Explorer of Experiences

  The good folks behind Brooklyn Shuffle , Jimmy Hu and WTF! , now bring the nearly year-old The Bombay Bronx from Mumbai to Pune. This is an all-day bar where everything, from the interiors to the food unbridles the soul of Mumbai. Enter the bar, and it feels like you’ve chanced upon a set of a movie that is an ode to the maximum city. The Bombay Bronx is fitted with installations reminiscent of the city – take for instance the local train-style booth seating with train handles suspended from the ceiling, Irani café-style tables and chairs, a wall-sized painting of Amitabh Bachchan in his Deewar attire, tin fittings on the bar resembling the roofing of Dharavi ’s slum houses, train routes mapped out on the ceiling, lights fitted into loud-coloured dabbas and the neon signage of the iconic Eros theatre. Clearly, subtlety was not the brief to the interior designer. It is little wonder that we caught many wild-eyed walk-in diners taking a tour of the place before settling...

There’s a new friendly neighborhood bistro whose food and desserts have got the town talking. I make the drive to Baner to find out what’s in store… Desserterie. Patisserie. Bistro. Minus 18 Degrees in Baner is all this and more. What catches curious eyes is the view of the top storey of Minus 18 Degrees of busy chefs with their gloved hands working on dish after dish. This 45-seater bistro is the vibrant new kid on the block. Stark navy blue and white walls could have made the place look clinical, but the smart interior designer has blended it together with subtle touches of teal - on the upholstery, the menu and the picture frames on the wall. With the chosen color palette, Minus 18 Degrees could have been the perfect naval office canteen. There is alfresco seating but you really want to sit where all the action is happening – indoors. Push open the door and you are greeted with a sweet aroma. It’s a bustling scene inside - young waiters energetically atten...

My review of Flambos Brewpub was published on Burrp! today. Here's the link to it:  http://www.burrp.com/pune/know/review-flambos-64479 For the benefit of our lazy web-surfers, I paste the review below so you don't have to go anywhere else. In a city known for its budding microbrewery culture and pub food, we find out how  Flambos  fares. A popular hangout point housing some of Pune's best restaurants and lounges, the Metropole commercial complex adjacent to Inox Cinema was once brimming with flavour. This is not the case any longer. Over the years, some restaurants have downed their shutters and the only surviving outlets are  Flag's  and  Flambos . We decided to pay this old haunt a visit on a Sunday afternoon, and walked into   Flambos   to be greeted by Flambos' beer chillers at the entrance. Its interiors are warm with bricked walls and wooden flooring and furnishing. The ambiance is lifted by substantial natural lighting during ...

Many times I have been recommended a restaurant that is super popular in the city, but after dining there I tend to walk out feeling disappointed...it was good, but not that good. Pune has a few restaurants that are deemed a must-visit for outsiders. My theory is that these popular outlets were good at one time, but once they gained popularity and the footprint, somewhere along the way, the prices sky-rocketed and the food quality suffered. Nonetheless with some PR machinery backing them up, they do get their desired footfalls.  Sometimes, the best restaurants turn out to be the ones very few have heard of.  One such not-much-talked-about place is Soy. My sister discovered it two years ago when severe sushi cravings drove her on a city-wide hunt for a restaurant that serves decent ones. Sheltered on the ground floor of Le Royce Hotel, the chefs at Soy dish out some remarkable Chinese and Japanese food.  Their menu has good range and better still, vegetarians will not...

   A                   Image courtesy:  iskandals.com Aubergines – I don't know too many people who will jump in the bus with me on this one. This is one vegetable I love - right from its deep purple color to its flesh. At home, we deep fry thin slices of the aubergine and then sprinkle it generously with powders of coriander, red chilli, mango and salt. Deeeevine! B Image courtesy: Lovefoodeat.com Bananas – Fatty fruit this one, but lord, 4 of them for 10 bucks is a steal. And what’s more, no annoying seeds to deal with. Simply peel, bite and relish! Not just the fruit itself but I also remember loving this particular banana wafer biscuit I used to eat when I was a kid. Banana toffee or caramelized banana is nothing short of a heavenly sweet treat after a meal. If I see it on the menu, I won’t go for anything else listed in the dessert section. My shot at the JW Marriott breakfast buffet Bread – Buns...