A veggie @ Mainland China

Challenges. We all love them. Don’t we?

So when I was told I CANNOT enjoy a meal at Mainland China because it is a place for non-vegetarians only, I said – CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Mainland China. A place you would expect the chefs to bring down the culture of China to our plates. And so they did.

Located in Hinjewadi, this outlet is a mini-china on Indian soil. Okay- that may be an exaggeration, but we were swept off by the food, decor, ambiance, music, colors, service, booze – basically everything!!

As we were seated waiting for menu, these bowls with salad appeared. They clearly understand customers are really hungry – and this gesture compensates for any delay in main course.

We ordered. It came. We clicked. We ate. We loved.

The food was master-chef level, the service was impeccable, the quantity was suffice and the vegetarian in me was happy.

CHALLENGE COMPLETED 😀

To celebrate this we ordered two desserts, and both were to die for. Seriously, I would kill my friends for a dozen of these 😉

All-in-all, it is only a myth that Mainland China is for non-veggies only. Veggies in town – DO VISIT. You’re in for a surprise.

See what Zomato, Zootout and Burrp have to say.

(.)Polka Dots(.)

A while back we got a chance to visit Polka Dots. Located in Aundh, Pune, India – this is a heaven for foodies.

We ordered both veg and non-veg dishes and I don’t want to say anything about it – have a look !!

From the look of the menu, we felt the dishes will be exotic – since the names were pretty fancy. And when these dishes arrived, we had to force ourselves to wait for a while – to take pictures of the splendid serving.

Sophisticated, stylish, professional looking food – we were happy even before we ate.

And then it all felt just. The hype, the price, the wait. For these yummiliciously delicious dishes!!!!

The ambiance is cozy, you can find friends, families, dates, youngsters everyone having a good time here. Considering the area isn’t much large – they have done good for themselves.

As you would expect, we were much full after the main course to have dessert, but we could not resist clicking a picture.

All in all, it’s a wonderful place to check out. For those who haven’t done yet, we strongly suggest you drop by here SOON!!

See what they have to say to us – Here.

See what other have to say: Zomato. Times City. Trip Advisor. Burrp. Evening Flavors.

Reliance Mart # Food Court

Christmas and New Year gives us a great opportunity to avail great shopping offers on all major brands, and Pune being a city with youngsters has many places to splurge into shopping (read: window shopping).

We strolled around in Reliance Mart for hours and finally sat down to eat in their food court. Not that we went with high expectation, but then we weren’t THAT disappointed either. I think that is the upside of not keeping high hopes. 😀

The place is colorful to the point it reflects happiness even with very few people seated and actually eating. Kids were playing at one corner, couples had occupied some seats, some newly weds had come for an outing and many families were sighted just loitering around (our guess- window shopping). 😉

 

Many options for Indian, Chinese, Italian food lovers as well as fruitareans (yes, that’s a word autocorrect). The only downside is it is pricey for no good reason. Quantity served isn’t that great – a pasta cannot be shared and eaten by two.

We did not eat much, but what we heard in whispers was the place and food is kaam-chalau. Barely. We say.

In our opinion, if you’re in Aundh, Pune there is are many other options to explore – DO NOT WASTE MONEY for eating here. We reviewed other places in Aundh and will be updating them soon.

Till then, keep smiling and munch away to glory 😀

 

 

 

HRC : Hard Rock Cafe

HRC : Hard Rock Cafe.

One of many in the country, but unique in its own. Surrounded by instruments and clothes of some very famous people, we could not help but be awed by the entire arena. The aesthetic value of this two-floored place is one of the best in town. Take our word.

We ordered a Mexican platter, HRC specialty burger and garlic bread. With of course, some drinks.

The food was amazing, needless to say. Service was impeccable. The best was when all the waiters got on a hedge and started dancing on some song they all seem to have rehearsed to.

The bill left us wondering how much we drank (even though it was happy hours 5 pm to 8 pm) 😉 The location is in the posh are of Pune – Koregaon Park. Easy to find using Google Maps. It has many events lined up every month. With a nominal entry and cover fee, you can enjoy the night, very well.

For more, read on TimesCity, Zomato, their website, and FB page.

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“Rolla Costa”

Rolla Costa is located amidst the renowned Subway, Peter’s Pan, Hyderabadi Biryani and Chaitanya’s Parathas on the famous F.C.Road, Pune.

This place has actually won a user’s choice award by Zomato. Isn’t that great?

We were enthralled by the menu. They had such a variety of pastas, we made a tough call. Actually, we just chose the ones with known contents and fancy name 😉

When the first pasta came, we were happy. The taste was good, the texture was amazing and the price was just apt.

But when the second one came, we were kinda surprised because it was sort of mediocre in taste. Well, this maybe for the reason that we had two pastas back to back, or maybe cuz they tasted similar. Well, not similar, kinda like just-another-pasta.

So, we ordered drinks. A lime juice and cold coffee. An again, the satisfaction level went down a bit.

What we feel is, the place is good to hang-out, you can order dis-similar items, taste a bit of each and just don’t judge much. Prices will not hurt your pocket and you’ll leave with a full stomach. 😀

We liked that you can see what was being prepared, it is all fresh, made right in front of your eyes. The service is fast and you won’t have to wait much for hogging.

Munch along people!! Let us know your reviews.

Read more on Zomato, Times City and their own website.

‘Brikks Pizza’

Located in Hinjewadi, Pune, India

Things we liked :

• Well, Let me first write what we did not like
• Maybe the infrastructure and interior design

Things we did not like:

• Insects – many of them
• Not actually traditionally made – at least we did not think so
• No serving plates – we ate in boxes
• Hardly any customers
• Super-expensive
• Small portion to eat

Read more about this place on:

Zomato, TimesCity, PuneBurrp

Let us know if you have visited the place. Tell us your views.

Lohagarh Chapter..All about it.

Lohagarh or Lohagad is situated 52km from Pune, at an elevation of 3,450 feet (1,052 m). It divides the basins of 2 rivers- Indriyani and Pavana. Its actual date of construction is still a mystery. If you trace back its history, it was occupied by several dynasties like Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Yadavas, Bahamanis, Nizamshahis, Mughals and Marathas. Shivaji captured it in 1648 and it ultimately fell in the hands of the British by 1818.

It is an ideal destination for a day trek from Mumbai or Pune, especially in the monsoons.

Directions :

• Take a train from Mumbai towards Pune and get down at Malavli, the station after Lonavla.
• By road, cross the Lonavla town and come towards Pune on the old highway (NH-4). You will pass Karla caves on your left. Take a right towards Bhaja caves. The fort can be seen towards your right.

Pune to Lohagad – 70 km
Mumbai to Lohagad – 90 km

There are breathtaking waterfalls on the way.

There are many scenic places where you can stop on the way up. Some places will not even have proper constructed roads and it depends on your own free spirit, where where all it takes you.

There are deserted architectural places where there is no restricted entry. You can even go down to the basin of rivers and have a swim. We did. 😉

Once on top, enjoy the amazing the breeze. It gets sort of cold and foggy, specially in the months June-October.

Vada Pav and hot tea are ideal snacks during the rains. You will find several small shops serving these in Lohagaon, the village at the base of the steps.

The road uphill is a biker’s paradise. 

What we liked the most –

• the trek
• the awesome climate
• the ease of reach ability
• availability of medics on the way
• small eateries
• many natural streams and ponds
• crowd of youngsters and families

So next time you’re around Mumbai or Pune, do drop by Lohagad to enjoy its history as well as the scenic beauty.