Testa Rossa and what an experience it was. We entered the closed room section and the ambiance was just amazing with bulbs lit in a cage and the way the tree was used to make the interiors look better without having it chopped was sweet and considerate.
The Food.
I ordered a Irish cold coffee, which tasted good just like Bru-lite cold coffee that is sold commercially in stores, so the coffee failed to provide something unique or different. It was a regular cold coffee with milk powder, that is it.

Then came Cheese garlic bread, I was served with 4 pieces of bread as long as my palm with cheese and oregano was sprinkled on it with tomato sause (tomato sause ?). There was no taste of garlic in the bread but cheese was good and fresh. Also, the bread was not too oily on the palate.
Now it was time for some Penni Arabiata Pasta (with white sauce). The sauce tasted good and was not too thick with prominent taste of cheese which was evenly balanced (too much cheese is not good and no cheese makes it a bad pasta, in my opinion). It contained ample amounts of green capsicum but the chicken pieces were finely chopped and were not in excess but just there.
Finally it was time for Paprika Chicken, it was the best amongst all the dishes. Looked like it had a tandoori chicken based marinate (hung curd if i am not mistaken) and the chicken pieces were cut in nice shape and the masala was all over the chicken was in excess (like a chocolate topping on an ice cream). It lived up to its name of spicy and it did tingle my buds. The chicken seemed like it was shallow fried with a lot of oil which was visible on the plate and the chicken was nice and soft and not at all chewy. The plating of the dish was not really good and it looked mediocre but tasted good. I recommend it if one is looking for something spicy.

7-12-13
This had to be here.

Ordered Mocha Frappe or Chocolate shake(Not sure if they they same or different)
Now i told the waiter to get the best chocolate drink they could make and he got this. If one has ever tried Danone's chocolate tetra pack, this was almost the same. The drink was thick very very thick and had liquid chocolate at the bottom of the glass. This was better than any other drinks in the coffee shops around the city.
I ordered one more of this.


Ambiance is the best
Food-4
Service-4.5

(I found the washroom unique with an olden wall look and modern touch to it)

Khan Saab

A nice family dinner at Khaan Saab. The interiors are kind of simple. The ambiance on Sunday(8-12-13) night was kind off disappointing as It was a gazals night and the volume was so over the top that we could not hear the person across the table speaking.
Our order

Toonde Kabeb
Mutton keema so fine it was almost like a paste with the taste of chilli which was finely chopped. It was tava fried and so finely that the oil used got absorbed into the kabeb giving it a nice rich taste. Highly recommended.

Murg Dakhani
I guess this was the chicken wings region that connects the breast region with a single bone. It was cooked in a tandoor And had a dressing of mint and coriander paste. The taste was amazing and the charring of the chicken made it even better.
I hoped that the chef had charred it a little more. For me, the charred regions made the dish a royal one.

Chicken Kandhaar
This was a main course, the masala consisted of chopped onions and tomato and I could taste onions when ever I took a bite. The dish contained of shredded chicken and I felt the quantity of chicken was kind of on the lower side. But the taste was again amazing.

Lagan ka Chicken
This was full of cream and consisted of 6 tikka pieces and coriander. I guess the chef used kaju paste to make the gravy. The dish was bland and the only thing that stood out was the richness of the dish.
Can give it a skip.

Tandoori Roti
The roti seemed Like it was re-heated and was not hot when served. It was a little dry. My mother didn't like the roti And chose to eat only half of the whole.

I loved the place and the taste was royal but then I felt the quantity was kind of disappointing.

I rate it 4.

When the starters were served it took a while for the salad to come and when it did arrive our starters were over by then.

But the second time i asked for a plate of salad it was promptly served. So a mistake once committed was not repeated.

If not for the quantity everything else is perfect including the service with a few hiccups here and there.

CCD Lounge

6-12-2013

Lounge at Ashoka Bhopal Chambers, SP Road.

It was dinner time and we decide to try out lounge and what it had to offer.

We first ordered KHAO SUI some burmese dish.
It consisted of nice soft noodles and a lot of vegetables(Capsicum, Onion and Broccoli), two pieces of Chicken pakoda. All this was topped with a nice creamy sauce which consisted of maggi masala. The noodles were perfectly cooked and the pakoda was nice on the outside, crisp and tender on the inside. This dish was not something Extraordinary.

Chicken Platter.
This is the dish you might want to avoid consisted of 3 chicken wings. The flesh on the wings was not at all there showing that the chicken they use is lean. The next had two pakodas which again were crisp on the out and tender inside. The third on the plate were 4 momos they were kind of nice but too oily and the filling i thought was not too much. The best one was Garlic bread. It was crisp and had nice garlic sprinkled on top.
AVOID

Indian Rice bowl.
Consisted of 3 chicken pieces with tandoori masala and the same gravy that the khao suey had. IT consisted of basmati rice and in large quantities but the gravy didnt seem enough for the rice. Should be tried.

Smoked Chicken Sub
This one can never be like the the ones in Subway. The bread was cut into half and small pieces of chicken along with capsicum, Onion and some herbs sauted together and placed on the bread then a layer of mayo was added and served. It can be avoided as the taste for someone who have had subs at subway will not be great. In addition to the sub were nachos with a tomato, capsicum, garlic, pepper chutney.

Roasted Chicken Pizza
This pizza was a 7 inch one cut into four slices and served. The crust was very thin and the chicken pieces were scanty, The vegetables were not really there and the cheese also seemed kind off weird. The sauces on the base made the cheese to slip off the base and the oil was like it was a part of the dressing. Tasted mediocre
AVOID

Choco Frappe
Nothing great. The drink was not made properly as he was the only waiter and forgot to add sugar. Not an issue.
This is something I can make better at home and going to a coffee shop for such a drink is not worth it.

Kaapi Nirvana
This is the best drink on the entire menu and i heard it won the best drink of the year award.
it comes with cold coffee with a tinge of coconut and no sugar. To supplement sugar cream is added on top and on top its dressed with chocolate vermicelli . Generally people eat up the cream and find the coffee to be very sour and reject the drink but that's not how it should be tasted.
Take a spoon taste some cream and coffee till the cream is at glass level and then mix it up such that the cream acts as a sweetner and then drink the coffee.
Not to be missed

Artic Sun

What a treat. Chocolate sauce at the bottom and two scoops of vanilla in a class served with 2 shots of espresso in a minature kettle like structure. We are supposed to pour the espresso as we like and then drink it after the ice cream melts. Wow it was such a wonderfully fresh drink.

Choco Decks
The best dessert. Four layers of brownie, chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce and i believe they add some strawberry flavour. The brownie should be heated and if its not return it coz that will ruin the taste.


Ambiance - 5 (all CCD lounges have the same feel to them )
Taste
Food - 3.5 (The dishes they offer are mediocre to good and the quantity is a little less when it comes to chicken items, not a place to be eating at )
Coffee and other Drinks - 4.5 (best place to be at for some nice coffee, they good at making coffee and should look at their food)
Service - 3.5 ( its kind of slow takes a minimum of 15 minutes before the dish is served, be it coffee also)

The items listed above are not on the menu updated by Zomato. All the CCD lounges have a different menu.

4 Seasons-Inorbit Mall food court.

7-12-2013
Biryani at 4 Seasons Inorbit Mall food court.

This is what I call the chamach choori(knife and fork) Biryani with saffron and subtle spices. The only thing I could find in it was daalchinI and a curd based marinate in the mAsala and a lot of chicken, 3 good pieces.
Having ordered it here, I payed 200. This when compared to any other normal place we would get a biryani for a good 4 people in that price. But this is not worth it and only if you have no option then it's the best bet amongst all the other options where the Biryani was served in 5 minutes.
I call this chamach choori because of tender chicken could be cut with a plastic fork while the breast region of the Chicken was not chewy at all.
The gravy(saalan) was kind of acerbic and that hints at spoilage, careful before eating.

Rating 3.5
I liked the Biryani and the food was delivered in 5 minutes but the quantity is not enough for a hungry person. It filled my stomach but i didn't leave feeling heavy. The ambiance cannot be considered as it is a food court, what can one expect? Also, keeping in mind the rent they pay and the competition around. I feel the prices are competitive and thus the rating.

Mayabaazar

25-9-2012

A lovely place to visit for classic ambiance and the food being reasonable on the pocket it makes a good visit when on a tight budget, if you can overlook a few negatives.
Home delivery experience:
I had ordered Paneer Butter Masala, the masala was good and savory but the Paneer was nothing less than a rubber, very bad at that.

Then it was the turn of Pepper Chicken, the chicken is deep fried with fine black pepper powder in it as the main flavor. Mayabaazar's pepper chicken was pretty unique at that, the chicken was coated with cornflour (I guess egg too, not a good cook so cant really tell) to make it look big and coarse pepper embedded in the coating with chopped green chilly which made the taste too peppery(that's my term for its taste). Not recommended.

Then came the Kadai Chicken, it will remind you of your home cooked food, not much masalas, onions seemed more like a garnish and a very very simple dish. Its not a dish i would want to eat at a restaurant. This could be a plus for some but not me.
Dine-in experience(a month ago):
The Chefs Special Chicken is really very good but the quantity is disappointing, with a lot of vegetables ranging from a carrot to a cauliflower to a cabbage but the chicken looked like a minority there.

The Butter Chicken is mild and does not contain a lot of masalas that go into its making and is a very simple, home style dish and the quantity of the gravy is good and is pretty smooth with the richness of butter, but the chicken is just not there, for that price I deserve a little more.

Food - 2.5(too simple)
Ambiance - 4.5(loved the place)
Service(dine-in) - 2.5(you have to wait a while to see the food on your plate)
Home Delivery - 4 (delivered in 15 minutes)

Metro Foods

30-11-2013

Coating only, no chicken. Looked like a Manchuria, had the tadka of a Manchuria but was named 65. I placed an order because of the review and it fooled me. The taste is below par and is not all that worth it.

Chicken noodles.
Lots of pepper, oil and capsicum. It gave an impression of a dish made by a novice. The noodles were under cooked and the chicken, felt like I was having just Maida(refined flour).
Why don't they name it Maida balls with noodle.

Sechwan Veg
Tadka of curry leaves and a lot of aam chur(don't know the English translation of this). I thought it was citrus acid but I was correct. So aam chur it is.
Come on. The dish can be re named.
Vegetable manchuria consisted nothing but cabbage.

Rating is 2.
Food is pathetic, over priced and not worth a single rupee. The noodles were bad and the veg starter was too Khatta(Citrusy).
I am writing this review so that, my fellow foodies are not be fooled into thinking its good or even worth trying.

Mama Mia - II

 27-11-13

For lunch i decided to head to Mama Mia and this being my second visit i knew what i had to order.
Mama Mia non veg special.
This is the best, one can have. Almost all the vegetables are present in this pizza. I asked for lesser tomatoes, inspite of that the tomatoes were enough to make me not like it. I do not like too much of tomatoes but my mother loved it, so i ate it without the tomatoes and it tasted amazing. The chicken was meager. ( One would only not like it if he does not like tomatoes much)
Chicken Tikka
This was the best but lesser chicken. I had Dhaniya(Coriander) and that gave it a unique taste.

Rest the ice creams the owner says might be discontinued as the machine breaks down every now and then and its proving too much of a hassle to get it repaired, as a result loss of some tasty ice cream. :(

A good news for all the Mama Mia fans, a baker would be hired soon for brownies and cookies.

On a personal note,I loved the new seating area, spacious and better than the previous one.

Gloria Jean's Coffee

I have a coffee here everytime I go to Lifestyle.


I came across this place hoping to get a glass full of good coffee and this place did not disappoint me.
I ordered Creme Brulee, Signature Caramel Coffee and Iced Tea.
The Creme Brulee was good but that you will manage to get in any coffee shop and the iced tea i found mediocre but the real taste was in the signature coffee.
This he made in front of me but putting 2 scoops of ice cream in the jug, 2 shots of coffee from the huge coffee machine that lies there and something else which i couldn't figure and milk. After having served this drink to me i just couldn't forget the taste and wanted to have it everyday. There was a slight taste of caramel in the coffee and that is one ingredient that makes the coffee so tasty. This is a must have in my opinion.
The seating is not all that great with people walking past you while you sit and enjoy your coffee, there is always activity here because it in the middle of a shopping mall but that doesn't matter as long as the taste is good.

Canton Spice - II

7-11-2013

I decided to give canton spice a chance and went there to grab a quick bite.
I ordered rolls this time to be on the safer side as i had it last time and they tasted amazing.
I ordered a Chicken Manchuria roll.
It was good with a lot of tomato sauce filled along with the manchuria. The chicken pieces were small and seemed like he had filled it with the masala by adding it a little water to make the filling look enough. The amount of oil that kept dripping out my roll kept me wondering how long i would take to burn out the calories i consumed.
Overall the taste was good and one can try any variety he wishes for.
The response of the management was again great, with them offering what to order this time around and what their specialty was as opposed to last time where the waiter responded that everything was their specialty.
So pretty much satisfied and will surely head there for more rolls.

Canton Spice - I

20-9-2013
I decided to come to this place after hearing a lot of reviews about their Rolls.
Double egg rolls- Haryali Kabeb, Chicken Tikka, Reshmi Kabeb.
The Kabebs were worth every penny and very filling for a hungry person looking for budget alternatives to fill one's stomach.
The taste was good, the sauce was in perfect proportions the chicken was nice and succulent and with the exact taste of the respective kabebs.
I would suggest people go here rather than Roll Call if they want to eat a few Rolls, but beware.
Then I ordered Canton fried noodles.
The noodles were nice and crisp with no smell of egg, the vegetables were soft and nicely cooked, chicken was soft too and HAIR, well, I didn't taste that though.
This was what made me throw up. God knows if there were any hair in the rolls.
The entire dish was replaced but I didn't not have the guts to eat there again so I got that parceled.
I will rate it the lowest for what they served in the end.

Sigree

19-11-2013
After almost entering Oh Calcutta for Lunch, the reviews on zomato made me change my mind coz one of them said it is not an ideal place for vegetarians and with a dominant veggie as my companion, Sigree it was.
I ordered only 2 dishes and I got one complimentary(brownie points for that).
Veg Platter
Consisted of a kebab, dum aloo And paneer tikka. This we ordered coz it made proper sense to be able to decide what starter to order the next time we go there.
The Kebab.
It was cooked on a seekh probably in a tandoor. It was made by the mash of peas, minced garlic, carrot, onion, chilli, coriander and onion. Bound together and cooked. It was good but not a dish which will leave an amazing after taste.
Dum aloo
This was the best part of the platter where the aloo(potato) was soft and perfectly cooked dressed with some sort of cream. When undercooked it remains hard and when over cooked the potato falls apart like a mash. No such signs.
Paneer Tikka.
This Paneer tikka is something I did not like at all. It seemed like the paneer was cooked on a Tava with chilli, tomatoes, pepper and not in a tandoor. There was no marinate on it, was bland and not at all great.

The platter is not really recommended.

Kadai Paneer
We asked the waiter to get something which was spicy and he took our order so seriously that the dish blew our lids off, with tears rolling down our cheeks and a glass of water in the other hand.
The dish was made in tomato and onion base with tomato sauce, if I am not mistaken. It also had bell pepper, not whole
though And coriander seeds that occasionally gave an amazing taste to the dish, whenever it came in the spoon. The paneer was soft and took in the spices very well. I had to wait a while to take the next bite coz the spiciness made it difficult to eat. But that's the best part.
Seeing our plight the waiter offered to change the actual one for a freshly prepared dish which we declined. We were enjoying it and no way we would ask him to replace it.
So he instead got us a palak paneer based dish.

This had grated paneer in the pallak which had a tadka of garlic and onion(they were visible). The taste of it was pretty bland yet it didn't require salt as that itself tasted good.

We ordered multani paratha And butter naan.

The multani paratha is a layered paratha which you will find in any Punjabi's house but this one was crisper and a lot richer and had more Maida.

The butter naan is not like a regular naan I am used to eating and looked more like a paratha.

Taste - 3.8 (not really there in the vegetarian category)
I am in conflict with myself.
The starters was not really great except the dum aloo and neither was the pallak based dish out of the box. The kadai paneer is something I'll order again.

Service - 5
The starters took a while to be come down to our table but the way the waiters responded And the way they took our choice so seriously shows how hard they working on their service

Ambiance - 4

The place has a decent feel to it.

Over all an above average place in terms of taste to visit.

Oh So Stoned -III

Visited Oh So stoned again today(17-11-13)
and ordered Brownie Blast with two scoops of chocolate ice cream. Let me tell you order this only if you are open to a very bitter tasting chocolate ice cream and it is not the one you can have always. My recommendation would be to order it with one scoop vanilla and one scoop chocolate.

Ordered Nuts bout Toffee something
I chose one vanilla and one Chocolate scoop for ice cream and the taste of chocolate was so overpowering that I really didnt enjoy it. This ice cream I had previously with 2 scoops vanilla and it was extremely tasty so now I know what i would be sticking to.

The review of these are in the previous posts.

Oh So Stoned - II

My 2nd visit to oh so stoned
I ordered sitphal cream, tira miss u too, brownie delight and scarface noir.

Sitaphal Cream
Wow, Wow Wow. This is the best. It was full of custard apple pulp and cream and it tasted so amazingly good I have no words to describe it. One original and beautiful dish.

Tira Miss you too.
Coffee ice cream with a biscuit that I could taste in it, topped with cream and little coffee powder sprinkled on top. This was so fresh and different, once again a new dish and a very good one at that.

Brownie delight.
I tried this dish once again and this time with chocolate sauce and it just tasted heavenly.
The brownie was so dominant that the ice cream was lost somewhere but in perfect proportions that it tasted really good.

Scarface Noir
The taste of ferro Rocher was what I wasnt anticipating but they surprised me by providing just that. They didn't let the ice cream take over and they let all the ingredients used, to stand out with their flavour.

So my second review and I am telling you Oh so Stoned has improved itself in leaps and bounds. They have gone up from an average stone ice cream to a top notch place.
Beware players, Oh so stoned has just arrived and with a bang.

Oh so Stoned is OH-SOme

I chose not to add another review so i will be updating this one itself from Last Night's visit(31-10-3013).
I tried Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Ban Toffee something.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
It reminded me of Bulls eye. The concept is the same except, the dessert is served on a waffle and a brownie and not a creamy pastry slice. The ice cream is mixed with a lot of chocolate and placed on the OH SO SOFT brownie. The taste though is good but you can give this a skip and opt for Brownie Blast.

Nuts bout Toffee (not on the menu on zomato, the menu has been updated with lot more amazing variants)
This was the surprise package. Roasted Almonds and a crunchy ingredient mixed in vanilla ice cream and with a few others, tasted the Best. I being a chocolate fanatic fell in love with this ice cream after the first bite itself. Not to be missed.

One Complain though with the management. 
Consistency.

The brownie on one occasion in Brownie Blast was charred and had become kind of weird and the entire ice cream tasted like a chocolate which high concentration of dark chocolate.
The dish was replaced nonetheless and i chose to ignore it.
Last night having ordered the same the brownie was perfectly OH-SOme

Last night,
Having ordered Sitaphal cream, I could not taste no Sitaphal pulp. It looked more like a vanilla+fresh cream topped with some pulp, more like a dressing. I called the waiter and asked him why so and he agreed to have put lesser quantity.

So on two different occasions I have faced a problem of the taste not being the same.

I have been visiting here so often that the ice cream maker tells my brother " he comes everyday ". Its the taste and the service that has made me a regular here. I hope the management looks into these minor glitches. I thought it would be better if i gave this input.

on the positive side, I love the way the ice creams are named, Pandu Pandu Pandu, Big Brother Brownie (hope i got them right).

This is a MUST VISIT place.

Oh So Stoned - I

Looking for a cheaper options for ice creams I chose this place.
Having ordered Brownie Blast, Fruit Explosion and Just Brownie, I strongly recommend those who look for marginally cheaper yet tastier options for stone ice creams in Secunderabad this is the place.
Brownie Blast
2 scoops of chocolate ice cream and brownie mixed together with caramel sauce is good but the caramel sauce already being sweet as its nothing but heated sugar and that with ice cream made it way too sweet for my buds, a little less sause and the desert is perfect.
Fruit Explosion
Strawberry ice cream with berry crush reminded me of a pastry I once had and they just managed to bring back sweet memories.
Just Brownie
Brownie with caramel sauce, this I asked them to lessen the amount of sauce they pour so make it edible. Yet this I will never have(personal choice) as its just plain brownie with either chocolate sauce or caramel sauce. I would recommend them to rather use Walnut brownie as that might add a little taste to a brownie which is perfect in taste, balanced and not too hard or too soft.
Overall it's a good place, nice interiors and only stone ice cream in this part of Secunderabad that tastes good if one can't travel all the way to Begumpet.

My experience here was good but they need to improve a bit if the planning on competing with the likes of other well known ice cream joints.

Mama Mia - Sainikpuri

31-8-2013

Having been to Mama mia after much discussion on various budget joints to visit i ended up visiting again after 2 days.
I ordered 3 pizzas, of which one was a paneer pizza, veg Alfredo pasta, garlic bread, Chocolate Pana Cota and tasted the gelato as well.
Here is my review.
Food - 4/5
Of the three i ordered a mama mia special and a chicken one and paneer whose name i forget.

The pizzas were one of the best wood burnt pizzas i had tasted but had a little more of tomato's than my liking but not everyone is me, tastes differ. The pizzas were perfectly made and the base was nice and crisp, not too thick. I like it spicy so had to sprinkle a bit of chili flakes. The cheese was not overflowing it was just there in right amounts and all of it was FRESH from the chicken to the paneer.

The Pasta had less cheese or no cheese probably coz i had ordered a combo and i could taste white sauce, i expected it to be more cheesy. It was not overcooked and had only zucchini. This is the dish which did not live upto my expectations.

The gelato ice cream and pana cota.
Well, having tasted the ice cream from the Gelato outlets i felt Mama Mia had to offer almost the same taste except they need to refine it a little more to avoid the ice crystals. Its worth a try.
The pana cota on the other hand was one dish you should not miss if you happen to visit Mama mia. I had 4 of these. :)

The ambiance. 5/5
The inside has just 3 tables its pretty cozy and good. But the main attraction for me was the owners and the guy who makes the ice cream. They interact with you while eating sharing anecdotes and a lot more. Its for them you have to visit this place.

Service. 4/5
It takes nearly 20 minutes for you to get the food after ordering it . But that should not be the problem as the owners keep you company and that's just the best way to kill time till the food is served.

Cost 5/5.
The prices are reasonable and for college students this is the place to visit to try not heavy on your money pizzas. A budget eatery for wood burnt pizzas unlike the other costlier options and is worth every penny and the food is filling.

Overall i give it a 4. 
Wouldn't be surprised if they end up going mainstream.