I was in India on vacation for the past month. I had a wonderful time there - filled with good food and loved ones. As always I had my wishlist of eateries I wanted to visit while in Pune but it gradually fell by the wayside as I realized that recommendations by my foodie friends and relatives trump any amount of internet research.
After trying out a number of bright and shiny new restaurants I always tend to go back to the classics, the mainstays of the Pune food scene which don't keep changing face every few years but in fact have largely the same menu and most importantly, the same great quality.
Chinese Room (East Street, Camp)
We usually go to its Karve Road location as it is closer to home. The Camp location had the same great food and amusingly, the same arrogant service which I keep going back to because no amount of arrogant treatment can keep me away from that cashew chicken. This is the only restaurant I visited twice in my trip.
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Make sure to ask for the complimentary salad |
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Good old sweet corn chicken soup. Yum! |
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Cashew Chicken, Mongolian Chicken Appetizer |
King's (Camp)
A family friend insisted on taking me to King's, an unassuming place right opposite Victory Theater. It is run by a Parsi family for several decades. The mutton dhansak was top notch.
Fish-o-fish (off Karve Road near Karve Putala)
A recent favorite of my parents'. Great place for seafood as the name subtly suggests. One of the highlights was the refreshing glass of solkadhi we had at the beginning of the meal.
Update Nov 2022: I just visited this place again and it was equally good. Their food quality has been consistent for years. This is certainly going to be my go-to place for seafood and chicken/ mutton curries.
Update Jan 2024: This _is_ my go-to place for seafood and chicken/ mutton curries and even biryani. This time I had tisrya masala (clams curry) with ghaavan which is a rice flour crepe - a combo recommended by the restaurant owner. It was delicious!
Bombil fry (fried sardines)
Fish Thali with prawn curry and surmai fry
Vaishali (Fergusson Road)
The decadent Cheese Mysore Masala Dosa has been my favorite dish at Vaishali for years. It lived upto the expectations yet again. The chikku shake was excellent as well. Vaishali gets a 10 for consistency. And a 10 for ambience. Going to Vaishali and not sitting in the patio is simply not an option for me!
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Cheese Mysore Masala Dosa and Onion Uttapa |
Pastry Corner (Law College Road)
Our favorite after-school bakery. Even today it sparks nostalgia. It has been the quintessential little mom-n-pop bakery of Pune since the 90s. The rum balls were particularly popular with the kids though I doubt they had any rum in them. For a short while, right after "air hostess", I had wanted to be a baker and open a bakery with my best friend. It was 100% inspired by Pastry Corner.
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Pineapple cake |
Vernekar's (Karvenagar)
New kid on the block, literally less than a five-minute walk from my house. The fish rava fry was good, and the prawn curry was to die for, only to be outdone by the surprise dessert "serradura" which was supposed to be a consolation dessert as they were out of bebinca. That stuff is phenomenal. No one can stop eating until they reach the bottom of that cup. Who knew layers of whipped condensed milk and crumbled cookie would taste like the best thing ever?
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| Serradura |
One thing that I never got tired of throughout the one month that I was at home.
Chaha and khari. Small pleasures.
