Prego Al Fresco - fresco dining has a new address!

An opportunity came my way through an invitation to attend the launch preview of Prego Al fresco at The Westin, Hyderabad. A fan that I am of Al fresco dining, believe me that when I say this is the best possible setting, especially for great moon-lit(or not!) evenings by the pool side! The ambient lighting indeed has done its job in making the lounge look comfortable and relaxed.

It had just stopped raining when most of arrived on the venue. The scent of rain, the humid atmosphere made Al fresco a really enticing place to sit out and enjoy the food served, or even a glass of some finest scotch and cigars! We were welcome with flutes filled with sparkling wine. Soon enough, we met Mr. Dietmar Kielnhoffer, General Manager, and Exec. chef Steffan Dawson who explained us the concept behind opening an Al fresco and about its Mediterranean fare.

The following four pictures are courtesy, The Westin.

Photo Credit: The Westin

Photo Credit: The Westin

Photo Credit: The Westin

Photo Credit: The Westin

The swimming pool definitely got everybody hooked to it because of that lighting. It definitely blends with the Al fresco ambiance!

The stunningly blue pool!

Pool-side bar

The menu

The tables were already laid out with a Mediterranean platter on each of them. It had three dips and three kinds of breads. The dips(Olive tapenade, tomato-parmesan, mushroom-truffle oil) were quite good, but I felt the olive tapenade combined with the za'atar flat bread really stood out with their typical Mediterranean flavors.

Olive tapenade, tomato-parmesan dip, mushroom-truffle Oil dip, za’atar, khaboos and another variety of flatbread(forgot its name!)

The first course of our dinner was Amuse Bouche, a roasted bell pepper rolled into a pinwheel with goat cheese within. It didn't quite impress me for the two reasons - first - it looked really tiny to be called as a dish, not even exotic at that. The most prominent taste was that of the goat cheese only. Other than that, it was pretty bland.

Amuse Bouche - roasted bellpepper and goat cheese pinwheel

Since I had opted for a non-vegetarian course, the second dish that came my way was Tuna Salad. The tuna indeed tasted great and it had this rich smoky flavor. The avocado, asparagus, lettuce indeed complemented the taste of tuna. The slice of orange(if I remember correctly) added that slight sweet-sour combination, just about right and not really overpowering the tuna's flavor. However, I was disappointed with the quantity served. In all probability, I thought, this could be a portion only for the tasting session and they might have a better portion served from the actual menu after launch.

Tuna Salad - smoked tuna, asparagus, avocado, lettuce

Meanwhile, my vegetarian friends had been served a Mediterranean anitpasto, which was like an assorted plate of marinated or spiced fruits and veggies. I got a feedback that the anitpasto was good.

Mediterranean antipasto - chili marinated olive, caramelized fig, pickled grape, tomato feta salad, baked artichoke, olive tapanade, crunchy ciabatta

I opted for the Mediterranean lamb pie as my main course dish. The menu said it had parmesan and bechamel sauce, but I hardly tasted any of that in it, may be just a hint of it. The lamb ragout in it was quite well cooked and had a good flavor, but the eggplant was a bit seedy which I wouldn't really like. The  tomato sauce was good indeed and it definitely complemented the eggplant and ragout. I would say this is definitely can become a great dish with just a little bit of adjustments here and there. Talked to the chef and gave my feedback. The portion size is good enough. One thing to note is, when it comes to presentation, they all looked so very tempting! Hats off to the chefs for their expertise on presentation!

Mediterranean Lamb Pie - oven baked layered eggplant, lamb ragout, bechamel, parmesan

I tasted the lemon chicken as well. I did talk to chef Steffan on basically on two things that would transform this great dish into an amazing dish. The lemony flavor was quite faint and indistinguishable - this could be tweaked easily. The chicken breast piece, though perfectly grilled, was a bit tough to cut through owing to its thickness. A reduction in thickness and you have an absolutely delicious dish in front of you! I really liked the sides of spinach and balsamic glazed potato. They absolutely go hand in hand with the lemon, oregano grilled chicken.

Lemon Chicken - Lemon, Oregano grilled chicken, blasamic glazed potato, spinach

Vegetable Timbale - lemon couscous stalk, chickpea, Mediterranean vegetable

Vegetarian moussaka

Even though the menu had a choice of desserts, we were actually served samples from all of them. The one that delighted me and left an after taste on my palate was the phyllo wrap. the baklava was on a sweeter note than it was supposed to be, it was good though but not as good as the phyllo wrap. The Bougasta was more of a layered pastry and optimally sweet,  crispy and yet soft to bite. Would definitely recommend the phyllo wrap and bougasta!

Phyllo wrap, Baklava, Bougasta

Blue Curacao, Watermelon juice

They have an impressive array of scotch, and impressive because they are all single malts. Not to forget the wines and the exotic cigars on display. If you are inclined to have a smooth scotch while enjoying one of those exotic cigars, then this is definitely the place for you to be!

Single Malts!

Cohiba Cigars - a luxurious brand with premium quality

The attendees

A little bit of tweaking here and there, and you have the privilege of enjoying some great Mediterranean fare sitting by the pool-side, downing it with a wine or single malt scotch and a few premium cigars to go with. The ideal summer evenings would definitely add a great touch to fresco dining! I would definitely recommend you to try the al fresco dining at Prego and I am sure you will fall in love with the place!

~By Invitation~

Knock knock - Dunkin' Donuts is here!

Dunkin' Donuts opening in my city was quite a pleasant surprise and being invited for a pre-launch sampling was definitely an added bonus for me! The first outlet for DD has opened in Inorbit Mall and they have gone ahead and showcased burgers and wraps apart from their signature doughnuts and coffee. I have been to DD outlets during my stay in the US and the thing which I always adored was their coffee. When I reached the DD outlet in Hyderabad with the expectation of same-quality coffee, the burgers and wraps caught my attention first hand!

The product development manager, who was in town for the pre-launch(and launch) gave us a walk-through the brand and their vision in India. Soon after, one by one, all the wraps and burgers started making a beeline for our tables.

The first thing I got to taste was the wicked wrap. True to its name, the non-veg wicked wrap had all the wickedness when you would combine chicken that's really spicy and raw mango relish that tries to cut through the spiciness. And if that wasn't enough, the chipotle sauce added more flavor and heat to the wrap. But when I tasted the veg version, I felt it was even more flavorful than the wicked chicken wrap. Rather, the flavors were more prominent in the veg wicked wrap.

Veg wicked wrap

Veg wicked wrap

Chicken wicked wrap

Iced tea

The tough guy burger had quite deceptive looks! The bagel looks quite soft and fluffy but it wasn't. It indeed would provide a lot of exercise to your jaws though. I found the taste to be nothing special or out of place. The load of fresh veggies and cheese definitely influences the overall flavor here.

The original tough guy burger

If you thought kids to be naughty, think again - this burger is called naughty lucy and it truly lives up to its name! On the outside it looks like a regular burger with an oversized patty, the moment you bite into it, a ton of molten cheese oozes out of it and make you look like a kid! The burger also had a dose of raw mango relish, which added a tangy punch to the overall flavor. I am sure many would love this burger for the overdose of cheese, but its kind of not my thing, so I may not always go for this. Yes, I would recommend all to try this atleast once.

The Naughty Lucy Chicken burger and Spiked Ice Tea

The spiked ice tea was a completely new thing that they introduced us to. Ice tea laced with spices, giving out a peppery-spicy flavor. I am kind of still confused, about whether I liked it or hated it. But I guess I will go for a couple times more to decide whether the flavors truly gel with an iced tea.

Spiked Ice tea

What is it with naming burgers at Dunkin' Donuts? Well, if Lucy was a surprise then can Joe be far behind?! Crunchy Joe burger is sort of deep fried, adding that crunch factor to it. I absolutely loved the crunch! But here also I felt the veg burger was far more tastier than the chicken version. This is on my list for any next visits that I will have.

Crunchy Joe Veg burgers

Jamaican Rum & Almonds Dunkaccino and Chocolate Dunkaccino

Crunchy Joe Chicken Burger and Spiked Ice Tea

Finally, the very characteristic doughnuts made a parade at our table and they were quite quite good that day. I really loved all the flavor they had got for us, particularly the one with berry flavors and the eclairs. They were truly soft, warm and quite spongy. I wish I had a bigger stomach to munch on another set of doughnuts!

Assorted Doughnuts

There definitely is a certain hype hovering over Dunkin' Donuts for it beng an American brand. The offerings are quite good, but time will tell if they will live up to the expectations of consumers. I simply wish, they keep churning out those lovely doughnuts!




~By Invite

Deli9 Bistro - on cloud 9!

Ever since my workplace shifted to the Gachibowli area in Hyderbad, I had been looking out for a decent place to eat without burning a hole in my pocket close to office. Well that's not one but three conditions! Then one fine day, Deli9 opened its bistro, a hop skip and a jump away!

The ambiance of the bistro is quite appealing to one's eyes. An outside sitting area, which isn't exactly a fresco but gives out the feel of sitting under a shade with a small tree standing by. A set of colorful, strikingly huge lamps hanging in front of you the moment you enter, a very impressive looking bakery counter nearby, crockery neatly lined up on shelved next to the kitchen window. The seating is quite optimized to make the whole area look spacious and still give the diners a lot of sitting area. Every table is equipped with a plug point for charging that phone of yours, or that odd laptop used by an executive over a working lunch. How convenient!

If the description of ambiance makes you think that its a hip place, hip it is. But you would surprised as I was when I compared the pricing to the quantity served. Its like this - if you are hungry and if you order a mains, chances are that you will have a full stomach in about Rs 300 or so. Add either a mocktail or a dessert/icecream and it hovers about Rs 400 or so(for a very rough idea). the portions being served are quite generous for most of the dishes. Its the same for the mocktails and coolers as well. Huge tall glasses that not only quench your desire for a soft drink but fill your tummy to almost half as well(for the average eater). My personal favorite is their Belgian creamy cooler with a great chocolaty flavor.

A few pictures to you take you through the whole setup before I go on with the food section. 

The menu is quite extensive and covers a good number of options for the diner who loves to experiment or try a new dish every time. For a not so adventurous diner, the menu features some very common dishes as well. To satisfy the taste buds of a pizza lover, they have these foot long pizzas. The first one to reach our table was the special BBQ pizza which had only bbq, onions, bell peppers as its topping. As simple as that! The aromatic flavor of bbq chicken combined with the thin crust really tasted good. But there is a catch which I have realized over a couple of times I have had this pizza - you to consume it while its still hot/warm. When cold, it doesn't really live up to the combination of taste as the bbq chicken with the cheese and the nicely baked crust would do.

The Deli 9 Special BBQ Chicken Pizza

We tried a few starters, both veg and non-veg. They have an MFC - Malabar fried chicken, which has strong flavors signalling its region of origin. The chicken, with a flour coating laden with herbs and spices typical to Malabar cuisine, has been deep fried. My only 'bone' of contention- the chicken cubes had bones in them! I would have definitely liked a boneless version of this as a finger-food(or rather toothpick food!)

MFC - Malabar Fried Chiken

The pepper laden fish was something which I relished eating. The spicy tangy taste with a hint of sweetness occasionally mingling in and the crunchy veggies definitely complemented the fish. Portion size is quite generous as well.

Pepper laden fish

The fiery crispy prawns were outright fiery indeed when the first serving arrived on our table. So when a second serving reached us with the heat reduced to quite some extent, I felt that they were just about average. they really didn't strike a chord with me on taste factor.

Fiery Crispy Prawns

A few pictures shown below indicate some of the veg starters on the menu. I would urge you to try them for yourselves, rather than me describing (or more like - trying to describe) their taste. But I must admit to the fact that the vegetarian starters were equally good like the non-veg ones!

Firangi Samosa

Outrageous Nachos

Silly Cheese Potato Skin

Orange Frioska

Chicken Lahori Seekh Kebab

This chicken 65 bao is one thing that makes me ask for it again and again. Soft steamed bun filled with chicken 65 is fusion! I have had this once at the Bistro and I have had it as a take away one fine evening. I had to drive for about a couple of hours before I reached home and put the bao into the microwave to re-heat it. Believe me when I say the bao was tender even after a cycle of hot-cold-hot! I would definitely recommend you to try this once.

Chicken 65 Bao

Lahmakun Turkish Pizza

Keema Pao

The oh so juicy burgers! I had a tex-mex lamb burger one day and I was full! The burgers are of decent size and the patty is definitely tender and juicy. A really good burger and the price is definitely less if you would compare this to burgers from other established authentic burger joints(I am excluding the fast food chains like K and M selling burgers from my list).

Khow Suey

Paneer Soole Kebab

The cajuned marinated chicken breasts were the star of the show and they have been consistently like that during the many visits I have had. Truly tender and moist inside, with a fabulous cajun sauce to go with it, they are my delight when I have have then on a sizzler pan. I have also passed on a feedback to make a little more saucy while on the sizzler pan so that it doesn't become too dry owing to the heat from the pan. But yes, A big thumbs up from me for this!

Cajun Marinated Chicken

Pan Fried Fish Steak Sizzler

Fish n Chips

The chocolate log is a very very very sinful combination of chocolate(regular and dark) and brownie in molten chocolate. the moment you cut a slice, the slushy brownie gushes out. An overdose of chocolaty sweetness if you can stand it!

from left to right clockwise: chocolate log, blue berry cheese cake, a torte la orange(egg-less), red velvet roulade(egg-less)

If you are in Gachibowli area or around Financial District and you are looking for a hip dining place that wouldn't burn a hole in your pocket - this is for you!

If you want to hang out with coolers, mock-tails, tea /coffee and beat the heat along with your friends and colleagues, and occasionally would like to munch on desserts and bakery items - this is the place for you!

Food - 4/5

Service - 3/5

Ambiance - 3.5/5

Money matters - 4/5

Hit or Miss? Definitely a hit when it comes to comparing how much you spent and how much you got back in return! Must visit!

~By Invitation~