Hyderabad Food Places

If you ask me one good reason why somebody should come to hyderabad, it would definetely be for the food. I have been living all my life over here(except 4 yrs of grad) but I still dont get bored of the food here. So a mention of all the places that have kept me healthy and satiated all these years is worth the effort . Mind you,these are not places I rated based on ambience,service or their intrusion into the pockets. Only one criterion-TASTE.
BIRYANI
Talk about Hyderabad and the first thing that comes to mind is Biryani. There have been lot of contests and debates over which is the best biryani house but my personal favourite is Bawarchi. It has never disappointed me in all my innumerable visits. Need I say more???.
Where: RTC cross roads,just beside the chowrastha.
Also worth a mention: Paradise in Secunderabad ( just for trivia:the owner Ali is a vegetarian ), 4-seasons in Tolichowki,Yatri-Nivas in Begumpet
CHAT
If you consider eating pani puri on a bandi as unhygenic you can skip this part. For chat in hyderabad, Maharaja Chat Bandar is a hot favorite. Ask anybody in jubilee hills and the surrounding areas about Chat and they will be chanting Maharaja. It has already moved three places but has always had its loyalists following its trail. If you are still not convinced check out the community ‘maharaja chat bandar’ on orkut and you will know what I am talking about.
Where: On the road leading to madhapur from jubilee hills, opposite Orchids School
Also worth a mention : Gokul Chat in koti, Hanuman chat bandar in kundanbag and Dimmy’s in Sindhi colony
CHAI (a.k.a Tea)
Hyderabadis love their chai. No wonder you will find a cafe( read kayyff) in every other gully of hyderabad. The eternal combination of irani chai and osmania biskoot is bread and butter for most hyderabadis. Immortalised by the old city style, cafes provides for the best hangouts if ambience is not on your priority. My pick for this category is Madina Cafe in old city.
Where: Pretty close to Charminar,the circle is famous for the cafe and it is called Madina.So just ask.
Also worth a mention : Limrah in Tolichowki, Gaffoor bhai’s chai on road no.10,banjara hills(all through the night)
HALEEM
A Hyderabadi exclusivity!!! only made during the time of Ramzan. This mutton delicacy is high on nutrition and very filling for the appetite. No wonder muslims feast on it when they break their fast in the holy month of Ramzan. This is one good reason for non muslims to await Ramzan and celebrate it in style . My pick for the best Haleem in town is 555 cafe but if hygiene is high on your priority then Pista House.
Where: 555 is near masab tank chowrastha and Pista house is in charminar.(not to worry,it opens its outlets in every gully of hyd)
Also worth a mention : Sarvee in banjara hills, hyderabad house and all the major biryani houses.
ICE CREAM
Ice cream is omnipresent and so is Ohris in hyderabad. For many Hyderabadis like me icecream is synonymous with Ohris. This chain of restaurants started with the name of Havmor offering gourmet sundaes and now it has become a house hold name. It has some signature sundaes which are sinfully awesome. For an icecreamoholic like me,it is a second home. Do try when at ohris- lewinsky,bulls eye and titanic(the biggest sundae in hyderabad).
where: basheerbagh,banjara hills road no.12,prasads,hyderabad central, necklace road.
Also worth a mention : Famous ice cream in mozamjahi market( try all the flavors there and still it wont cost you more than a hundred bucks),amore in eatstreet and madhapur, the kwality walls bandis late in the nite on the empty roads of hyderabad.
CHINESE
Authentic chinese would not go very well with the spice loving Hyderabadis. But there are a lot of places which have incorporated the Hyderabadi flavor. So when you look for good chinese places in Hyderabad don’t be surprised if you don’t find them very authentic. One such place which is an all time favorite among most people is Naan King. It is worth your money and more. Do try the chicken drumsticks there.
Where: Secunderabad,next lane to paradise junction
Also worth a mention : Mainland China in Banjara hills, Ming’s court in ohri’s basheer bagh,Chopsticks in srinagar colony( good for takeaway)
BAKERIES
Mcdonalds,kfcs and pizza huts aside there are a lot of good bakeries which offer good burgers in Hyderabad. The local burgers before the advent of the multi national chains tasted much better. The idea of burger was a lot different and lot better before the advent of mcdonalds. For me a filling burger is the one you get in Universal Bakers. For that matter most of the close-to-home bakeries serve customised junk for local needs.:) If veg pizzas is some thing you are looking for, Pizza den is the place. It is not this hi fi place with waiters doing huddles but it just serves good pizzas. Vac’s pastry house serves some awesome pastries which just melt in the mouth.
Where: Universal bakers in himayath nagar and secunderabad, pizza den and vac’s in thirumalgerry
Also worth a mention: Bakers INN in somajiguda, Midways in banjara hills,Bigbite in srinagar colony
ANDHRA FOOD

The list would be incomplete if I did not mention the traditional andhra food places. I have not been to a lot of these( don’t blame me, I live with my parents) but of the ones I have visited I found Annalakshmi the best. Not a very famous place but I found it had the essentials of a complete andhra meal. Swagath is another hotel which serves very good south Indian tiffins.
Where: Both of them are in Ameerpet( I wouldnt go farther for these I guess)
Also worth a mention: Minerva coffee shop in a lot of places, Chutneys in panjagutta,Spicy venue in jubilee hills.
BUFFETS
For the ideal gourmets, nothing like it. A good spread at reasonable cost and of course good taste is what I would be looking at. There are a lot of places offering buffets at lunch time for very reasonable rates. But I found the most exhaustive spread at Indijoe’s. For me,it is the first place that comes to mind when I am really really hungry and have the appetite to eat a lot.
Where: In city centre mall( do try the other restaurants of bjn group on the same floor)
Also worth a mention: Angeethi in banjara hills, Barbeque nation opposite city centre, If it is late in the nite and you are hungry then OHRIS BANJARA midnite buffet- you may find me there waiting for a place to sit
Caution: All the above are my personal preferences. Extremely addictive, try at your own risk!!!!!

Kalavanteen Durg trek experience

From Mumbai, we hired a taxi to Thakurwadi, about 65km. away. The road follows the Old Mumbai-Pune road upto Shedung phata (9km), from where we turned left Shedung, Belavli and then Vardoli. After taking a right we reached Thakurwadi. In Thakurwadi there is a research-cum-recreational centre called 'Apollo Nusi Research Centre', built in the year 2001. From here we turned left. On the right we saw a beautiful private bungalow. We got down from the taxi a little before the tar road ends. From here we walked on the tar road and from a bifurcation we turned left. A broad cart track leads to the top(easily we need to walk the whole way to the village. We could see the triangular shaped fort, Kalavanteen durg (2263 feet) on our left and the rectangular massif of Prabalgad (2318 feet) to our right. On the left of Kalavanteen durg we could also see an unnamed small hill with three pinnacles.
Our plan was to trek to Kalavanteen durg only, but our speed was slow due to my friends ohto shoot enroute to the village.After about 1 1/2 hours we saw a small 12-15 feet pinnacle-like rocky formation on our left. From here we trekked on a few rock-cut steps, which are now cemented by the villagers. On the right we saw idols of Lord Ganesh and Hanuman carved out in the rocks.
In one hours time we reached the lower plateau of the fort called 'Prabalmachi' (984 feet), which is well forested. Here we came across a hamlet of 'Thakur' tribals. Most of these people work in the villages below the fort. There is no water problem here, as there is a well in the village which provides water throughout the year. We spoke to one of the villagers who showed us the route to Kalavanteen durg, which climbs from the col between the two forts. To reach here one has to trek through the hamlet, then through the forest to the col, then turn left and climb the steep rock-cut steps. This route is marked with white painted arrows in the reverse direction. The villager also showed us the rock-cut caves on Kalavanteen durg. The caves hold potable water but it is very difficult to reach them. A rope is required for this. We were also told that there is local trekking group from Panvel called 'Nisarg Mitra', who come here sometimes to do valley-crossing. They would anchor a rope between the wall of Prabalgad and that of Kalavanteen durg and cross from one end to another. Sounds very exciting, isn't it? But, remember, all this requires guts, a steady mind, a fit body and a lot of practice.
The climb from here is a bit steep. After about an hour we turn left and climbed through a gully. As we saw the fort from the lower plateau we never imagined that this would be the route. In fact the route was not noticeable as the rocky walls are almost straight. After a while we could see the rocky formations on our right, which are very much inviting for the rock-climbers. In fact this can be a good place to practise rock-climbing. The entire 'step route' is marked at certain places with arrows painted white.
Due to heavy rain falll and the steepness of the steps and no protection gear with us we aborted the kalavantin durg climb and started our return journey.all in all it was once in a life time experience