Exotica - Zafran, Yerwada, Pune

I visited Exotica - Zafran restaurant yesterday. It is situated within the Panchshil Tech Park at Yerwada, Pune. The first thing anyone would notice about the restaurant is its location. It is on 7th floor with a feel of roof-top restaurant. The weather was nice and there was nice breeze flowing. There are three restaurants within Zafran. We opted for Exotica which serves north Indian delicacies. It is also equipped with a bar.

Vegetarian Kebabs

We ordered vegetarian platter for starter. It included two types of Paneer Tikka, Tikki and two types of Seekh kebab. Three out of five items were excellent. One of the Seekh Kebab (probably Hara Bhara Kebab) was not up to the mark. The restaurant also served complimentary Papads.

Papad

Fusilli Pasta

Next we ordered Fusilli Pasta. This was not in the menu of "Exotica" but you can order from the menu of other restaurant "Mozzarella" as well. This was excellent with right combinations of vegetables, cheese and sauce.

Daal Makhni with Paneer Lababdar

For main course we ordered Daal Makhni, Paneer Lababdar and various types of Naans & Roti. Main course was excellent with the authentic flavor and taste. Daal Makhni was the best. From bread section, Missi Roti was tasty and well cooked. We were disappointed with the Lime Soda as it was unable to produce the desired effect.

Missi Roti and Naans

Lime Soda

We finished our journey of taste with "Litchi Malai". The taste was good but the Litchi was filled with sugar syrup. The reason for the same may be the unavailability of Litchi in this season. Overall the taste is good, ambiance is great and the price greater...

Malai Litchi

Up South, Phoenix Mall, Nagar Road, Pune

I visited south Indian joint "Up-South" at Phoenix Mall, Pune. The place provides tasty south Indian food on reasonable price.

Mini Uttapam

It is a self service joint. We ordered Mini Uttapam and Up-south special combo. These two combined provides you almost all the dishes to taste which are available there - Idli, Wada, Dosa, Poori, Uttapam, Sambhar, Chutney, Korma. In single sentence the taste is good and pricing better.

Up South Special Combo

Paper Masala

Later we ordered Paper - masala dosa, Parontha with Korma and Kesari Bath. I was surprised as Paper dosa was not paper thin and they served the masala inside the dosa only. Korma was okay. I was not able to appreciate the Parontha much as I recently visited Kerala -  the home for exquisite South Indian food.

Parontha with Korma

Overall the place is good for snacking. It is not a up-market restaurant but it serves the right combination - Tasty food within decent price.

Pizza Hut, Kalyani Nagar, Pune

I had a small celebration with my friends at Pizza Hut, Kalyani Nagar. It was a weekday and the place was deserted. We inquired about the various deals/ offers that were available. There were two deals - one was four course meal and another was combo offers.

Tomato Soup

We ordered both the deals. We opted for Tomato Soup for combo offer. It did not look great but taste was quite nice. I never expected such taste from Pizza Hut. For appetizers we ordered Cheese Nachos. They would have been great if were crispy. They became soggy and were unable to produce the desired effect on our taste-buds.

Cheese Nachos

Chicken Skewers

For starters we ordered vegetarian platter and Chicken Skewers. Non-vegetarian food was great tasting and nice with respect to quantity vs price. On the other hand, vegetarian platter was not adequate for the price and the taste was also not good. I would recommend not to try the vegetarian platter.

Veg Platter

Pasta

For main course, we had pan pizza and pasta. Pizza was decently baked but it was low in toppings as always. I have a complain about eateries in India which are serving pizza. None of them serves pizza with good amount of toppings or cheese. It was served hot so we liked it.

Pizza

Desserts

Finally the deserts - Ice cream and cheese-cake. Both the things were nice to have. We good a good surprise as we received corporate-discount. But the joy was short lived as we found a huge amount in service taxes and VAT. These joints should follow McDonald's pricing model where you know beforehand, how much you need to shell out.

Cream Center, Kalyani Nagar, Pune

I visited Cream Center, Kalyani Nagar on last weekend. It is a pure vegetarian restaurant serving variety of food and beverages. We were told that nothing in available in Pizza section.

Corn n Cheese Balls

We ordered Corn n Cheese Balls, Nachos for starters. Presentation of nachos was a bit different due to their large size but the taste was nothing near exquisite. Cheese balls were nice.

Nachos

Pasta

Later we ordered Falafal and Pasta. Falafal did not produce the desired taste or flavor. They were more like "Alu tikki" from north India. Pasta was decent. I was surprised as they did not serve Falafal with Hamas.

Falafal

Quesadillas 

Finally we had Quesadilla and Dinner combo. Quesadilla were decently prepared but I would always prefer with more cheese. The Dinner combo was a good deal. There was variety and you can make your own combo by selecting various courses. 

Dinner

I opted for Chole - Bhature which tasted great. One more thing is worth mentioning that we got a Margarita free with our Nachos. It looked nice but the taste was nothing special. They need to put more concentration on taste rather on presentation.

Peach Margarita