Best Dining Options in Pune

A lot of people still visit my blog when searching for dining options in Pune. Since the time I last put up my Best Of list, there have been many new and worthy entrants into Pune; also, some of the old ones have since closed. Therefore, my dear foodie friends, here's a brand new set of recommendations; let me know if you agree too.

Speciality Indian Cuisine:

The Great Kabab Factory is probably the best place right now for kabab lovers in Pune in a five star setting. They offer a fixed menu of seven kababs, Indian breads, dal followed by biryani and desserts. Do try their Gilauti Kabab, their signature speciality.

Sigree is a good option too for kababs, biryanis and curries and is very popular during weekday lunch hours when they offer a buffet style sampling of their fare.

Oh! Calcutta is a personal favorite and recommended for those who want to try something a little different. Do try the Kakda Chingdi Bhapa - a starter of crab and prawn meat steamed in banana leaf - and the Kosha Mangsho with Luchi - a Bengali mutton dish with Bengali-style poories.

Taareef is another front-runner if I am in the Aundh area. They serve the most delectible Murgh Kali Mirch kababs and a fantastic Gosht Dum Biryani. The Tandoori Raan is another winner if you have a large appetite.

For Kashmiri and Mughlai food, Shikara is another excellent choice. Do try the Gushtaba, Chakori Kababs and Tabak Maas here.

East Asian and Chinese:

I am in love with Baan Tao, the recently opened Thai restaurant in Ista Hotel. Their Thai chef dishes up some of the best Thai dishes in town. Do try the papaya salad and the Thai Fish in Tamarind Sauce and also the Green Curry with Prawns or Chicken.

Malaka Spice continues to delight with creative cuisine from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Burma. An extensive menu, a caricature artist and a 'street food' section makes this a place worth visiting.

Harajuku serves the best Japanese food in Pune. Visitors from Japan are frequent visitors to this restaurant in the O Hotel in Koregaon Park. While they have a limited variety of sushi, they dish up a decent selection of soups, teriyaki and teppanyaki dishes.

Finally, Mainland China which will probably win any popularity content. I have never had a bad day here. Everything on the menu is excellent. I usually start with a Peppery Lemon Soup and Dimsums which always make for a good start. Another option is the excellent Tsinghoi Chiken starter. For the main course, Burnt Garlic Fish with Seasonal Greens, Sapo Chicken or Sliced Lamb in Chillibroth are all winners.

Pure Vegetarian:

For those not of the carnivorous bent, there are several choices. While vegetarian food in India is almost always associated with the low-end, affordable segment, that is now a-changing. Shakahari at the new ICC Marriott Hotel provides specialty Indian and Thai food that is guaranteed to be pure vegetarian with nary a trace of animal produce.

Dario's is rated by many as the best Italian food in town. They only cater vegetarian food, but their pizzas and pastas are among the best.

Sizzlers:

Unique to Pune's dining scene, sizzler restaurants have existed here forever. But among the many available, I recommend Bounty's in Kalyani Nagar and Zamu's in Dhole Patil Road. Both are small and intimate places frequented by youngsters. My favorite at Zamu is the Chicken Shaslik with a starter of their popular Garlic Mushrooms. At Bounty, I usually order the Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce. The sizzle from the hot iron griddles are especially delightful during the monsoons and winter months.

Western and European Fusion Cuisine:

For those who are desperate for a steak or a taste of Europe, there are now a few choices.

Stone Water Grill provides a good selection of Mediterranean dishes nicely plated in a chic dining area. Paprika Hot Rocks is another interesting new place where they dish up grilled meats and vegetables on a hot volcanic rock. Other options popular with Pune's exploding expat population are The Ship, Arthur's Theme and Sen5es. Sen5es is especially good if you are dying for a steak or a rack of lamb. Visit during the evening hours when they light some fires given the place a very special atmosphere.

Italian:

For high quality Italian food, La Terrazza is my current favorite hands down. This delightful restaurant in the Hyatt Regency is helmed by an Italian chef and provides the best food and wine combination in an unpretentious but five star setting. There is also Prego at The Westin, Little Italy on University Road for those looking for a more affordable option and Alto Vino at the ICC Marriott Hotel.

Good Booze and Grub:

For some drinks in a lounge setting both Esca and Zicomo are new options in the Aundh/Baner areas. However, for atmosphere nothing beats the grand-daddy of them all, 1000 Oaks on East Street. Kiva and Smokies are close second and third in my opinion.

Indian Coastal Cuisine:

When people say Seafood Restaurant here, they usually mean seafood cooked in the Konkan way. So you if love spices and seafood, head out to Nisarg in Kothrud, Mahesh Lunch Home on Moledina Road or Rahul in Aundh. They are the best options in town for Konkan seafood. Another interesting place is Coconut Grove.

Udupi/South Indian fast food:

For some quick idli-vada-dosas, Pune has Vaishali its most famous restaurant. No reservations and always packed, this place gets its share of local celebrities. Kalyani in Kalyani Nagar and Madhuban in Dhole Patil Road are a good option too for those in these parts of town.

Read More...

Kababs Galore

In India, kabab lovers have it good. From street vendors to five star hotels, there are many choices. But the discerning foodie is not always impressed. There is an art to the perfectly cooked kabab, one that retains its unique flavors and a succulent, juicy interior after making it past the fiery embrace of the tandoor.

The most common kababs on the Indian dining table are probably the sheek kabab and the tandoori kabab. The sheek kabab is a variation of cooking that first showed up in Turkish tribes. Historical accounts speak of soldiers skewering chunks of lamb in a marinade of spices on their swords and spears before cooking them over open fires. They used a marinade made from olive oil, yogurt, onion juice, cinnamon, all spice and crushed bay leaves. The sheek kabab in India is made from a course mince of lamb which is mixed with a paste of garlic, ginger and onion and a variety of spices that include (but are not limited to) black pepper, cinnamon, cardomom, cloves and nutmeg. Variations abound: many use raw papaya paste to tenderize the meat, while others use finely chopped peppers to add texture and taste to the dish.

Tandoori kababs are simpler: whole chicken marinated overnight in a marinade of yogurt and a spice mix - distinctly bright orange in color from paprika and cayanne pepper - which is skewered and cooked whole in a tandoor.



Cooking breads and meat in the tandoor came to India with the Persian hordes who invaded India and subsequently made this country their own. Tandoori style of cooking kababs are most popular in the Punjab region. As one goes further East towards Lucknow, where the gastronomic palates of the nawabs gave rise to some of India's most refined kababs, the prefered medium of cooking is on the chulha - an oven where cooking was restricted to the surface (as opposed to within as in the tandoor).

A few weeks back, I was at Kangan, the Indian speciality restaurant at the Westin Mumbai. Watching the traffic snake below in the darkening evening skies, I ordered a portion of sheek kabab with my wine. The Kangan has an innovative concept of wine tasting along with the food. Today, they brought me three small glasses of reds: two South African one Indian. While the ambiance was excellent, the kababs weren't particularly memorable here.


I was also at Esca, a new restaurant in Pune. The Chakori kababs here were pretty good. Chakori kababs are chunks of chicken that are marinated in yogurt and other spices but fenugreek - methi in Hindi - dominates the taste. This restaurant seems like a good option for a quick lunch or an intimate dinner when in the vicinity of Aundh.


And finally, I was back in Dum Pukht. This time I ordered the Sheek Gilafi Dum Pukht, an interesting variation on the sheek kabab. The kababs were as impressive as the name! Minced chicken sheek was combined with a mouth-watering combination of juicy tomatoes and capsicum that exploded in a multitude of flavors and textures in the palate. The khaimiri roti was fantastic too as was the rich flavors of the Hyderabadi Nihari Qurma that followed. That was some meal!

For those in Pune, the best bets in town are The Great Kabab Factory at the Radisson Hotel in Kharadi, Sigree on Boat Club Road, Shikara in Kalyani Nagar, Taareef in Aundh and BBQ Nation on Nagar Road and within Sayaji Hotel. I haven't been a huge fan of Kareem's expanding presence in Pune - they have been very inconsistent with their quality.

For more on kababs, read: Of Nawabs and Kababs, Kababs In and Around Delhi, Kababs at the Baluchi, and Unlimited Kababs to Heaven.

Read More...

California Vacation: More San Diego

When in San Diego, a trip to the Zoo is a must. So, there we were in the morning, immediately rewarded by the sight of georgeous peacocks strutting around the entrance area. Peacocks in the wild shy away from humans; however, the ones here obviously enjoy the attention. They preened and strutted around like catwalk models until the sun began to rise and the day got warmer.

San Diego Zoo is a great place for children. The zoo is divided into multiple theme-based zones and the animals are housed in well-designed enclosures. There are trails that wind through the habitats - some on two levels so you get a 'tree-top' view in addition to the view from the ground-level making for an excellent viewing experience, especially in the aviaries and the enclosures for monkeys.



We spent a day at Sea World watching Shamu and the other shows. The one I liked the most was the Sea Lions show which combined a smart script and good actors along with the sea-lions.

The evenings were spent strolling the waterfront near our hotel and dining at different places nearby under the open skies. We also met up with some old friends after a very long time and the time we spent together was a highlight of this visit to San Diego. Finally, it was time to say goodbye and get on a flight to San Francisco before heading back home.

Read More...

California Vacation: San Diego Safari

We rode a bus from Anaheim to San Diego. I had booked us at the Manchester Grand Hyatt - an imposing hotel on the waterfront with its twin towers overlooking the aircraft carrier and the Naval Base in the distance. Down below from our room on the 22nd floor, we could see Seaport Village with its collections of quaint little shops, restaurants and boardwalk by the sea. We watched the sun go down over the Bay and headed downstairs to dine at a small seafood restaurant run by a Mexican woman. As the skies darkened, we sat down with freshly fried fish, tacos and wine enjoying the cool breeze that came off the sea.

We had booked tickets for San Diego Zoo's Safari Park. It was only when we got onto a taxi that we realized how far this place was. After 30 minutes and a $100 cab fare, we arrived. Having visited the place I can now say it was worth the money and the effort! We loved this place even more than the Zoo. Spread over 1800 acres of wilderness, this park is home to over 3000 wild animals including the big four from Africa.



We took a safari ride on tram across the 'African Plains' watching families of giraffes, elephants and deer among others. Then we headed off on foot covering Condor Ridge, Elephant Valley, Tiger Trail and Gorilla Forest. There weren't too many visitors during the time we were there, and some of the enclosures made me think we were in Jurassic Park - but thankfully, no velocirapter leapt out of the bushes.

On the way back, we saw several farms dedicated to oranges and ostriches. So if very large omlettes are your thing, stop on your way back!

Read More...

California Vacation: Santa Monica and Anaheim

This was meant to be a San Diego vacation, but by the time we got done planning we ended up adding Anahiem, Santa Monica and San Francisco to our list. I was already in the United States on business, so I flew down to Los Angeles to recieve my wife and daughter on a Sunday evening. The weather was perfect and it was still daylight when we got back to our hotel, so without much ado we decided to stroll right away to the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, one of our favorite spots in this lovely city.

Dinner at Monsoon Cafe was fun as usual: lots of sake, sushi and prawn tempura before meeting with some old friends and chatting through the evening strolling among street performers and shoppers as we dug into Pinkberry ice-creams.

On the next day, we walked down to Santa Monica pier and spent some time at the amusement park. The pier, the beach and the surrounding area has been immortalized by Raymond Chandler's books, NCIS: Los Angeles on tv and Forest Gump in the movie. The view from the top of the iconic ferris wheel was dramatic on this bright sunny day. We lazed around shopping for souvenirs before stopping at Hot Dog on Stick. Yelpers rave about this small place for good reasons. Nothing beats a sizzling hot dog and freshly made iced lemonade on the beach.

We had a quick lunch at Wahoo's Fish Taco before taking the Disneyland bus to Anaheim. The Sheraton Anaheim hotel exceeded our expectations: the warmth of their lobby area with its intimate spaces, the wide corridors and the large and comfortable rooms.

We headed out to Downtown Disney - a much smaller place than the one at Orlando. It was my birthday today, so the daughter insisted on ordering a Volcano dessert for me. The dessert was a huge combination of strawberry and vanilla ice cream with chocolate brownie, banana, whipped cream, marshmallow, cherry, caramel and hot fudge, with a sparkler on top! Each time a Volcano dessert emerges from the kitchen, the server repeatedly yells “VOLCANO!” as he brings the dish to it’s rightful owner!


The next day was entirely spent in Disneyland - the orginal park Walt Disney created, but much smaller than DisneyWold in Orlando. The distances between attractions and rides were smaller, but the lines were long - especially at the more contemporary ones such as Tangled and Pixie Hollow. The Indiana Jones ride was fun as was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (this one was even better than the one in Orlando). Unfortunately, Star Wars was closed and is expected to re-open this summer in a more contemporary form.

Read More...

Cosily French at Le Papillon

Located at a busy crossing of San Jose, Le Papillon was quite a revelation for me. Old-fashioned with low ceilings and windows with shutters, the restaurant is immediately warm and cozy. While French classics would be quite at home in such a setting, the menu is very contemporary French with Asian influences. Unlike most popular chefs who change jobs every few years, Executive Chef Scott Cooper has been cooking here forever.

They seated me at the bar as they got my table ready. I decided try the Chef's tasting menu to get a flavor of this interesting place. The waitress brought an amuse of lamb and a glass of champagne to get started. They followed with another amuse of mulligatawny soup with a dash of cilantro, and then brought a third amuse of miso marinated hamachi. Three amuse bouches in a row!



The first course was Hokkaido Scallops. Prepared with seaweed puree, puffed rice and pickled miyoga - a unique plant with edible flower buds and shoots - this dish was quite interesting on the palate. The chilled sake went perfectly with this Japan inspired dish.

Next was the Heart of Palm risotto with lobster and pomelo confit. This dish was quite fantastic - the taste of tender heart of palm, the fresh lobster meat and the citrus goodness of pomelo - a fruit found in parts of Southeast Asia. The wine, a Chardonney.

The Heirloom Radishes came next. Served with tangerine, guanciale and rye. Again a winner with the Belgian beer.

Another amuse with the chef's compliments: this time a cheese based mousse with white truffle. Excellent with the Pinot. This restaurant certainly served me more amuses than any other!

The next course was the Breast of Squab with cauliflower hummus and liver pate tortellini. The squab was very flavorful and contrasted nicely with the accompaniments. I sipped on a deep red Cabernet as I relished the expertly cooked bird.

The Wagyu beef topped with truffle-potato 'gremolata' and vincotto jus was another good one! The unique spin on tater tots worked perfectly with the tender meat. Another Cabernet accompanied this dish.

The cheese plate consisted of a cow milk cheese with candied walnuts. The dessert - a palette of Chocolate - was unique and very satisfying. Hazelnut, coffee and caramel chocolates contrasted with each other in taste and texture making for a fitting ending to a perfect meal.


I sat for some more time sipping on hot Darjeeling after which they gave me some passion fruit caramel sweets as I waited for my cheque.


All in all, a wonderful find. The ambiance, the food and the service at this restaurant comes together for a perfect dinner experience in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Read More...