One doesn’t normally associate tasty food with hospitals. However, corporate hospitals in different parts of the country are beginning to offer food that’s high on both health and taste. The prime cafeterias remain unchanged, but a few hospitals have additional cafés with menus that go beyond tiffins, rice, rotis and curries.
The Garden Café, in the Apollo Hospital campus near the Apollo Life block in Jubilee Hills, has a menu that can compete with bistros, while adhering to its core principle of healthy eating.
The café has been functional for a year but has remained low-key. This alfresco eatery opens at 6 a.m. and through the day, attracts campus regulars — doctors, administrative staff and those who come to the health club for regular workouts.
The all-day breakfast section has enough options to kickstart the day with healthy carbs and proteins. Eggs to order are served with baked beans or grilled tomato; the café serves spinach-egg white frittata, cereals with milk and fruits/dry fruit or the sumptuous upma. Pancakes, normally made with eggs and all-purpose flour, gets a healthy makeover with oats. The oat pancakes and spinach-egg white frittata are worth a try. The menu details each selection with its calorific value, mentioning carbs, proteins, fat and fiber. A spinach egg-white frittata, for instance, has 140 calories with carbs 11, protein 20, fiber 1.4 and fat 1.
Through the day, for short eats and refreshing drinks, there are salads — Caeser, Watermelon Feta, Awesome Wholesome and Egg salad. The Watermelon Feta scores high on presentation, with round slices of juicy melons topped with crumbled feta and liberally garnished with pine nuts; recommended for balmy days. The Awesome Wholesome is more filling with sprouts and vegetables.
Have company and want to share an appetiser? Choose from veg and non-veg Bruschetta, Baked Cottage Cheese stuffed Mushroom or Grilled Fish and Chips with tartar sauce among other options. The café has filling sandwiches and sumptuous main courses too. Look out for the day’s special. At times, the eatery serves Mexican wraps (both veg and non-veg) or Ragi Crepes. The regulars include Grilled Chicken Steak with mushroom sauce, Oriental Poached Fish served with steamed rice, Grilled Salmon, Thai curries with rice and make-your-own pasta section where you get to choose the pasta, sauce and the meat, vegetable add-ons.
With most guests being from the campus or members of the fitness club, one could gauge the choices mostly veering towards healthy eating. But the menu also has desserts to cater to the sweet tooth: Chia seeds pudding, Tiramisu or Brownies served with ice cream.
There is no dearth of choice for post-workout rejuvenators. Smoothies made with a combination of fruits, vegetables and protein powder do the needful to refresh tired muscles. And yes, they taste good too. Apart from protein shakes, the café also has vegetable-fruit juices. For instance, the pineapple, basil and pomegranate juice is an unusual but refreshing glass of tall juice spiked with a dash of lime and chia seeds.
If eating healthy can be so much fun, why complain? The only lacuna is the outdoor seating that could be a deterrent on a rainy day or an extremely warm afternoon. Expansion work is on and hopefully this niggle will be ironed out.
The Garden Café
Apollo Hospitals campus, Jubilee Hills
Ph: 9640895650/ 9010190112
Serves both Indian and international cuisine
Open 6a.m. onwards
Meal for two: Rs. 500 to Rs. 700
