ABC Farms Cheese Festival 2015 - A Cheesy Affair

People, who really know me, know I’m a ‘cheese’ person. My bestie and I, we could live on cheese. We attended the ABC Farms Cheese Festival 2015 last evening. Loved, absolutely loved, the cheese counter and the cheese dips/fondue counter. The people attending to the cheese counters were extremely helpful and friendly. That made the experience of trying the various cheeses, and buying it, a real pleasure. I did not enjoy the fruity cheeses but I ended up buying five varieties of other cheese (Black Pepper Boursin, Paprika Boursin, Young Cheddar, Jalapeno Cheese, Basil Edam Cheese) and two varieties of dips (Garlic Chives and Jalapeno Cheese). My bestie also bought some ‘stinky’ varieties for her husband.

I missed two of my all time favorite cheese as they weren’t at the cheese counter. I checked the ABC Farm menu to check if they manufactured them and it seems they don’t. The cheese I’m talking about is Brie and Camembert. I hope they add these to their list of cheese by this time next year for the 2016 Cheese Festival. That would make me a veryyyyy happy puppy. ;)

The event was very well organized, as always. They had various stalls for wine tasting too. I’m a teetotaler hence that section was not for me but a large number of people were sipping wine and having a wonderful time at the wine stalls. They had tons of stuff for children too. There were workshops, contests and much more for the kiddos to enjoy and participate in.

They gave out small wall calendars for the coming year (2016) with each of my bill. I doubt if any calendar will make it to the walls of their customer's homes, hence through this review I send out a teeny-weeny suggestion to organizers and the owners. Instead of the calendar it would have been fantastic had they given out a small discount coupon with each bill. It could have been of any denomination, a mere 5% or 10%, maybe valid for a fortnight or max a month. After all who does not like a discount? That way, they increase their sales even after the festival is over, and, customers also feel that they got a little something extra. It may also help to sell leftover stock, if any, from the festival. It could result in a win-win situation for ABC Farms as well as the customers. I have to say, though, all in all it was a fun place to be at on a Saturday evening. 

I was having such a good time that I completely forgot to click photographs at the fest but when I got back home I did click a picture of the cheese I bought and that’s the one posted with this review.

The festival is on until 11 pm / 2300 hours tonight (Sunday, November 22, 2015) so if you haven’t visited it yet get going. You won’t regret it! Are you still home reading this? Get off your b*tt and head to ABC Farms. Now!! Have a wonderful cheesy day folks! :)

Arthur’s Theme.. A melodious symphony of food!

Compared to the veryyyy long reviews I usually write, this one is going to be shorter. Not because the food wasn’t worth it, quite the opposite in fact, but because we (my friend and I) decided not be behave like ‘bhukkhads’. :D 

I went to Arthur’s Theme after years (over 5 years) and although I did remember that I’ve never had a bad meal at Arthur’s Theme, I did not remember any dish in particular that I’ve had there years ago. Also, because of the time gap it somehow felt like I was experiencing Arthur’s Theme for the very first time.

We ordered fresh lime sodas and they were a perfect balance of sweet and sour. For starters we order ‘Alexia’ (Prawns wrapped in chicken, grilled to perfection and tossed in a spicy sauce). It was to die for! The chicken wasn’t overdone and the prawns within were also perfectly cooked. As mentioned on the menu, the meat was truly ‘grilled to perfection’! The sauce slathered over the meat was spicy and had a fabulously light tangy hit as an end note. 10/10 is what I’d give this dish!

For our mains, my friend selected ‘Marie Curie’. It was a baked chuck of fish (Rawas/Indian Salmon – a wonderful change from the regular Basa served at most places these days) topped with basil enriched mustard sauce, served with potato croquettes and steamed vegetables. I did not try the fish but my friend, a food columnist, heartily tucked into her plate of food and had no complaints about the dish. My selection for the main course was ‘Danielle’. It was a grilled carabeef tenderloin steak, tossed in herbs, served with an exclusive pepper sauce and roast potatoes. I requested a medium rare steak and the gentleman (Kabir) taking my order, in all honesty, told me a medium rare could get slightly botched hence requested I go with rare, medium or well done steak. I chose a medium steak. The pepper sauce, the roast potatoes and the steak were spot on! There was no sinew in the steak. It was perfectly brown from out and pink from within. I could find absolutely no fault with this dish except that I would have liked a fatter steak with a few more roast potatoes. Just kiddin’!! The quantity was perfect but it was so darn delicious that I would have loved some more. Something like, ‘pett bhar gaya par neeyat nahi bhari’. ;)

For dessert my friend ordered a Chocolate Lava Cake with Mint Ice Cream. I was too stuffed to eat dessert but I did steal a spoonful of mint ice cream. It was creamy and delicious! I’m definitely going to have it when I go there again. Oh of course, I’m going back! Total damages for lunch was 1410 buckaroos. Total VFM and well worth the dough spent! 

Oh! Let me add, after the prawn-chicken starter, before they served the mains, they set a bread roll basket at our table with small butter containers. The breads were fresh, warm and so hearty. I don’t really need any more flesh (read: fat.. sigh!) on my body but besharam me smeared an indecent amount of butter on the rolls and hogged on them. Now that I think of it that is probably why I did not have any space in my tum-tum for dessert. *grin*

Service: 5/5

Ambiance: 4/5 (simple décor, nothing fancy yet neat)

Food: 5/5 (very rarely do I give this rating but this delicious meal truly deserves it) 

Address: 2, Vrindavan Apartment, Lane 6, Off North Main Road, Koregaon Park, Pune 411001.

Tel: 020 66032710 / +91 9158828020