Alpha Hotel - a landmark at Secunderabad Railway station

This hotel has been standing here quite a long time. And if you thought the roads outside it were busy due to the railway station, you need to step in. And stepping in isn't easy, for its busier inside! You have to leave behind any thought that you won't be pushed and pulled occasionally once you are inside - such is the crowd and such is the mad rush to have tea, an osmania or a biryani. This landmark has two floors - the ground floor is mostly for snacks and takeaways, the upper floor being a sit down restaurant.

I have had biryani a couple of times from Alpha and it had been quite flavorful. You really need a lot of time and patience, not to forget the multiple visits to taste some of their delicacies on the menu and do just to the humongous snacks counters on the ground floor. Would let my pictures do the talking while I lean back and recollect some of those!

Chicken pizza

caramel pudding

malai pav

Pita Stop

Got an invite from Vishal Fernandes(The Calorie Misfit) for a tasting session at Pita Stop, Gachibowli on a Wednesday evening. When I reached there , Vishal was already waiting and he promptly explained me the reason for the gathering and how the menu has been curated. The place itself gives a feel of a tiny cozy bistro with some witty caricatures and graffiti adorning the walls. The menu is pocket friendly, but I really cannot judge how much will be the average amount that you need to spend here. I guess it depends on how hungry you are! The portion sizes are commensurate with the pricing - thats what I felt.

We were served a virgin mojito, which felt more like limesoda - I would pass it off. The first serving of pita chips came by and along came 5 types of dips - hummus, cream cheese chilli garlic, tomatino and olive twist. I really liked the hummus. It wasn't laden with tons of olive oil, was a bit dry and very slightly coarse, but tasty nevertheless. The second best dip that evening was the olive twist which had a lingering after taste. The cream cheese felt more like mayo. The tomatino - salsa? nothing really special about it.

The pita chips came in three flavors - plain, parmesan and garlic. All were decent, but they could have been slightly softer. The parmesan had a very slight scent, the garlic tasted more prominent and better.

Virgin mojito

Pita chips

Then came spicy fries and cheese bombs to our table. The fries were spicy, but were salty as well. I would say it was just about average if I compare it with fries I have had at many a good places. The cheese bombs were something that surprised me. They really had great flavor, crisp on the outside, just about the right consistency inside. Though it was served with packaged tomato sauce, I found it tasted better with the olive twist and chilli garlic dips.

Spicy Fries

Cheese bombs

Next up on our table was grilled chicken and I would say it was done well. I began thinking if I could pair it up with a Mediterranean dip again, but left the idea as it tasted quite good all by itself. If ever needed, I guess tomato sauce would suffice. The bbq wings on the otherhand hardly had any bbq flavor in it. One bite and I could feel the intense taste of tomato cause dabbed all over it. Feedback to them - they could try a balancing act between bbq sauce and tomato sauce to bring out a decent flavor.

fiery grilled chicken

bbq chicken wings

The Prawn samosa that came next was kind of a mixed bag. The crust was crispy, less oily, but the prawn filling inside felt more like spicy minced meat with lot of masala. It was difficult to get a feel of prawns in this. I would say it still is a good dish to try out if you like spicy food. Most of the dishes that followed after that were quite average in taste and nothing great to write home about. The chicken shawarma had intense onion flavors and flat taste of chicken. The falafel was something which I wouldnt say bad, but I didnt like it either. Pretty deep fried with the outside being almost burnt color, and the inside still raw at places. This one needs improvement. The chicken-rice dish had the same flat tasting chicken, though the gravy accompanying it was something that made better the taste of everything combined.

Prawn samosa

Chicken shawarma

falafel

falafel sharwarma

chicken rice

The desserts were a mixed bag as well. The icecream over brownie tasted good. The brownie was more like a thick cookie(dry and crisp) but it was soft enough to break with a spoon and so I felt it was okay. The other dessert - pita chips dipped in chocolates would be more suitable for kids. I didnt find anything interesting in it.

Even though it has been a mixed bag, I would probably recommend this place for the pocket friendly pricing they have. The dishes are from average to good, so I would mostly be ready to make a stop here once in a while if I am on that stretch of road.


-Tasting session.

Built2Cook - Gourmet meals at home!

Food in a box, delivered at your doorsteps. Whats new in that? Well, its actually well-measured ingredients that are neatly packed in a box which wont't take more than 20-30 mins out of your busy schedule to cook! Our life has become so fast paced these days, we hardly step into the kitchen to make ourselves a decent meal out of scratch, which evidently needs atleast an hour or more in the kitchen.

That is when Altaf Saiyed, an MBA graduate from Stanford University, had an idea of creating a box packed with fresh ingredients to churn out that gourmet meal without spending more than 20 mins. Yup, you read it right - fresh - they assemble the box only after an order is received and thus ensure the freshest of ingredients are packed in it. Currently they have limited their delivery to within 10 Km from Madhapur area, but if you are staying farther than that, you can also have an option to pick up mid-way as well if its convenient.

Altaf had invited a few food enthusiasts to try cooking up gourment meals at his place from the menu and to give our opinions. At the beginning was an introduction from Atlaf about the purpose of built2cook and how they have designed the meals with the help of star chefs. Then we were given out boxes of our choice to cook the meal. At the end, all we could say is - the boxes were so precisely packed, you really couldn't miss out on the taste, consistency and ease of cooking(with a short instruction sheet provided). The pictures will do a lot more talking here than I can! To order and try out yourselves, please visit Built2Cook

Fresh ingredient neatly packed in a box

All I can say, this is definitely going to be helpful to working professionals who find it difficult to find time to cook and rather order packed food from nearby restaurants. Families who would rather spend time on other things on a weekend than spend a considerable time in kitchen, would also benefit from the ready-to-make gourmet meals offered by Built2Cook.


Wishing Altaf and the staff behind Built2Cook all the best in their venture! Hope to order boxes from them whenever possible!


-By Invite

T-Grill - traditional cuisine

A hot summer afternoon and I am out searching for place for lunch with a friend. Then I remembered about a relatively new restaurant being open around the end of the financial district stretch. The moment we entered the place, I realized it not one of those tiny restaurants tucked up in an ally or building, instead, it had a sprawling lawn with thatched roofs for alfresco dining apart from the ac dining area inside.

The Sun being too harsh, we went straight inside. The restaurant looked empty at around 12;45 PM except for a single occupied table and they staff switched on the AC(only one from the 4-5 odd ones fitted). The dinnerware bore a traditional look and the menu was a neat 2 page one. Liked the simplicity in which the dishes were laid out in the menu.

We ordered gongura chicken, garlic naan and ulavacharu pulav from the menu and it was nice to see that the gongura chicken and garlic naan arrived very soon, though the ulavacharu pulav took a bit of time. The gongura chicken was quite delicious and I liked it hot and tangy taste. My friend felt it was overly sour, but I would say it was fine for me. I think it was may be ever so slightly more sour that what I have tasted at other places with gongura leaves preparations. The garlic naan was quite like the regular ones that you would get anywhere.

When the ulavacharu pulav finally arrived, it was letting out a decent amount of steam and aroma, tempting me to dig in right away. The pulav was well cooked and the mutton indeed had absorbed the aromas from the ulavacharu gravy. It was definitely spicy and a little sour, and so I would recommend you to ask the staff the reduce the heat to some extent.

Pricing was a bit on the higher side. I felt the service was okay. Have to see how they manage when they have a full house.The food was good, not great. Its again traditional Telugu cuisine. So if you are craving for some traditional cuisine and you are in Financial District area, then this is the place to visit.


Ambiance - inside - 2.5/5, outside 4/5
Food - 3.5/5
Service - 3/5
VFM - 3/5