Frites Corner

A trip to Auroville is one of the most peaceful, relaxing vacations to have. It has suddenly become one of my most favourite places. To avoid the tourist rush, we reached here quite early in the day, and after a soul searching experience, as we were starving, we kept an eye out for a place to placate our stomachs. It was a touching experience in Auroville, and since my fellow travellers and I actually associate our mood a lot with the meals (Punjabi’s.. I tell you..!) there was a lot of pressure on our next one.

Not so impressed by the Zomato profile, but on recommendation of a friend, we stopped here for breakfast. I was impressed by this small cafe for no particular reason. An open spaced cafe with a tree in the centre keeping the place cool, and an open kitchen. Order yourself some food at the counter and chit chat with friends while waiting in utter peace.

The beverages we ordered, both Mango shake and cold coffee reminded me of home. Mango shake in particular was very thick and flavourful. Yummy! Even though cold coffee is one of the easier things to pull off, I have special respect for a good coffee for breakfast.
As for the food, I became an instant fan of the bread. It was a multigrain bread, baked in-house and absolutely luscious. This made everything else taste great. We ordered both veg and chicken sandwiches, both of which were supremely delicious. Not just the bread, even the marinated chicken and cheesy veggies that it held up for us were singular. Other must try things are the crepes. Both sweet and savoury crepes are delectable and worth giving a shot. There are good  vegetarian and non vegetarians options, both of them being comparable and quite good.

Pastas were very average. But, I love eggs for breakfast and both cheese and vegetable omelettes were a perfect addition to the plate. 

The menu of Frites Corner changes everyday. It is run by a couple of people and is a very peaceful place to spend some quality time. There is absolutely nothing better than a quiet cafe with good food. As I mentioned, I became an instant fan of the ambiance. As for food, I would go so far to say that if someday I want to open a cafe, this is the kind of food I would like to serve. Simple yet Elegant.!

I take there are a lot of awesome places to try near Auroville, but I would highly recommend a breakfast at Frites Corner. Do try the sandwiches..!!

My rating 4.!

SodaBottleOpenerWala

For me, SodaBottleOpenerWala was the perfect way to say goodbye to Hyderabad. This restaurant has been the talk of the town from the day it opened. I don’t think you qualify to be a food blogger in Hyderabad if you did not pay a visit to this place. Every true foodie worth their salt has been to SBOW and so there I was, on my last night in Hyderabad (for time being) to complete the missing piece of my Hyderabad food journey.

Eggs Kejriwal

The moment you land outside SBOW, (which is visible from quite a distance) you realise why this tiny place with a very small menu created such a news on its opening. Hyderabad lacks places which appeal to your eyes . Don’t take me wrong, food wise Hyderabad stands highly ranked. But, you would agree that there is a certain lack of taste for visually attractive themed restaurants. 

Bombay Special Kolmi Fry

Well this beautiful Parsi themed restaurant might be exactly what Hyderabad needed. And not just with the looks, the food is at par with Hyderabad standards, which are quite high by the way. Each dish seems so ordinary, yet so special at the same time. The ambiance is very forthcoming. Tiny details like writing instructions on the board in chalk, clothes hanging in a tiny balcony, jars on the reception counter, etc. just win you over in the first sight. This beautiful, colourful, endearing place is in fact actually a small, engaging Bombay-styled parsi cafe which is a tad bit noisy. They don't take reservations, so you have to be prepared to wait. I was so hoping that it was worth the wait, and I wasn't wrong. There was a carrom board as well outside in the waiting area, which was funny yet thoughtful in a way.
 Now I want to move on to food since I am dying to talk about it. I want to apologise in advance since I don't have a lot of suggestions for my vegetarian friends. And for non vegetarian buddies, you are in for a ride. You have got to try this place.! For me it was a new exciting experience trying Parsi food. I have stayed in Mumbai for a good portion of my life, so I was expecting touch of some familiar flavours, but not much to judge against.
We started with Bohri styled Keema Pav.. I have one word for this dish.. “Yumm….!”. First of the all, the Pav actually takes you back to Mumbai/Pune streets. You don’t find such delectable Pav in Hyderabad. That freshly baked Pav, the aroma, the feel, the texture and the taste.! This is as close to the Pav I love as I can get in Hyderabad. And Keema... it was exquisite! I fell in love with this Keema. I will just go ahead and ask you to order this treat for yourself. 

Chicken Farcha

Amongst other appetisers, which stole my heart were the Chicken Farcha. It was one of those rare, soft, perfectly marinated chicken served with very homely green mint chutney. 

Thich Masala Fries with Cheese

Eggs Kejriwal, speciality of the chef, is one of the most reviewed items of this place, so it was a must try for me. It is basically eggs made sunny side up, on top of sautéed mushrooms and cheese placed over grilled bread. It is actually very well put together breakfast item. Each component of this dish was very palatable and when come together, it made it even better. Although I would have liked the yellow in the half fried egg to be more molten, I would love to try this for breakfast sometime.

Vada Pav

I had something which seems to be a regional speciality but I became a fan! Bombay special Kolmi Fry. Prawns surrounded by onions deep-fried served with their very homely green chutney. I didn't know that fried onion could enhance the taste of prawns so much. This sumptuous dish was very well executed and very well presented. Absolutely worth the wait and the money.
Since the Pav was so fresh, and my vegetarian friends wanted to taste it, we ordered Vada Pav. But this kind of ended up disappointing us. Even though the pav was delicious, Vada lacked that regional flavour. The green chilli which looks so pretty in the presentation was in fact super tiny and just for presentation. I felt cheated looking at it.

Bombay Rasta Sandwich

Bombay Rasta sandwich was well executed and worth a try, not sure if it was worth the money. Thick cheese masala fries had perfect amount of masala with nice molten cheese, were a good addition to the table. Overall Veg food was a disappointment.
Amongst beverages, we ordered a variety of things but the only thing that stood out for me was Mrs. Sodabottleopenerwala's Cold Coffee. This is something that tastes and feels like a speciality. Very flavourful. And a "Must try".
We didn't order main course at all. I would love to give it a shot some day. But, we did order my favourite course of the meal.. the "desserts"!! We had Apple Pie and Toblerone Mousse. Now, I am personally not a fan of Apple Pie. I don't "get" Apple Pie like most others do. There hasn't been an Apple Pie so far which swept me off my feet. But my friends were having orgasms after having this one, so I would go ahead and recommend this to Apple Pie lovers. And as a chocolate fan myself, a big plus one to Toblerone Mousse. You'd thank me for this. I have one word for this mousse... "divine"!
After having so much to eat, I packed myself some Shrewberry biscuits to go. I am glad to pause my Hyderabad food journey with SBOW.
Give this place a visit for sure. This beautifully executed restaurant definitely added a zing to Hyderabad food family. Looks like they are here to stay!!!
My rating 4.5.!!

Bouchon (Bombay Duck)

Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad

Visit Count-2

My first Bombay Duck experience was horrible. We went around 11 am for lunch, and couldn't get much to eat. Half of the items weren't available because they were breakfast items and others weren't available because they were lunch items. Frustrated and hungry, I swore not go here again.

However, I stumbled upon Bombay Duck once again and this time too for breakfast with my girlfriends. I liked the quiet and cool ambiance with soft music in the background. The open kitchen gives a nice touch to the restaurant. Since my visit was on a weekday, we were the only ones there.

Parisian Scrambled Eggs

With minimum expectations we ordered some breakfast items and I was glad that Bouchon faired well. The service was prompt, the food smelled appetizing and tasted amazing. The food was served in cute duck shaped plates.

We started with Parisian Scrambled Eggs which blew my mind away. These were perfectly creamy scrambled eggs placed between a freshly baked croissant. I would highly recommend this because it felt like a complete breakfast in itself. One other recommended dish here would be vanilla pancakes. These were one of the most fluffy and perfect pancakes I have had. Very few people in Hyderabad get it this close to perfection. Served with maple syrup and whipped cream, these pancakes are definitely a great way to start the day.

We also tried hummus with Pita bread and Falafel, which were a lot in quantity, but very tasteful. Among the drinks, we had hot cappuccino and cold coffee which were very average. 

I wish to explore more options here. But, I can recommend a good fulfilling breakfast here. It is slightly high in value for money, but the two dishes are worth going there for at least once.

My rating : 3.5/5

Zuka Choco-là

Mission Street, Puducherry, India

"Save the Earth! It's the only Planet with chocolate!"

It is difficult to do justice to this bakery rated 4.9 on Zomato. This is one place you should definitely try if you are visiting Pondicherry.

Not only was I deeply fascinated by the architecture in Pondicherry, there is a special excitement in entering restaurants and cafes here. Zuka is no exception. Situated in the beginning of Mission street, Zuka is a actually very small bakery, but a really pretty one.

The moment you enter it, the beautiful chocolates in every shape and size seduce you to taste every bit of them. In spite of less seating space inside, the interiors are very alluring. There are beautiful butterflies made of white chocolate on the ceiling. It shows the fervor of the owner for chocolate.  I was a bit confused about the butterflies being there for over a year. Here's a fun Fact, did you know white chocolate doesn't attract ants.

Chocolate Butterflies

Coming to the food, this bakery is all chocolates!! Everything here looks so appealing that you want to try it all..! I know I know!! I know what you are going to feel while looking at all those delicious mouth watering mystical chocolates!! I wanted a bite of everything. Not only are they visually appealing, the texture and taste is equally good or even so better.

One of the most things amazing things I had here was something called "Moksha". Moksha in Hinduism means liberation of soul from the cycle of rebirth. This is exactly how you will feel after having this divine dessert. This mouse alone justified the Zomato rating for me.
Melting port- Hazel was very flavorful. It just felt so right when the taste of Hazelnut flavored chocolate touched my mouth.
Butterscotch Tart had this soft amazing tart crust which chaperoned the foxy butterscotch cream into my mouth taking me to bliss-land. 

Among the other things, I also tried Chocolate Pakora which was a very unique thing, and tasted sufficiently well.
Orange Walnut Cake was very flavorful. However, this did not fit in very well in between my chocolate frenzy. So I just that you should place it before the chocolates when you are ordering/eating. Tuscan mousse pastry was quite good as well. There is nothing like a good, fluffy and deliciously creamy cake.

I got back some chocolates from here which I wish I didn't have to share with friends. Among all, Rum and Raisins is my favorite so far. The soft center which resides the rum flavor and raising in the middle of the chocolate, won my heart.

There is much more that I wish I could have tried if I had enough appetite, but I will leave some for the next time. A tip from my side will be to go here in earlier hours of the day, like after lunch so that a lot of good things don't get over. I wish I could have had the Mud pie tart, which is quite popular here.

I will give this place a 5/5. Because some things here taste good, and everything else tastes divine. A little on the expensive as compared to general bakeries but completely worth it.
Please share what other things are to be tried for sure. Till then, as someone very wise said:

"Chocolate doesn't ask silly questions. Chocolate just understands."