Each time I have coffee, I am reminded of the cold coffee I had at the Niloufer Cafe in Himayathnagar. Went there the other day with a bunch of girl friends. Busy place, but we found seats for the seven of us in one cozy corner which remained so for exactly 33 seconds, till the table next to us with 20 women started talking. All at once.
A request later we were shifted some 10 feet away and we started stretching our legs while reading the sumptuous menu when we realised we were not alone, once again. There were a bunch of women in a glass cabin, where our chairs were and they too were loud.
We needed distraction and so placed our orders. And when the food started arriving, amidst the chaos of being served and serving ourselves, we started eating and then we started talking.😊😊😊😊😊
When we decided to visit Niloufer cafe, I seriously thought I would get my bun maskaa and maybe a vegetable puff or two along with the parde wali chai. But the menu card here is humongous, also made of wood, so heavy. But the list includes everything under the sun, including sambar rice and sabudaane ki khichdi. And wait. Also Raagi based dosa or some such. While you are already drooling over the words on the card, there is a television screen placed strategically and the most mouth watering pictures floating on it.
And then we started screaming, saying yes to whatever appeared yummy on the TV screen, which was just about everything. In essence we ordered seven items and a few extras, just in case, we would not starve. Whew!!!
After that exercise we were ordering the steward and a couple of young waiters to get us the water, to get us the starters, the plates and so on. This cafe is right in the middle of the Himayathnagar traffic and is a crowded place. By the time one individual exits a vehicle, there are several valets, security guards hustling you out and ensuring that there are no traffic snarls. But then that was a given, considering all age groups out there to enjoy themselves and families are not embarrassed not hindered by the slowest person in the family.
The ground floor of the cafe is full of guys who are familiar with a Hyderabadi cafe. Niloufer Cafe in its earliest avatar was just another Irani cafe, owned by A Babu Rao. A rags-to-riches story, the owner was handed the cafe to him due to his diligence and eye for detail. Now he is a proud owner of three branches of the same cafe, one in high-end Banjara Hills, under the watchful eyes of the ugly Police Control Room, one in friendly and crowded Himayat Nagar and one continues to be in Red Hills, after being renovated. If I am to believe Babu Rao’s words, the tea at the last mentioned place is strong because only robust and hardworking persons visit this place, such auto rickshaw drivers, guys working at the press nearby and so on.
But he has definitely got the hang of what gets the taste buds ticking and asking for more. The menu has it all. So, after over eating and getting a doggy bag, a few of us also had a cold coffee. Actually just what the doctor had ordered. It settled the stomach in that tight, nicely packed kind of way, cool while it traversed the taste buds and then sent messages to the brain, saying `we want more’. Sheer control and under advisement we finally got up and waddled towards the lift.
For now we had to do cookie shopping. A huge array of the aforesaid cookies, teas and some chocolates. But I crossed these aisles with a stone over my heart, which desires so much and went directly to the counter to get the bun maskaas packed.
These delectable, fluffy bits of bread are served in a large bun form, slit in the middle to slather it with butter and no stinginess visible and then they are sprinkled with sugar and then sliced for convenience. Because of the just-over-sin-of-gluttony I told the guy to hold the sprinkle of sugar. I do not know if I was lucky or they do it for others also, but when I had the bun maskaa for dinner, it almost looked like there was part of the bun, a thick layer of butter and yet another part of the bun. I could have cried while eating it, I don’t remember.
Memories of Bombay and the daily visitations to these cafes and dipping the bun maskaa in a saucer sloshing with tea is still strong. Glad that mana Hyderabad also has this treat and the guys have it down pat.
I will be going to the Niloufer cafe again with other friends and try the one or two dishes that were left out. And might as well be honest, pick up a few more bun maskaas and hope they do not hold back on the maskaa.