Under-rated Under Deck

"Heck, it's Under Deck!" - was my first reaction, when Rajeshwari, the editor of 040 - the local magazine I was freelancing for - laddled me my next restaurant. It would be my first pub review for their magazine and scuttling over the Ahalas and Poisons of the city, she found me Under Deck? Heck! What if it's at Taj Banjara - it's quaint and so not brag-worthy! To make the best of it, I asked Don to tag along. IMHO it's disrespecting alcohol if you let go of opportunities to have it for free. 

The PR person from Vaishnavi, who took me around, turned out to be an Assamese, and so did the bartender. While that was a sure seller - as other than food we had a world of exchanges that kept me riveted throughout - I believe I could do justice to the review I was expected to do of Taj Banjara's past-card sized, but amazing...as it turned out...watering hole.

Quick low-down:
1) No cover charge.
2)If you find it too crammed, you can walk right out into the extension and lounge by the Taj Banjara's artificial lake.
3) The bartenders are an award winning lot and can churn you the most delicious blends (beyond the menu) as per your taste. I absolutely loved Sam's betel and mint leaf cocktail served in a glass rimmed with sugar.
4) With the likes of Touch and Poison swooping away Hyderabad's crème de nocturnals, Under Deck is left with the Taj Banjara residents and some old loyalists - not a reason enough to head if flash that smile at Page 3, Hyd Times, you must!
2) Being a Taj thingie, it's a tad tooooo expensive.

Here's the official review for 040:
Have you known of evenings when the thought of unwinding over your favourite spirit by a serene lakeside, with great music for company, can drive you even to the other end of the globe? Or those, when you are in a mood to pub-hop till you land at a place where you can party till you drop and crawl up to a hearty meal – just in case you’re still hungry? Well, you should head for Under Deck, then! And in case these cravings sound unfamiliar, you will still like this cozy ship-themed pub, strategically positioned by the lakeside at Taj Banjara, for its beyond-the-menu cocktails, warm hearted bartenders and familiar faces.
The city woke up to pub-culture some nine years back with Under Deck – an exhilarating change from the insipid house-parties. The pub warms up with DJ Lucky spinning anything from Retro, House and Hip-hop to the ones you can go “balle balle”, as per the flavour of the crowd. Its bevy of award winning bartenders keep their guests well entertained with their usual juggling bit, the not-so-usual magic tricks with cards, matchsticks, and of course with your pick of concoctions. The must-try is their flagship Long Island Iced Tea, while those with experimenting taste-buds can go for Spike’s (head bartender) Jack Daniel and Crème de Banana based cocktail “Sexy Baby”, or Sam’s vodka based, mint and betel leaf drink “Magic Lips”. Teetotallers would relish their Apple Mojitos and Power Punches. Team your drink with some scrumptious starters from Kebab-e-Bahar (Indian) or Strings (Oriental). For a late night hearty feast, drop by at the 24-hour Waterside Cafe.Thursdays are Bollywood Nights and Fridays’ Lipstick Nights. And since there is no cover charge, all you pay is an average of some Rs. 4000 per couple. So what if the lake is artificial and the ship doesn’t sway, Under Deck is for those you’d never hear saying “let’s call it a day”!
### For "040" - Hyderabad's popular local mag by the Explocity group - go grab your copy for more news of use...

Mood for some Bleu?

(Pic: How many dishes have you known that look just as great even after you're done eating them)

Who: Blue - Lounge Bar at Cinemax, Hyderabad (Opp. LV Prasad Eye Hospital, Hyderabad)

WoWs:

Ambience: The interior is bathed in blue. Eerie, eh? On the contrary, you get used to it pretty fast and carry the 'mood' with you away. The Lounge is sliced into orbs and the lighting scheme is even more dramatic here – one hue melts into another – which means, in the midst of your conversation you suddenly realise that the blue environ you were sitting in has taken on a red hue. You barely attune yourself and try to arrest the next transition that you are already sitting all yellowed. Don't know whether it sounds common/weird/fantastic to you, but I was left quite amused and though I otherwise hate such tainted ambiences, the light effects at Bleu seemed quite soothing and romantic. And then you've those glassy beaded string curtains encircling the orbs that creates an anticipation that some belly dancer might slither in anytime, like they used to at Hookah (PVR Priya Complex, South Delhi) every Fri-eve.

Food: Since it was the review thingie again, I was served the best of the lot. Take the Blue berry cheese cake here for example – the only dessert that looked as scrumptious even after it was no more on the plate.

Service: New-ones-in-the-block usually exhibit impeccable service!
Rates: Pretty moderate; Rs. 500-800 for a decent meal for two
Burps:
1) The interior is a tad too dark for informal parties;
2) Bleu's “blue” might leave you a little blue

Rather not Rio

Who: Rio
What: Lounge Bar
Where: Sandwiched between Shikaar/Senor Pepe on bottom and Coco’s on top, Road No. 2, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad
WoWs:
1) Impeccable service
2) Reasonable priced + you can also dig at the Cococ’s grilled delicacies and Senor Pepe's Tex Mex menu, along with Rio’s Indian, Conti, Chinese
3) Geographical Advantage: If you feel done with it, you can walk up to Coco’s for some fresh air and live music, or walk down to dig at the cheesy Tex-Mex cuisine, or treat to Shikaar’s truly delectable Indian menu (with must-try’s like the fried ice-cream). Likewise, if you want to shake a leg before/after Cococ’s/Shikaar/Senor Pepe, you can head straight to Rio.
Burp:
1) Maybe because of two TV screens in that postcard sized lounge, it feels too vibrant to make space for that cosy feeling lounges typically emanate. Pubbers in early 20s might like it exactly for what I did not, though!
2) Cigarette butts splattered all over, unclean seat covers, rip it of all sophistication its brother (pubs got to be makes) concerns just a floor above and below seamlessly sport in spite of their laidback atmosphere.

Mexican munches at Senor Pepe

Yesterday, I unabashedly confessed to Don - "I have never tasted Mexican food". He assured - "Knowing your taste - you'll love it"! Yes, I loved Mexican!

It was the Valentine's Day eve and we had no table booked. Hyderabad, in case you aren't aware, is quite a turn down when it comes to restaurants - nah, the food will make you lips go smack be it the traditional biryani or non-Hyderabadi inclusions, but all those places where you 'smack' remains so crowded and the waiting stretches so long (usually) that by the time you're seated, you have already yawned 3 times and considered trying another eatery 8 times. And to decide to eat out on a Valentine's Day without booking your tables was lethal, almost! We realised it only half way, stuck at the chocked roads to Banjara Hills - Valentines' Day traffic - again!

The 1 hr waiting at Yokko Sizzler made the rats in my stomach delare mutiny and we literally sniffed through Banjara Hills for a restaurant where we can sit and hog without much ado! Blue-lit "Coco's" got us midway, when we almost decided to boomerang to our good old kitchen. It read Tex-Mex and I was thrilled. The one-smoke-long waiting was bearable. The items on the menu were tongue-twisters, if you ask me, and even after reading the descriptions I looked as blank and kept looking all around, drooling outrageously at the sight of those around me hogging at amazingly appetizing "somethings". Don suggested we start with a pint of Kingfisher Lager Beer with Chicken Tacos - crisp tortillas with fried onion and chicken filling. How I longed to nibble at seafood, but Don hates the smell of it, leave taste and on a Valentine's Day I didn't quite wan't us to have our own different platters (the Squids' experience fresh in my mind). The stuff inside the Tacos tasted very Indian and if not for the crisp tortilla, it could have easily passed off as an Indian dish.

Next came lamb Fajitas (faheetas) - its (in my lingo) a thin-crust, amazingly soft roti, served with lamb sizzler that had shredded lamb, potato wedges and a little amount of fried rice. I was full. But Don, as usual, wanted more. Not 'cause he was hungry - that's his primordial hog instinct (hahaha)! Impromptu came Chicken Enchiladas - softened tortilla, stuffed with fried chicken and onions and layered with lots and lots of cheese. I was too full already to listen to my tastebuds react to it. And Don (happens always, I tell you) realised he was done after two bites (barely). I wanted to wind up wiht the Shikaar Fried Ice Cream (never tasted fried ice cream), but 11pm was too late for it, they said, and we had to settle for our regular choc-brownie-with-vanilla ice cream :( .

How I hate to leave food-paid-for at restautants - an entire plate of Enchiladas (minus 2 bites)and an almost spilling mug of beer - and remember it the next day when I am back to dal-bhat-koni (egg).

Highs: Ambience is lively and service fast. Non-veg, serve drinks, has home-delivery. Food is decent (considering its my first tryst with Tex-Mex food).

Lows: The place feels a little cluttered - how I resisted picking one of the "somethings" from the table next. Food, a friend said, is better at the pub at the top floor - Coco's. Live music, cool breeze - would have been perfect for our V-Day dinner.

ADDRESS: 217, Road No 2., Banjara Hills, Hyderabad - 500033
Phone: +91-40-23541493 / 23542835

Next time...and that need not be V-Day 2009...with Don it can be a V-day everyday!!

[Hope it makes up for the 'hog' thing ;) ]

Squids at Fusion 9, Hyderabad

Call me gross if you want to, but I wanted to have them live. Sometime back I saw this video where I saw some Japanese gourmets hogging on live squids. It seemed gruesome then, but today, at Fusion 9, when the waiter suggested "squids" - that video was all I remembered and live octopusiac squids are all I wanted to have.

Don hates seafood. He would have eaten it otherwise, but for the smell. So I had to devour one whole plate of "Calamari" (thats what they seem to call squids out there) alone. The first few chomps felt ambrosial (every exotic thing tastes thus, except for totally infernal flavours), but by the end of it - I felt I would throw it all up. I actually wondered if it is medically incorrect to hog on squids.

Squids are no-fibre soft meat. The taste was reminiscient of prawns. The one I tried at Fusion 9 was an appetizer, that seemingly teamed well with the sula. Love it, you will, if you nibble a little and savour the delicacy!

I am planning to do the Restaurant Review for Fusion 9 tomorrow (all for my job)!