Just purchased 2007 Pune Times Food Guide. Their claim of 'over 600' reviews does not mean anything. I can tell about the area I live in. There is no mention of Baner, Pashan, Bavdhan, Chandani Chowk or even Pune Banglore Highway. As if, Pune does not exist beyond boundaries of Aundh in Pune, at least on this side.
So, Sadanand Resorts, Rajwada and Mahabaleshwar in Baner which are major crowd pulling eating joints do not find a place and neither does Club CPR- Grand Maratha on Pashan Rd. The whole bunch of Chandni Chowk area is missing like Banjara Hills, Up and Above and more. Not sure of Wakad and Hinjewadi area but good eating joints must exist there as well.
They mentioned Imperial China but conveniently forgot Rajwada, although former is a branch of latter.
This guide just concentrates on the usual suspects :- Koregaon Park, MG Road -Camp,FC and JM Road. Although, I do believe the density of eating places is higher in these areas, but there are many places out there, beyond these areas.
I am sure if we consider the other corners of Pune, similar cases would be there. And if we go by the foodie blogs of punekars, especially Mr. Vikram Karve, its a disappointment as well.
And, surprisingly, seedy joints like Chandrama in Aundh find a mention and purely bachelor joints like Delhi Kitchen( food is ok, of course), too.
In all, for Rs. 100, a good reference material for addresses and location and gives a general idea of dent on the wallet. E.g. it confirms pricing for Flavors in Aundh( Rs 800 for 2)and Galaxy Grill( Rs 1000 for 2 !!). Although, there are some mistakes in pricing area as well. They mention, the buffet at Bombay Brassiere at Rs. 140 per person, although its closer to Rs. 300 per person.
BTW, it has some discount coupons for some restaurants. Probably I will use it while sampling some of these restaurants.
My suggestion : dont just rely on this guide alone. There are many more nice joints out there, not mentioned over here. Keep searching the net, and if not, create a blog of your own, just like me. Word of mouth from actual users is any day better than any commerical venture. And, I think a new joint opens every week in Pune. So, gotta keep running harder to stay at the same place.
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5 comments:
hey!
i quite agree with you, there are some really good places to eat beyond aundh. I recently happened to go to the MoMo Cafe at the new Courtyard by Marriott @ Hinjewadi, and its quite a steal deal. They have a lavish buffet spread which is a good mix of indian,conti,oriental, soups,salads and amazing desserts- all this priced at Rs. 399/-.
Apart from this they have a-la-carte options as well. My favourite are the paper-thin pizzas, and the tiramisu is just divine.
If you are in search of good food, this place is it, and its definatly worth the drive from the city. its a 10/10 for me!!!
nice restaurants are opening across pune too. visited copacabana restaurant in wakad recently. lovely restaurant and great food. has a beautiful bar too bongo. enjoyed eating.
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Thea Restaurant
Cerebrum B-3, 1st flr.
Ahead of Mariegold, Kalyaninagar
#65000444.
More than a mere restaurant, Soul Handi for us is a realization of a dream, manifestation of a belief & a philosophy; a dream based on the belief that delicious, healthy food served with love and care goes beyond mere satisfaction of appetite or sensuality; it rejuvenates the soul. The history of mankind is a testimony that food is an integral part of all celebration. Eating together is the most regular & consistentform of sharing feelings of love, care and
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We, at Soul Handi believe that food is a cultural achievement that takes thousands of years to perfect & therefore our emphases is primarily on recreating the tradition rather than creating our own recipes. This is especially true for Indian food because the royal households were connoisseurs of exquisite food and their bawarchi khanas were epicenters of research and innovation which continued across generations to cater to their taste. Under these circumstances food evolved to become a total experience of an occasion - fragrant, visually appealing and magical! Zealously guarded precious recipes, often handed down from father to son, traveled from the royal kitchens to the kitchens of ordinary people. It is because of this that the best Indian food is not found in conventional restaurants in India, but in people's homes. We discover & bring to you these culinary delights of the royalty. The cuisines we serve are exclusively secured recipes from traditional bawarchis.
Therefore tradition is very important to us and influences not only the recipes but also the cooking process, utensils and interiors. We believe that there is a lot of wisdom embedded in these traditions which is highly relevant to the modern world and can be shown to agree with modern scientific findings.
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We look at Soul Handi as a community gathering spot for strengthening friendships, family ties, and business acquaintances. We have a huge writing board where you can write your messages also post your classifieds. You can interact with our chefs in case you need a cooking tip or would like to give them feedback. To facilitate this interaction, we have kept the kitchen open and your food is cooked live in front of you. With all these ingredients, we hope Soul Handi would be your choice hangout, no matter what time of the day it is.
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Thank you for your patronage.
Team Soul Handi
We are the largest Hotel Lobby and Front Office Products & Supplies. We are one stop shop for hotel and restaurants. Also we are Hotel Ware Porcelain Suppliers
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