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.

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Experience the Authentic Thai Cuisine on a Cool Rooftop Ambience: Tom Yum Thai, Indiranagar

Thai cuisine is one of the most loved cuisine worldwide for various reasons like; delicate cooking method, nutritional value and in some specific delicacy for its taste. Being a food diversity hub, Bengaluru has many well known Thai restaurants and among them all Tom Yum Thai stands out with its simplicity and elegance.

This rooftop restaurant is located on the CMH Road of Indiranagar. You can depend on Google Maps as it is bit difficult to notice from the moving vehicle.

AMBIENCE

As soon as the elevator door opens on the 4th Floor, a simple environment opens up before you. Ambient lighting and attractive wall arts will definitely win your heart. They have two kind of dining setup. One gives in-restaurant dining experience and another one gives you the rooftop dining experience. Restaurant interiors has been crafted with decent number of wall arts which illustrate the culture of Thailand in a simple manner. While the exterior has been decorated with plants, pebbles and a statue of Buddha as a symbol of peace. They usually play some of the great EDM albums in the background which fills the energy and makes the evening more lively. They do have a separate smokers zone.

SERVICE

They make you feel like you are in Thailand itself. Most of the stewards appears to be from North East region and they are well trained. They will be always there when you need them. I haven’t seen them interfering in between. You can brief them about your priority of dishes and how it should be served, they obey it very obediently. As per my experience language won’t be a problem with the stewards or managers.

FOOD

It's been a while I tasted Thai delicacy. This restaurant illustrated a different level of approach by its culinary expertise in Thai food. Thai cuisine is one of a kind. They usually cook it very gently and it includes multiple steps even for a simplest dish. It requires a lot of patience and to get it right, it also requires expertise. Here in Tom Yum Thai, they have both expertise and passion. Our dining experience was really nice;

Tom Yum Vegetable Clear Soup: One sip and I felt like decades of odds got cleared in my throat. It was divine spicy. The spice level was equally balanced with the well cooked veggies. Just loved this soup and it’s a must try dish in here.

Tom Yum Veg Soup (with coconut milk): I experienced true Thai essence in this soup. The spices and herbs used in it was so perfect that each and every sip felt heavenly. Especially when some sips included lemongrass pieces. Ah! If I’m visiting this restaurant again, this soup is the whole reason for it!

Classic Raw Papaya Salad: It appeared so innocent by looks but believe me it tastes too spicy. It felt wonderful to me but some of my friends were not able handle the spiciness. However, it was well processed raw Papaya tossed with spicy Thai sauce and crispy peanut. It was classic in deed.

Tofu with Cashewnuts: Soft & well marinated tofu with well fried Cashewnuts! What more to expect, it was a perfect combination to satisfy our Thai food cravination at the first place. This dish was so cool we ended up ordering it two more times. 

Fried Tofu with Sweet Chilli Topping: Arrrrgh! It appeared to be challenging us all spicy lovers. It’s all about how much spiciness one can handle. I had 4 spoons of it and I was done! My eyes started to cry! Despite such strong spice level I really admire this dish. Because it was not just about adding more spice but the chef has managed to compensate the spiciness with equal amount of seasoning and assorted veggies. I have very few such places in Bengaluru where they know how to tame the spice and this is one among them.

Stir Fried Vegetables: The bowl full of vegetables or a bowl full of healthy calories. Being a non-diet oriented person I didn’t liked this dish as much I liked other dishes. Despite generous use of Soya & Garlic sauces, this dish tasted bland and felt something is not right. 

Green Curry with Steamed Rice: It was good. But it slightly failed to impress me in front of such great starters. However, the green curry went well with steamed rice.

DRINKS

As a welcome drink they offered Watermelon Juice which was nice, later during the dining session they presented Shula Red & White wine. I opted for Red Wine it tasted kind of ordinary but paired well with their Spicy Tofu. I also had a chance to taste their Virgin Mojito, it felt bit diluted and they have used lots and lots of ice which is really strange. Any how, taste of the Mojito was good but they can improve a bit.

DESSERTS

Chocolate - Vanilla Scoop: It didn’t take much time to some of my fellow foodies to figure it out that Ice Creams are transported from Managalore’s famous Ideal Ice Creams. Its very very hard to find such Ice Cream in Bengaluru and I’m glad that Tom Yum Thai has taken an extra effort to serve the world famous Ideal Ice Cream in here. The texture of both scoops were so smooth that I fell in love with those. Just brilliant.

GudBud Ice Cream: It was a nice way to end our dining session. It was filled with generous portion of jelly, nuts and flavoured syrups along with strawberry, kesar ice creams and topped with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream. Lovely.

EVERYTHING ELSE: Pricing is moderate and affordable. They do have dedicated parking space in the cellar. Whole restaurant is very neat and hygiene has been maintained well.

FINAL VERDICT: It's a perfect place to enjoy the Thai delicacy and lovely rooftop ambience is a boon. Whether it’s a romantic date or friendly hangout you’ll definitely enjoy the simplicity of this place. 

BAKASURA RATING

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Event Organised By:

It was "50th Meetup by Food Bloggers Association of Bangalore". Being associated with the organisation from its very first bloggers meetup it feel immense pleasure and proud at the same time to see their achievement. They are one of the primary reason to start this blog and I'm very glad that I got inspired by such expert community.

I thank them for inspiring us and congratulations on completing 50 milestones by creating a perfect platform for all bloggers.

Admin Panel of FBAB:
Bibhuti Bhusan Panigrahy   Chef, Food Blogger, Travel Blogger
Naveen Suresh   Food Blogger
Nameesh N Rajamane   Lifestyle Blogger

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