Gujarati

Description:

We went to Abhiruchi Village Cottage Restaurants (look up their site www.abhiruchivillage.com) for a saturday night's stay.

Pro-s
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Tracts of greenery.

Well constructed swimming pool. (read on)

The air smells green. Relax in hammocks.

The AC Room was freezing without the AC on (perhaps due to the Pune January season).

Cons
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The story begins.. brace yourself..

VERY VERY VERY VERY POOR maintenance.

If you want to see a first class swimming pool (well tiled) with carpets of moss and scummy water, then this is the one.

CAVALIER attitude towards customer service; ranging from the farm gate sentry to the room boy. Everybody from the office, watchmen and room-boys address you in singular ('Tu') while you address them with respect ('aap')... cantankerous ! Talk about customer orientation.

One is reminded of Gandhiji on the 'customer' - the most important person on our premises.... Abhiruchi does everything opposite to that. This requires special talent.

Food is a simple non-pompous veg fare. But INR 150 (USD 3.75) per head for what they dish out is DAYLIGHT ROBBERY.

Enquire about their horse ride, camel ride etc. 'First pay and then talk' seems to be their credo.

TV sets are available for as low as INR 2000 (USD 50). They have one grainy TV common for all guests. It doesnt receive ANY signal. So no way of knowing a quick update of whats
happening in the world. "Cable waale ke paas light nahin hai" comes the careless reply. A scrutiny reveals the presence of a dish antenna !

The filthiest bathroom/toilets you would have ever seen, replete with the latest and unseen species of mosquitoes and flying pests. Let me reserve my vocabulary.

They take pride that they have NEVER washed the bed covers or the pillow covers since inception. They forewarn you to bring your own towels, napkins and bedsheets. So you really can't fault them on this.

The website boasts of facilities not to be found at all. Try to procure a bucket of hot water for a shower. The roomboy conversation goes like this..
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With a grumpy irritated and disgruntled tone
"Why do u need hot water ?" (tula kaa paahije)

At my wits end
"Excuse me !?" (Maaf keejiye.. kya kahaa aapne)

With an expression as if he has been compelled to perform a rectal examination on a person with piles trouble
"To take bath or to drink ?"

"to take a bath"
On first thought - "to perform your coronation as the King of England at the Westminster Abbey" came to my mind; but I had to resist it.

"Wait till 7 in the morning" like a HC judge pronouncing a verdict..

Projecting an expression of urgency on my face "Sire.. I badly need a bucket of hot water pls.. I bathe atleast twice a day"

I thrust a tenner into his hands.

"You will get one bucket. wait for half an hour"

"Sire.. pls show mercy.. one bucket is too little"..
I thrust another tenner.

"Ok wait for half an hour.."

This was the ordeal for all the essentials.

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A stay at Abhiruchi is a humbling experience. You are humbled by the greenery and the staff who treat you like turd regardless whether you are a President or a peasant.

Are the owners (The Bhide-s.. I understand) even aware of the mess that is going on?

I shared these with a good Maharashtrian friend of mine, who guffawed "it happens all the time.. But you have to see / feel it to experience it".. My jolly good friend has strange ways of exacting revenges for past unpunished deeds.. Recommend Abhiruchi !!!

To end, Oscar Wilde had to say this about America -

America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up.

Do we see a similarity?

Description:

There is a small restaurant called TOSA tucked away next to a big Cafe Coffee Day in VilleParle East, station road. Went there for the second time today (this time for lunch). They happen to serve some very creative authentic marwari / gujarati plus maharashtrian food. I'm told their menu resembles that of Swati Snacks, and the restaurant is run by the famous Trupti Caterers.

We had a kairi na muthia as a starter served with a green chutney and a sweet chutney. Then shared a baked khichdi with raita (mini meal). Yeah the khichdi (very flavourful, no excess masala etc) was actually baked after the thick kadi was poured on the top and the yogurt had browned a bit like cheese.

But the highlight of the lunch was Mango on Mango Kulfi, which was incredible for the creativity involved. It's a slice of mango with peel that had half inch of mango flesh, topped with mango kulfi. They manage to destone the fruit somehow, stuff it with mango kulfi and serve it quartered. I regretted not having carried my camera. Prices are quite reasonable too.

If you are in Vileparle East, you must give this one a try. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Try and avoid the Pastas and other continental varieties, especially when you have lots of options available from the traditional menu. I've heard that you'll forget what Italian food is all about, if you eat it here. So don't tell that you weren't warned

Description:

Very nice decor and ambience. The place was very clean with no paint smell renting the air. Attentive staff.

This place calls itself a VEG RESTOBAR. Pure Vegetarian Resto and a Bar.

The BAR part is best avoided. The bloody mary was barely a gulpful; so was the screwdriver.

The RESTO part is decent. The quantity of the dishes was surprisingly filling and a bit more. (We had to request the waiter to pack some leftovers !) Not something I have come across in many restaurants, where the portions are measly.

Do try the hariyali pulav and the guj/marwari kadhi. It is a satisfying experience.

Order 2 dishes and 3 people can eat heartily.

The loo-s and washrooms (both ladies/gents) were very CLEAN. kudos.

Description:

Status serves excellent Thalis and veg food.

It has two sections.

1.) A small area outside - which sells very affordable fast food with a few tables and chairs and some tables at which you can stand and eat. This section is an office goers favourite in the afternoons due to being in the Nariman Point business ditrict.

2.) An AC restaurant - In the evening you will find it a frequented by families. My favourite here are the Thalis but most veg dishes are quite good too. They serve beer by the bottle which is around 150 rupees.

Description:

The look of Swati Snacks is all glass, stainless steel and wooden benches. This gives the restaurant a sense of cleanliness and brightness not usually associated with the traditional Indian snack joint.

The menu is brief; something one appreciates only after tasting the food. Instead of running the gamut of food from Chinese to Tandoori to Continental, the owners of Swati Snacks have chosen to stick to their speciality - simple, healthy dishes from Gujarat and Rajasthan.

My friends and I visited Swati snacks on a hot, sticky Ahmedabad evening. While waiting to be seated in the jam packed restaurant, we had yummy icegolas from the gelato/ice gola counter conveniently located outside the restaurant. The khus,lemon and mint gola we shared was tangy and refreshing; just the right thing to cool us down and cleanse our plate for the meal to come.

Once inside, we ordered panki chatni,dhansak rice and one of the bajra/millet(?) rotis with batata nu shak (that's potato curry) with a side order of chaas each.

The panki chatni, my favorite dish at Swati Snacks, is a lightly flavored rice pancake which comes with green chutney as an accompaniment. It was hot, fragrant and delicious. I highly recommend it.

My friends' dhansak flavored rice and roti were also very good, with distinct flavors of their own; something we tend to miss at the generic eating joints where everything tastes like garam masala.

As we'd already overloaded on the sugar, we gave the desserts a miss, but the jalebi plate at the next table looked mighty appetizing.

Each dish cost between 50 - 75 rupees, which is a bit steep considering the kind of food and the quantity offered. But make no mistake, the taste and the quality more than make up for the price.

Description:

Soam is a vegetarian restaurant near Chowpatty in Mumbai opposite Babul Nath Mandir.

It serves a few vegetarian dishes from Maharashtrian, Gujarati, Rajasthani and Punjabi cuisines so that overall you get a good choice if you want to mix and match things and experiment. You don't have a comprehensive coverage of any cuisine but that's not the aim.

 

We started with Batata Wada and Sabudana Wada. They were very nice and made excellent starters.

The one thing which would probably come to mind is that similar stuff may be available at about 1/5th the price in small restaurants and may taste better too. As long as you have that in your head you can't really enjoy this place. The USP of this place is really to give you a taste of a lot of vegetarian cuisines and snacks all under one roof.

You're also paying to eat in an AC restaurant where you get served on shiny metal plates and a leaf.

For the main course we had

1.) Masale Bhat which was very average
2.) Gatte ki Sabzi with Lacchedar Paratha which was decent.

At the end we were still hungry and ordered a Farsan Platter. We thought it would be like conventional Farsan Mart snacks but they had tried some innovative ways of making dhokla, samosa etc which we didn't really like.

Conclusion: Excellent snacks but don't get the Farsan Platter. Average to decent main course dishes.

Description: My friend Mitul has started his unlimited Thali resto.... He has asked me to spread the word... do check it out.. Zaika is here ! Announcing the launch of one of the finest Thali Restaurants Viman Nagar, Pune. (Location Map Follows) Our Daily Unlimited Thali: 2 Sweets 2 Farsans 4 Sabzis 2 Dals + 1 kadhi 2 Drinks Phulkas, Bajre Ki Roti, Rice/Pulav, Khicchdi, Papad, Pickle, Salad, Chutney, Guvar Kachri. Everything is totally unlimited Home delivery services in Viman Nagar Phone: 4003 6565

Description:

Rajadhani is an extremely famous Gujju thali institution in Mumbai. One doesn't really need to know anything more about it :)

The place is classy, a/c, with good courteous waiters. The servers get a bit intrusive; but they are a busy lot. The standard thali has about 4 veggies, 3 daal/kadhi like liquid items, theplas, rotlas, chapatis, biscuit bhakris, various farsaan, dhokla, papad, dahi. Plain rice, khichadi with rivers of ghee follow. Winter serves Undhiyu I hear. The deserts are pre-packaged gulabjamun, shrikhand, rasagulla types; quite avoidable and nothing special. The thali itself is extremely satisfying; expect the sweetish Gujju tinge of course.

Description:

Friends Union Joshi Club is a historic Gujarati Thali place in Kalbadevi. Walk down from Metro down Kalbadevi road for about 10 mins. You will see a small vertical board on the right. The club is on the first floor.

Eateries of this kind are evidence of the earliest practice of eating out in Bombay in the late 19th century. Restaurants were non-existent then, and such places provided wholesome meals to working migrants in the city. The Gujaratis had such clubs, and the Maharashtrian/Konkani/Goan folks had their khanawals and lunch homes.

The unlimited thali available here is one of the cheapest in Mumbai and maintains a very good quality and simplicity. Most items are very good as you would expect in a Gujarati thali. Their Shrikhand is very good, though their other outsourced deserts are unnecessary and avoidable.

Description:

This is not the same as the Rajdhani thali in town which is very famous.

One of the cheapest Gujarati thalis. Good Undhiyu (oily). Fresh, hot, tasty, and unlimited. As you expect.