Hyderabad restaurant - Rayalseema Ruchulu, Jubilee Hills

Rayalseema ruchulu is one of the oldest authentic hyderabadi restaurant in the town.. they have recenlty opened a shop in jubilee hills.. closer to me.. I had thought of visiting their khairtabad branch for quite some time.. then one of my good friend told that the ambience is not very appealing..

so finally.. when the jubilee hills outlet got open.. I thought of finally trying it..

would like to put a caveat before I start my list of negative comments... that i am pure vegetarian.. it may be a delight for non-veggies...but for veggies like me.. it was a nightware.. did not like anything but for ambience.. which I though was smart work.. have been to 3-4 more so called authentic hyderabadi outlets.. but this one fared almost at the bottom.. I opted for thali. (this is was it is known for).. that turn out to be disaster.. chapati was so dry that one can make powder out of it.. it was a very ordinary food.. interestingly the most horrible looking item (mix of rice with some powder) was the saving grace..

However,, now I would like to visit their first outlet (Khairtabad one).. as can't discount the most famous restaurant like this..

Kanpur hotel - Royal Cliff

Finally, Kanpur has got a hotel with 3-4 star standards, neat and clean and last but not the least serves good food.

It is located in the heart of the city - swaroop nagar.. so travelling to any part of the city is not a pain .. (but for the area you want to travel should have a way and a road on it)..

From my previous experience in Kanpur, this was really beating my expectations.. the hotel is only 6 months old.. so one has to wait and see will they be able to maintain similar standards..

The food is good.. it gives proper north indian feeling.. i tried a different dish called subji lababdar.. found it to be quite good.. other normal stuff (dal, paneer) are upto the satisfaction level..

Hyderabad restaurant - Blue Fox, Banjara Hills

Blue fox has 5-6 outlets in Hyderabad. I first visited the restaurant when I was not writing blogs so waited for another visit so that memories are afresh.

The second visit was much below expectation. I guess I liked it in my first visit because of the sitting arrangement. They have a different setting for a group more than 5-6, this time we were only 4.

Thought, the restaurant has a good ambience - you keep on wondering which next colour the ceiling lights will throw.. but I was disappointed with the food.

Right from starters to main course, there was not a single item where we could say .. wow.. and when one looks at the bill.. he keeps on wondering is it really worth?

Service industry in hyderabad

Service sector contributes more than 50% to the country's GDP, but i always wonder about the standards of service provided in various places in the country. I have been staying in hyderabad for quite some time now.. and can tell you with some confidence that the standards of service are probably the poorest in this city..

Lets look at following examples..
1. One day my friend called for a guy with drill machine. My friend wanted to make some holes in his bathroom. First the guy did not turn up after so much reminders and when he came his quote was - "Rs. 50 per hole".

2. Surprised with the internet speed that tata photon ad shows, i decided to buy myself one data card.. I wanted the billing address to be my office one (i gave my visiting card to confirm the address) and the service guy at tata photon promised that data card will be delivered in next 2 days.

I got the data card in 7 days. And, when I saw my first bill. I was shocked to see that my company name was mentioned wrongly.. they put my home address below the company name. When i called the call center. they asked my about the address proof.. i asked them if they have the proof of what was mentioned on the bill. My company officials may be surprised to note that they have moved to some other place without being informed.. my struggle to get the bill reimbursed still continues..

there are many more such examples.. people just do not honour their commitment.. right from cabbies (when i book meru, i give a time which is half an hour early than my departure time), grocery shops, electronic shops etc..

Wonder the IT hub of the country really need an overhaul of service standards.

Kanpur hotel - The bliss

In my 27 years of life, I visited kanpur for the first time. Since I have a couple of friends from Kanpur, I carried an image of that city.. Not surprisingly, image proved to be a correct one.

In the evening, we ventured out to search for a restaurant. What we found was a couple of options - either eat at some road side joint or at a restaurant in a hotel. That was quite surprising since kanpur is considered to be the economic destination in UP.

So we finally decided to eat where we were staying.. hotel bliss. when we went to the restauant.. we were astonished to see no other guest had come to eat there.. the reason given by the waiter by that people prefer eating in their rooms.. (???).

Anyways, so we ordered the basic stuff with which one cannot go wrong in north india.. i.e. dal, paneer and rotis. I thought I would find tastier food in Kanpur than in delhi but that remained my thought only..

would like to try some other hotel next time.

Hyderabad Restaurant - Zafran Exotica

Location - Road No 12, Jubilee Hilss
Cuisine - Indian (Predominantly North Indian)

It was one of the coldest days in Hyderabad (5 degrees below normal), we decided to go to a restaurant which has open air sitting. Though Zafran Exotica has close door sitting as well, open air one is more appealing.

It is one of the old restaurants in the city which has been able to maintain quality and taste at no so expensive prices. The lunch buffet is reasonably good - decent choice of starters, followed up with a rich main course and Ok types of deserts. Things to order include: starters - cheese balls, bhindi kurkuri; main course - jeera alu, dal makhni.

Overall a good place to try eating in an open air environment when the weather is permitting.

Hyderabad Restaurant - Tansen

Location - Neclace Road
Cuisine - Indian (Predominantly North Indian)

Tansen is one of the recent offering from Ohri's Group, which has many other restaurants.

It has one of the finest ambience in Hyderabad. The first impression is that of a royal food serving. The taste and quality of food is good. One has to just make his / her choices wisely. One can try veg platter (except hara bhara kabab, rest all are too good). There are a few interesting dishes when females start discussing about the ingredients like what has been used as the cover of the dish or what has gone in the filling etc. etc.

The service is poor. If one has enough time at disposal, this restaurant makes a good choice. Would rate this one as more than average in terms of pricing.