Wine meets Curry - the 2nd time!

This is in continuation with my previous blog post Wine Meets Curry!. A 2nd session was quite welcome and I was looking forward to this. We tried three wines, the Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Shiraz and Zinfandel Rosé. The Sauvignon Blanc and the Rosé were the new ones on that evening.

pani puri

Panchmela

Sula Sauvignon Blanc

Dhingri Shikampuri

Palak Anardana

Hyderabadi Shikampuri

Basil Choosa

Raan Mussallam

Sula Cabernet Shiraz

Shahi Falooda with Zinfandel

Guilty of making a Guilt Trip!

This is one place where you need not feel guilty feeding your stomach(and your desire!) with stuffs that look gorgeously inviting! Guilt Trip on Rd#9 Banjara Hills is a cool and cozy place to enjoy sinfully delicious cakes, pastries and more. My first impression of the outlet starts with the friendly staff who waits on you and helps you choose your stuff. The attention is discreet yet quick!

After dilly-dallying on what to take and what not, I finally settled down for a slice each of chocolate truffle, red-velvet and caramel baked cheese cake to go with.A very noteworthy thing is the packaging. They guarantee(almost!) that its spoil-proof and the slices will be intact when I reach home. True to their assurance, it indeed was spoil proof! I got a full sized chocolate truffle cake another day, and the box was literally flying all the way back home on my bike. Yet, when I reached home, the cake was completely intact! That choc truffle cake was devoured in minutes and I went back the next day for another bigger one, only to realize the taste was exactly the same - heavenly!

Coming to the pastries, the red-velvet cake has been their best seller. You need to taste it to know why. Its so perfectly made and has such a balanced taste, I wouldn't even bother to describe it anymore. Rather, I would leave it to you to try it out yourself! The caramel baked cheese cake really didn't pack a punch like the red-velvet one, but was definitely above average.

Talk about indulging your senses? The chocolate truffle is the one to go for! Absolutely, sinfully delightful(I know I have been repeating these adjectives!) and I could go on licking my spoon clean!

The pictures are here to do the talking(and luring!).

Neatly packed!

Red velvet cheese cake, caramel baked cheese cake and classic chocolate truffle

Classic chocolate truffle - a mindblowing work of art and taste!

Caramel baked cheese cake

Red velvet cheese cake

I wouldn't pay that wee little bit extra as I believe they are pure value for the money you pay!

Do hop in and satiate your craving for cakes and pastries!

Fusion 9 - A truly lavish Sunday Brunch!

I had been hearing this a lot - Fusion 9 has this, Fusion 9 has that, Fusion 9's brunch is excellent and so on. But somehow I wasn't convinced of the premium pricing they were charging for a Sunday brunch, which was almost comparable to brunch pricing at star hotels. And for weekday, I simply never got an opportunity to sample out their menu on a weekday. The opportunity came when a few of us decided to out on a leisurely dining with family and Fusion 9 was finalized. 

I had called up and reserved a table for six, we arrived on time and were seated promptly. The staff was very cordial and I liked the fact that they let me change the table once and get us our own preferential seating without any hesitation. The brunch spread was quite huge with a good mix of various cuisines. They were serving the starters on the table itself and I just lost count of how much of those we had! Since all of us opted for the soft drink brunch, here are pictures of a few of them.

The starters included kebabs(both veg and non-veg), mini pizzas, and dishes from the live grill counter. The things instantly became a hit with me were the veg mini samosas and grilled prawns from the live grill. I had never even though the samosa would be a surprise champion. It tasted so delicious and perfect! The grilled prawns were tender and juicy, with the right amount of grilling done. They were not dry at all and had the perfect amount of marinade/seasoning on them creating a right balance of taste.

non-veg starters - chicken, fish and mutton dishes

veg and non-veg pizza

Chicken wings

veg starters - samosa was the showstopper!

from the live grill counter

Trying to decide which ones to take first and which ones to leave for later was  a tough decision to make while browsing the aisles laden with colorful dishes. What tempted me the most were these devilled eggs sort of(forgot the actual name they had for this) and these indeed were yum! The sushi wasn't to be missed either and they did a good job on that too. But I felt the wasabi lacked the strength which I have known it to have. It was more like a lightened version.

prawns sushi/maki

The roasted brandy lamb in the main course did taste good, but I felt the flavor was quite subtle. It was quite nice to combine it with the prawns biryani where I felt either of them were not quite overpowering in taste or flavor.

prawns biryani

for spirited people!

the chef preparing appam

The appam and chicken stew was superb! I do not have any other words to describe it, so be it! Soft appam combined with well cooked chicken stew cooked with coconut oil(a very subtle flavor, naturally blending with the stew) instantly reminded me of the meals that I had in Kerala while on a visit.

appam and chicken stew - outstanding preparation

The desserts were more of continental in nature. I liked the usage of fruits in most of the dessserts and I really enjoyed most of them. Would let the pictures take you through the desserts on the brunch menu.

Fusion 9 definitely has great standards when it comes to designing a brunch menu. The dishes chosen and curated had a wide range in terms of taste and flavor or when fusion of flavors and cuisines is concerned and I would definitely recommend this place. You could also go in for the a la carte option if you are visiting on any other day, or if you are not interested to go in for the Sunday brunch buffet.

Bon appetite!