Dokii Dokii in Hyderabad serves Asian fusion food

A kitten chasing a heart is the theme of this new casual eatery in Jubilee Hills — animation in static frames, playful but not precious. Tired of hearing about the biggest new openings in Hyderabad? Dokii Dokii is where you go to chill with friends. No dress code, no cutlery pressure — sit however you like, even Uncle Roger-style (yes, the haiyaa guy).

Dokii Dokii opened in May this year with a fresh look. Two colours dominate this eatery: Red and blue. This spacious eatery overlooks a garden, this makes all the difference.

Burrata snow
| Photo Credit:
Prabalika M Borah #Frames of India Shot on OnePlus

Dokii Dokii (or DD) serves Asian fusion fare — without claims of authenticity. As the team behind Hashi-Asian Bar & Kicthen, they have brought along signatures like sushi and dim sum, but the mood here is more relaxed. The name is a play on doki doki, a Japanese onomatopoeia for a racing heartbeat.

The laid-back vibe felt like an invitation to begin lunch with a drink. The menu lists boba teas and a range of zero-alcohol cocktails. I have always meant to try a sober cocktail, and finally did: the Sober Gin Garden Party, made with elderflower and cucumber, topped with a passionfruit foam. The botanicals in the zero-gin are convincing — you will not miss the alcohol unless hangovers are your morning ritual. This one gets the nod.

I skipped the sushi, dim sum, cheesy K-pop (golden potato bites with gooey mozzarella and tangy kimchi), and chilli crunch potatoes (crispy fries in Sichuan pepper sauce), and instead listed two other appetisers for lunch: the Midori Frost and the Burrata Snow.

Sushi at Dokii Dokii
| Photo Credit:
Prabalika M Borah

The Burrata Snow is DD’s self-proclaimed couture salad — creamy burrata on a bed of rocket, topped with tomato ‘snow’, which is essentially a tomato-flavoured ice gola. It is a clever, crowd-pleasing dish. Then came the Bangkok to Busan Fries, an Asian-style take served with garlic-lime mayo. The fries come in three options — spicy buldak, Chinese five-spice, and Thai basil. I went with the buldak — spicy with a hit of garlic.

The Midori Frost is paper-thin green apple slices in a citrus dressing, topped with lemon sorbet. Crisp, clean, and vaguely magical — a refreshing contrast to the richer dishes.

DD also offers Seoul pickles, their version of assorted banchan — Korean-style side pickles. A tad too sour perhaps, but thankfully not ketchup-pickled vegetarian fare.

The sides had me full, but I still made space for the kimchi chicken fried rice. At this point I thought I should also try the Ramen that came with the perfect jammy egg. What didn’t work with me are the Korean fried wings. I found it too salty.

A meal for two at Dokii Dokii in Jubilee Hills is approximately 2000(plus taxes?)