Meeting Actor Venkatesh

I and my husband had the opportunity to attend the PUMA Deccan Chargers Apparel Launch Party at 360 ° pub in Hyderabad on April 1, 2009.

360 ° Pub is a happening place, very popular with film stars and Page 3 crowd. The ambiance is too good and it has a big dance floor. The restaurant serves some great food and the setting is romantic. It is a nice place for couples who enjoy to dance and have a good drink. Anyway we being non-drinkers, enjoyed the mocktails and starters. The owner of the pub Raj Singh is a great host. The DJ was playing some peppy Bollywood numbers. Some of the cricketers had a good dance after the launch and introductions.

The highlight of the party was meeting Telugu film actor Venkatesh. I like him and his movies, so it was nice seeing him in person and talking to him. I felt he looks smarter in person than in films. He was very cordial and polite. My husband took his autograph for our daughter. He happily posed with us for a snap.

The Deccan Chargers were in town for a practice session before leaving for South Africa for the IPL tournament. RP Singh, Rohit Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Venugopal Rao and others were present that evening. We also met Venkatpathi Raju.

While having our dinner, actor Sumanth walked in and as we were leaving, actress Ramya Krishna was entering with Tamil actor Arya. So it was an evening spent with celebrities.

Eat Out

A new restaurant " MOKSH" opened for public on 07/07/07 in Hyderabad. It is located on the Ministers road, overlooking the Tank Bund and the Necklace road. Hyderabadis, especially the vegetarians will know the restaurant " NEST" which doesn't exist anymore. And Moksh is located on the same premises. It is the "UTSAV" ( A leading pure Veg restaurant located adjacent to LAMBA Theater, Secunderabad) owners new initiative.

Moksh is a three storeyed buliding with the first floor for 'Fine Dining" - serving Indian, Chinese and Italian Veg and Non-veg delicacies ; cocktails and mocktails. The second floor has a 400 seater banquet hall and the third floor has a roof garden which is still under construction. The interiors are done by the well known interior designer Mr. Yeshwant Ramamurthy. The reddish brown interiors gives a earthy feel, with partitions and walls decorated with grinding stones , glass pieces and wood. The menu looks elaborate and exotic. The rates are slightly expensive than UTSAV's.

We had the privilege to experience good food before the inaugural as we were invited by one of the owners who is a family friend. I relished the sweet corn soup, paneer seekh kebab, aloo paratha , Saunf Dum Aloo, Kesari Kofta curry , Veg Dum Biriyani and topped it with Kubani Ka Meetha , a typical hyderabadi dessert made of apricots. I also had a Mocktail to drink, which was sweet and a combination of strawberry syrup, fanta and something else; I don't remember the name either as it sounded new to me.

So all of you there, we now have MOKSH for a good gastronomic experience!