Bipin Snacks & Juice Bar

If you are walking down Karve Rd, on the footpath just outside and near the entrance gate of the Sahyadri Hospital you will encounter a crowd of students, office goers and general junta which will compel you to step out on to the road to avoid this obstacle in your path. If you were to look closely you would see a "hole-in-the-wall" kind of outlet or tapri in local parlance, going by the name of Bipin Snacks & Juice Bar. Just for the record there is a board hanging at the counter saying "please do not block the foothpath for pedestrians" or something to that effect, though its obviously not having any effect.

Bipin happens to be our family's favourite go-to joint for a quick breakfast parcel and we have patronised it for over 6 years now. The menu is focused on the popular local snacks - kanda pohe, uppit (upma), sabudana khichdi, sheera, vada pav, idli chatni, pav pattice (bread pakoda) along with chai and 200 ml bottled water or lime juice. Priced in the range of Rs 10 to Rs 25 per serving, it's tremendous value for money resulting in it's huge popularity and turnover with fresh ingredients and several batches being prepared each day. Testimony to this being the fact that we have not experienced any adverse after effects in all these years.

Coming to the menu , the sabudana khichdi and the vada pav are the stand out items as far as our family is concerned. The khichdi has been certified by my wife, a self confessed connoisseur of this dish and what really impressed us is the consistency in taste which they have maintained over all these days. Its not too spicy which is how we like it though you have the option of sprinkling it with the batata chewda coated with red chilli powder. The vada pav comes with an interesting chutney spread on the inside of the pav and is the about best you can get in these parts. The first time we packed a big order for my younger son's birthday it was a big hit with all the guests young & old.

A portion of sabudana khichdi, minus the chewda.

With its strategic location and tasty offerings the popularity of Bipin Snacks is bound to keep growing and I do hope they continue to focus on their core menu and maintain the tapri format for quick service, all of which combine into a killer USP.
                                                        

Sigree, predictable fare...

The City Point complex at Dhole Patil Rd Pune has housed many restaurants over the years beginning with Bombay Brasserie which started the trend of the Sunday Buffet Brunch, to my knowledge one of the first such restaurants in Pune outside of the starred hotels to do so. Today of course there are many options though Sigree remains a favourite especially for those seeking consistency and predictability in the overall experience.

The weekend buffet is offered at an all inclusve price of Rs 558 for non-veg and Rs 499 for veg and comes with 5 types of starters for each selection followed by a relatively modest though quality range on the buffet counter. Along with complementary mocktails and breezer it represents good value for money.

Last sunday the NV starters included the usual selection of chicken, lamb, fish and prawn. The spicy chicken tikka was different and came out tops in our opinion. The lamb seekh kabab was also nice though the Afghani fish tikka was the standard "assembly-line" fare that one has got used to these days with the widespread use of the imported basa fish. The jhinga was coated in a thickish gravy and could have gone better with the main course perhaps.Veg starters included paneer, chaat samosa, aloo, mushroom and pineapple based offerings and were generally ok as per the feedback from the vegetarians in our group.

As usually happens in such cases, once you are through with the starters there isn't too much that you can do with the main course. So I focused on the dahi gosht which in my opinion was the best item of the day along with some bhindi masala and the biryani rice. The usual (black) dal sigree was absent this time, a disappointment of sorts as they do a pretty good version of it. However, it was the desert selection which could have been much better. Barring the ice cream whose consumption was somewhat curtailed by the weather there was nothing really worth trying, even the fresh fruits were yet to ripen.

Having been a regular at Sigree over the years I can see that some rationalisation is taking place with the opening of more outlets of the group (including Mainland China) across the city. For one, Oh Calcutta has been clubbed into a portion of the original Sigree area with the result that the buffet counter has been re-located to one end with lesser space. The live roti counter has gone back into the kitchen with the desserts squeezed in at one end of the buffet.

As I said earlier, one knows what to expect when eating at Sigree and hence its a safe option when going out in a group. However, if you are seeking something different and willing to spend more, then its time to look at other options which are coming up by the day in this fast growing city.

Dakshinayan, attempting the authentic...

For generations of folks who have lived in western Maharashtra, especially places like Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, the experience of "South Indian" food has been defined by the friendly neighbourhood Udipis. So whether it was a quick breakfast or a working lunch or an outing with the family in the evening, the standard fare of idli/vada sambar along with various types of dosas and uthapams could always be relied upon. Of late some of these places have evolved with the changing times and tastes to offer improvisations with noodles, cheese/pasta and other international add-ons.

Hence, its nice to come across a restaurant which sticks to the fundamentals and offers reasonably authentic vegetarian south Indian food to the local Puneite. Dakshinayan on JM Road near the Sai Service station is at the very same location which old timers would recall as Portico, an extremely popular "bar & restaurant" of the nineties. Its the same compact place with limited seating and the same vintage car placed outside the entrance, but of course with a very different menu.

The menu itself is not very elaborate, focussed on the key essentials and this I believe is the secret of how they manage their kitchen resources and ensure super fast service. They do a mean tomato pepper rasam which we opted for starters accompanied by the molgapudi idli, just the right combination for the chilly weather this monsoon in Pune.

For the main course we ordered more or less the usual favouries like masala dosa, myore masala dosa, veg and onion uthapam and medhu vada with the bisibelle bath being an exception of sorts. The mysore masala had just the right amount of chutney spread on it which allowed one to enjoy the taste of the dosa itself as well as the accompanying aloo bhaji which was excellent. The uthapams were up to standard and so also the bisibelle, though some more spice would have made it more interesting. Relatively speaking the medhu vada was a tad disappointing, though I would put it down to our conditioning over years of eating this item across various udipis which seem to have developed their own formula.

The accompanying chutneys add an interesting flavour and help to complement the main items resulting in an extremely satisfactory experience overall. A word on the sambar, which for my wife and mother constitute the yardstick for concluding on the authenticity of the place and which is one of the reasons that we never visit Pune's most famous Udipi located nearby on the parallel FC Road. The sambar at Dakshinayan met with approval and seems to have passed the acid test !

We concluded the meal with the rava kesari for dessert. Portion size was large and ideally should be shared by two people. Good to taste with the right level of sweetness leaving us satiated yet wanting more. Quite definitely a place that I will visit again, to try out other items on the menu including one of my personal favourites - lemon rice.

Touche - The Place, revisited...

The more things change the more they remain the same. This old truism kept coming back to me when we visited Touche the Place for lunch yesterday to celebrate our older son’s birthday. And I thought, why not kick off my long planned blog on Pune eateries with a tribute to this restaurant which has remained almost unchanged since I first stepped into it a quarter of a century ago.

Having spent over two decades in this city we have been coming back to this place on and off though it’s been less frequent off late. Moreover, with the general trend of reducing consumption of red meat I have been giving this place a skip to avoid the temptation of the pepper steak. But when my son who turned 19 yesterday suggested lunch at Touche the Place we decided to revisit old memories.

The place itself remains the same in look, feel and ambience with its predominantly wood based décor.  Established back in 1971 (as stated in the menu) it has been managed by the Erani family with a great deal of personal attention is what my impression is, though yesterday for the first time there appeared to be a non-family member on the cash counter. However some of the old timers were visible among the service staff including the steward who took our order.

While both my sons opted for the chicken mix grill I decided to be adventurous and selected the special mixed grill containing (beef) steak, pork chop, ham, sausage and a piece of grilled chicken for good measure. My wife stuck to her chicken shashlik sizzler while the vegetarians in our group went in for the plat grimaldi. Being early, ours’ was probably the first order and the food arrived quite quickly.

The popularity of this restaurant has been sustained by the consistency of their offering and the same (appealing) taste and quality was on display yesterday. We attacked the food with gusto and for the first time my younger son also managed to finish his entire serving. As regards my dish, the steak retained the old taste and juicy tenderness, I prefer “well done” which may not please the purists but then we are Indian and prefer our meat well cooked. The ham was excellent as also the grilled chicken though the sausage was of somewhat indeterminate taste and the pork chop nice to taste but could have been more firm.

The chicken mix grill comes with a hamburger patty, grilled chicken, chicken sausage and salami accompanied by veggies and fries. The fried onions are done very well though I felt their portion has reduced somewhat. The shashlik and the veg sizzlers are accompanied by choice of rice or noodles, whose portion is usually quite large and tends to get wasted though in a group it can always be shared with the mix grill which lacks the same. Although this is not the place for vegetarians my opinion is that they do a fairly decent offering in this department. Overall the experience was truly enjoyable and we left with a contented feeling about a decision well made and its sumptuous effects.

The culinary landscape of Pune has evolved considerably since I first started living in this town and the options available today are many and varied, to suit the tastes of the locals as well as the many outsiders including expats who have made this their base.  So I am happy to note that Touche the  Place which originally defined the sizzler in this city continues to pull in the old faithfuls and keep the flag flying high. Cheers !