Feast of Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani : Paradise, Virginia Mall, Whitefield

Biriyani!!! The word itself makes people rolicking and mouth watering. India has several diversified culture and so do Biriyani… There are numerous kind of Biriyanis differentiated by many factors like; its region of origin, cooking method, main ingredients and even by history. However, the discussion on “Which Biriyani is best” will never end as there are equal number of people who love their kind of Biriyani and there are equal number of facts to justify how every Biriyani is unique in its own way. So, instead of getting into the comparison I would like to write about Hydrabadi Dum Biriyani…

And when it comes to Hyderabadi Biriyani, Paradise Biriyani is considered as ultimate choice for it. Why not! They have such a history of serving tasty Biriyani’s from late 1953. I have witnessed many hardcore patrones of this restaurant and I came to know the reason behind such patronage very recently after tasting their Biriyani in it’s JP Nagar outlet. And when they invited me for a tasting session on their newly opened outlet at Whitefield I just couldn’t able to resist and despite of heavy traffic I reached the venue on time!

This particular outlet is their 6th establishment in Bengaluru after the tremendous success in other parts of the city. This restaurant is located on the Ground Floor of Virginia Mall, Whitefield. Google Maps still needs to be tuned so you can search for Virgina Mall to reach there.

AMBIANCE

It is no different to the other outlets, they have successfully implemented their signature ambience here. They have designed their architecture so well that any kind of crowd will feel comfortable at any corner of the restaurant. Beautiful wall arts gives a royal look where as some black and white photos of old Hyderabad and about Paradise Biriyani’s history will give you a nostalgia feel. They have one more small dining area setup in the cellar which is suitable for corporate meet or private events.  Ultimately it is the most comfortable place to spend couple of hours having the best Hyderabadi Biriyani.

SERVICE

They are stealthy… Yes! You will notice them only when you require something or else they will serve you under your nose and you won’t even know it. I liked the service but it was quite opposite to service culture I experienced in JP Nagar. They served according to our priority and mainly they remembered clearly to serve only vegetarian food to me. Stewards were quick and reliable with their good knowledge about the food they serve. 

FOOD

JP Nagar outlet offered lavish dishes to us vegetarians but here we had very less number of vegetarian dishes compared to non veg dishes. It felt like we vegetarians are minority community. Apart from that fact, whatever they served were satisfactory.

We were welcomed with the Lime Juice and Sweet Lime Soda which were good. And after a short while we were presented with the starters;

Paneer Tikka: Paneer felt nice as it was soft but the masala over that didn’t compensated well. It appeared like we are having just well marinated paneer. They should work little harder on blending the Masala well with paneer.

Achaari Paneer Tikka: This starter also followed the same legacy of Paneer Tikka but luckily the Achaari flavour was there. Usually achaari masala will be the blend of sour, sweet, tangy and spicy taste. But here all I could taste was only mild spiciness. But compared to Paneer Tikka it compensated paneer taste upto a mark.

Subz Aur Moongphali Seekh: By the looks it appeared to be crunchy, but it was soft and floury. It tasted brilliant with the green chutney and the right amount of  peanut peanut topping gave a lovely texture.

Vegetable Biriyani: Just moments before Biriyani made up to our table, we were briefed about the Hyderabadi Biriyani by Mr. Vijay with a spectacular Visuals. Their description about delicate cooking method, fresh ingredients and aromatic spices made our tummies to crave for some Biriyani. Well, stewards served the Biriyani right on time before our mouth started to water listening their elaborate presentation. 

I got chance to have only Vegetable Biriyani and it was really good. Vegetables used in it felt fresh, choices of spices were really awesome. But, the level of spiciness was very very mild which was kind of let down for the spice lover like me. But yeah! It was tasty. 

Double ka Meetha: Paradise has always pampered me with their delicious dessert collection and this time also it didn’t disappointed me. Double ka Meetha was wonderful with the right amount of sweetness and by its unique texture. 

Qubani ka Meetha: If you are in Paradise, you must try this dessert. Made of apricot, this dessert will surely win everyone's heart. It's juicy but at the same time has a wide taste range as and when you taste it with different proportion of apricot. Truly a paradise feel.

EVERYTHING ELSE: The whole place is spotless and hygiene. They do have a their iconic take-away counter at the ground floor which opens towards the road. Their value biriyani packs are really value for money as it comes with an enormous portion of Biriyani. Parking wouldn’t be a headache. 

FINAL VERDICT: Paradise is the best possible option if you want to taste Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani in an elegant environment.

BAKASURA RATING

3 / 5

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Event organised by;

MEETUP - 51

This even was part of 51st Bloggers Meetup organised by Food Bloggers Association of Bangalore in collaboration with Heartworks; lead by Mr. Vijay Marur & Mr. Ranjith Sinha.

There was a brief session held by Mr. Vijay about content styling of the blog. And Mr. Ranjith Sinha conducted a crash course to all food bloggers about Food Photography. It was an educative meetup indeed.

GALLERY

AMBIENCE

FOOD

Heaven of Biriyani Lovers : Paradise Biriyani, JP Nagar

Paradise is a legendary name well known for the Biriyani lovers. It's one among few brands which is maintaining the authentic recipe over 5 decades. I still remember one of my friends who use to travel to Hyderabad just to have Biriyani in Paradise. And when I heard that Paradise is landed in Bengaluru I was really surprised and wanted to try their Biriyani... I don't know whether it was in my destiny or luck, FBAB organized their 23rd Bloggers meetup in Paradise, JP Nagar outlet.

From the day 1 the paradise started it's JP Nagar outlet, I have observed overwhelming response from people. The length of que at their parcel counter was just unbelievable. Even it's quite difficult to get reservation during weekends. This shows the immense love of namma Bengaluru people towards food.

LOCATION: It's hard to miss out this place, located prominently at corner of Signal near RV Dental College in JP Nagar. The huge red building with its traditional signboard. 

AMBIANCE: it has a massive fine-dine space. All 3 floors has fully air conditioned vast dining space. The interior has been created very well with photographs, paintings of important milestones in paradise history. Some of the decals are really interesting and it gives a royal touch to that beautiful environment. Arrangements of table is quite technical, distance between each table provides good privacy and it is capable to host any size group easily. Moderate lighting and 90's Bollywood music will surely set your mood.

SERVICE: Though this restaurant is started very recently, service is surprisingly professional. Apart from the factor that sometimes stewards start cracking some immature jokes with the guests, everything was just perfect. Managing 20 different taste bud request was a challenge by itself and they succeeded in it without a single glitch. They served the food on time with a genuine smile. They surely make you feel like you are in Paradise.

FOOD

Our dining experience begun with a perfect hot & sour veg soup. The tangy and spicy taste was balanced very well, vegetables used added a nice raw flavour to it.

They do have a large collection of starters in their menu, it was bit difficult to remember all their starters name.

Veg Platter: It looked very attractive, so we welcomed with lots of enthusiasm and flashes of course! But when we tasted it, our expectation felt down. Paneer was bit hard and the masala used was bland. Didn't liked it much.

Salt Pepper Potatoes: How can anything go wrong with potato. This dish was good and the balance between salt & pepper was perfect. 

Veg Manchurian: I got mixed feeling for this dish. The masala used in it was good but I was able to taste rawness of some vegetable in some chunks. 

Chilli Paneer & Paneer 65: I couldn't able to figure out distinctive difference between these two starters except the spice level. However, both were awesome.

Kadai Veg: In main course we ordered Kadai Veg, butter naan and Roti. Kadai veg was totally awesome. The spice level was just the way I like, vegetables used in it was fresh and the mutter was put "moderately" which could be observed in very few restaurants in Bengaluru.

On the other hand Butter Naan & Roti were good. They have used right amount of butter on naan.

Veg Biriyani: Then comes the star of the evening... The much awaited Biriyani. In one word, it was extraordinary. The rice used in it appeared like they cooked it in the steam of elixir. The masala used in it was clearly stating the decades old tradition of Hydrabadi Biriyani making. I felt, my wait to have paradise Biriyani was really worth. 

DESSERTS

Honestly I didn't expect that the place like paradise Biriyani will offer such huge array of desserts. Each one was exotic and attractive. If there is any place where you can fill your tummy only with desserts, then it must be paradise!

Rose Flavored Falooda: it was just average as both flavor and sweetness were too light.

Double ka Meetha: It appeared like a challenging dish for sweet tooth people. It was made up of bread pudding with the traces of saffron, sweetness was slightly above the normal level.

Qubani ka Meetha: Though it is quite popular in Hyderabad region, For the first time in my life time I tried this dish. It's made with dried apricots which has strong sweetness. Its really hard to finish this whole dessert by yourself.

Gulab Jamoon: All I can say, it was just normal or regular. It was Soft and had moderate sweetness.

Gajar ka Halwa / Meetha: Another dessert which I have often in home and in other restaurants. The taste of this dish was good but the texture of halwa was just mesmerizing. I just loved it.

A SMALL MEETING WITH MASTER CHEF

It was a privilege to know the action behind the doors of kitchen in the words of Master Chef of Paradise Biriyani. We learnt that how Hyderabadi Biriyani is totally different from other Biriyanis, how they manage to keep the ingredients as per traditional recipe, how they train other chefs in all branches. The small talk gave us lot of information about the history and tradition of Biriyani making.

EVERYTHING ELSE: It has huge parking space in cellar and also offers valet parking for four wheelers. Hygiene has been maintained very well. Pricing is pretty decent.

FINAL VERDICT: A perfect family hangout place.

BAKASURA RATING:

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GALLERY