Nisarga
After a long discussion on which restaurant to have dinner at, celebrating the birthdays' of two of my cousins, we decided on 'Nisarga' (Kothrud, Pune). 'Nisarga' is a seafood lovers delight, and rules out the misconception of Pune not being a place to have seafood. Well, the times have definitely changed and one can always rely on this particular restaurant to dish up the freshest of the treasures from the sea. 'Nisarga' also provides valet-parking facility which is a huge relief, because of it being situated on a busy street.
A two- leveled restaurant, with a beautiful interior, told us that 'We definitely are in for some great time'. The manager quickly led us to our table and it was a good thing that we had booked a table in the afternoon, because there were people who entered only a few minutes later who had to either wait for a long time or just go find some place else.
The waiters were all very friendly and the service was great. Most of us started the order with a round of mocktails. I first went in for 'Shelby Time', a concoction of - Fresh Orange Juice, Sprite and Grape Juice, topped with a slice of Orange and a Cherry. The second one I ordered for, is an all time favourite - The very famous 'Pina Colada', a blend of Fresh Pineapple Juice, Coconut Milk, Sugar and oodles of Vanilla Ice Cream. Bliss.
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| Shelby Time |
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| Virgin Pina Colada |
Also, something I forgot to mention in the introduction, 'Nisarga' being a seafood specialty, caters to all types of food with the same amount of love combined with the right technique. For starters we ordered platters of
Chicken Hariyali Kebabs and Chicken Banjara Kebab. The chicken was cooked to perfection with the perfect amount of spices. The Salad and The Pudina-Dhaniya chutney that accompanied it was tasty too. The Tandoori Pomfret and the Prawns Koliwada could make anybody go crazy!
For the Main we decided upon Murg Multani, as we wanted something that wasn't too spicy, nor sweet, boneless and their waiter suggested us this dish(And it turned out to be so), with Butter Naans for the some of us non seafood lovers, and Surmai in Malwani Style Gravy with some Chapatis. As the saying- "Saving The Best For The Last" goes, the last on thing to arrive at the table was The Prawn Biryani. It was the loveliest thing ever and if you visit this place it is an absolute must-have. It was spicy, but not as much as it would burn your mouth (just as a Biryani should be), had a coconut oil touch to it, with the perfectly sized and cooked succulent prawns mixed in with some freshly grated coconut, which made justice to it being a coastal dish.
Was a lovely experience- The Food and The company. And Yes, the food is kind of expensive, but as you start biting into it, it wont bother you much. Will definitely give it another visit.
There was this one funny moment though. As we had gone their to celebrate two of my cousins' birthdays, aged 13 and 17, we asked them (Mind you, 'just asked them') if they have the 'Happy Birthday' song in their collection as we wanted to surprise them and had sent them both away from the table. They, without asking us played the entire two minute song meant for those two little kids, who were not even present to listen to it. everybody, even at the neighbouring tables started looking here and there because all everybody could hear was the song, but nobody clapping, nor a cake (as it was supposed to arrive after the dinner). Doesn't matter much, I know. But just thought of sharing it.
P.S I could just share two pictures as i was too busy enjoying the food to think about clicking pictures or posting them online.
Just a few days back, I went for a lovely dinner with friends at Mainland China, the one at Tardeo. If you want to eat authentic Chinese food, Mainland China is the place to visit. It being a Saturday, we had to make the reservations in advance. You cant barge into this popular eatery on a weekend night and expect to find a table just waiting for you.
On reaching there, the receptionist escorted us to our table. You get a different vibe when you enter the restaurant, maybe its the excitement of getting to eat the most amazing Chinese food ever (or maybe its just me). The Staff is very friendly, and they are willing to help you out with the menu. Although, we knew exactly what we order. Another thing I love about this place is that, they give you a bowl full of 'Kimchi', to snack on, while you wait for your food. Kimchi is a Tangy- Spicy Chinese Pickle consisting of Chinese Cabbage and Spring Onions, marinated in Soy Sauce and Vinegar, with Ginger, Garlic, Chilies etc.
For starters, we ordered the 'Hunan Prawns'. They were actually shrimps, perfectly cooked and fresh! The shrimps were pan fried with the extra spicy Hunan Sauce. It came with a Side Salad and a Schezuan Dip.
We also ordered for a 'Chicken Siu Mai' a Chinese Dumpling. The filling consisted of Minced Chicken, Ginger and some Spring Onions. They served a pungent Mustard Sauce and some Soy Sauce with it.
For the main course we ordered for the Tsing Hoi Chicken, which is a red coloured gravy, with a lovely portion of Chicken, veggies and not to forget, Mushrooms! We asked the waiter what rice would go with the gravy and he suggested us the Black Pepper Fried Rice. We ordered for Rice as none of us is a big fan of noodles, although I have heard that they serve really awesome Pan Fried Noodles.We cleared the rice, but there was some gravy leftover, so we decided to order a Half a Plate of Steamed Rice. To our surprise, even the half plate was as good as the entire portion. We had a hard time finishing up the food, as I am totally against wasting stuff, and especially when it comes to food from Mainland.
We asked the waiter to get the check, he approached us and asked us if we would like to order some dessert. We were tempted to (I think even he noticed), but there was absolutely no place in our tummies. But then we thought there's no harm in sharing it between the three of us. We ordered for a Sizzling Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream and a Dash of Chocolate Sauce! We were in for another surprise when the waiter said that the Dessert was 'On the House'! Have been there 'n' number of times and will always keep visiting!
Food - 4/5
Ambience- 3/5 ( There was a Noisy Family Get together on the table next to ours)
Service - 4/5
Mainland China
Just a few days back, I went for a lovely dinner with friends at Mainland China, the one at Tardeo. If you want to eat authentic Chinese food, Mainland China is the place to visit. It being a Saturday, we had to make the reservations in advance. You cant barge into this popular eatery on a weekend night and expect to find a table just waiting for you.
On reaching there, the receptionist escorted us to our table. You get a different vibe when you enter the restaurant, maybe its the excitement of getting to eat the most amazing Chinese food ever (or maybe its just me). The Staff is very friendly, and they are willing to help you out with the menu. Although, we knew exactly what we order. Another thing I love about this place is that, they give you a bowl full of 'Kimchi', to snack on, while you wait for your food. Kimchi is a Tangy- Spicy Chinese Pickle consisting of Chinese Cabbage and Spring Onions, marinated in Soy Sauce and Vinegar, with Ginger, Garlic, Chilies etc.
For starters, we ordered the 'Hunan Prawns'. They were actually shrimps, perfectly cooked and fresh! The shrimps were pan fried with the extra spicy Hunan Sauce. It came with a Side Salad and a Schezuan Dip.
We also ordered for a 'Chicken Siu Mai' a Chinese Dumpling. The filling consisted of Minced Chicken, Ginger and some Spring Onions. They served a pungent Mustard Sauce and some Soy Sauce with it.
For the main course we ordered for the Tsing Hoi Chicken, which is a red coloured gravy, with a lovely portion of Chicken, veggies and not to forget, Mushrooms! We asked the waiter what rice would go with the gravy and he suggested us the Black Pepper Fried Rice. We ordered for Rice as none of us is a big fan of noodles, although I have heard that they serve really awesome Pan Fried Noodles.We cleared the rice, but there was some gravy leftover, so we decided to order a Half a Plate of Steamed Rice. To our surprise, even the half plate was as good as the entire portion. We had a hard time finishing up the food, as I am totally against wasting stuff, and especially when it comes to food from Mainland.
We asked the waiter to get the check, he approached us and asked us if we would like to order some dessert. We were tempted to (I think even he noticed), but there was absolutely no place in our tummies. But then we thought there's no harm in sharing it between the three of us. We ordered for a Sizzling Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream and a Dash of Chocolate Sauce! We were in for another surprise when the waiter said that the Dessert was 'On the House'! Have been there 'n' number of times and will always keep visiting!
Food - 4/5
Ambience- 3/5 ( There was a Noisy Family Get together on the table next to ours)
Service - 4/5
No matter how it was prepared, you could always count on the seafood being some of the best in the world... I will surely visit this restaurant whenever I go to Pune :)
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