HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH

Raising the bar

TORQUE, HYDERABAD

How about spending an evening with friends in an American garage? Scooter seats are set up at the sit-outs near the bar counter and the front of a Mercedes Benz is in a corner?this unusual interior is at an unusual place called Torque.

The menu, besides the normal cocktails like Bloody Mary or Scredriver, has signature specialities like Campari Fizz and Thunder Bolt (a blend of cognac and orange juice on the rocks). The cranberry punch and Thai fruit cocktail are a must-try. Or you could order a mocktail of your own and the master blender will conjure it up for you.Ameerpet Road. Opp. Lal Bangla, Hyderabad-560016, Tel: 040 66515151 ?LAKSHMI VISHWANATHAN

It?s here!

HARD ROCK CAFÉ, HYDERABAD

Imagine dining in the hallowed space shared by Eric Clapton?s guitar or even rock legend Elvis Presley?s shirt? Hard Rock Café is finally here in Hyderabad, and does not disappoint on any score. Soon, we settle down at a table which has MJ?s black fedora hat looking down on us. For drinks, we try the Electric Iced Tea, which lives upto its name. Spiked with vodka, rum and gin, this blue curacao concoction topped with a lemony lime soda works well for me.

For starters, we order vegetarian Jumbo Combo, which has Santa Fe spring rolls, (with a Tex Mex filling of spinach, cheese, jalapenos and red kidney beans) potato skins, onion rings (served with a grilled tomato salsa dip) and a Mezze combo of pita breads, hummus and baba ghanoush. Outstanding is the taste of the crisp potato shells filled with mixed cheese, green onions and parsley, dipped into that nice sour cream dip on the side. For main course, we order Fish and Chips, which is again competently done. Soft on the inside, and crisp on the outside, these crumb-fried Red Snapper fillets just melt in the mouth.

For desserts, it?s chocolate cake, which we discover soon enough, is deceptively simple, only in name. Huge enough for two people, there are layers of rich, dark chocolate cake separated by chocolate fudge with Belgian chocolate chunks.HARD ROCK CAFÉ, GVK One Mall, Rd No 1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad Contact: 040?44767900 ?SWATI SUCHARITA

Chaatilicious

BIKANERVALA, HYDERABAD

Bikanervala enters the Hyderabadi cuisine market for the first time. With this, the city gets a great place to have chaats and kulchas in all their traditional flavours and varieties. You can dig into the scrumptious paani puris and dhakai chaat. Dhoklas are baked in seven varieties, including the paneer and idli dhokla. The kulchas at Bikanervala are a novelty in the south. Worth trying are dishes like chilli paneer, Chow Mein and cheese burger. Do try the orange kulfi. Manhattan mania is a signature item of theirs studded with delicious choco chips.

BIKANERVALA Road No 1, Banjara Hills Hyderabad - 500034 Tel: 040-66661111 ?LAKSHMI

VISHWANATHAN

Oriental flavours

THAI BBQ HOUSE, KOCHI

Looks like the town of Fort Cochin has now a popular addition to its list of eateries: a Thai restaurant called Thai BBQ House. With oriental food being a passion for the owners, the restaurant focuses on Thai food in a heritage ambience. The evening [only dinners are served] starts with a BBQ menu of seafood, chicken and vegetables cooked on the hot grill Moo Kada translated as ?Pig Pan,? as Thai use a lot of pork, however here it is available on prior request only. These are either dropped in boiling stock or placed on the grill. A variety of sauces sweet, chili or a mild mix of the two are offered as dips. In addition, a buffet of soup, the evenings specialty was a clear soup of mildly flavoured stock with tofu and balls of chicken and glass noodles, a glass noodle salad with a dash of spice, rice, noodles, a vegetarian and two non-vegetarian dishes must mention is Poo Phad Pong Garee: fried crab with beaten egg and curry powder is on offer. For dessert, the chef has her own variation of traditional Thai desserts: from a pumpkin sweet to a glutinous rice dessert called Kao Nieuw Moon, which is a variation of sticky rice. On the whole, it is an experience of great food all for Rs.350 per head! ?TANYA ABRAHAM

Get sporty

SPORTS GRILL, HYDERABAD

It is a sports lover?s hub and a perfect place to hang out to watch a basketball match as you have popcorn shrimp or chicken nuggets. This grill moves away from the mould and serves authentic continental cuisine and desserts. The highlight of the menu is the dishes with chicken wings where nothing is marinated and the flavour comes through the wide range of imported sauces.

The menu is a mix of non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes. Spice and herb potato wedges and the crisp pizzas are highly recommended. There are around seven varieties of this Italian specialty. But what has you craving for more is their line-up of desserts that includes Tiramisu, cheesecakes, walnut brownies, and waffles served with strawberry topping and honey. The restaurant?s interiors stress on sports, fun and energy rather than music and entertainment. TV screens are spread across the space showing matches from sports channels and the décor is pre-dominantly red and black. But what immediately catches your eye, as soon as you enter, are dramatic posters with action shots of sports greats like Michael Jordan, Dhyan Chand, Don Bradman, Pete Sampras and Mohammed Ali. Also the personalities? quotes are etched on the glass doors of the two lounges. And the smoking zone has a pool table. ?LAKSHMI VISHWANATHAN

Momo mania

MOMO CAFÉ, HYDERABAD

For those who like Thai cuisine, Momo Café at the Courtyard Marriott is a great place to go to. One, because it has authentic (and pocket-friendly) Thai food prepared and presented under the stewardship of sous chef Poom, who hails from Thailand but has worked everywhere other than his country! Second, Momo has this informal 24-hour café ambience, with its airy large spaces without walls.

Momojito for a drink and for starters, we have a papaya salad and prawn momos. This is followed by a vegetable soup of pak choy, broccoli, Chinese cabbage and radish. The main course, Pla Rad Prik, turns out to be the piece de resistance. It is crisp-fried pomfret, simmered in a red gravy of chilli, garlic and basil. Peppered with lemon grass, galangal and chilli flakes, the fish, served with sticky jasmine rice,

is outstanding.

For dessert, we have Tub Tim Grob, which is sweetened coconut milk brimming with chopped water chestnuts, palm fruit, palm hearts and jackfruit. Crunchy and with just the right degree of sweetness, this is a winner!Momo has a buffet lunch and dinner, and a staple offering at all times is the live Momo counter.

?SWATI SUCHARITA

Healthy Bites

THE PARK, CHENNAI

Increasingly, more and more people are getting health conscious. To cater to this segment The Park has introduced a Wellness menu at Aqua and at their spa, Aura. The menu is eclectic with a mix of Ayurvedic offerings, Mediterranean, Italian and Japanese.

These apart, there are ?lite bites? such as salads, soups, sorbets, sandwiches, pastas, a choice of protein or seafood, health juices, smoothies, herbal infusions and coffees. At the spa, treatment is complemented with the appropriate fare like detox drinks or health elixirs. There is even low carb food and for the calorie conscious, you can opt for dishes below 500 calories like cumin scented lentil soup, grilled corn fed chicken with roasted veggies, whole wheat tortilla wraps with fajita style vegetables or fresh fruit with honey.

We opted for a mix of the Mediterranean and Low Carb seafood menus with some other stuff thrown in! The fatoush salad with cucumber, tomato and lettuce was crisp, fresh and delicious and almost a meal by itself. The paella with saffron, chicken and shrimps was a feast! The minestrone soup came piping hot. I just loved the baked prawns which were served with saffron couscous and grilled zucchini. The low fat cheesecake topped with fruit was oh-so-delicious that I could go on and on about it! The only disappointment was the summer berry pudding?though it was stuffed with berries it was a trifle too sweet. Nevertheless, the cheesecake made up for it!

So if you want to stay svelte and eat out at the same time, check out the wellness menu. Who says healthy food is not tasty!At The Park, 601 Anna Salai, Chennai 600006. Tel: 42676000. ?VINITA NAYAR