Hyderabad Hona!

Hyderabad Hona!

Recently we went to Hyderabad for a few days to attend an event, and as is our wont we ended up exploring food places as well. While Hyderabad has, during the recent years, expanded at no small pace, metro has made access to some of these easier. We went to the old haunts - Nimrah at Charminar, Grand at Abids, Alfa at Secunderabad, Bilal at Mozamjahi and Pista House, paid our respects, and had our fill. However, this time it was the relatively newer (read as having come up during the recent years) places that blew us away.

One needs the audacity - to not just dream at the scale, at which these places operate, but to live those dreams, each day. These dreams also need a city that nurtures them, allows them to come alive. The dreams in turn harbour the capacity to redefine, to add flavour to, the city. Hyderabad and these places (dreams in action!) are made for each other! Hyderabad gives these places, businesses, that ‘something’ they  need if they are to stand out. Together they remind us that the world is changing, and that the youth are taking charge.

These places are going way beyond what their predecessors dared, they are setting the rules of the game, and on top of it having fun at what they are doing. Businesses elsewhere have also scaled up, but here they have gone a step further and created sensory experiences. Experiences that can enthuse, encourage, and teach people. 

Let me share a sneak peak from our visits to a few. I begin with chocolate, move to coffee and close with chai.

Image Credit: Manam facebook page

Manam first. Manam has detailing, planning, quality, passion, finesse and teamwork written all over it - be it the ambience, the uniforms, the cutlery, the glass walls that enable one to see the Chocolate Karkhana at work, videos that play on the screens or just the fragrance, the feel of chocolate! As we walked, we saw and marvelled at dried oranges and chocolate coming together, the lady, across the glass, asked us if we wanted to try!

At the cafe, the (drinking) chocolates, one hot and the other cold, came with cacao nibs and as I appreciated all the three the staff asked us to have something to eat as well indicating that the other items were as good! The pastry was the kind that I have not tasted earlier. I am someone who enjoys pastries - from the Rum-ball and Strawberry-cube at Flurys during my childhood days to relatively recently the Lamington-cake at a small bakery in Kalimpong where I had also discussed the butter used with the owner! But this was THE CHOCOLATE PASTRY. Manam has redefined chocolate for me.

I came across Mr Muppala’s, the owner’s, interviews and was floored by the sheer intensity of his involvement. He talks with a flair and opens our eyes on chocolate. He comes from the family which owns Almond House and refers to himself as a halwai. Almond House cleared my misconception that air-conditioned spick and span places cannot serve asli mithai! But more about that some other time.

Image Credit : Roast CCX facebook page

Next is Roast CCX - a cafe that has the largest bean-roasting machine in the country (20+ feet tall) and which boasts of a line of people waiting to enter despite having a seating capacity of around 600. I looked up Mr Naineni, the owner, online and his lines like, “Expansion made sense only after trust did”, and “If it’s not outstanding, it’s not done”, only got me more intrigued.

Once in, I walked along possibly the longest display counter I have seen. Also, some of the items were new for me. Not far stood a counter with a range of coffee beans and coffee-making paraphernalia for sale. And inviting set-up for tasting coffee gave them company. The ambience was pleasant - all in just the right measure - lighting, temperature, music, and of course - the coffee fragrance.

The staff we asked for suggestions pointed to one item in the menu and said it was her favourite. I erroneously took her to be from Garo Hills; she turned out to be from Nagaland. We enjoyed the coffee (it was special!) and the food too - the bread was exquisite. The beans we got home too turned out to be, well, special.

Niloufer has been around for years but at locations and in avataars distinct from their new set-up at Hitech City. This new cafe stands confidently amongst the giant facades of the IT industry in Hitech City, possibly fuelling their employees with its chai. Despite the glamour and scale the mahaul is not intimidating and this is where the cafe scores. We went on an early weekend morning and noticed people, many of them in two’s, sitting and chatting at ease. Some were also having coffee. We had the maska-bun and both the regular and special chai and noticed that they serve comfort food like upma and poha as well.

I marvelled at the level of confidence that the Rao father son duo would have to come up with a cafe of this scale, and then came upon an interview of theirs where they say that they are now clear on what to take care of when they open the next cafe!

Other posts on Hyderabad

An Open Cultural Space (Lamakaan @The Hindu)

A Literature Festival (History Literature Festival)

A Talk (Rahul Bose)

A Railway Station (Falaknuma)