See's Candy @ NEw Park Mall - Indulging in Chocolate

The other day, Mahi & I went down to our good 'ol New Park Mall. This mall is the one closest to our current location. It isn't a very big mall, in fact, by American standards, it's a pretty small mall. That’s where I introduced Mahi to See's Candies - my favorite candy store. The stores are typically black and white and project a very retro look. The service too is very old-fashioned - a lot of warmth and coziness, with a strict adherence to their motto - "Quality Without Compromise".

There are over 100 different varieties to choose from, and the candies have no additives / preservatives - only fresh ingredients, procured from across the globe.

The first See's Candies store & kitchen was opened on Western Avenue in Los Angeles in November of 1921 by Charles See. The sparkling clean, black and white shop was designed to resemble his mother Mary See's home kitchen.

By the mid-1920's See's had expanded to twelve shops, and further expanded to thirty shops during the depression. By 1936, See's was able to expand to San Francisco. Mary See died in 1939 at the age of 85, but the company kept growing.

Following World War II, See's Candy Shops grew as California grew, and opened more shops throughout the state. In the 50's, See's established itself with the new and growing phenomenon of shopping malls.

Today See's Candies are sold in over two hundred shops throughout the West, a true sign of their enduring popularity. And, to this day, Charles See's living motto, "Quality Without Compromise" continues to guide the company.

My personal favorite there is the Milk Almonds – these are roasted almonds, coated in chocolate – simply out of this world. We also were exposed to the remarkable service here – the sweet lady at the counter kept giving us multiple samples to try out – in fact towards the end, we had to virtually refuse, for fear of being unable to waddle out of the store !!!

More scoop on City Center and Food!!!

Well yesterday we formally raised a toast to Kailash. Actually it wasn't a toast really, but in true Hyderabadi style & spirit, decided to take him out to lunch.

As all lunch outings revolve around the critical parking issue, we decided to not take our vehicles, and instead decided to walk across to the eating joints at the City Center. An initial description of the mall is posted here.

As I had mentioned earlier, it has a bunch of restaurants on the top floor. Interestingly, these all belong to the BJN Group, same guys who operate Angeethi too. The restaurants are IndiJoe (a global cuisine place), Sahib Sindh Sultan (an exclusive Indian place) and Aromas of China (as the name says, an oriental place). Apart from this, it also has a pub called Firangi Pani, as well as a conference room.

Now, I must say, that these places are amazing. If you haven't visited / seen them, do see them ASAP, and if you have already seen them, then see them again and again and again.....
The attention to detail in all these places is mind boggling.

We had lunch at IndiJoe. The buffet costs Rs.135/- plus taxes, but believe me, the variety is mind boggling. Six types of salad (veg & non-veg), 8 types of desserts, Indian, Italian, Oriental, and Continental cuisines were part of the main course in the buffet. Of course, no drinks are included as part of the food, but hey - they have the chocolate fountain as part of the dessert !!! Lip-smacking!!!

Post lunch, we decided to explore the other restaurants. Sahib Sindh Sultan, is a restaurant set in the year 1853. It has a massive train coach / bogey inside which can seat about 20 people. On either side of the coach, they have setup mirrors facing each other, so when you actually look left or right, it's looks like a long train - pretty innovative. The coach also has tracks and gravel underneath which have been suitable lit to add to the overall effect. Inside the coach, the design is similar to the trains of the bygone era. It has luggage racks above the seats which have British top hats, and women's felt hats placed there as part of the display.

The seating area out side the coach can accommodate lots more, and is setup like the platform for the train. It also has a ticket counter, a book store etc. The staff too are dressed as per the clothing of the yesteryear!!!

Firangi Paani, the pub, is again set in the era of the Raj, in India. Authentic rifles on the walls, motifs, stained glass, leather sofas, all speak volumes here. The tables are setup as huge gunpowder casks, and all in all it gives a very English feel. A whole lot of polished wood too.Towards one side, they also have a small dance floor set up.

Didn't get a chance to see Aromas of China, as that is slotted to open next month, but will definitely take a look at it once it opens up. The picture sure looks nice though. Am sure the cuisine too will be great.

All in all, a really nice experience.

City Center Mall in Hyderabad

Well, it was a nice Saturday afternoon, and we had finished lunch at Sadhu's Vegetarian Bistro - a new place which had opened up on Road #12, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. Interesting place - serves South Indian, North Indian and Chinese cuisine. Apparently the owner hailed from Australia and had travelled extensively across the globe learning all about new cuisines, and then decided to set up the Sadhu's chain!!!

Anyhow the food was OK, no great shakes.

Post the meal, we decided to explore the new City Center Mall which had just opened up here in Hyderabad. The place is really nice, though shops are still up for grabs. Phenomenal parking space - it can accommodate up to 400 cars at a time! Some of the interesting stores are Globus (an apparels store), eZone (a store dedicated to electronics - my idea of heaven!!!), a food bazaar, McDonald's Family Restaurant, Health & Glow and a couple of others that I don't remember now.

It also has three restaurants on the top floor, a part of the Angeethi management. These are themed restaurants, am yet to hear about the quality of food, but I gather that the food at IndiJoe is really good.