A smooth hiccups-free experience at Hichkee !
Location & Parking: Located on the rooftop of Hotel Alleviate next to Yamuna Kinara, the Valet parking is both necessary and works well to rush off to level 4, hoping to leave behind your day’s worries for a while !
Timings, Reservations & Waiting: They have started operating now from 5 pm till 1 am everyday to counter the heat. Reservations and Waiting is an area where they do come under some stick. For the record the reservations can be done up-to 8.30-8.45 pm but not on weekends. The best time to visit on weeknights is to reach latest by 8.45 pm and on weekends to be on the safe side reach by 7-7.30 pm if you want to completely avoid any waiting time.
The Drinks: Being a Teetotaller, I tried a number of Mocktails and Shakes however nothing could beat the Chocolate Oreo Shake & Drooling over Guava mocktail during my outing. #stronglyrecommended
The Starters: The Cheese, Capsicum, Corn and Coriander (hence named 4C) preparation was like a cheese bowl but in elliptical shape was a starter full of Cheddar cheese, that was both delicious and filling. For my veg counterparts this is a must order !
Among the crop of non veg starters the best I liked was the Zarda Chicken Kebab that first tasted like a Malai chicken kebab but then gave me a tangy chatpata flavour. #lovedit
The Mutton Kali Mirch was equally appetising with the flesh falling off the bone and an unusually creamy texture for a Mutton starter went well with a subtle flavor of black pepper and thankfully the pepper flavor wasn’t overpowering in nature ! #recommended
Steamed Chicken Momos with a twist of stuffed cheese was both surprising and appetising. Personally I am not a fan of Momos and if at all I do eat then fried is what I prefer but this steamed Momo was perfectly steamed with no rubbery exterior that are a deal breaker for many a preparations. The filling was done fantastically well with cheese and delicious minced chicken and I liked it a lot. #beststeamedmomosever
The Indian style pasta was very unlike your regular pasta and as the name promised, had flavours of a paneer Makhani like gravy and was served with tender chunks of Paneer. #innovativeforsure
Bhatti Ka Murgh was like a regular Tandoori chicken for me, that was a tad dry and needed to be a bit more juicy, gave the feedback to the Chef which was taken gracefully indeed !
Thai Curry Fish with Basa being served in Oriental gravy was further accentuated by usage of Lemongrass and ginger being the chief ingredients. The Fish was cooked very well with its sides being crunchy and the meat beneath extremely tender. The pickled Broccoli served with rice was pretty tasty as well.
Mutton Dum Biryani: My favourite food is biryani and expectedly if I see it in the menu I am always on the look out to try it. I wasn’t particularly hopeful about the biryani in Hichkee being a Cafe however I was again pleasantly surprised by both the quality and quantity of the preparation. It wasn’t quite the spicy types preparation like Hyderabadi however nor was it all aroma and nearly bland like a Lucknowi variant. This was a preparation served with dry fruits, tender Mutton, fluffy and well moist rice that was medium spicy and went very well with a Mutton Korma like Saalan and very well made Raita. #biryanimasterkhushhua
Some of the delicious items Agra Foodsters tasting panel tasted Today were : Aslam’s butter chicken tikka – though it has nothing in common with the old Delhi delicacy but a tasty chicken tikka nevertheless followed by some crispy and tangy chicken wings and a mild preparation – stuffed Chicken Tangdi as part of the Non Veg platter.
The thin crust three Chilly vegetarian pizza was again pure love full of cheese and was a simple preparation without a lot of toppings but it still did the trick of making us drool.
The mutton Dum biryani was pretty unlike Agra and was tilted towards the Hyderabadi style of preparation and overall it was enough to leave a mark on biryanimaster though a slight area of improvement would be to have more meaty pieces to make it an irresistible preparation.
Usually I don’t have a lot of personal affinity towards Sizzlers however the Peri Peri Chicken Sizzler was pretty decent for a Sizzler preparation and I am not surprised that I indeed liked it.
First things first I am the sort of foodie who just wouldn’t care about service, ambience, customer service, prices or any such aberrations as long as the food getting served is fabulous. To be really honest Jahanpanah still after 3 years of my foodie association still have their heart at the right place and I would love to go back to their food time after time.
Tawa Mutton Chaap – Needed to be a bit more gravied than what it was and the meat was a bit dry as well. This is not yet launched in their menu and the Foodies provided the relevant feedback and I am sure once it’s launched it’s going to be a huge hit.
Tilwaale Aloo – The very reason that I have rated this ahead of a mutton dish speaks volume about the preparation, with a tasty cheese stuffing this is your sure shot veg starter – a usual departure from Paneer based starters for my veggie friends.
Nargisi Mutton Kebab – Wow and wow this was a typical shami Kebab preparation enhanced by coating of egg batter and stuffing of raw onions that have this a crunchy bite – a delight in every bite indeed !
Kalmi Murgh – This is your goto chicken starter if you’re looking for something that isnt very spicy, yet is flavourful, mild and tender all at the same time, loved it 
Dal Makhani – Not quite the frosty thick types and overpowered with cinnamon this was one drool-worthy preparation that had the perfect balance of spices. The fact that the humble Dal Makhani finds itself ahead in front of so many non veg preparations should again say a lot about this delicacy.
Mutton Galawati Kabab – The absolute melt in the mouth Mutton Kababs, I can only say the only better ones I have had are from Tunday Kababs, Aminabad – Lucknow so these are pretty relevant in the Agra Food scenes and among the top ones IMHO.
Akbari Phirni – Well if you have tasted the phirni of an extremely successful and biggest barbeque chain of India and feel that they absolutely murdered the preparation and you get nightmares as soon as someone mentioned the word “Phirni” then you should taste this. The Phirni here would restore your faith in humanity once again and you might end up ordering more than one
Mutton Biryani – A typical and simple Lucknawi Biryani devoid of any serious spices that do many places just sprinkle for the sake of it. As they say beauty lies in simplicity and this was one beauty I have every time I am in Agra and the trend will continue in the years to come.
Four delicately spiced tender mutton pieces in flavourful basmati rice using a typical Dum preparation gives this the best dish of the tasting tag and Lucknawi biryani for me can’t get any better than this at this price point !
biryanimaster 