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Monday 14 November 2016

Maratha Samrat – A true Samrat in Maharashtrian Cuisine!



A few weeks ago a friend extended an invite to a bunch of us for lunch at the recently opened Baner branch of the Maratha Samrat. I had read about the cuisine, and the dishes, served at this restaurant and was very eager to try it. I happily trotted to the other side of town for lunch. #ToHaveGoodFoodWillHappilyTravel

As we entered the restaurant we were very graciously greeted by the owner, Sagar Vishwas Deshmukh. The restaurant serves vegetarian and non-vegetarian Maharashtrian cuisine. If you are vegetarian and are expecting to know about vegetarian food served at this restaurant, please don’t waste your time reading any further. I say this because we were a bunch of hard-core carnivores and eating vegetarian food would amount to sacrilege! (Evil grin!) No, no, I’m kiddin’, Read on!


For drinks most from our gang ordered the coconut-kokum based Sol Kadi while a few of us chose the simple Thums Up. I heard no complaints around the table about the Sol Kadi and, in fact, a few ordered a repeat which led me to believe it was a well flavoured drink.


For starters we ordered Kheema Papad, Surmai Rava Fry, Pomfret Tava Fry, Prawns Masala Fry and Kaala Chickn Sukka (Boneless).


This was the first time I had Kheema Papad. The morsels of delish, savory Kheema atop the crisp Papad were ever so yummy. I loved it! I’d order this one time and time again!


All the starters we ordered were absolutely delicious. I have a major weakness for crustaceans, though, which is why I feel this one dish deserves a special mention. The Prawn Masala Fry was perfect in every way. The one thing I always look out for when eating crustaceans is their freshness and texture. I could find absolutely no fault with it! It was just as I love it; spicy and cooked to that ‘spot on’ texture.

For our mains we ordered Kheema Prawns, Zanzanit Mutton, Chicken Maratha and Kaala Mutton. We also ordered Jowar Bhakris and Chapattis as accompaniments.


The Kheema Prawns was beyond superb! This was a new combination for me as I had never heard of the two being cooked together in a dish. I have to say the chef had managed to pair them really well.


A couple of us at that lunch table happened to be ‘spice crazy’ gals, that is precisely why we opted for the “hottest” dish from the menu. ‘Zanzanit’ in Marathi means ‘beyond spicy’, hence Zanzanit Mutton was a clear choice for us. It was extremely spicy but was cooked in a way wherein the spice (masala) did not overpower the deliciousness. My palate tingled with joy at the ‘searing chilli-hit’ but the others at the table broke into a sweat, felt fuddled with the fieriness and had smoke billowing out of their ears. (Very evil grin!) If you are fond of spicy food then this one is a must have! 


The Kaala mutton was also a very well made dish. The only dish that failed to impress was the Chicken Maratha. The dish wasn’t as zesty as the rest and the gravy too did not make me go ‘ummm’. I have to say though, I have a sneaky feeling this dish fell short because we had had so many spicy dishes before we took a bite of the Chicken Maratha. The Bhakris and Chapattis were fresh and served steaming hot.


Our group ended the meal with Paan. I describe Paan as, ‘a bitter betel nut leaf with Supari, Gulkand and more (crazy) stuff within’. I abstained from it as chewing on a raw leaf does not figure on my list of ‘pleasurable things to chew on’. (Do not allow your imagination to go haywire – behave! :D )

I have two complaints with the management of Maratha Samrat. They only have a couple of soft drinks (along with Sol Kadi) on the menu. I do wish they would, at least, introduce the humble, yet refreshing, Fresh Lime Soda. Also, they do not have anything listed for dessert. No ice cream, no Mithai, no dessert of any kind! The food they serve is so darn good but for lack of dessert the meal feels incomplete, more so to people like me who refuse to munch on raw leaves (read:Paan).

The Tandoor section is functional at their Kothrud branch but not yet operational at their new Baner branch. I hope they start it soon because I for one cannot wait to revisit the restaurant again.

A big thank you to Sagar for having taken such excellent care of us and another very BIG thank you to my friend for the luncheon invite!

Food: 4.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Service: 4.5/5

Address: MontVert Zenith Building, Veritas IT Park, Baner, Pune

Tel: 020 30189288

A few more photographs...







Wednesday 9 November 2016

Where Else Cafe and Bar – For now, somewhere else!


It was a rainy evening the first time I stepped into Where Else Cafe and Bar. What better way is there to spend an evening than watching the torrential rain drench the city while sipping a cup of Hot Chocolate! While I sat enjoying the fabulous Hot Chocolate (with Marshmallows) I checked out the rest of their menu. It seemed very promising. It was for this very reason that our angelic girl gang of five decided to head here for our monthly brunch.


Having skipped breakfast, the first thing we hungry souls ordered was a platter of fries and onion rings with three dips: Mango mayo, Salsa and Cheddar Mustard. The fries and rings were well made. I paid special attention to the crumb fried onion rings because most restaurants tend to make them greasy. It was not so in this case. The Cheddar Mustard dip and the Salsa were delicious. They sailed through the finish line of the race of the accompaniments’. The Mango mayo, however, tripped mid-way and fell flat on its yellow face.


For drinks, we ordered a few mocktails: Virgin Pina Colada, Fresh lime soda, Iced Tea, Cherry Lime and Cherry Cola. The Virgin Pina Colada was the best mocktail from the ones we had. They were all good but nothing to write home about.


We tried their Beer and Cheddar Shrimp Chowder. It was thick, creamy, hearty and served with a generous amount of shrimp. Each and everyone at the table mouthed an ‘orgasmic – ummmm’. The garlic bread served with the soup was also very nicely done. The soup was one of the best things we had that afternoon.


The dishes we ordered for our main course were: Where Else Buff Burger, Bacon Plate, Tuna Melts, Cheesy Nacho with Lamb Chilli and Barbeque Chicken Wings


The Where Else Buff Burger was extremely, extremely gamey in flavour. This was the general consensus around the table. It looked ever so yummy and I don’t mean to be hurtful, or disrespectful, but it felt like the buff had died of some weird disease. Note to self: Not to be repeated! 


The bacon on the Bacon Plate was of good quality and fried to a crisp. Two bacon lovers sat with happy smiles on their face. 


There was some indecipherable creamy topping on the toast of the Tuna Melts which was not very pleasant and the tuna flavour simply did not come through. Again; not to be repeated! 


The minced lamb chilli of the Cheesy Nacho with Lamb Chilli was delicious and imparted a very good flavour to the dish. I’ll take a miss on the sour cream that was served with it though. If the sour cream is left out, or made better, this is a good dish!


The Barbeque Chicken Wings were smothered in sweet BBQ sauce. It was of the sweet kind with no other depth of flavour hence we all concluded that it simply did not have that ‘wow’ factor.


My vegetarian friend chose the Sautéed Mushroom with Toast and the vegetarian version of the Beer and Cheddar Chowder. She also chose the Cheese Chilli Toast. She said. ‘They were all okay, nothing to rave about’. (I, for once, did not take a bite of the vegetarian dishes hence I’m writing about it as mentioned to me.)


For dessert we opted for a Tres Leches, Rich Chocolate Mousse, Banana Fritters with Ice cream, a Sundae and Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows.


The Tres Leches was superb! We actually ordered a second one to satiate our craving of it. It was boozy (hic!) and all of us simply lapped it off the plate. 


The Rich Chocolate Mousse was a tad grainy hence it did not figure on our list of favourites. The hot, crisp Banana Fritters coupled with Vanilla Ice cream was a good combination. The only change I would make to the fritters is to coat the bananas with a lighter batter and I say this because I’ve had better. 


The other desserts had my attention hence I barely paid any heed to the Sundae, which was a platter of three varieties of Ice Cream served with an Ice cream bonbon. 


We ended the meal on the sweetest of notes; their Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows. They serve a superb Hot Chocolate. I’ve had a Hot Chocolate just a shade better than this one hence I will rate this one a 9/10.


Over all, the Chowder, the Tres Leches and Hot Chocolate are three things for which I would readily make the 30 kilometer (15 to & 15 fro) trip to Where Else Cafe and Bar. As for the rest, until they drastically improve the quality of their food from mediocre to very good, we shall, for now, be going ‘somewhere else’.

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3/5

Address: Shop No 8, Ground Floor, Lunkad Sky Max, Datta Mandir Chowk, Viman Nagar, Pune
Tel: 020 41210613 / +91 7219268752

One more photograph...

Yes, you read this poster correctly!! This is a PET FRIENDLY restaurant. Feel free to bring your four-legged babies along for a meal. They have a special pet friendly menu for them. 

Thursday 3 November 2016

Farzi Cafe - A food purist happily ‘farzified’!


Farzi, translated, means ‘fake or, loosely translated, can also be interpreted as ‘unreal’. 


As a foodie I do my best to keep an open mind about new concepts that crop up on the food scene. I have to admit, though, at heart, I’m a food purist! I prefer food cooked without new age twists because, most times those twists make my stomach turn. When I heard of Farzi Cafe, I simply could not comprehend the hype their menu generated. Usually, I have known such hype to die a fairly swift, quiet death. Thus when Farzi extended an invite to me though my fellow foodie, Aniruddha, I was slightly skeptical but decided to go in for the tasting with a very open mind as it would be very unfair not to. 


Farzi is located on the 1st floor for a building. There is seating on the terrace level as well. The 1st floor can be construed as part restaurant and part lounge. The inner walls and partitions of the restaurant are movable and this allows for varied seating arrangements. Until 2200 hours the restaurant is brightly lit but as the clock tolls two hours to midnight, the lights are muted down to ‘lounge ambience’. I loved the low light environment but I preferred the bright lights. Better lighting equals better photographs! When the lights went dim, our man, Aniruddha, came to our rescue. He was kind enough to hold a cell phone torch for us while we all went ‘click-click’ at the food. That was such a sweet gesture! I have no clue what the terrace section looks like because I did not venture there.


At the beginning of the meal they served us an Amuse Bouche: a delicious blob of Mishti Doi with a smear of berry coulis. This was a very refreshing start to the meal. 


Two people on our table were teetotallers hence our choice for drinks were Farzi Okay and Italian Smooch. I had requested citrus based mocktails and both these were just that. Not too sweet and perfect on the tang factor. 



The others opted for a couple of cocktails which were all every well made, but I could tell from their first sip reactions, the cocktail ‘Chai-Paani’ was a clear winner. I had two people at the table swooning (in delight - not in a drunk tizzy) over it.

  


We, of course, began with starters: Karela Calamari with sweet and sour Mango Chutney - Ghee Roast Mutton Boti - Black Pepper and Golden Garlic Prawns with braised Pok Choy - Chicken Tikka Khurchan with Parmesan and Fenugreek Tart - Mini Raj Kachori with Crispy Okra Salad and Chutney Foam - Tandoori Margarita Kulcha - Tempura Fried Prawns with Nimboo Mirch Foam and Green Caviar.



I was particularly interested in the Karela (Bitter Gourd) as, lately, I have fallen in love with this vegetable. The Karela had been cut into rings and batter fried to a decent crisp. A very pleasant surprise!



The Mini Raj Kachori with Crisp Okra Salad and Chutney Foam was another vegetarian dish that blew me away. The Kachoris were flaky yet crisp and broke into bits when we tapped a spoon over them to break them. I’ll pen it in one sentence. ‘Chatt Dreams are made of these; who am I to disagree’. :D I’d go back for these beauties time and time again! The Crispy Okra Salad that accompanied the Kachoris was also so delicious that I just couldn’t stop eating it. 


The Tandoori Margarita Kulcha was a three inch dough disc fattened with ample filling of molten cheese that oozed out at the first cut. How could anything with so much cheese not be a super-duper hit!? 


The Tempura Fried Prawns with Nimboo Mirch Foam and Green Caviar was also very nicely done. In spite of it being covered in foam the tempura batter had retained its crispness and the prawns, too, were fried to a ‘spot on’ texture. The only complaint I can make about this dish is that the quantity of green caviar just wasn’t enough to make any impact on the palate. My suggestion is to increase the amount for it to be a significant addition to the dish.


The Chicken Tikka Khurchan with Parmesan and Fenugreek Tart - Ghee Roast Mutton Boti and the Black Pepper Golden Garlic Prawns with braised Pok Choy were also very nicely made but given a choice I would opt for the starters that I have written about in detail. 


We also ordered for a Braised Prawns with Desi Coriander Tom Yum Soup. The prawns and fried prawn crackers were laid out in the soup bowl and the soup/broth was served separately. We had to pour the piping hot soup over the prawns and crackers and dig in immediately before the crackers went squishy. The prawns were delicious and of very decent size but what, absolutely, stole my heart was that intensely flavoured soup. That boat of dark brown soup was rich with deep flavourful baritones, very similar to that of a robust ox tail soup and yet, partnered those delicate prawns beautifully. This hearty soup is a must try, more so, as ‘winter is coming’. :D 


They served us a ‘palate cleanser’ after the starters and soup. It was in the form of a lollipop. It was a mix of sweet, sour and salty. I thought that was a wonderful addition between courses. 


For the mains we were served, Mutton Irachi Pepper Fry with Malabar Parotha - Asparagus and Water Chestnut Kurma with Fresh Coconut Appam - Baked Egg Curry with Masala Poha, Kaffir Lime and Cashew Nuts - Delhi Belly Tikka with Roasted Russet Apples and Murabba Glaze - Galouti Burger with Roast Tawa Boti - Slow Cooked Baby Lamb Shanks with Desi Ghee Nihari and Golden Onion - Prawn Chettinad with Curry Leaf Rice.


Each and every dish was delicious but once again my favourites were, Delhi Belly Tikka - Galouti Burger and Prawn Chettinad. 


The Delhi Belly Tikka accompanied by Roasted Russet Apples and Murabba Glaze was one of the most succulent and delicious pork dishes I have ever had. Every pore of my being sent out a heartfelt thanks to the curator of the menu and the chef for this one. Pork lovers do NOT miss this one! You will not know what ‘trupt atma – soul satisfying’ truly means until you have taken a bite of this deliciousness. 


The Galouti Burger with Roast Tawa Boti was another dish that the chef hit straight out of the stadium for a massive six. The deliciously flavourful, melt-in-the-mouth Galouti kebab gently snuggled between the burger bun while the Roast Tawa Boti got a bit bold and flashed a bit of heat to the palate. I must say, though, the Roast Tawa Boti in no way overpowered the gentle Galouti. It was absolutely superb! 


I, very apprehensively, took a couple of spoonfuls of the Prawn Chettinad onto my plate because I’m not a big fan of ‘Chettinad’ flavours. At the first morsel it had my taste buds doing gleeful somersaults in my mouth. The Curry Leaf rice was perfectly balanced in curry leaf flavour and the semi-spicy ‘Chettinad’ prawns complemented the rice as gracefully as dancers do when they dance together in an exquisitely performed Mohiniyattam. What an exemplary dish this was!

While we sat there, stuffed and satiated, our ever attentive server, Ashish, brought us our desserts: Baileys Lollipop - Parle G Cheesecake with Milk Custard and Cookie Dough Essence and Rasmalai Tres Leches with Carrot Cream and Rose Petal Net. He also brought us a Farzi Paan to end the meal.


I love Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur. It’s one of my all time favourite liqueurs (I’m a weird teetotaller; I abstain from all alcohol except for liqueurs). We all enjoyed lollipops as kids and it’s such a joy when a dessert takes us back in time to one’s childhood. What better metamorphosis could there be than something as delicious as Bailey’s Irish Cream transforming into a lollipop? The Baileys Lollipop was just yum! 



The Parle G Cheesecake with its accompaniment of Milk Custard and Cookie Dough Essence was okay-ish. The Parle G add-on, for me, failed to work. 


The Rasmalai Tres Leches though, was in an entirely different league. It was the Michael Jordon of desserts! Every bite was like a ball going clean through the hoop. Total, ‘slam-dunk’! 


I have to admit, I hate Paan. Reason: One has to chew on a bitter raw leaf. I just don’t see the fun in that. It makes my skin crawl. When our server brought us the Farzi Paan, I had a goose-flesh experience because I simply was not ready to touch the leafy thing. Lo & behold! It was not leafy at all. It was candy floss in the shape of a Karanji (half moon shape); filled with delicate fragrant bits of whatever goes into a regular Paan. The candy floss melted in the mouth in a flash and the mouth was flooded with aromatic and cool menthol-like ingredients. What a super finale that was to a 'fantabulous' meal! 


The service, the meal and the presentation was impeccable. I, specially, loved the uniquely shaped platters in which the food was served (except one). I do suggest Farzi changes the dish in which the Slow Cooked Baby Lamb Shanks and the Parle G Cheesecake are served. The platter looks like a cross between a basin and a toilet bowl. Apologies, Team Farzi but I say it as I see it. As for the rest, I loved the bowls, trays and platters chosen by you.

At the end, the food purist in me has to say, the food served at Farzi Cafe has modern ‘Farzi’ twists to it but it does not end there. There are dishes and cocktails that begin with tons of drama and end with sips and bites of satisfied sighs. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? That’s because it is! Farzi Cafe does not simply serve food and drinks; they serve you an entire dining experience that, in the most wonderful kind of way, massively boggles your mind and teases your taste buds!!

P.S: Forgive me; I do not have a good photograph of the Delhi Belly Tikka as the lights dimmed the moment it was placed on the table, messing up my photograph. :( The one taken with the flash sucks big time hence, have chosen not to post that photograph. Having cleared that bit, at the cost of sounding repetitive, pork lovers do not miss out on this dish.

Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 5/5

Address: Level 1 & 2, Fortaleza Complex, East Avenue, Kalyani Nagar, Pune
Tel: +91 8805843333 / +91 8805853333

A few more photographs...