Woodbridge

The Scene
The Woodbridge hotel, discovering that "Degh" was not graceful enough a name for a restaurant that boasts of maintaining waistlines, promptly changed it over to "Something To Talk About". How much the place is being the talk of the town is still anybody's guess - however, there are some things that the management certainly needs to be talked to about - like changing the linen once in a while, teaching the waiters some table-side manners, and improving the communication gap between the waiters and the chef, which often results in their insisting upon the customers' accepting something completely unordered.

The Food
You can start with the Chicken Silver Soup, which has both chicken and chandi warak, or, if it's not your lucky day, with the Mirch Tomato Soup. Some trace the genesis of this particular variety of appetizer to the Chinese Ming dynasty, but a nearer guess would be, the left-over daal pani resuscitated with fried onions and some dhania leaves.

For the starters it is safer to order Fish Ajwain, which is real fish pakoda with ajwain, leaving a snacky after-taste in your mouth. For the vegans, Tandoori Phool Gobhi or Paneer Tikka will be satisfying even if not mouth-watering. For the main course, in place of the regular Kadai Chicken, Murgh Dam Waala, Paneer Ke Kofte, the best bet is Mirchi Ka Saalan, which is the traditional vegetarian Hyderabadi curry with some plain rice.

In addition to the above, the restaurant also offers combo meals over-priced between Rs. 55 and Rs. 99, lunch buffets for Rs. 149 and a breakfast buffet for Rs. 90 (as we write this in late 2005). The breakfast buffet is worth it.

The Verdict
If you don't mind a little of all-that-can-go-wrong-in-a-restaurant, go right ahead.