The Chinese Next Door? - Magnolia, Baner

Maybe not for 24 years, and maybe not Alice, but I've spent quite some time living next door to Magnolia. Every time I saw her calm, removed facade, I yearned to get closer.

And finally, one magical Sunday, I did!

Okay, jokes aside, Magnolia is a surprisingly brilliant place. Surprising because it looks like a standard neighbourhood hotel that you go to for urgent food needs at the last minute. However, we were shocked by the hidden talents that Magnolia showed us!

At first, we thought it was a Chinese place (I mean, with a name like Magnolia, what else were we to think?) and we stuck to Chinese. While that blew our minds in itself, eventually, we discovered that they do more, and very well, at that.

Stand-out dishes? The bhakri-ki-tokri. I kid you not, we ate bhakris as they were because they were so delicious!

Apart from this, the Chinese and Thai food is phenomenal.

We had the Thai Red Curry and Noodle soup, the Thai Chicken and Vegetable soup, the Chicken Manchow soup (over a long period of time, of course) and they're all lovely! And the best part is that their quantity is amazing. Having become used to scanty portions, it was a good surprise to see the hearty bowls of soup.

The Thai Chicken Spring Rolls are amazing! The taste of all the essentially 'Thai' elements really sparkles. You have the fresh lemon-grass, the ginger and those wonderfully herby flavours of the cuisine.

We also had the Okra and Chicken dish, which was a great experience. Spiced to perfection, we became fans of the Okra (for the insane non-vegetarians that we are, this was a feat) before the chicken.

The noodles and rice selections also are up to the same standards. Everything is fresh, delicious and wonderfully presented to you.

As for service, I have not seen such an eager set of people before. They're the right mix of helpful and discreet. They notice things like empty water glasses before you have to call, and this is even when the place is full of people. They're very courteous over the phone as well, if you're calling for delivery.

And the best part of the whole thing is, even their delivery service is prompt and detailed. They send you mouth-fresheners in a little packet!

I have eaten and ordered from Magnolia multiple times and I have never been let down neither by their service, nor their food. I say great job, guys! Hands down, the best I have seen.

Points for value for money, taste and excellent service.

The April Rain in Spain? - April Rain, Aundh

Happy Birthday, Midget!

And for today's special menu, we head to eat "Contemporary global cuisine...".
This is a direct quote from the positioning of April Rain.

Let me state, at the outset, that overall, I loved the food we ate. For two people, we spent less than Rs 1000 and were stuffed. We're both eaters...

So. To the brass tacks:

The 'global cuisine' part of the menu was surprisingly limited. The majority of the menu read Indian to us. In fact, the global stuff seemed forced.

But we wanted to eat non-Indian food, so we took up the challenge and went for it.

We shared a Roasted Bell Pepper soup, a Chicken April Rain Caesar Salad and a Lamb Bolognese. Two of us, three dishes, and we were very full for quite a long time.

The soup, while delicious, lacked the 'roasted' element that we were first drawn by. However, it was rich, tangy and rather yummy. Points added for the bread (bread is yummy and solves all problems).

The salad, we loved. Not overstating, here. We really loved the salad. There was lettuce, chicken, olives, cheese and a decent dressing. What more could one need? Oh yes, and there was a whole load of all this. Points for catering to 'desi mindsets'!

The pasta was amazing. Perfectly done spaghetti, with sauce that was heavy on the meat, light on the smell and spiced to perfection. I think the issue with a lot of pasta dishes I've eaten till date is that they keep it bland. Let's face it, we're India, and pasta-eaters here need a certain tribute to their tastes as well as to the original dish. I know this implies bastardizing the dish, but what is globalization teaching us if not ways of making sure we take the best from the world and adapting it?

Look at Bollywood, for example.

So overall, we loved our lunch, because it was just right for us. We loved the lightness of the food, despite pandering to our spice-needs and whatnot.

Points for value for money and bread.

Meat-ing Point - Mad House Grill, Koregaon Park

I love meat. I can eat red-meat all the time, if that were possible. However, it isn't, sadly, because apparently human beings were made to eat vegetables sometimes as well.
So I live from craving-inspired binge to craving-inspired binge. And every new binge, I decided, must be a new discovery. I mean, come on... There are meat-serving places in this country aplenty, and I need to discover them all.
To this end, my friend suggested, one day, that we go to one Mad House Grill. Now, this place is at rather a tiring distance from our general haunts, but he insisted that it was worth the distance. So off we went.
Now, if you look up Mad House on Zomato, etc, you will get pretty-much an overview of the menu and such. Cut-and-dry details.
I did as well, and was expecting your average steak/sizzler place.
Mad House Grill is a small eatery in a lane off the main road in Koregaon Park, Pune. The establishment is small, but done up so well that it feels homey and comfortable. There is a bar, with interesting decor, and the whole place has a rustic, wooden hut type feel to it. The amusing thing is their use of mint in the water jars. I do not imply mint leaves, but the whole stalk including leaves, which they submerge in their jar of drinking water. It's quite cool, once you're over the idea that you're drinking plant-juice.
The staff is unobtrusive, quiet and helpful, which, in my mind, is perfect. Since the eatery is a little way inside, there is no annoying traffic noise intruding on your meals, which makes the whole place very easy to be taken with.
And now the good stuff... The menu. There is a ton of stuff on the menu, from starters to steaks, and all kinds of meats and vegetarian options. However, being the carnivores that we are, we opted for the steaks. The waiter asked us how we would like our steak, did not feel the need to make a face and say "Raw hoga..." when we asked for it rare, and quickly took the order and left. Placing the order, however, was hard work because there were so many tempting options. The non-vegetarian stuff is decently priced for the place and the cuisine, between Rs 350 and 600 depending on what you want to eat. I am talking only of the main courses, of course. The rest of the menu also hovers thereabouts. There is a drinks menu as well, and they have interesting cocktails like Sangria and such, but we stuck to good-old beer.
The service was quick, so hungry carnivores that we were, we dug in. At the outset, when they set a plate in front of you, you feel a little let-down because it looks rather less (Indian mentality, no, we have... Money's worth means the plate has to be overflowing). However, beef, as most meats, is very filling. Along with this, they serve you veggies and whatnot, so it's all a great combination. What really impressed me was that the steak was actually rare, which isn't something most people manage to do. Another very interesting thing was that there were different and new names and flavours on the menu. No standard 'garlic sauce, pepper sauce' nonsense. The flavours they promised were very definitely delivered.
I am super-impressed with Mad House Grill. I am rather a stingy person, so parting with about 600 bucks for food and beer would have been death for me, but here, it was money that begged spending.
I'm craving more already...