Even if I no longer create long-form writeup on this blog, my love for food and travel hasn't come to an end. Quite the contrary! You can find recent updates from my continuing food and travel adventures on Instagram @shantanughosh.
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It’s been a long time since I wrote about the Pune dining scene. When I began this blog, there was no Zomato, Google couldn’t identify most restaurants in Pune, and there really was no good way to even locate new restaurants. Much traffic ended up at this blog from search engines as people searched for reviews and/or phone numbers. Zomato’s founder-CEO called me up one day to review their newly-introduced printed food guides for the city; he had to introduce himself since the company was pretty much unknown those days. Well, a decade has since passed. Zomato and Google Maps both do a decent job in identifying all food places worth visiting and even many that are not. There are thousands of reviews online (though fake reviews abound too!).
It had been a while since I had indulged in some fancy food at San Francisco and I wasn’t going to let this chance go. First, the stand-out Mourad which continues to earn its Michelin star. Like the Michelin guide puts it, "Chef Lahlou is at his best when reinterpreting modern Moroccan cuisine with ingredients such as za’atar, harissa, and dates.”
Mourad has striking interiors with its soaring ceilings, glowing columns, and Persian motifs on its flooring tiles. The chef’s menu was also perfect for me, and I waited in anticipation as they quickly brought in my glass of wine and the amuse that started me off on a modern Moroccan culinary journey.
I was in the United States to attend an AI conference. Luckily for me, it was being held in downtown San Francisco, a location that is chock-full of my favourite restaurants. This trip turned out to be a perfect mix of business and pleasure. I had been missing steaks for a while, and this also gave me a chance to try out some of the city’s better steakhouses.
Its been a while since I have reviewed a restaurant and for good reason. Almost at the same time as I begun this blog, I had also begun jet-setting to foreign lands. As I discovered a multitude of cuisines, restaurants, and food habits across geographies, I got interested in the stories behind the plates I enjoyed. Pune too began growing as the software industry thrived bringing with it a boom in restaurants and bars. During the initial years, I wrote many a review of restaurants I visited and liked.
Regular readers of my blog will already know this: Emirates and Singapore Airlines are my two favourite airlines for international travel. This time we were on Singapore Airlines which meant transiting through the always-welcoming Changi Airport. We had a pretty long stop-over here and wanted to make the most of it, so we decided to take advantage of a transit visa to head into the city, dine at Jumbo Seafood and take a leisurely stroll in the cool breeze on the water’s edge.
On our way back from New Orleans, we had decided to stop at Las Vegas. Since we had our daughter along, I had to figure out a ‘family-safe’ itinerary here for the first time! After some research, I decided to combine some food adventures (of course!) with the Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil show and tours through some of the the resort hotels on the Strip.
I was back in The Big Easy, this time with my family! We had travelled by Southwest across the United States and it was early evening when we got in. After that long flight were were looking forward to our room at the Roosevelt Hotel. This was another imposing and historic hotel we had the pleasure of staying at during this visit to the USA. Some rest and a shower took care of our travel weariness and we were soon headed down Bourbon Street. The city’s ‘party street' was getting ready for the evening, welcoming the usual mix of eager tourists and raucous conference attendees. We were more interested in taking in the sights of the French Quarters before heading to a good gumbo place nearby.
For a period of about four years, I flew in and out of San Francisco almost every other month. The Union Square area, its restaurants, cafes and bars were as familiar to me as those in my hometown of Pune. Then in mid-2015 I left my jet-setting corporate life to start my own thing ending my international travel. Now after a gap of two years I was now flying back into SFO with my family. As we drove down to our hotel, I felt like I had only momentarily been away. There were a few changes I noted immediately: a larger, fancier Apple Store at Union Square and a new steel and glass building on 2nd St., that houses LinkedIn. My favorite lunch destination Osho Thai on 2nd St. has morphed into a fancy Laotian restaurant (sadly), the La Boulange outlet at Metreon has moved out. But otherwise, much of this city seemed exactly as I had left it.
Now that we had tasted the freedom a road trip to Goa gave us, it was inevitable we would try this again. So it was just five months later, we were packed on a wintry Pune morning headed out to our favorite Indian beach once again. Given our experience, I would strongly urge people to try and get to Goa right after the New Year's celebration and party hordes are gone. The weather is every bit as desirable and the beach-side shacks are open. Yet, the prices are down when peak season ends on January 2nd.
This time, we decided to try out a newer resort, Planet Hollywood, not because we really wanted a Vegas/movie themed resort, but rather because of its splendid location. Unlike our last trip when we camped within reach of the capital, this time we were amidst the quieter beaches of South Goa.
My wife and I had a rare day to ourselves when our daughter planned a day trip with her friends. On a whim, we decided to drive down to Mulshi, a popular picnic spot on the outskirts of Pune that is particularly alluring during the monsoons. This turned out to be one of the better ideas we have had lately. Mulshi was everything it promised to be and more. Mulshi was green, lush, and open all around with a large lake in the middle that fed into the dam - nature at its prettiest. On the day we were here, there were few tourists which made this visit even nicer.
Cities that have been a melting pot of cultures and attracted a steady stream of immigrants through the ages are the best ones if you are a foodie. Food moves in along with people bringing a variety of new cuisines and cooking styles even as completely new ones are created as the old melds with new. New York, New Orleans, Hong Kong and Kolkata all owe the richness in their food scene to this simple fact. So does Mumbai! In this teeming city of millions, there is always a new delightful place waiting to be discovered, no matter how many times you have visited this grand old city before.
The Grand Hyatt in Goa is a new 5-star entrant in this vacation city. Located within the capital city on a quiet bay with its own private beach, this hotel is a great option for those who wish to have access to the many dining spots within the city even as they reside in a luxury resort.
We loved strolling the clean and quiet beach, which would be strewn in the mornings with capiz shells, unique to this stretch of sand. We would head back to the resort for breakfast. The hotel has an elaborate buffet with live counters to satisfy most taste-buds. Our room was fantastic too and had an outdoor verandah with a whirlpool where we could relax in the late evenings when the night fell.
Goa is clearly our favorite vacation destination within the country. From the time we moved to Pune, we have made several trips to this idyllic beach paradise where time seems to slow down even as the rest of India continues in its mad rush.
Note: Yup, I am back on the blog again, making up for lost time! :)
Dear Readers, as many of you have noticed my blog has not been as active as it used to be once. This is the reason why! I have been completely involved in something exciting. Palatable is a labor of love for fellow foodies and social animals, the next step to realizing the true potential of tech and smartphones in helping take our social life and food experiences to the next level. Hope to see many of you try the app and let me know what you think. Cheers!
Food and cooking styles from Persia and countries in the west entered India from the time Arab traders began landing on our shores. On the other hand, cuisines from the Far East got in only recently; the earliest among them, Chinese. The Chinese have been traveling to India since Buddhism began entering their country, but their food made its way to our shores only during the heydays of the British East India Company. Immigrant Hakka Chinese made their way to Calcutta whose port afforded them plenty of jobs. They brought with them their noodles, soups, sauces and woks. Chinese cooks soon opened eateries here, learning quickly to combine their sauces with local vegetables, spices and produce, even learning to adapt their menu to suit local tastes.
Dravida’s Bistro is a welcome addition to Pune’s food scene. Where most restaurants that serve Indian food tend to focus on oily dishes that can leave you feeling heavy and lethargic, Dravida’s has filled its menu with home-style South Indian food with a contemporary twist. The focus is on the use of fresh vegetables and healthy grains. What surprised me the most was the price-point. For the food on offer and the casual but upscale ambiance I am sure many would be willing to pay higher.
Mexican food has taken a surprisingly long time to get to Pune. I have never quite understood why. Indians traveling to the USA during the 90s when there were few Indian and South Asian restaurants in that country quickly found themselves at a Taco Bell or something similar that served the basic Mexican fare of tacos and burritos. That was the nearest they could come to spicy fare that was familiar to their taste-buds when they craved for some comfort food. Now, we have so many eateries in town serving Italian, Mediterranean and Thai, but nary a place that serves Mexican. Until now.
Classic Rock is unlike any other coffee place you would have been to, unless you have visited one of their outlets in the United States. It is like being in a backstage lounge of a rock concert. They are as much known for the variety and the quality of their coffee roasts as for the usually cool and funky ambiance. Bombay Bronx is the newest answer to our city’s never-ending quest for new watering holes and they have done a fabulous job of carving their unique identity already.
For those who never tire of kababs and curries, Pune now has one more excellent destination. Food Story on Boat Club Road brings to you the delectable fare perfected by Nawabi families of Hyderabad in upscale surroundings. For those who prefer good food with a casual old Pune vibe, Zamu’s continues to be a great choice. Lip-smacking sizzlers and Parsi delicacies like Dhansak make it to the table just the way they did 16 years back when I moved into Pune, albeit in surroundings that have undergone a makeover.
