Spuds in a Pub! Murphies launches a new bar!

Murphies, Koregaon Park, Pune

I have waxed eloquent about how Murphies, KP, Pune is elevating the humble aloo-bataka in one of my previous blog posts. Recently, they did up their upstairs section, converting it into a swanky, yet chilled out bar section. #TheBTeam was invited to sample some of the offerings on the bar menu

Coconut Prawns

With a new bar, comes new food! Well, to be honest, the Coconut Prawns is not a new item – they did have the Coconut prawns on their menu. And if I remember correctly, the original recipe tasted more like a coconut ‘peda‘ wrapped around a prawn.

Well, the chef at Murphies seems to have got it spot on this time. Coconut shavings, and a mustard sauce lend themselves beautifully to the dish – making the prawn shine through. Reminded me of the Sorse Bata Chingri – a Bengali preparation involving prawns and mustard sauce. Absolutely delectable!

Fried Chicken Murphs

Not to be left behind were the Fried Chicken Murphs. Bits of fried chicken (similar to popcorn chicken from a KFC, if that makes sense), drowning in melted cheese and the potato jacket – doesn’t get any better.

Barbeque Pork Crisps

And my favorite dish from this bataka menu – Barbeque Pork Crisps: A dish that had me drooling like the pig! Beautiful slivers of barbeque pork, with sweet sticky sauce, over crisp salty potato crisps, served with a tart yogurt dip. Sweet, sour, salty, crispy, gooey… Flavor and texture heaven. Perfect balance. Spectacular dish.

Mushrooom Rissotto

The vegetarian side of things isn’t too bad either. the Mushrooom Rissotto is arguably the best variant of this Italian dish (often described as the death dish in Masterchef Australia) Al-dente rice, loads of cheese and cream and butter, and that lovely delicate flavor of mushrooms with parsley – this dish was so good, we reordered it – correction – I reordered a veg dish! Its a buttery, cheesy, creamy, flavorful, mouthful of ecstasy!

Also, worth a mention were the Beef quesadillas and the Chicken Strips.

The Grilled Fish served to us was pretty good – though I personally preferred the prawns. There was a disagreement at the table on which was better. Its up to you I guess – if you prefer mild lemon butter sauce flavors of the fish or the strong mustard-coconut flavor of the prawns.

As this is a bar, drinks are a given. Do no miss the Chocolatini! A chocolate based liqueur cocktail, this was so damn delicious! All you Baileys lovers out there will trip over this one for sure!

The new Murphies menu has a lot going for them. They add on to an already impressive line up, and continue taking the humble aloo to the higher echelons of gastronomy!

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I was invited for the tasting event. The Usual Disclaimer applies.

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BubbleBee Aundh – Bubbling with pleasure!

As we wrapped up our Sunday lunch at Maratha Samraat, we needed something sweet to put out the fire, thanks to the spicy Kaala Mutton at MS. My latent waffle cravings dragged me here. And boy, was I happy!

The tantalizing aroma of freshly baked waffles made pin-pointing the exact location easy – we could smell the waffles right from the road! The place itself looks like a tiny little food-truck crammed onto a balcony, with about 8 to 10 tiny tables strewn about. The ceiling is a labyrinth of jute rope, with tiny little bees (toys, or course) and bright yellow lanterns hanging down. Makes for a rather quirky atmosphere. 

Bubble Bee

Ordering is as simple as the proverbial 1-2-3:

1. Choose a waffle : Chocolate or Red velvet
2. Choose a base: Whipped cream / Coffee Cream / Ice cream
3. Choose your toppings: This is the fun part – You get the options of Fruit, Gems, Kit-kat, Snickers, Nutella, Ferrero Rocher, oreo, Choco fills, sprinkles… Make it look super pretty!

The order

And then wait till your order arrives – takes about 10-15 minutes (honestly, feels like hours, specially with the seductive smell of waffles torturing you!). It was difficult making my 2 year old wait for this one. I would not deny that I was a bit impatient too!

I went for a red velvet waffle, filled with whipped cream topped with KitKat, Ferrero rocher, gems, & nutella. It was blissful! My kid wiped off all the gems, sprinkles, KitKat and other assorted toppings as fast as she could.

The Masterpiece

The waffles is something I haven’t really seen before – it has bubbles! You need to eat up the top part with a spoon, and progressively bite the waffle itself. Messy, i must say, but satisfyingly so!

Priced at around 250/- a pop, it is totally worth it. The waffle is big enough to satisfy 2 people, without being too heavy on the tummy. They also have some varieties of bubble tea – a take on flavored green tea with flavors and toppings – something that’s on my ‘next time’ list. Yes, once you visit, I am sure anyone will want to go back again.

#baconbaba khush hua!!!

Bubble Bee, Aundh
Location- Opposite DAV school, ambedkar chowk, Aundh