Nina Pinta Santamaria
So, for the past couple of months, we had been noticing this cool, retro looking food truck on the baner-aundh link road. Always seemed busy, which is usually a good thing in terms of food joints. Last night Sangeeta Majumdar and I headed over to try it out. And man, we loved it!
The Food Truck
The food truck is beautifully done up, with pretty lanterns hanging down, and a few stools strewn around for patrons to sit and gorge through the crepes. The menu is split into dessert, non-veg and veg crepes (yes they serve savory crepes, not something that’s very common in Pune.)
Mutton-ki-baat
Mutton keema stuffed crepe with onions – ultimate street food! Our first bite into this, and I knew I was going to order a second one! Sangeeta’s first reaction to this was “This tastes almost like Kosha Mangsho!” The blend of spices resulted in a not-too-hot, delicious stuffing. Slices of onions inside added some much needed crunch. The crepe itself was bland, which is exactly how it should be, while cooked to be just a tiny bit crisp at the edges, and soft at the center. The best part is that the crepe actually held up till the last bite, without breaking down or going soggy, making this perfect to be eating standing up, in one hand, without going messy.
Chicken Puneri
Another savory non-veg crepe with bits of chicken, this one paled in comparison to the muton ki baat. While being delicious in its own right, the mutton keema variant is far better. It could also be due to my personal preference – I mean, you can’t really beat mutton keema, can you 🙂 ? Again, not too high on spices, with a similar flavor profile as the mutton one, this, too, is a delight to eat.
Death by chocolate
Crumbled chocolate brownie, chocolate ganache, chocolate mousse, whipped cream, almonds, gems – this was a flavor explosion! The brownie, almonds and gems gave some amazing texture to each bite, while the chocolate mousse, whipped cream and ganache came together in a mind blowing blend of chocolatey goodness, without being overly sweet. The best here was again the filling to crepe ratio, resulting in the crepe to be structurally sound right till the last bite! This one had Pihu, Sangeeta and me fighting over each bite!
Mango Cream
To be perfectly honest, they didn’t have the Mango Ricotta crepe. Instead, they are currently selling a Mango and cream variant. This one is simple and delicious – a crepe, folded with fresh mangoes, mango pulp, and whipped cream. The magoes tasted fresh and juicy, while the cream added a bit of tartness to cut through the sweet pulp. I do wish they added some more cream (or another non-sweet element – caramel maybe?) to balance the mouth feel of each bite.
The Menu
They also have a couple of veg crepes (mushroom, paneer – didn’t try any, coz, well, mera Mangalwaar tha – Mangalwaar ko veg nai khaate) but then crepes themselves have egg in the batter, so pure-vegetarians, stay away.
The other dessert crepes on offer also seem pretty interesting, particularly the Banoffe one, which is served with dulce de leche and bananas – a match made in heaven – definitely something I want to try next time around. I was surprised to not see a Nutella crepe – coz, come on – you got to have a nutella crepe!
The Story
Overall, NPS is a fantastic addition to the Pune food scene – what I love is the fact that they have a limited menu, and they serve limited items, and they do it perfectly! The crepes are all priced between 100-150 INR, making it affordable, and total VFM. Service is quick, and the chefs work like a well oiled machine, quickly dishing out crepes within a few minutes.
Love it! Love it! Love it!
PS: Thank you Soham Bhatawadekar for the complimentary Mango Crepe 
baconbaba 