Latest news with #Akina
Mint
25-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Exploring Hyderabad's evolving food culture
The Hyderabad dining culture has largely been associated with biryani. Think Grand Hotel in Abids, Paradise, Hotel Shadab and Shah Ghouse. While biryani is still the go-to food in the city, the culinary landscape over the past decade has opened up to international cuisines, breweries, nightclubs, curated dining experiences and restaurants that elevate the state's cuisines. While legacy places continue to thrive in the Old City, around the Charminar, premium restaurants and hotels can be found in the upmarket Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills. Thanks to the IT boom, the influx of people from across the country and an increase in high-rise residential spaces in HITEC City, Financial District, Gachibowli, Narsingi and Kokapet, the culinary scene has secured the space and audience it needs to expand. One City, Many Concepts Restaurants like Terrai, Istham Kitchen and Telugu Medium present micro-cuisines from Telangana, Rayalseema, Rajamundhry, Kakinada in innovative ways. Like Antera's Raju Gari Kodi Pulao (a mushy chicken and rice dish pressure cooked in milk) or Terrai's Golchina Mamsam, a Telangana mutton stir-fry. Asian restaurants are on the rise. For a Vietnamese fix, Nirmala Vanamali's Banh Mi Babe in Jubilee Hills has created quite a buzz. In November 2024, Mumbai-brand KOKO opened doors. 'We saw that diners here were travelling outside the city for premium culinary experiences, and we felt the time was right to introduce KOKO's distinctive blend of Cantonese and Japanese cuisine in one seamless format," says Ryan Tham, chairman and co-founder of Pebble Street Hospitality, which owns KOKO. Also read: Tablescaping ideas for a summer brunch Another Mumbai-brand, Akina, opened in March. Their menu has warmer, spicier notes, keeping in mind the local palate: for instance, Chevella Baby Corn with Spicy Chickpea Miso and Kyoto Karam Podi, or the Firecracker Chilli Chicken, with Crispy Chillies. 'Hyderabad retains its uniquely Telangana roots. We consciously embraced this dichotomy and adapted our modern Asian fare to have a uniquely Hyderabadi flare," says Rahul Punjabi, corporate executive chef of Aspect Hospitality, which runs Akina. The menu at One8 Commune, which opened in May 2024 in HITEC City, features inventive dishes like Soya Haleem and Bamboo Biryani that pay homage to the city's culinary heritage. And also modern Indian, Asian, and Continental cuisines. 'We reinterpret regional influences—like the comforting richness of mutton dalcha—with slow-cooked depth, while dishes like Chelo Kebab Chicken or Lebanese Mujadara Rice reflect the city's growing appetite for global, ingredient-forward plates," says Agnibh Mudi, corporate chef. Besides the signature offerings of charcoal-grilled kebap and house-made breads, the menu at Kebapci Hills, which opened in April, also features regionally exclusive dishes like the Biber (Pepper) Mandi, infused with Urfa pepper from Türkiye. 'Hyderabad has strong influences of the Mughal, Persian and Turkish cultures. The historical alignment of Nizams with the Ottoman Empire also made it interesting for us to position ourselves here," says Aasim Shah, founder and MD, Kofteci Foodkrafts Pvt Ltd, which owns the restaurant. Also read: Sake sips and elevated Japanese at this new restaurant in Mumbai Pop-up experiences in Hyderabad have gotten exciting too. Guwahati-based Farha Naaz is the consultant chef and founder of Mamazaki, a concept kitchen showcasing food from the North-East through pop-ups and private dining across the country. Her tables have had dishes like Datshi Dumplings in creamy Himalayan-style cheese sauce; Pitha Crepes or Assamese crepes reimagined with smoked duck, bhut jolokiya and baby potatoes. 'Diners are curious, open, and willing to engage with stories and flavours they've never tried before. It is that curiosity keeps me coming back," says Naaz, who has been coming to Hyderabad since July 2024. Hyderabad also enjoys the supper club experience through Pragati Mitta, chef and founder, The Long Table by Legally Delicious. 'Diners want chef-led concepts, hyper-seasonal menus, conscious sourcing, and formats that feel personal and elevated. More than market demand, I was responding to a creative impulse: to bring a restaurant-level culinary experience into a home setting for cuisine and conversation to be savoured, not rushed. The enthusiastic response is an affirmation," says Mitta, who began her initiative in June 2024. Classics and More Bars and mixologists have been keeping pace too. Cocktails are taking the savoury route, catering to the spice-loving palate of the city. At Firewater Neo Bar and Kitchen, which opened in January, in the Financial District, the Pola Adiripola is a margarita with tamarind purée and the Aakasam Erragaa Undi is a Bloody Mary with a touch of garam masala. At MOAI, mixologists Claudio Caprio and Saurav Samanta go technique-forward with drinks like the Strawberry Curry Colada, which blends clarified strawberry and coconut with ginger and curry leaf milk. Bar Kin-Rü features on the 30 Best Bars India list 2024 and is known for mixology collaboration bringing to the city global names like Bar BenFiddich along with top Indian talent from Jaipur's Paro to Mumbai's Bandra Born. Hyderabad's culinary scene is catching up with the rest of the country at an incredible speed. While tributes to the local cuisine and ingredients are a smart way to resonate with the audience and make inroads, the message is clear: Hyderabad is open to it all. Ruth DSouza Prabhu is a features journalist based in Bengaluru. Also read: The best wine and cocktail bars in Paris
Mint
25-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
The food scene in Hyderabad offers more than just biriyani
Hyderabad's dining culture has largely been associated with biryani—think Grand Hotel in Abids, Paradise, Hotel Shadab and Shah Ghouse. While biryani is still the go-to food in the city, the culinary landscape over the past decade has opened up to international cuisines, breweries, nightclubs, curated dining experiences and restaurants that elevate different cuisines from the state's varied regions and communities. While legacy places continue to thrive in the Old City, around the Charminar, premium restaurants and hotels can be found in the upmarket Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills. Thanks to the IT boom, the influx of people from across the country and an increase in high-rise residential spaces in HITEC City, Financial District, Gachibowli, Narsingi and Kokapet, the culinary scene has secured the space and audience it needs to expand. One city, many concepts Restaurants like Terrai, Istham Kitchen and Telugu Medium present micro-cuisines from Telangana, Rayalseema, Rajamundhry, Kakinada in innovative ways. Like Antera's Raju Gari Kodi Pulao (a mushy chicken and rice dish pressure cooked in milk) or Terrai's Golchina Mamsam, a Telangana mutton stir-fry. Asian restaurants are on the rise. For a Vietnamese fix, Nirmala Vanamali's Banh Mi Babe in Jubilee Hills has created quite a buzz. In November 2024, Mumbai-brand KOKO opened doors. 'We saw that diners here were travelling outside the city for premium culinary experiences, and we felt the time was right to introduce KOKO's distinctive blend of Cantonese and Japanese cuisine in one seamless format," says Ryan Tham, chairman and co-founder of Pebble Street Hospitality, which owns KOKO. Another Mumbai-brand, Akina, opened in March. Their menu has warmer, spicier notes, keeping in mind the local palate: for instance, Chevella Baby Corn with Spicy Chickpea Miso and Kyoto Karam Podi, or the Firecracker Chilli Chicken, with Crispy Chillies. 'Hyderabad retains its uniquely Telangana roots. We consciously embraced this dichotomy and adapted our modern Asian fare to have a uniquely Hyderabadi flare," says Rahul Punjabi, corporate executive chef of Aspect Hospitality, which runs Akina. The menu at One8 Commune, which opened in May 2024 in HITEC City, features inventive dishes like Soya Haleem and Bamboo Biryani that pay homage to the city's culinary heritage. And also modern Indian, Asian, and Continental cuisines. 'We reinterpret regional influences—like the comforting richness of mutton dalcha—with slow-cooked depth, while dishes like Chelo Kebab Chicken or Lebanese Mujadara Rice reflect the city's growing appetite for global, ingredient-forward plates," says Agnibh Mudi, corporate chef. Besides the signature offerings of charcoal-grilled kebap and house-made breads, the menu at Kebapci Hills, which opened in April, also features regionally exclusive dishes like the Biber (Pepper) Mandi, infused with Urfa pepper from Türkiye. 'Hyderabad has strong influences of the Mughal, Persian and Turkish cultures. The historical alignment of Nizams with the Ottoman Empire also made it interesting for us to position ourselves here," says Aasim Shah, founder and MD, Kofteci Foodkrafts Pvt Ltd, which owns the restaurant. Also read: Disfrutar versus Noma: A tale of two Michelin meals Pop-up experiences in Hyderabad have gotten exciting too. Guwahati-based Farha Naaz is the consultant chef and founder of Mamazaki, a concept kitchen showcasing food from the North-East through pop-ups and private dining across the country. Her tables have had dishes like Datshi Dumplings in creamy Himalayan-style cheese sauce; Pitha Crepes or Assamese crepes reimagined with smoked duck, bhut jolokiya and baby potatoes. 'Diners are curious, open, and willing to engage with stories and flavours they've never tried before. It is that curiosity keeps me coming back," says Naaz, who has been coming to Hyderabad since July 2024. Hyderabad also enjoys the supper club experience through Pragati Mitta, chef and founder, The Long Table by Legally Delicious. 'Diners want chef-led concepts, hyper-seasonal menus, conscious sourcing, and formats that feel personal and elevated. More than market demand, I was responding to a creative impulse: to bring a restaurant-level culinary experience into a home setting for cuisine and conversation to be savoured, not rushed. The enthusiastic response is an affirmation," says Mitta, who began her initiative in June 2024. Classics and more at bars Bars and mixologists have been keeping pace too. Cocktails are taking the savoury route, catering to the spice-loving palate of the city. At Firewater Neo Bar and Kitchen, which opened in January in the Financial District, the Pola Adiripola is a margarita with tamarind purée and the Aakasam Erragaa Undi is a Bloody Mary with a touch of garam masala. At MOAI, mixologists Claudio Caprio and Saurav Samanta go technique-forward with drinks like the Strawberry Curry Colada, which blends clarified strawberry and coconut with ginger and curry leaf milk. Bar Kin-Rü features on the 30 Best Bars India list 2024 and is known for mixology collaboration bringing to the city global names like Bar BenFiddich along with top Indian talent from Jaipur's Paro to Mumbai's Bandra Born. Hyderabad's culinary scene is catching up with the rest of the country at an incredible speed. While tributes to the local cuisine and ingredients are a smart way to resonate with the audience and make inroads, the message is clear: Hyderabad is open to it all. Also read: A tea lover's reflection on tradition and change
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Golf phenom Kihei Akina shares why he chose BYU (and it wasn't just for golf)
Lone Peak's Kihei Akina competes in 6A boys golf state championship at Riverbend Golf Course in Riverton on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. Akina won medalist honors and has signed to play his college golf at BYU. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Standing on the first tee of the Black Desert Championship last October in Ivins, Utah, Kihei Akina caught a glimpse of his future. With a large crowd gathered around him, BYU's prized five-star golf recruit took out his driver and readied himself to make his PGA Tour debut. 'I was fine and felt normal,' Akina told the 'Y's Guys' podcast this week. 'But I put the tee in the ground and as I stood over the ball, my legs went to jelly. I couldn't feel my hands. I couldn't feel anything. I thought, 'Oh crap! Just make contact!' Somehow, I hit it down the fairway.' Advertisement By the third hole, Akina was back to being his confident self and over the course of two days he went toe-to-toe with the professionals and made eight birdies and finished just outside the cut line at 4 under par. 'It was definitely different from junior golf and high school golf,' said the three-time state champion at Lone Peak High. 'I just tried to learn as much as I could from those guys.' Akina hails from an athletic family. His older sister, Kiani, played rugby at Harvard, and older brothers Keanu golfed at BYU and Kawika played basketball at NYU in Manhattan. Now it's his time to shine. When it came time to decide on a college, Akina received offers and NIL pitches from 50 programs, including BYU, which presented a competitive proposal — and an environment that has less to do with golf and more to do with the golfer. Advertisement 'I wanted to surround myself with likeminded people. People in the church who have the same beliefs as me,' Akina said. 'I think it will help build me and help build my testimony of the Savior and help me be a better person and get to where I want to be in life.' Akina also wants to win. Bruce Brockbank's current Cougars are competing this weekend at the NCAA championships in Carlsbad, California, where BYU is chasing its first national title since 1981. 'I also wanted to come in and build the program up and I want to compete for a national championship,' Akina said. 'At BYU you represent so much. You represent the church and this great state of Utah. It's really cool to be able to do that. Hopefully we can make a run next year.' Akina is a big piece of an unprecedented wave of prized prep recruits bringing their talents to Provo, including No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa (basketball), No. 1-ranked Jane Hedengren (women's cross-country), No. 1-ranked Daniel Simmons (men's cross-country) and the No. 5-ranked tight end Brock Harris (football). Advertisement 'BYU is on the rise for sure. It's really cool to see. Everything is building up with every sport,' Akina said. 'I'm excited to be a part of it. I've been itching to get to campus for the last year and a half.' Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts 'Y's Guys' at and is the author of the children's book 'C is for Cougar,' available at
The Hindu
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Akina Contemporary Asian Experience in Hyderabad has an exciting Asian menu
Terraces are great places for get togethers. So when Akina Contemporary Asian Experience from Mumbai decided to launch in Hyderabad, the chosen location was the terrace of The Loft building near HITEC City. The spot seemed ideal to stay true to the party mood. The play of light just as you enter Akina calls for some photographs. Natural light streams through the glass panelled roofs and complements the earthy elements of the decor. Cane chairs, wicker lamp shades, and ornamental grass bloom add charm. Akina is not all in tones of the earth; the green comes from healthy houseplants. In Hyderabad, the vibe and the menu of Akina is designed to represent 'all'. The restaurant's philosophy is inclined towards offering an immersive experience, bringing together contemporary Asian cuisine and cinematic storytelling. The digital menu lists everything neatly under sections. Akina does not serve favourites such as biryani, pulusu, 'manchurian' or makhani gravies with a modern take. Dimsums rule, so does nigiri, sushi and vibrant cold plates. But first a picante. On a balmy afternoon, picante turned out to be a good choice. Then came the Amma's mango-avocado ceviche — avocado's creaminess meets sweet, tangy mango with a hot after taste. From texture to flavours, a well thought out idea. Then came the cold soba noodle salad that changed my view of soba noodles. I always regarded soba noodles as tasteless and stiff. This salad is a mix of soba with kataiffi, cream cheese and finished with fried garlic chips. Every spoonful is a delight. The menu includes striking robata grills. So while I waited for my Balinese chicken wings, chicken Tsukune Anticuchos and tiger prawns in chipotle butter, burnt lemon and micro coriander, I tasted the Akina Spicy Crispy Maki Roll, which comes with stuffed chilli, tempura flakes, citrus cream cheese, chipotle, cucumber, spicy chicken dimsum and chicken and prawn sui mai. Dimsums were bite-sized delights that left no room for complaint. The local touch to the menu comes in the form of Kyoto karam podi, Vantimamidi beets, Mirpakaya tempura, Krishna river prawns and Chevella baby corn. The eatery's Asian menu is pretty strong and since everything worked, the chef suggested I try one of his choices for the main course — Akina fried rice with chicken and prawns with Mongolian cumin and red chilli chicken. While the rice was good to go by itself, the Mongolian xumin and red chilli chicken did not meet the hype. In the meantime, the selection from the robata grills arrived. It disappeared sooner than it arrived. The flavours were fresh and not limited to soya and garlic. It was hot and ended on a fine sweet note. What will I repeat at Akina? Amma's mango-avocado ceviche, the soba noodle salad and the dimsums.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Texas DB Michael Taaffe thrilled to have coach Duane Akina back in Austin
Duane Akina is back. The architect of the original 'DBU' is back at Texas after a 12 year absence. This will be his second stint in Austin. The 68-year-old spent the past two seasons with Arizona, his third time coaching in Tucson. At Texas, Akina replaces Terry Joseph, who left the 40 Acres for the New Orleans Saints in the NFL. Akina left Texas with Mack Brown when Charlie Strong was hired as UT's head coach in 2013. He went to Stanford, where he would spend the next nine years before returning to the Wildcats in 2023. Advertisement In Akina's prior tenure at Texas, he coached two Thorpe Award winners, four Thorpe finalists, five All-Americans, five NFL first round picks, 15 total NFL draft picks and 12 All-Conference players. Some of the names include Michael Huff, Earl Thomas, Aaron Ross, Quentin Jammer, Nathan Vasher and Michael Griffin. "Obviously, Coach Akina is one of the best coaches I've been around and he's taught me so much already," Texas defensive back Michael Taaffe said this week. "He elevates everybody's game. He elevates everybody in room." Taaffe, the experienced veteran of the secondary, was named a second team All-American after last season's college football playoff semifinals run. The Westlake product is thrilled to have Akina back in Austin. Advertisement "It's been awesome," Taaffe said. "He demands excellence out of you. He doesn't do a lot of patting on your back, which I love and I appreciate because you know, I've been in that spot all my life. 'Look down. Look down. Look down.' Then I have a really good season and get All-American status. 'You're the guy. You're the guy. You're the guy.' Then Coach Akina comes and says, 'No! Your standard is up here. If you want to act like you're good, I've coached Michael Huff.' All of these guys. So the standard has been upped and upped and upped." Despite the departures of Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba to the NFL, Akina still has plenty of talent to work with at UT, headlined by the return of Taaffe. Head Coach Steve Sarkisian has already praised the secondary for their play this spring. "When you look at the secondary as a whole, just body types, skill set, ability, corner, star, safeties, I would argue it's probably one of our better, if not our best, looking position on the team," Sarkisian said. "It's been a group that we've really tried to recruit a specific skill set, a specific body type, we've got really good length, we're athletic, we can run in the secondary, and it's allowing us to play a style over there that I've always wanted to be. Very aggressive, guys that can do multiple things." This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Michael Taaffe thrilled to have Duane Akina back coaching UT DBs
