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."