Restaurant Review : Syn Asian Grill & Bar, Taj Deccan, Hyderabad

Before I even go into the details, let me just say one word about my entire Syn experience. It was sinfully awesome! I loved the food, the experience and our entire time there. It was an afternoon spent having pleasant conversation with my partners in crime – Arundati and Siri.

And now to the details…

Syn Asian Grill & Bar, Taj Deccan, Hyderabad
Cusine: Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese – Asian
Location: Taj Deccan, Road 1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.
Phone: 040 66663939 / 092 95 006969
Hours of Operation: Mon - Sun: 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm, 7:30 pm - 1:00 am
Website: Syn Asian Grill & Bar, Taj Hotels
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/synicious
Twitter: https://twitter.com/synicious
Recommendations: Veg Sushi Rolls, Amuse Bouche, Kake age maki, Yasai Salad, Vietnamese Vegetable Red Curry, Wasabi Chilli cocktail, Thai Fried Rice

Yes, that’s almost all the dishes we tried out there, going out to say that I loved everything that has been served.

 

[Pictures : Watermelon Mintini & Wasabi Chilli]

We started our meal with a pleasant cocktail made of Wasabi which not only pierced through our throats but also took us to a high land, literally. We were then served Amuse Bouche in a happy spoon. Amuse Bouche is a bed of fried noodles topped with a mixture of waterchestnut, raw mango in chilly plum and soya dressing. It was a perfect mix of all the flavours and worked well in waking up our taste buds.

 

[Pictures : Amuse Bouche & Yasai Salad]

Yasai Salad is a lovely salad made with crunchy iceberg lettuce served with miso mayonnaise and tempura crunch. The tempura crunch was in three different colours – green , red and the regular tempura colour. Spinach and beetroot form the bases for these colours.

Next came the turn to taste some Sushi. I had eaten vegetarian Sushi before in Sunday brunches , but I must say I wasn’t a huge fan, up until I tasted the Kake age maki and mango maki, both of which are based fried vegetables rolled in sushi rice and served with very yummy soya sauce, unlike the boring, bland sushi I had tasted before. Both these veg sushis have all the flavours in equal mixes and with an interesting texture.

 

[Pictures : Dragon Maki & Mango Maki]

There was of course Dragon Maki and Karai Aguro maki both of which I did not taste because of their main ingredient, sea food. But going by the expressions on our table, I knew they are dishes worth trying too.

 

[Pictures : Hanoi Corn Cake & Pho vegetable soup]

The Hanoi Corn cake and the Pho vegetable soup followed next. The corn cake was served with a very yummy chilli honey sauce which I totally intend to make one of these days. The Pho vegetable soup had a lovely fried onion smell to it and was served with Vietnamese noodles and vegetables, something that can make up an entire meal by itself.

 

[Pictures : Stir-fried vegetable with tender coconut & Thai Bamee Noodles]

What followed next completely blew my mind away. Stir fried tender asparagus was served with tender coconut, green beans and palm heart, and a mild garlic sauce. There was a delicate mix of these ingredients, very well balanced and yet each ingredient stood out. The Thai Bamee noodles, however were spicy and I couldn’t take more than a couple of forks of it. This is basically Thai noodles stir fried with chilli and basil and the chilli was certainly the stronger ingredient.

 

[Pictures : Vietnamese Red curry with the Thai Fried Rice in the background & Dessert platter]

Thai Fried Rice followed suit in being as spicy as the noodles, but the Vietnamese Red curry that the rice was served with was simply brilliant. There was a lovely red colour and a mild chilli flavour to the curry which was cooked with Vietnamese curry powder , sweet potato, soft silken tofu in a Thai curry-ish method. This is something I am going to try next.

The dessert platter is something I did not greatly relish much to my surprise. The platter was presented with Chocolate Tsunami, some Kiwi slices, vanilla ice-cream, tub-tin- grob - rose flavoured waterchestnuts,with coconut milk and makroot flavoured ricotta cheese cake.

The meal ended after a lot of pleasant conversation, information from our chef and with soothing White tea.

   

Throughout our lunch, chef Sajesh Nair was gracious enough to explain each of these ingredients and the dishes, and even indulge us in a little Q&A about each of the dishes and how to make it. I don’t think I can thank him enough for not making us, vegetarians feel like we need to survive on corn/paneer/tofu alone, and show us that  you can make wonders with Asian food by tweaking every famous dish and making it vegetarian.

Syn is also a place where the staff and the waiters know what they are doing and are extremely courteous, thus reflecting the famous Taj hospitality. Seeing is half eating, and this motto is thoroughly imbibed by the chefs there, with each of the items being plated beautiful and aesthetically.

I have attended evening parties at Syn and spent most of my time outdoors where it is very pleasant. The decor of the place is casual and is perfect for both weekday lunches and weekend dinners. I thoroughly recommend a visit to this place, to taste the food, interact with the staff and realize that there are a lot of varieties in Asian cuisine, apart from just Manchurian and Schezwan. :)

Disclaimer: We were invited to sample few of their dishes and our meal was compensated for.  However, the views expressed in this post are strictly my own and the recommendations are completely my choice, and doesn't involve any monetary compensation.