I’m lion – strictly Non-veg, Bavdhan
For the longest time I’ve been hearing this restaurant being named amongst the best seafood restaurants in Pune. Today this belief has been confirmed.
Pomphret Fry. The best pomphret fry I have ever had. This is all I can say. A fresh, fat pomphret, fried with a coating of rava (semolina) and mild spices, with fried garlic and chopped coriander sprinkled on top. A squeeze of lemon and i was in seafood heaven. It tasted better than it looks.
Pomphret Fry
Bangda fry. 2 medium sized bangda fish fried to perfection similar to the pomphret.
Bangda Fry
Prawns curry. Lovely coconut based curry, cooked in a Mangalorean style. Goes well with neer dosa or steamed rice (complimentary)
Mutton sukkha. Mildly spicy, tasted beautiful with the neer dosa
Mutton SukkhaMutton Sukkha
Madosa Fish curry. The curry was similar to the prawns curry. Turns out, I’m not a fan of the madosa fish, as it was slightly tough. The curry tastes top-notch, so choose the fish wisely.
Mutton Mangalorean curry. Another superb Mangalorean preparation, this time with tender chunks of mutton
Ended the meal with their signature mud pie. Warm gooey sinful goodness. Sealed our heavy tummies with chocolate brilliance.
The restaurant it self is small and cozy – the feel matches the warm service. The recipes are all by the owner, Ameya’s mom. Authentic Malabar flavors run through the dishes. Most of the dishes are Mangalorean, Goan and Gomantak.
Club29 is a recent entrant in the growing list of restaurants in Wakad. This is a standalone building that houses an entire sports club, a roof top Indo-Persian restaurant, 3 halls, a hotel as well as an all day restaurant called Twenty-Nine
#FriendsOfTheBTeam had been invited for a food tasting at Twenty-Nine, as they have recently started off with a new buffet menu. I did not know about the existence of this restaurant cum clubhouse located in Wakad-Kalewadi area.
Coming to the food, lucky to get invited on Christmas day, we got to try the beautiful dessert spread designed especially for the festive day.
The buffet spread was huge and varied in both veg & non veg. We started off with salads and starters.
Started off with cream of broccoli soup (tasty, even people who do not quite like the vegetable, might end up relishing this).
We were also offered a glass of Fratelli wine as part of the buffet menu
Salads had 3-4 different kinds, out of which I found the Turkish Calamari salad pretty interesting and creative. Tasted great as well.
Calamari SaladSalads
Moving on to the starters:
Veg Shammi kebab- Were okay-ish. I found then a bit too dry.
Paneer Honey chilli- This was well made. Beautiful paneer pieces tossed in yummy honey chilli sauce.
Murgh angara – Succulent pieces of Chicken in a fiery coating of Indian masalas. Loved this one.
BBQ Chicken Wings – The BBQ sauce was superb , sweet & sticky,exactly how I like it. However, the Chicken were a bit under-cooked. Wish the Chicken was cooked to perfection, and this could be a cracker dish on their menu.
Starters done and dusted. Time for the main course.
Moroccon Lamb Stew: I have a love for stews, so I digged straight into this one. The stew itself tasted really good with all the meat and the veggies. However, I felt the lamb pieces needed a little bit more cooking, I found them slightly chewy.
Steamed fish Ala Greque: A very light soupy preparation with big chunky fishes and vegetables. Very mild continental flavors.
Butter Chicken : This was good, but could have been better.
Fish Santa Fe: A different kind of fish preparation, mildly flavored, decent taste wise.
Dal Makhani: This was really good. Licked the last spoon off my plate completely!
Veg Au Gratin : This dish, even though veg, is worth a mention. I personally relished this one. It was perfectly cooked veggies in a yummy cheesy sauce topped with a beautiful layer of cheese. Delicious.
Now it was time for the desserts. Since the time we had entered, my eyes were all on those yummy looking , super inviting dessert section.
So yes, I jumped like a kid towards them at this moment.
Mango saffron cheesecake: Looked so pretty. Tasted good too. Just that the cheesecake needed to set a little more for that perfect texture.
Plum cake: This was topped with a layer of whipped cream, could have done very well without it too. Decent taste wise, but I have had better.
Yule log: Lovely looking again and pretty decent tastewise. I have to give these guys full marks on the presentation for sure.
Indian desserts: Moong dal halwa and mini gulab jamuns dipped in rabdi kind of a rich milky base. Both tasted superb!
Last but not the least, most inviting looking section was their Christmas special dessert spread. They were soooo pretty I wanted to eat everything up. Yes, the kid in me said so! 😀
A variety of cookies, with colorful decorations on them, brownies,choco balls, apple pie, cupcakes, red velvet… I know I know, the list really is long..! Mini Apple pie was wow!
More or less, pretty much liked their spread as everyone will get their fair share to choose from.
The buffet is priced at 650/- plus taxes. I think it’s decently priced.
Also, the restaurant is just a very small section of this huge club. They have a beautifully done up roof top restaurant , with live music and middle eastern theme food.
Pub/lounge with bowling alley. Fun place to spend time with friends.
Lots of sports activity areas like squash, tennis, video game zone, shooting zone (yes, with real guns) ,swimming pool, gym, private party area, hall for rent and much more. Many of these facilities are for only members to avail. Anyone who is interested can take a tour and look at the club packages.
We enjoyed the hearty meal and came out happy
Thanks Club 29 for hosting us and for the amazing service. Good luck!
Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Apyayan, Aundh to try out some of the special bengali cuisine that they offer. Apyayan has one of their outlets on DP Road, Aundh, near Ambedkar chowk. Bright interiors, beautifully decorated with authentic bengali handicrafts, and warm service make me feel right at home as I settled down
We started off the meal with a cool refreshing glass of aam-panna – made from raw mango pulp. What followed was a barrage of bodacious bong food!
Fish Kobiraji: A deep-fried fillet of Bhetki maach with a coating of egg batter. The serving was huge (a rather large fillet) and the coating was almost like a tempura batter – super light and airy. Served with the legendary Kasundi (mustard sauce), this is a must try!
Fish Kobiraji
Mochar Chop: “Mocha” is nothing related to coffee and chocolate for a Bengali, but is the local name given to banana flowers. When you taste this Vegan starter, the texture and taste remind you of a pulled-mutton kebab.
Mochar Chop
As we moved on the pièce de résistance – The Kosha Maangsho – This Spicy Bengali Mutton Curry is the epitome of the perfect Bengali main course. The mutton was beautifully cooked, and the dark brown masala was just delectable. Enjoyed best with hot soft Luchis (aka Poori). I personally like my mutton to be a tad spicier, but that’s probably my inner Puneri speaking 🙂
Kosha Maangsho
Next up was the Bhetki Paturi – a fillet of Bhetki steamed in a banana leaf, with dominant flavors of mustard, coconut and green chillis. This was just a bit dry by my standards – probably left in the steamer for a minute too long. Either way, it was delicious and light – perfect after the indulgent Kosha Mangsho.
The last ‘main course’ to hit our table was the Daab Chingri – Prawns in a green Coconut based curry – served in the Coconut shell itself! The dab chingri has an inherent sweetness owing to the coconut malai and coconut water that is predominantly used in the preparation of this bengali delicacy.
Daab Chingri – Prawn curry served in the Coconut shell
This is best enjoyed with plain rice, though the vegetable pulao served along with it was rather tasty as well.
Daab chingri with Vegetable Pulao
No Bengali meal can possibly end without a sweet. We ended up having 2!
Dudh Puli, a coconut stuffed rice dumpling, aka a bong version of the popular modak 🙂
Paati Sapta: Thin crepes stuffed with Jaggery – the “gud” is the dominant flavor here. Another must try!
If you are looking for authentic Bong food – Appyayan is the place to be!
Nestled in the by-lanes of Baner-Pashan link road, Sirka multicuisine is a small cosy little restaurant, which boasts of some big flavors.
Sholey Kababs: This is probably one of the most popular items on their menu, with multiple recommendations. And for a reason. Succulent chicken, perfect marination, and a spicy coating, it serves as a great appetizer. The generous quantity of chicken is more than satisfactory
Sholay Kababs
Chicken Banjara Kababs: We wanted something non-spicy for my 2 year old Pihu, and this was the suggested by the captain. With a creamy exterior, and a hint of mint, the banjara kababs were deliciousness personified! My kid gobbled it down, leaving barely enough for me to get a taste!
Banjara Kabab
For mains, we ordered the Chicken Rara – this is the chef’s special and must not be missed. Chunks of tandoori chicken in a chicken kheema base, it is, as my friend very aptly described it, a “Chicken ka samandar”! Absolutely delicious, we lapped it up with the uber-soft laccha paratha and butter naan. Shout out to the Laccha Paratha – I am not much of a paratha fan, but the layered velvety fluffiness of the laccha parathas had me craving for more!
For dessert we had some beautiful melt-in-the-mouth warm globules a.k.a. Gulab Jamun – again, something I had to wrestle away from my kid to taste, and some oh-so-gooey-i-want-some-more Chocolate and Walnut Brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.
I wanted to try out their mutton dishes, unfortunately they didn’t have any mutton in stock. Well, there’s always something for next time!
The personal attention of the owner to the food (he was in the kitchen for a majority of the service) is evident by the consistency of the dishes that were sent out. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
Flanked by some strong competition like Flying Duck and Chutney Sauce Murabba, Sirka does more than enough to hold its own.
The #FriendsOfTheBTeam were invited to the launch event of R’Adda, part of The Ramee Grand’s international chain of 5 star hotels. The decor here is similar to their outlets in Dubai and Mumbai, maintaining the same standards – including the uber-cool biker theme
R’ Adda specializes in some amazing, super-innovative cocktails. Designed by their 5* chefs, their line of signature cocktails and mocktails are an absolute #MustTry.
My personal favorite? The Maska Ferni – a melon flavored white-rum based cocktail. Extremely innovative, very pretty to look at and absolutely delicious!
Maska Ferni
Another favorite – something that must be ordered in a group is the #Kadak Maal – an orange ‘balti’ filled with dark rum and coke. Simple, effective and very very potent.
The list of cocktails/mocktails goes on – Safe Sex on the beach (cranberry, orange, peach, hazelnut), Mucchadwala Mojito (white rum, pan, green apple, mint) and the Lipstick (strawberry, mint, Orange) were definite crowd favorites.
The Telephone Booth LIIT and the baby nip of whisky (a quarter of neat whisky served in a baby bottle ftw!) were truly brilliant concepts (though I did need to spike up the iced tea to suit my taste)
The beauty of this place is the amazing food to go along with the mad range of cocktails. My personal favorites? The Onion rings (a rare non-oily onion rings platter) and the Adda Wings (chicken wings with a beautiful bbq sauce, served with potato wedges). The garlic pepper mushrooms were also really good.
Onion RingsAdda Wings
Their mains selection is simple but perfectly done. The Mutton Rogan Biryani was served with delicate, tender mutton pieces, perfectly cooked, falling of the bone – so delicious, that we had to order more! The Kheema Paratha was just as good – requiring just a squeeze of lime to take the taste over the top.
Kheema ParathaMutton Rogan Biryani
To end it all, we were served a classic chocolate+walnut brownie with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, as well as a cheesecake. The cheesecake was a tad grainy, but the brownie was warm, gooey and oozing with yummy-ness!
R’ Adda being part of a 5* hotel will remain open till 3:30 AM, a definite plus point for those post-post-party scenes! The pricing is pretty competitive for a 5* hotel (all prices are inclusive of all taxes)
All in all, this is a great addition to the Pune nightlife scene. Definitely one that deserves multiple visits!
My favorite Maharashtrian mutton joint Maratha Samraat finally opened up in my neighborhood.
The location is bang in the middle of baner road, there’s ample parking space along the road. The decor is similar to the Kothrud branch, yet it is open, airy, and can comfortably fit about 20-25 people in the upper and lower sections each.
The food… Oh the food! They have maintained the same quality of food that they serve at the Kothrud branch. Here’s a glimpse:
Mutton Ukkad: alani soup (mutton stock) with huge pieces of mutton – light, flavorful and absolutely delightful.
Mutton Ukkad
Kheema Prawns fry : This is a new addition to the menu. The preparation is slightly spicy, and lip-smackingly delicious! Who knew mutton kheema and prawns are such a match made in heaven!
Kheema and Prawns Fry
Kala Mutton : Arguably the best item on their menu, the kala mutton masala is absolutely mind blowing. Not too spicy, thick dark masala, jam packed full of flavors with chunks of tender juicy mutton. Pairs well with bhakri, chapati or rice. This is a ‘must-have – either as an ala-carte dish or in the thali version.
Kaala Mutton Masala
Chapatis, bhakris were served quickly and hot. Service in general is amazing – everyone right from the owners to the waiters payed personal attention to each guest. Quantity of each dish was generous enough for 2.
On another trip, we tried the Surmai fish thali which consisted of :
-2 medium sized Surmai fry : well coated in masala, very fresh, really tasty. However it lacked a bit of proper seasoning , sprinkling a bit of salt on top helped.
Surmai Fish Fry
-Prawns curry : typical maharashtrian flavors, this gravy was medium spicy,suited my palate well and had about 4-5 good sized prawns.
Prawns Curry
Sukat chutney : this was something i tasted for the very first time. Dried tiny prawns stir fried in a spicy chatakedar masala. Liked the taste, however, people with a spicier palette will surely love this thing!
Sukkat Chutney
Solkadi : A small bowl of this blissful drink was already a part of the fish thali, however I always need more of this, so ordered another glass separately. A perfect palate cleanser that compliments food here so well. A must have with whatever you end up ordering at this joint
Solkadi
The thali has ultra soft chapatis/bhakris in option and prawns biryani to end the meal.
The fish thali
This time, we also tried Mutton Maratha, again a superb mutton preparation , sure worth trying out. On the spicier side, with a generous amount of red chillies, this dish is going to be a hit with the spice loving Puneris!
Mutton Maratha – check out those red chillies!
We tried out a light and yummy Alani fry preparation (succulent mutton pieces cooked in very light masalas and stir fried in garlic), which our 2 year old relished on.
I don’t say this often: the BEST biryani in Baner. Layers of beautiful spices, similar to a Lucknow biryani, with crisp fried onions sprinkled over the top, the biryani was an absolute pleasure to eat. The meat was marinated perfectly for it to fall off with a touch. Melt in the mouth quality mutton is rare these days. I am gushing, because that’s how good this was.
The butter chicken was pretty good as well, not overly sweet, hint of spice, perfect for the puneri palate.
Their range of kababs and tikkas look and smell delicious. Next time, for sure.
This is one of those old awesome traditional food heritages that a city identifies with. Along with Vaishali, Roopali and wadeshwar, Cafe Goodluck is one of the favorite hangout spots for the students of FC College.
But don’t get me wrong here. This place is open from early morning till 1130 at night and every moment every day there is a line. You see people from all walks of life dining here.
Start off with the bun Omlet. Huge bun with tutti fruity with loads of butter makes the perfect snack or appetizer.
Moving on, the boiled chicken soup is a relatively new discovery of mine. It’s similar to a chicken shorba (stock) – mildly flavored and intensely healthy with a huge piece of chicken.
Another favorite of mine here is the mutton keema. Combined with the roomali roti, the keema is tasty yet not to spicy. The chicken biryani is also pretty great.
But the best item on the menu in my humble opinion, is the dal-gosht (dal with mutton). Simple dal infused with delicious tender bits of meat. Dal-gosht with roti or with jeera rice makes a beautiful fulfilling meal. Do not miss it.
End the meal with a mouth watering caramel custard or plain custard. The caramel custard is one of the best in town. Definitely worth a try.
Apart from the amazing food the icing on the proverbial cake is the fact that the prices are dirt cheap. Super value for money. One of the must visited place in pune
baconbaba 