Eating out: Deccan Pavilion @ ITC Kakatiya Hotel

ITC Kakatiya is a 5 star hotel that is near our apartment. Reviews online for this restaurant seemed pretty good and so off we went last sat night for dinner.

Price?
Buffet dinner with free flow beverages (alcoholic drinks included) - Rs 1300 / SGD40+.


As usual, we were the early diners. In India, the dinner crowd only starts to build up around 9pm+. Ambience was cozy with live music playing love ballads.


Though I would think that this is pricey for the locals, the restaurant had only about 1 or 2 tables of Caucasian guests and the rest were locals. I have been told that people in this city are considered to have good spending power. Guess I am just starting to see this for myself.


When the hubby had wanted to order from the a-la-carte menu instead of having the buffet, they were flexible enough to accommodate to his request. Not surprising, he had ordered his comfort food of burgers.

Me with my Mojito; Hubby with his American Burger

The buffet spread was quite extensive, covering a good range of local and international food.


As it was the ramzan (ramadan) month for the Muslim, there was a selection of food just for these guests. There was the spread of dates, bread and this item called Haleem. Since I arrived, I have been reading the local paper about this food called Haleem. Available only during ramzan, people travel all over town to get the best Haleem. Made out of wheat, lentils and meat, it is like a stew but so thick that it looks like a paste.


Of course I had to give it a try! The waiter was very kind to explain to me how Haleem was made and then offered to get fresh naan to be sent to the table to be eaten with the Haleem. The taste is not overwhelming as there are no spices and I felt like I was eating the filling of a chicken mayo sandwich except that it is warm. Overall, I would eat it again if I see it but not as a whole meal and I definitely will not go all over town hunting for it.


There was a grill counter available and I went straight for that. 3 servings of grilled beef steak, prawns, pineapples, eggplant and mushrooms. So satisfied. I so missed my red meat.


With my palate satisfied, I went around the buffet line again looking for interesting food. There it was - a corner labelling Rajastani food. Looking like the lost Asian, the waiter came up to me and explained that they are promoting Rajastani food in the buffet today. Food from this region is spicy and the must have is this combination of wheat ball (bati) and lentils (churma) eaten together. The wheat ball is dry and crumbly but when eaten together with the lentils, it is quite alright. Anyway, it was so spicy that I could not finish eating it.


Just for kicks, I took a bit of the briyanis and different curries though I wasn't really craving for it. The selection is so great that it is impossible to finish sampling them.


Then came desserts! As there are many vegetarians in the city, you will find many of the desserts made without eggs to cater to them. So I had eggless brownies, bread pudding, apple crumble, panacotta. It is these city cosmopolitan desserts that I miss eating!


Polishing all of that off with a cup of tea, its a perfect end to the evening. And yes, it is a place that I would return to again.

Satisfied...