Silver Streak- Bhubaneswar

APPETIZERS:-

1)Crispy Chilli Corn :-

These are crispy corns, soft yet crunchy, served with finely chopped onions,garlic and green onions deep fried to a semi crispy texture along with the corns. The corns have a mild spiciness but as the name goes, they do not have chilli in them. Instead the dish is sauted with pepper and ginger garlic powder and corriander sprinkled on it as a garnish. The plate can serve two to three people and serves as an amazing veg starter. This is one of my regular orders, every time I visit this place and an all time favorite. 

2. Pan Fried Chicken Momos

Soft, juicy. saucy and spicy, these pan fried chicken momos are sure to win your heart. These are served 6 pieces per plate and have a simple stuffing of boiled chicken and onion mixed with pepper and garlic and stuffed well in a soft wrap of wheat dough. A perfect yummmm for your taste buds and just the starter needed to increase your appetite for the main meal. The only negative side to this momo is that, I find it , slightly less cooked and over spicy and sweet for the name. It's a semi gravy dish with a sweet, tangy, spicy and richly flavored gravy. 

Moving on to the main course, we ordered two dishes for this- Chicken drumsticks and Eefu Noodles along with fresh lime soda. 

Main Course:-

1)Chicken Drumsticks:-
These were crispy, spicy and true to their name. These are served 6 pieces in a plate and are served hot and spicy. they have a saucy gravy and are served alonged with some sauted capsicum and onions. One of my favorites. A definite must-try. These can be found in the appetizer section but can be eaten along with the main coarse. 

2)Veg Eefu Noodles:-

The fanciest part about these noodles is the semi crispy semi soft fusion of the noodles. These noodles are regular hakka noodles pan fried with capsicum, carrots, onions and cabbage. These also have an amazing crispy noodle fusion to them which make these noodle a definite orderv and a definite dish on table in Silver Streaks. 

3)Fresh Lime Soda:-

This was the regular salty and tangy fresh lime soda served cold. This wasn't outwardly extravagent, but had a good balance of the tangy and salty taste to it. Not very impressed with this beverage but helps quite a lot after the heavy coarse of meal you order for yourself. 

Chai Break

                                    CHAI BREAK. 

Hey Guys.... I was really busy for the past few days and did not get time to visit any new place recently. As I was busy with my schedule, this new place "Chai Break" caught my attention. Instagram and facebook posts along with the very attractive pictures to pair with it, this new place was the definite next visit for me and, So did I.

INTERIORS:-

Starting with the interiors...

The place had beautiful and lavish interiors. It had few divans with long horizontal cushions on one side of the hall and the other side had tables and chairs and few sofas and tables for group hangouts. The lighting was a little dim with small soft yellow bulb lights all over the roof and wooden interiors and walls with a semi matte yet polished finish to them and LED TVs with English songs playing to the tune. The place also had a mild fruity and cinnamon scent in the entry clearly indicating that the service provides everything starting from tea to hookah in the restaurant.

Another very eco-friendly and innovative thought was to present the menu printed on papers. The papers resembled newspapers with a light brown shade and had small quotes and writings in every section. Few of which are pictured below. You can also find the items in the menu, provided in the below pictures.
The menu was very well classified and very well themed. The only thing that I did not like here was that, if the place is named "Chai Break", then any normal person would expect to get a wide range of tea here. Whether it be red,green,black,brown or yellow, just a wide range of tea. But that's what is the disappointment here. Having kept the name "Chai Break", the place keeps the tea menu on the last page which won't even catch a person's attention if he wasn't a tea geek. And the same went for coffee as well. But that's understood, since the tea section is so highly neglected, how can we expect something better for coffee!!

FOOD AND BEVERAGES:-

There were 5 of us and each one of us ordered something different. Our order was as follows:-

1)Royal tea (1)

2)Kesar(saffron) Tea (1)

3)Virgin Mojito (1)

4)Kitkat shake (2)

Royal Tea:-

The tea was indeed a royal delight to my taste buds. The tea was a well blended and brewed mix of Darjeeling tea blended with Cardamom,Saffron,ginger and milk. All of  which are the keys to a very good tea. The tea is boiled for a good 10-15 minutes on a slow flame to give it that perfect aroma,taste and color and was garnished with few saffron petals on top. The flavors were strong yet delicately blended. Definitely my favorite tea and the perfect refreshment during winters. 

Cost per glass: Rs 50

Kesar(saffron) Tea:-

The tea was similar to the royal tea except for being sweeter and with a prominent saffron flavor. This was also a very well blended brew of saffron, fine quality Darjeeling tea and milk. The tea was served steaming hot with a garnish of saffron on top . You can also ask for an additional serving of sugar and flavor if you desire a stronger flavor

Cost per glass: Rs 50

3)Virgin Mojito:-

Not very impressed with this glass of cold beverage. The drink was not extraordinary but had the homemade feel of lemon mint sweet and salty soda. The  drink was served in a big glass with lemon,mint and ice packed up to half of the level and the remaining half covered with the drink. A very refreshing drink but definitely not worth the cost. Brilliant looks and garnishing.

Cost per glass: Rs 110

Virgin Mojito

4)Kitkat shake:-

And here we come with the day's show stopper. 

The kitkat shake was truely the best of all the beverages. This was a rich chocolate and caramel milk shake. The milkshake was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the top with whipped cream and crushed chocolaty kitkat wafers. A definite proscription for diabetics and health conscious folks but a superb treat for your sweet tooth. A very creamy, rich, chocolaty and crunchy smoothie. A must try. A definite value for money. 

Cost per glass: 150

Overall Ratings:-

Taste-4

Service-4

Quantity-3

interior-4.5

Quality-4

value for money-3.5

The Chocolate House, Bhubaneswar

The Chocolate House, Bhubaneswar:-

The chocolate house is a recently opened cafe cum choco parlor for all dessert lovers and coffee geeks. One cool place to hangout ,with wonderful interiors and authentic coffee, and cold and hot beverages like hot mocha, hot cappuccinos, snacks, sandwiches, pizzas and so on. 

Starting with the interiors,

mini wooden house

I went to the outlet in Saheed Nagar, opposite BMC Mall. The place is a small,cozy, wooden furnished and wood themed place. A very soft and comfortable place for people to relax and make themselves comfortable when they want a doze of relaxation from their daily chores and moreover from their everyday schedule. The Chocolate house has wood covered walls with shelves carved along one side of the house. The shelves have cubicle divisions in them with small wooden toy houses, boats and other miniature toys, kept to grab your attention. A very well themed plan for a chocolate house. 

wooden shelves with mini wooden toys

Since I was in the place during the valentine's week, I found the house decorated with red heart shaped balloons and red and white spirals and ribbons all around. This gave a lovely look to the place and enhanced the beauty of the chocolate house.

The tables were wooden tables with a circular glass top and with a unique pebble and shiny black sand layer in between. The tables also had some comics and the regular salt and pepper tubs for the snacks.

Coming with the food :-

We ordered the following :-

1-Irish cappuccino

2-hazelnut Mocha

3-caramel cold coffee

4-white sauce pasta

5-hot dark choco brownie

1-Irish cappuccino:-

This was a treat. Since I am a coffee lover, I really appreciate good, well blended and well brewed coffee. And nothing else other than the aroma is enough to judge this. The Irish cappuccino was served in a frappe glass, hot, thick and foamy. It had a rich blend of cream,milk and freshly crushed coffee. No fancy recipe to this beverage though, the coffee was served with a topping of chocolate sauce and separate bowl of sugar, since I ordered my cup without sugar. My friend had her cup with sugar mixed in it before serving, and trust me it tasted nothing but sweet. No coffee, no aroma, no choco sauce,no hazelnut,.... just sheer sweetness. So I would suggest, you order your cup of coffee without sugar added to it. And add the amount you desire later , after it is served.  

Irish cappuccino and hazelnet cappucinno

2-Hazelnut Mocha:-

Coming to the Hazelnut mocha, this tasted similar to the Irish cappuccino, and did not have any essence of hazelnut nor the taste of mocha. The coffee was mild yet had the same creamy and foamy texture. This already had sugar added to it, so I could not get the blend of the flavors very well even after tasting it twice from my friend. My friend enjoyed her drink and was quite satisfied with it. So this beverage would be a good select for coffee beginners or those who like mild and milky cups of coffee

3-White Sauce Pasta

white sauce pasta

The cafe gives two options for pasta sauce- red sauce and white sauce.

The red sauce is a mix of chillies, tomatoes and other spicy flavors. It is the sweet and spicy mix version. So I didn't prefer ordering the red version. 

We went for the white sauce. The pasta was served in a medium sized wooden bowl with a garnishing of some bell peppers in it. It was not spicy but was sprinkled with black peppers and chilly flakes. It was white, creamy and saucy. It had ample amount of mayo, fresh cheddar cheese and fresh milk cream in the white sauce. The veggies(broccoli,yellow bell peppers, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, peas, sweet corn and finely chopped ginger) were boiled and then partially pan fried. So they were slightly chewy but not as much as to hamper your taste and love for them. The pasta will be liked by people who are not very keen about spices or chillies yet like a hint of spiciness in their food sometimes.

4-Caramel Cold Coffee

As the name suggests, this dish was again a blast of sweetness. The drink was a rich blend of fine coffee,chocolate, salted brown caramel, milk, cream and crushed ice. It was a thick milk shake with a lot of cream and caramel enhancing its taste and beauty. So if you are a cold, milk, dessert lover, you can go for this any time and in any mood. The drink will instantly refresh your taste senses with its salty and sweet caramel, chocolate and coffee fusion and will uplift your mood in seconds. A must try for dessert lovers. One glass of this, and you are done with the sweet sin,  for the day. 

5-Hot Dark Choco Brownie:-
This was the core of our evening snack and a definite show stopper. The dark choco brownie was pure dark chocolate cake, served hot with a rich choco sauce heavily swirled over it. The brownie is a must try in the choco house. The brownie was soft at the center and slightly hard and crispy on the margin. It was a chocolate cake with choco fudge in each layer and choco chips on the top of the garnish. The topping also had some white chocolate cream on it but the rich dark chocolate and steaming chocolate syrup dominated it all. A complete delight for any chocolate lover. 

I also got a mini choco box from the chocolate house costing Rs 150 for 8 pieces of mini chocolates. That's a bit expensive though , but a chocolate lover wouldn't mind giving it a try. It has a collection of milk chocolates, dark chocolates and other flavors as well, packed in a cute silver sandstone glitter box. 

These were all the dishes that I tried. I am planning on focusing on the cold beverage collection the next time I visit the place, since they have a wider variety of cold frappes and shakes rather than the hot ones. The pizzas and sandwiches are also yet to be tried, so if any body has tried them, they can give me a review on it in the comments. It's good to see that Bhubaneswar is coming up with such innovative and teen based places. This shows that the city is indeed modernizing and upholding the smart city concepts seriously and so are we. 

Barbeque Nation-Bhubaneswar

                                        BARBECUE NATION

About Barbecue:-

A barbeque basically means a meal cooked outside the house on a rack over an open fire or on a special appliance. The Barbeque set up consists of a metal container with hot coal with a net or grilled top on which meat, fish or other food can be skewered and served. The food gets a slow heat and is cooked well without losing its texture and flavors. In fact, the flavors are well enhanced with a slight brush of some butter or other oil and flavorings. 

About Barbeque Nation:-

Barbeque Nation is an Indian chain of restaurants with the tag "Come grill with us". This is an Indian restaurant chain owned by Indore-based Sayaji Hotels Limited. One of the most successful food chains in India, Barbeque Nation pioneered the concept of live grill embedded in the dining tables to give their customers the benefit of making the BBQ of their choice with their choice of flavors. This brought the concept of "Do it yourself" in India and is one of the few restaurants which started this service at an affordable rate offering a wide range of delicacies to its clients. It also has a very unique concept of "The Flag system" in which the customers are given an unlimited serving of starters on the grill till they do not put the flag down. Hence the customers can eat to their heart's content and pay as much as they pay for 1 meal. 

The look and feel of all outlets is rustic and casual with wood and open-brick wall surface. The sizzle of the grills livens up the whole atmosphere and gives diners a comfortable and cozy experience. The place requires a reservation before dining and also includes special services for occasions like birthdays, anniversaries , farewells and welcome parties. 

The standard meal rates are 750 for Non-Veg and 700 for Veg on regular days (Monday to Saturday) and Rs 800 for Non Veg and 750 for veg on Sundays including the service tax. 

Starters:-

Our meal started with the waiter giving us a brief idea of the concept of Barbeque Nation and their services. We then got the list of appetisers and drinks that we would be getting for our day's meal. Since we went on a saturday we chose the non-veg meal which was at Rs 750 per plate. 

We ordered 1 glass of fresh lime soda (salty) and a glass of sweet aam panna and a blue mocktail(I do not remember the name for it). 

Fresh Lime Soda: Although I ordered the fresh lime lime soda in salty, I really liked the fact that the soda did not just have lime juice and soda but also had a mild flavor of jaljeera in it. The taste and flavors were perfectly balanced in the simple drink and the drink could not have been better with anything else added to it. 

Fresh Lime Soda

Aam Panna:The aam panna was a little too sweet and I wasn't very impressed with the taste. It missed the tanginess and raw flavors of mango and it was prominent that there were no original flavors used in it. In fact it had a generous amount of sugar, artificial pulp and lots of food colors. The drink appeared really attractive and would have tasted better if it had a little bit of tangyness to it.

Aam panna

I haven't tasted the blue mocktail, so can't give any opinion on that. 

Starters(On the Grill):-

We started with Paneer BBQ followed by Mushrooms on the grill, crispy fried corn, kajun potato, veg cutlet, BBQ Corn, BBQ pineapple, BBQ watermelon,apples and papaya and BBQ pepper and potato for the veg course and grilled chicken, grilled green fish, grilled BBQ prawns, fried masala chicken leg piece and meat balls. 

On the grill Menu. 

Like I mentioned before, all the dishes are grilled on low heat and have all their flavors intact. The tables also have extra servings of BBQ grill oils and some dips to go with the dishes on the grill. 

I am not a very big fan of Paneer or cottage cheese so I did not divert my attention to that part of the grill. I started my appetizers with my favorite mushrooms and they were just one step ahead of perfect.

The mushrooms were cut into two halves and were brushed with mild Indian spices with a juicy and mouth filling feeling. They were semi cooked before they were put on the barbeque and tasted as if they were just out of the oven with a sprinkle of cinnamon and chilies in them. 

Next, we were served with the crispy fried corns. These were corns of delight put on our plates. They were so good that my friend even said that she could keep eating only those for the whole lunch and wouldn't get tired. The corns were sweet, crispy and mildly spicy. They were deep fried and had a slight dry texture. These were very crispy and golden fried with a coating of cornflour mixed with red chilly powder and coriander and deep fried with finely chopped onions. These are good enough to give an anytime competition to the golden fried prawns served in any restaurant in Bhubaneswar. 

The next dish was the BBQ pineapples. These were big chunks of juicy pineapples sprinkled with cinnamon and chaat powder and smeared on the grill. Very tasty and soothing. A change of taste for my taste buds and a very innovative style of cooking. The chef also got us some barbequed watermelons, apples and papayas which tasted good but not as good as the pineapples. These fruits were also cut in a similar fashion and had the same garnishing of spices as the pineapple barbeque. 

The cajun potatoes were no less of a delight. These were soft juicy and starchy pieces of smashed potatoes transformed into something close to a cutlet rolled over a paste of cashew cream and mayo and dusted with a slight ginger powder. these were extremely soft and melted in the mouth giving you a very creamy, mild and royal taste. Never thought something this delicate yet royal can be made from a simple potato.

Coming to the non-veg starters, these were no less than the veg ones. We started with the chicken on the grill. The chicken tasted like the normal kebab without much of ado. Next was the fish and this was again a delight. It was soft, juicy and literally melted in the mouth. The fish had a marination of some green spices which I am not sure of the ingredients but the taste was really mild and juicy with a very soft hint of chilly. The prawns were the normal medium sized spicy barbecue prawns. They had juiciness intact along with a mild crispy texture to them. The prawns did not have much of a blend of spices. They were the stars in the grill with their red sprinkles and smokey essence.

Main Course:-

After having a massive amount of starters and putting our food flag down, we finally proceeded towards the main course.  The main coarse did not have much to serve but the lesser the better. 

The main meal started with the tomato soup and the cream of chicken soup followed by:-

1. Mutton Biriyani
2. Egg Fried Rice
3. Dal Makhani
4. Plain Dal
5. Chicken Malai
6. Sorisso Fish/Mustard Fish
7. Pasta Salad
8. Normal Salad(Cucumber,tomatoes,carrots and onions)
9. Raita
10. Veg kofta
11. Veg hyderabadi
12. Veg Fried Rice
13. Plain Rice
14. They also Tandoor Roti or Plain/Butter Naan on special request. 

After a heavy series of starters, my appetite for main coarse was almost gone. So. I got some of the dishes without trying to fill my taste buds with all of them. 

I started with the Mutton Biryani. This was a very finely prepared dish with the prominent essence of ghee dominating all other flavors. The dish had small pieces of muttons, the pieces mostly with bones. The mutton was well cooked and was soft and flavorsome. The rice used was the Basmati Rice for Biriyani with the prominent flavors of safron and cardamom in it. A definite taste booster for Biryani lovers. 

The egg fried rice had very finely scrambled eggs and there's not much to speak about this. This tasted like the usual homemade fried rice with not much oil or heavy flavors in it keeping the lightness of the veggies intact and taste simple yet satisfying. I only wish they kept a bit more of eggs in the dish as I had to look for the scrambled bits in my plate to get the taste of eggs. 

Next, I tried the veg kofta and this was an amazing dish. A very well blended gravy of cashew, spices and few indian herbs with vegetable balls made from potato,cabbage,carrot and cauliflower. The dish was on the lighter end though most of the kofta dishes are rich and loaded with butter or cream. The koftas were firm yet soft from inside and could be taken one in a bite depending upon your eating style. Overall, this was the best dish in the whole menu of main dishes. 

I also tried the veg Raita from the salad section and this was also a big buster. This was a thick mixture of creamy curd with finely chopped cucumber, tomatoes and onions with some corriander and green chillies in it. Not very sour nor sweet, but just the perfect kind of texture a yogurt is expected to have in a fine dining meal. 

Desserts

For desserts, we had:-

1. Hot mini jamuns
2. cream tart
3. blueberry cheese cake
4. hot chocolate brownie
5. mango icecream and vanilla ice cream (with chocolate, mango,strawberry and white chocolate toppings)

The desserts were not over the top. And after such a heavy meal, any sane person could not afford to have a platter of such rich and creamy desserts so we skipped few of these although you will find all of them on my plate. 

The cream tart tasted similar to vanilla cream wafer, with a fiber filled digestive biscuit at as base. Not very impressed with it.

Even the blueberry cheesecake had the flavors of blueberry missing. It just had a firm cream cheese base with a pink pulp which did not give a very significant flavor. 

The hot choco brownie was good. It was soft in the center and crispy on the edge. The chocolate had a bitterness yet mild sweetness to it, which was a perfect flavor for a brownie. 

Before getting the bill, the chef and the manager also offered us a kitchen tour to show us their ways of cooking and preparations in the kitchen with the level of sanity and care they maintain. 

The below pictures are a few clicks from the kitchen. 

Barbecue Nation Kitchen views 

Barbecue Nation Kitchen views 

Barbecue Nation Kitchen views 

Barbecue Nation Kitchen views 

My overall review:-

service-5
food-4
taste-4
publicity-4

The Barbecue Nations chain of restaurants is  one of the most renowned and affordable places for foodies and grilled food lovers. Enjoy your meal the way you want to have it. Customize your dishes, talk to the chef, give your opinions and fall in love with the services. Pamper yourself with a day full of food that satisfies your taste buds.

We also got a small complimentary gift from the house which was a great feeling and a memorable experience.

Our complimentary Gift

Friday Lunch

Friday Lunch

This friday, our new venture was the food place "Shriyaz", near Big Bazaar, Patia,Bhubaneswar. 

The restaurant is newly opened and has not yet started to publicize itself much. 

We, however, were at the place in search of some good food place for lunch, and happened to see this food place. The restaurant is in the second floor of the buiding, to the left of Big Bazaar, Patia. 

Interiors:-

The place looked a little congested with all 4 seat arrangements. The hall was narrow and looked a bit shabilly planned. The wall on the right had tiles with the US flag printed on each tile. (The place served All Indian cuisines and Chinese cuisines, but has US flag on the walls of the restaurant... Themeless and Meaningless!!)

The left side had the billing counter, the kitchen and the washroom to a corner and a speaker placed in the other corner. Again this looked very unplanned and did not give a very good impression. 

On the left half, I also found an area of the wall reserved for doodles on a green board. That was the only innovative thing that caught my attention.

Overall rating- 2.5/5 for the interior.

Food :_
We started with cold drinks. They keep Thumbs up, Sprite and Coke, which is not much in the list. So we ordered 1 Thumbs up. This was served in a standard size glass with a straw, without much of a fancy.
So 0 marks for presentation

Appetizers:-
Next, we ordered the the starters- Drums of heaven and Golden Fried Prawns.
On asking the waiter about the difference between the drums of heaven and chicken lollipop, he said that we would get medium chicken pieces cooked with sauce and other ingredients for chicken lollipop and the deep fried chicken served with separate dip for chicken drums of heaven. So we ordered The chicken Drums of Heaven and this was what we got to our dismay.

Drums of heaven

The chicken was soaked in a mixture of maida and cornflour with the flavors of pepper and garlic in it and deep fried. It was soft and juicy and very well fried but did not amaze my taste buds any further. The dip it had, looked yellow and had a gel like texture. It was a fusion of chilly sauce, vinegar, garlic and ginger, all of the flavors very prominent and recognizable in the dip.

They serve 6 medium size chicken pieces for Drums of Heaven and Chicken Lollipop. 

Coming to the Golden Fried Prawns, these were the general cornflour soaked deep fried prawns without any extraordinary or genuine taste. The dish could have been far better than what they served if they had some more flavors along with the plane cornflour fried prawns. These were also served in a 6-piece batch with a serving of extra chilly garlic sauce, this time the sauce being redder, thicker and much better than the previous serving of the dip served with the Drums of Heaven. This sauce tasted similar to the gravy given with Momos. 

Overall rating- 2.5/5(not satisfied)

Main Coarse:-

For main coarse we ordered 

Chicken Punjabi

Plain naan and fried rice

Chicken kadhai

1. plain naan
2. Chicken Punjabi
3. Chicken kadhai
4. mixed Fried Rice. 

Naan:The naan was the standard naan, without any extra toppings or ingredients. The naan tasted close to a maida chapati but was soft and moist. Wouldn't call it delicious but can rate it better than the rest of the dishes. The naan was fluffy,soft,moist and had a mild sweetness to it.

Chicken Punjabi: The dish was extremely spicy and was overloaded with all the condiments and Indian spices possible , in the cook book. This was a total disappointment and it literally got the shit out of me , in finishing the one spoon of curry I took to accompany my naan. I can better describe this as a bowl of soft and juicy,well marinated Chicken with lots of chillies and a rich and heavy gravy.  The chicken pieces were boneless and you would get 4 pieces in 1 plate of Chicken Punjabi. Spice lovers will definitely love this dish to the core.

Chicken Kadhai: This was a mildly spicy dish with standard spice and a thick gravy. The chicken had a mild sweetness to it and had the flavors of Garlic and butter prominent in it. Like the Chicken Punjabi, these chicken pieces were also well marinated and were soft and juicy from within with the flavors well seeped in. The other flavors weren't very prominent though, yet one can tell that the chicken was cooked on a slow flame and was well cooked for a good 20 to 30 minutes.

Fried Rice: This was the usual fried rice made from the long Basmati rice. The rice was slightly under cooked and also had a sprinkle of spice to it. It had vegies such as finely chopped carrots,finely chopped beans, peas, raisins and few pieces of scrambled eggs and bits of fried chicken in it. Having ordered mixed fried rice, I expected few pieces of prawns as well, as served in most of the other food places, but it was a disappointment here as well. "No Prawns!, less chicken! less eggs! and lots of semi cooked veggies and under cooked rice served in a bowl"

Garnishing
I would rate a 0 on the presentation since there was no presentation nor the slightest bit of garnishing on any of the dishes or drinks.

Price
The dishes ranged from a price of 75 to 300.
All the dishes we ordered were in the range of 120 to 150.
Total Billing amount for us = 810 (for 3 people) which fairly reasonable. The restaurant also doesn't charge any service fees nor does it provide any corporate or other discounts for the time being.

The place is good for people looking for a food place with an average budget of 700 to 100 for a group of 2 to 4 people.

Overall rating- 3/5

Pegasus Restro and Bar, Bhubaneswar

Pegasus Restro and Bar, Bhubaneswar:-

This Sunday, i.e 1-1-2017, we decided to celebrate our new year in Pegasus. We reached the place at around 1:30 after our movie at Shaheed Nagar. 

The restro was suggested by a friend, so giving it a try was a must. 

Interiors:-

The restro has two functional floors and the third floor has some interior designing going on, so it isn't functional yet. 

The ground floor is the Bar and lounge. The place has LEDs setup for display, an amazing base sound system and music on the floor playing to your choice. I'm not much of a alcohol person, so cannot comment on the collection, choice or quality of service and alcohol offered on the ground floor. 

The first floor is the Restaurant. This is suggested for the couples and families as this is a bit better ventilated, spacious and has a typically formal dining arrangement. This floor also has a good music system and an LED display, playing songs or other channels as per the viewer's choice. 

The lighting in the place was a bit dark though. But there are small leds on the roof, which are enabled if requested by the guests. 

The doors have a frosted finish with the sketch of a Pegasus glossed on it. A very innovative idea and one of the striking features about the designing. 

Appetizers:-

We were first served with some corn chips and water as a complimentary dish for our first visit. We then ordered two starters

1. Bali Prawn
2. Fish Fingers

Bali Prawn:-

This dish was the best pick for the day's menu and one of their specialties as well. The prawns were pinned with toothpicks and fried well. The dish was served crispy and sizzling with a bowl of mayo. The fish was not messed up with too many spices or flavors. A simple fried fish with salt and pepper on it. You get 8 pieces of prawns per plate and you can ask for an extra serving of mayo just as my friend did. The mayo dip tasted the usual, creamy mayo. I wish these were some chopped garlic and mint leaves added to it to enhance the flavor as the flavor wasn't very prominent. But maybe that's what enhanced the prawns more... 

The dish is good enough to make you want another plate.
A must try!! 

Fish Fingers:-

This dish was again an excellent appetizer and is sure to fascinate your taste buds. Soft and light, and served with a creamy dip . Slightly spicy and tastes best when eaten with the dip and some tomato and chilly ketchup along with it. The dish can be rated a 4/5 for its simple yet delicate taste. 

Main Coarse

Mixed Veg Fried Rice: The fried rice had the usual taste. The rice was partially boiled and partially fried. It had veggies like carrot,peas, finely chopped onion and shredded beans. The carrots were chopped to cubes and gave a good crunch to the dish. The rice was a simple yet fresh dish as I could feel the moisture in the dish as I ate it.

Hyderabadi Kadhai Mushroom: This dish was a bit on the richer and heavier side. The curry was creamy and had a good texture in the gravy. It was spicy and gave a tinge of the Royal Hyderabadi Nawab feeling in its taste. The mushrooms used were the regular Button mushrooms cut into halves. Each mushroom was sliced into 2, and was fresh and juicy. The gravy was well absorbed into the mushroom and the dish clearly reflected that the mushrooms were well marinated before they were put on fire. The gravy had the richness of roasted cashew paste along with the aroma of the nawabi spices such as elaichi and cloves. The dish was served with the fried rice and a garnish of coriander and flower cut tomatoes. 

The overall experience was good. For a new restro, the price seems to be a bit on the higher end, but the food says it all. 

Ratings:-

Taste-4
Service-4.5
Quantity-4
interior-4.5
Delivery-4.5

My Tea Dips-Part 2

My Tea Dips-Part 2

DIP 2: Masala Tea

I've recently been trying the 'Typhoo' range of black tea and they have been showing a remarkable strength in flavors as well as ingredients and variety.

The Typhoo Tea Limited is an over 100-year-old iconic British brand with a rich heritage stretching back to 1903 when Birmingham grocer John Sumner developed and sold a blend of tea in his shop.

The Tea comes in a price range of Rs 90 to Rs 650. The brand gives a variety of pure as well as infusion teas that suit every mood and every season. Blend it with milk or brew it in water,the flavors just outshine in every experiment and every infusion with the right combinations and the right recipes. 

To know more about the flavors of Typhoo, visit the link ;

 http://www.typhooindia.com

Since we are talking about Masala Chai here, lets not get into the details of the range of green tea or fruit infusions that the brand provides.

All the typhoo masala tea flavors can be made in 2 ways:-

Method 1:-

Brewing with water:-

• Boil a cup of water or just microwave heat it for about 2-3 mins.
•  Add the Typhoo masala tea bag to the cup of boiling water.
• Allow it to steep in the hot water for 3-5 mins
• Before removing the tea bag, dip it 2 to 3 times and remove it from the cup
• Serve steaming hot with a few drops of lemon or pour the tea to the cup with a small cube of dry ginger in it or add 1-2 teaspoons of milk for added flavor.
• Add sugar or artificial sweetener as per your requirement and enjoy the flavorful taste. 
• You can also try adding 2 teaspoons of Pomegranate juice or apple juice and feel the fruity burst along with the ginger freshness. 

Method 2:-

Boiling with milk:-

• Boil a cup of milk with half a cup of water
• Add one and a half to two spoons of Typhoo masala tea and bring it to boil. 
• You can add ginger, pepper,cardamom,cinnamon or basil leaves for added flavour and taste while the tea is boiling.
• Boil it for 3-5 minutes till the tea gets a medium brown colour.
• Add sugar as per your taste.  

 The masala teas that Typhoo has are :-

1)Typhoo Tea Bag Classic Assam Box, 50g - Rs 89 :-

    The tea has a strong flavor of Assam Tea that makes you feel fresh and lively after every sip. The tea can be brewed with water or prepared using milk. Both the ways give you a refreshing flavor and a brilliant strong aroma of fresh Assam Tea. This is a simple and pure flavored tea without any blends in the leafs. 

You can blend it with the following for an added flavor:-

• fresh ginger cubes (for milk tea/brown tea as well as red tea)
• 1-2 cardamom(or elaichi) (for milk tea/brown tea as well as red tea)
• cinamon and cloves (for milk tea/brown tea as well as red tea)
• 3-4 drops of lemon or 1 spoon of lemon zest (for red tea)
• lemon grass(for red tea)
• 1 spoon of orange zest (for red tea)
• 5-7 leaves of basil (or tulsi) (for milk tea/brown tea as well as red tea)

2)Typhoo Ginger Tea, 25 Tea Bags- Rs 195:-

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This tea is the best flavor you can get on a chilled morning or after a tired evening. The tea has a strong aroma and taste of ginger with the spicy flavor of ginger infused in the tea. The tea can be brewed mildly in water or boiled in milk. You can blend it with the following for an added flavor:-

• fresh ginger cubes (for milk tea/brown tea as well as red tea)
• 1-2 cardamom(or elaichi) (for milk tea/brown tea as well as red tea)
• cinamon and cloves (for milk tea/brown tea as well as red tea)
• 3-4 drops of lemon or 1 spoon of lemon zest (for red tea)
• lemon grass(for red tea)
• 1 spoon of orange zest or lemon zest(for red tea)
• 5-7 leaves of basil (or tulsi) (for milk tea/brown tea as well as red tea)

3)Typhoo Cardamom Tea, 25 Tea Bags-Rs 195:-
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The description in the pack reads:Flavouring your daily cup of brew with a taste of exotic spices and fruits. A whiff of this brew’s exhilarating aroma is all it takes to feel your stress ebbing away. Steeped with wellness, this flavored tea is an all-time favorite. 
And indeed it is true. The tea has a fresh flavour of cardamom and gives you the royal taste when brewed with milk. This variant of the Masala chai is a well infused flavor of cardamom in high quality darjeeling tea leaves tingling your taste buds to want more of it. 

4)Typhoo Darjeeling Tea, 25 Tea Bags- Rs 133:-
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The perfect brew for your discerning taste. This, champagne of all teas, has a toasty, muscatel flavor. Handpicked from the himalayan foothills, they are a connoisseur’s choice.The tea is a pure blend of selected tea leaves from the foothills of Himalaya. The flavor is pure and heavenly. The tea can be taken with milk but tastes best when brewed in water. 

All the above flavors by Typhoo are a must try. I would give a 4/5 rating to these as the teas are extremely well blended and have a rich flavor and taste.