Food anatomization : Ishaan, Magarpatta - Pune

Ishaan - I think every person who has been to Destination Center in Magarpatta is well aware of the place.

Ishaan stands crowded at any hour of the day. It is buzzing with families, office goers.

The place is very clean, staff is also very courteous. Well trained for crowd management.

Ishaan, is an all veg restaurant. They offer varieties from Thali,Parathas,pav bhaji,pizza,sandwich,pulav,juices. A good place to hit at any hour of the day - they have something for you. :)

But this place draws all the crowd due to its yummylicious pav bhaji. With loads of butter in the pav and bhaji, it is the best combo for pav bhaji in DC .
The PARATHAS are also good - I have tried most of their variety, and have never been disappointed. It is served along with raita.
The PULAV is my another favorite here. The serving is large. And they offer a quite some variety in pulav as well. :)
Recently, tried the PURAN POLI - it was about ok-ayish, tad bit oily.

The juices are fresh and refreshing.

If in Magarpatta, don't give this place a miss.

A picture:

Pav bhaji

Paneer pulav

Puran Poli

~Bon Appétit!!

P.S. All the above photos have been clicked by me. 

Food anatomization : Amritsari Kulcha, Magarpatta - Pune

Kulchas -  one of my favorites among the Indian breads.

When I first heard about the place in DC - I was very joyous. I have always preferred home delivery to having the food in there. It is located in the back alley of DC - and could be difficult to spot. Adding to it their dining space is really small - barely two tables!

They have very limited options in their menu. But each option is worth a try.

The kulchas are accompanied with chole and a teekhi khatti chatni - absolutely tangy!
The kulchas are absolutely soft and have the filling just to the right amount. Flavorsome kulchas. They are sooooo big - it takes me two seating to finish the food. 😃

To ask more, they have kulchas for the non-vegetarians as well - keema kulchas.

A picture:

Paneer kulcha

~Bon Appétit!!

P.S. All the above photos have been clicked by me. 

Food anatomization : Dominos, Hadapsar - Pune

Before the numerous eating joints and restaurants opened up nearby Magarpatta - this was our sole savior to satiate our love for pizza.
Not really a big fan of Dominos - but we do order quite often from here for our Friday gatherings.

Now the place is really noticeable - lying just across the street. You will find numerous Dominos delivery bikes parked around.
It houses around just 10 tables.
On weekends it could be a task to find a table here hence we usually prefer take away or home-delivery.

The staff is courteous.

Like all the Dominos joints - this one is with self service system - bill for your order - and wait till they call out for your order no or your number. They do display the order number on their small LED screen too.

Their CHEESE BURST PIZZA in various flavors are obviously fab - cheesy and loaded with various toppings.
The VEG EXTRAVAGANZA is extra delicious-ly overloaded with jalapenos, corn, succulent mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, crispy bell peppers, onions and cheese - truly extravagant. The flavors just explode in your mouth.
I love their GARLIC BREAD with CHEESY DIP/JALEPENO DIP - just heavenly, I truly can gorge on the entire bread on my own. No helpings needed! Though they should provide more dip for the price they charge. The cheesy dip is just delicious.
Recently tried the VEG PARCEL - croissant bread filled with paneer, a lovely tangy sauce and a dash of seasoning. Absolute delight!
The TACO MEXICANA - another tasty item in sides. A sort of wrap with tangy Mexican style fillings.
The CHOCO LAVA is a treat to the taste buds - as you cut across the cake and the liquid chocolate truly oozes out like lava. Wow!! Heavy on calories but worth it. :)
The VEG PASTA - quite a surprise actually. Awesome-ly cooked pasta drenched in cheese, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives and a special sprinkler of some sort added over the top which really added to the taste.
The BURGER PIZZA - the latest buzz from the Dominos chain is definitely worth the try - but the non vegetarian one. The concept in totally is phadu - looks like a burger but has every essence of a pizza.They are oven baked and filled with pizza toppings like hot and spicy chicken, herbs,jalapeno,tomatoes, mozzarella and sandwiched in a bun sans the patty. Overall, it is cheesy, herby and an absolute must try, :)

They are inline with the brand taste - well maintained.

The home delivery is also apt.

Few pictures:

Garlic bread

Veg parcel



Veg pasta

 Burger pizza

 Burger pizza

~Bon Appétit!!

P.S. All the above photos have been clicked by me. 

Movie anatomization : Dosar

From the time I had seen this movie, I had been eagerly wanting to pen down my thoughts on the concept of the movie. 
The movie in a true sense is highly thought provoking.
Not being very expressive with words, penning down about the movie was an arduous task for me but the plot is definitely a writer's delight.

DOSAR - the movie intrigues about the diversified human emotions - and it's after math.


The Rituporno Ghosh movie scores a 10/10 in the attempt to get across the story to the audience - if not all he has definitely won my heart. He is indeed an exceptional story teller and director.

Dosar going by the lexicon means an emotional companion or just a companion for that matter.

One may find it odd that in the world of colors, the filmography of the movie has been done in Black&White. My interpretation of this was that the director wanted to signify the convoluted-dark side of the human emotions.

The film opens with a scene where Meeta(Chandayee Ghosh) is shown singing a beautiful melody.
Koushik(Prosenjit Chatterjee) on the other hand is checking out of the hotel, inquiring about the extra charges on the bill - to which the receptionist notifies that was for the orchids purchased by his wife from the florist. 
Next they show Meeta hurts herself while placing the orchids in the car. 
During the time Koushik is trying to nurse her, Meeta very subtly complains to Koushik that he doesn't spend much time with her. The talk concludes with planning for their next trip to Darjeeling - where there are beautiful orchids found.
To this Meeta retorts not Darjeeling, but somewhere in the interiors where there will be no signal on the phone and she can have all the time with Koushik. Meeta is shown to have an immense love for orchids. 
 
And then the mega twister - a grave accident occurs which changes the equation. Koushik is left hospitalized and severely injured and Meeta dead. 
Meeta's role although short lived, is quite impact-ful.

Soon after the accident, Kaberi(Konkana Sen) gets a call from the police, wherein she rushes to the hospital, not only find her husband in a near death condition but also her marriage.
Koushik, her husband was in an apparent relationship with Meeta who happened to be his colleague.

The series of events portrays irony at its best. All this while Kaberi had been supporting her friend's Bobby and Brinda (Parambata Chatterjee,Pallavi Chatterjee) having an extra-marital affair, quoting "Her husband is a monster".
But now when the tables have turned and Kaberi has to face the brunt of an illegitimate relationship of her husband - she is just crushed and shattered. 

Of course being a 21st century woman we are very much acquainted with bountiful jargons on feminism, independence, freedom etc, and the only thing that would come to any woman's mind is to never forgive the man who broke her trust and let the things of present become that of past.
But as they say, it is easier said than done and to be true, the two sides of the coin are unearthed - a responsible wife who loves her husband unconditionally and the other -  THAT woman who has to bear the brunt of her husband's infidelity?!

When you see the movie you sense  the internal fight of a woman who lets her emotions win over her anger but with time and slowly.

But was this transformation easy?!No of course not.

She is seen continuously combating with herself.
She is stuck between helping her injured husband recover and venting out her anger.
You literally feel the heat - where despite of asking for a divorce from her estranged husband, she still did care for his well-being!
She is just unable to find enough ways to let out her frustration which has accumulated over the course of time.

Small nuances create such an impact on the viewer - noticing how Kaberi breaks the news to her husband that his lover Meeta is dead, without even a flinch on her face. Commendable!
You can see the grieving wife taking a bolder stand and feel absolutely nothing to deliver the news of someone's death. She tactfully plays with the word "BRAVE" used to describe her at that moment and bashes out at her relatives and friends.

Obviously it goes without denial, it is one hell of a tough ride for Koushik too.
When he is finally discharged from the hospital, Kaberi has a separate room setup for him in the house. There is a nurse appointed to help him out with his dressings and daily chores. 
This pinches Koushik yet he tries to maintain his composure and does not give up on juggling between winning his wife's trust back, and  simultaneously repairing his severely wounded relationship along with coping with the loss of Meeta.
In some way as a viewer I felt, Koushik plays quite cunningly on Kaberi's emotions to get her back. He shows the ultimate fear of losing her at the current moment than showing any sign of remorse which is barely noticeable.
It is surprising how you would get to witness Koushik's portrayal of jealousy and authority over Kaberi - even after ALL this.

The movie is a game of emotions and you will witness a galore of it. 
How one accident triggers a series of events in the lives of Koushik&Kaberi and the people revolving around them?!

The movie on one hand, brings to light a woman's capacity to forgive,but on the other hand it also subtly raises a question - would Koushik have accepted Kaberi - had she done the same with him?
What would have Koushik done, had Meeta been alive after the accident?!
It leaves room for quite some questions to be answered by the viewer - to ponder one's own reaction, imagination  if caught in a similar situation?! Gosh...

The gist I would put it as -  a beautiful portrayal of human emotions . To bring such a story to the audience in this manner takes a lot of hard work, dedication and is by far is an ardent task. And it has been executed flawlessly by the director.
It not just the protagonist's whose role play defines the movie but every character adds to the completion of the plot. 
Spell bounding! 

Full justice done by Konkana Sen and Prosenjit in their role play!

A beautiful poem recited by the Meeta:

tomar thonth amar thonth chhulo
jodio ei prothombar noi
chumbon to ageo bohubar....
eibar thonthe mileche ashroi

jemon shob bhoyer golpe
doitto danob rakkhosh r kkhoy
tile tile shukhoi rajkumari
ontomile rajputrey joy

tobuo khub bhitore badhahin
lorai chole shumbo nishumber
prothom bole,phool to chire khabo
dittio bole,hath pate shekh

ashole tumi dirgho shalmoli shobar matha chariye torubor
tomar thonth amar thonth chhulo
r je kichu okinchitkor!!

Translation:

your lips touch mine, not the first time,even!
Kisses have been there,always,
This time,it felt heaven.

As in those fairy tales,
loom spectre,demon and death,
the princess wanes bit by bit,
but the prince wins at last breath.

But somewhere, deep within,
a fierce duel unbridles,
One says, " Ravage the flower"!
"Entreat"!, the other fiddles.

You are infact, the lofty Shalmoli,
That towers above us all.
Your lips do touch mine,
Insubstantial, the rest fall.

Hats off to the director - the man Rituporna Ghosh truly deserves a standing ovation for always bringing out beautiful movies, portraying emotions at its best and worst! :) 

Food anatomization : Sigree Global Grill, Hadapsar - Pune

Sigree conceptualized on similar lines with Barbeque Nation brings up an interesting question as to who is the innovator of this concept?!But never mind, we can skip these intricate details.

After BBQ Nation, Amanora has another addition in the grilled food division. Located in central Amanora - it lies just inline with Hoppipola another restaurant owned by Specialty Restaurants.

Having heard mixed reviews about the place - I did not go with very high hopes.

Stepping in you would find a huge hall lined up with tables placed almost parallel to each other.This was with the intent to cater to the corporate or bulk crowd.
On the right side there was the bar counter and along side was the live pasta counter.
The left side had the wide spread of food plated for the mains.
The décor I would say is quite lively - lighting done just aptly and I loved the light fixtures on the ceiling - in the form of matrix.Interiors were plush classy!!
They have TVs installed on the walls - for all the sport buffs out there, you can enjoy the matches and your food too. :D
The restaurant can easily accommodate about 50 or more guests.

Coming to the food - no A la carte dishes, only buffet is served.

Their concept is quite similar to our very own BBQ nation - flags replaced with strikers placed on each tables - painted with colors of red and green on either side.
GREEN - GO GO GO GO!!
RED - STOP!
The menu for the day is chalked out on the blackboard embedded on the walls in the live pasta counter.

As soon as we settled in with our grumbling stomachs - we were served with the welcome drink - AAM PANNA. Refreshing! I actually yearned for more - but they did not serve another round! :(
Soon followed by ASSORTMENT OF BREADS served with dips,hummus - nice and innovative way to keep the diners busy by the time they setup the sigree! :D
But hold on to your horses - do not gorge on these. It is just the start.
Next they served a LETTUCE BASED SALAD - which was about so-so for me. A tad bit more salt would have been the enhancer.
Finally, the sigrees were placed on the tables and by the time it heated up - the sigrees were flooded with numerous skewers having chicken, fish, prawns and vegetable starters.
There were 5 starters each in the vegetarian and non vegetarian section.
The non vegetarians delight ranged from a variety of chicken, mutton and fish dishes - the LASOONI MURGH, GINGER CHICKEN,CURRY PEANUT FISH, ACHARI MURGH, MURGH JHINGA, MUTTON SHIKUMPURI.
I relished on the prawns and chicken - well marinated, fresh and cooked perfectly but parched I would say. They don't provide the sauces or the enhancers(I am not aware about the term used) to be applied over the starters to prevent it from getting dry too fast over the sigree.
Vegetarians platter had BASIL GRILL COTTAGE CHEESE, KARISSA BBQ POTATO, LEMON GARIC SHASHLIK,CRISPY PINEAPPLE AND BHATTI.
The cottage cheese was a delight with the green chutney coating - luscious.
The BBQ potato was another good dish. The vegetarian starters were kind of spicy.
The crispy pineapple was a tangy and a sweet combination - tasty in one word. :P
They served a MINI THIN CRUST PIZZA on the table - which was just amazingly cheesy topped with sun dried tomatoes, jalapenos and onions.
We had PASTA IN COMBINATION OF RED AND WHITE SAUCE from the live pasta counter - a real let down. Totally lacked the flavors and was too bland.
But we had another custom made pasta - PESTO SPAGETTHI - this one was a savior - cheesy, spaghetti cooked to the right texture and filled with veggies, mushrooms minus olives. It was greenish in color, since it was basil based.
The starters were a blockbuster hit among us. :)
Aan do!! ( Let it come...)

Coming to the mains - we were full to the brim so didn't get to explore much here.
They had a wide spread of options for vegetarians and non vegetarians.
A wide spread of salads, vegetarian and non-vegetarian soup to start off with.
But I must mention the BIRYANI, it had stunning flavors - both the veg and non vegetarian for that matter. Smelled delicious, totally savored the dish.
The paneer portions were cooked to perfection. Yummy!
The PINDI CHOLE was a let down.
The THAI CURRY was much admired by all.
In all a decent spread for the mains - and the dishes were tasty with some plus and minus-es of course.

The overall rating of a buffet for me is defined by the awesome-ness of the dessert counter - else it breaks my heart to end my meal with not so sweet and a happy note!
The counter indeed looked very lively and colorful with variety of mousse and cakes on display!
So they had ICE-CREAM : chocolate, vanilla and strawberry which could be topped with chocolate sauce,choco-chips and a variety of nuts. The dash of the toppings made it spellbound and obviously added to it was the magic of my hands! :D
The MALPUA WITH RABRI was okayish - the LEMON MOUSSE and the BLUEBERRY CHEESE CAKE again put down my high hopes pinned on the desserts. Messing up with the blueberry cake - why?! why?!
To my surprise BANANA CARAMEL MOUSSE was just excellent - stellar dessert of the evening!! The layer of caramel over the mousse totally complemented the taste. This coming from me owing to my strong dislike for bananas is a proof enough.
They had FRUITS in the serving as well for the health conscious freaks! :D
The CHOCOLATE CAKE was ok-ok.
The PHIRNI was good.
I loved the miniature servings of the mousse/cake, size of almost a bite - this aids in less wastage of the dish in case you dislike the dessert.
They did have options albeit seemed quite limited.The overall taste of the desserts helped me to avoid the high calorie content items. Sigh!
Sigree you could have done better!!

I must say the staff needs to be trained to know the whereabouts of the dishes being served - making the diner aware of what he/she is tasting wouldn't harm.
But anyhow even after asking the servers about the names of the dish - they weren't able to tell us. Alas!
By the time for the mains and desserts we couldn't find bowls nor spoons. Since we were a group of 20 or more - it got really chaotic. I know it was a busy afternoon, but handling crowd shouldn't be a task for them.
Otherwise the staff was courteous but needs to put in some extra effort on the etiquette.

I am glad I stepped out satiated on the food sans the desserts!! :)

Do make prior reservations - they are bustling with people during lunch hours, most of them seemed to be part of corporate events.

Please find few pictures from the visit:

Before the sigree was placed

Aam panna

Assorted breads

Lettuce salad

Sigree



Non-veg starters

Veg and non-veg starters



Yummy-licious pizza

Pineapple dish

Pasta in white sauce

Pasta in red sauce

Pesto spaghetti

Mains

Dessert counter

Dessert counter

Wide spread of mains

Wide spread of mains

Salads

Desserts

Chocolate-vanilla ice-cream loaded with choco chips, nuts and choco sauce

~Bon Appétit!!

P.S. All the above photos have been clicked by me.