BPBWeekend - Brown Paper Bag - Pune Weekend Guide, Food & Drink, Shop, Events, Services, Feel Good, Travel, Freebies

The river of chocolate that flooded Mumbai's culinary scene recently  (Chocolate Room, San Churro Chocolaterie) seems to be winding its way into Pune as well, heralded by A Chocolate Affair that opened in Koregaon Park earlier this month. Desserters, rejoice!

Up From Down Under

Part of an Australian chain that sources its ingredients from all over the world, this chocolate-only restaurant (hot chocolate, chocolate fondue, even chocolate sandwiches and pizza - seriously!) uses pure Belgian chocolate for most of its dishes and can often be over the top - or just mad enough, depending on the size of your sweet tooth.

Brown & Sugar

The menu here is almost identical to its Mumbai counterpart except for the absence of waffles, both stand alone and dunked in the hot chocolate. These are missed, but comfort yourself with orange or Mexican hot chocolate instead, thick, rich and mercifully unsweetened – grown up versions of a childhood treat. Despite the heat, we suggest you get these instead of the cold drinks, which are cloyingly sweet and not nearly chocolate-y enough. They also serve some fruit chillers and a nice selection of organic tea and coffee.

Also try churros, and if you want a sample of the sandwich ice cream craze to come (watch out for it in 2012!), a  sandwich made from vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate chip cookies. The churros are excellent, piping hot and crispy, accompanied with a gravy bowl of pure Belgian chocolate. Ask for a dusting of cinnamon on top of these, and you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to Spain. The sandwich less successful, with cookies that are fibrous and hard. Also available is a chocolate pizza, with chocolate sauce and “toppings” of fruit, cornflakes and marshmallows - it can be best described as ridiculous, suitable only for kids young enough to enjoy the gimmick.

Bittersweet Endings

There's much A Chocolate Affair can improve on - more imaginative dishes, consistency in the kitchen, better service (warning: if the Mumbai restaurants are anything to go by, the service deteriorates even further after the first few weeks). Yet, it is a fun place to get a cup of after dinner coffee or gorge on chocolate. Enjoy!

Getting there: Shop 7, Winterbury Purple, Lane 8, Dhole Patil Road, Koregaon Park, call 41302195 or 9867372060.

October 14: Electronic music with DJ Aaron at Mi-a-Mi, Pune Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre, Senapati Bapat Road, 66833333

October 14: Stand up comedy show featuring Papa CJ at Ista, Pune-Nagar Road, Yerawada, call 41418816, 9 pm.

October 14: New Play Clan store with quirky accessories and clothes opens at S-38, 2nd floor, Phoenix Market City, Vimannagar, call 0203095038. See details here.

October 14-16: Oktoberfest buffet plus unlimited beer and vodka shots at Sen5es Restaurant & Lounge, Oakwood Premier Pune, 81 Mundhwa, Koregaon Park Annex, call 26747474, 7 to 11.30 pm. Rs 1,199.

Design Diaspora

This is one migration from the North that no Sena will object to: Play Clan, uber cool Delhi-based product design firm has begun making its way around the country, opening stores in Mumbai, Goa and earlier this month, Vimannagar, Pune. Welcome, we say!

Kings of Kitsch

Even if you're sick of kitsch and pop art like us, Play Clan is worth a visit: here are high-quality products that still feel fresh, intricately imagined and well-finished, some of them funny enough to make you laugh out loud.

Shopping Cart

bpb loves lungi iPod covers, Rajnikant visiting card holders, brightly coloured sports bras, BEST boxers, yoga and meditation-inspired diaries, kitschy pocket mirrors, lamps, trays, paintings and more. If you’re not afraid of bling and color, you should also get the sequins-scattered T-shirt screen printed with comically angry goddesses - also awesome are the graphical boxes these come in, which make great pencil holders. (Rs.1,995).

It's also a perfect place to do all your holiday shopping at: diverse, festive, colourful and quirky, we found "Mind It" zippo lighters and  Sadhu tees for a blissed-out brother and screen-printed canvas bags for a niece who's starting college soon. Be prepared to spend though, as this family is pricey!

Getting there: S-38, 2nd floor, Phoenix Market City, Vimannagar, call 0203095038 or visit the Facebook group here.

Aaji Mastan

Don’t expect a daydream back to the til laadoos her aaji (grandmother in Marathi) made when she was a child, and the soporific effect they had on Sundays. In fact, there will be little reference to personal stories when you ask graphic designer Falguni Gokhale about the inspiration behind Aaji’s Kitchen, a super cute miniature doll house - well, doll room - built in a 10 by 10 wooden box that displays a kitchen scene from 50 years ago.  

Bumpy rides in sunny yellow taxis, pineapple pastries from Flury’s for breakfast, civilised screwdrivers and chips at Tolly, pandals strung with a thousand fairy lights: this Scouter caught the tail end of Pujo in Kolkata, when the city shakes off its year-round torpor and is at its dazzling, ripest best. Notes from a weekend in the City of Joy:

Special thanks to Ashok and Bharti Haralalka for their time, hospitality and many, many drinks.

Eat

Despite multiple trips and much gluttony, we’ve barely managed to skim the surface of the culinary cauldron that is Kolkata. These restaurants however, are good places to start if you’re visiting the city: Bhojohari Manna, with its multiple branches and austere vibe, for authentic Bengali food (get luchi, aloo dum, posto, ilesh, chola daal and Rajbhog); Zishaan for kathi rolls; Girish Chandra Dey and Nakuri Nandi for fresh gud (jaggery) sandesh and Floriana at Russell street for a tub of Naturelle Nolen Gud ice cream. Also super delish is hand-churned Cappuccino Crunch ice cream available at the Alipore branch of the legendary Kookie Jar - remember to grab a sinful mocha biscuit and chocolate boats while you’re there.  Be still, my eating heart.

Other favourites: Flury’s for puffs, above mentioned pineapple pastries and old world charm; Fire & Ice for thin crust pizza; Chinese at Red Hot Chilli Pepper and Zen; Bistro By The Park for iPad menus.

Bhojohori Manna, Plot No. X, Block EP & GP, Sector 5, Salt Lake City, call 03340011211; Zishaan, near Park Circus Tram Depot, Sayed Amir Ali Ave, Circus Avenue, call 03366343397; Girish Chandra Dey, Ramdulal Sircar Street, Shyambazar, call 03322410048; Floriana, 13D, Russel Street, opposite Bengal Club, call 03322293531; Kookie Jar, Enclave No. 17, Belvedere Road, Alipore, call 03324490863.

Still hungry? Find more Kolkata cuisine recommendations here.

Shop

October 7: New CMYK book booth at Gourmet Avenue coffee shop at Hyatt Regency, Weikfield IT Park, Nagar Road, call 66451234.

October 7-30: Up to 70% off on books, DVDs and stationery at Landmark bookstores across the city.

October 7: Jalebee Cartel spin at Area 51, Baner, call 66035000, 10 pm.

October 7-8: First Row’s designer clothes-for-less exhibit (see designer list here) at Terttulia, 393, Sanas Corner, Bel Air, Koregaon Park, off North Main Road, Pune, call 26052180 or visit www.firstrow.in, 11 am to 7 pm.

The Butterfly (Stroke) Effect

While studying architecture and journalism in Manipal, Tushar Pathiyan and Ishita Malaviya developed an odd extra-curricular activity, one that has seldom been seen around these parts – surfing. “We got into it and were stoked right away,” explains Tushar, who talks (and we hope, looks) like the quintessential surfer boy. After a couple of years of exploring the sport, they began to offer friends lessons, and the great response they received led to the Shaka Surf Club Surf Shack, which formally opens for business this season. Wave hello!

What Do You Sink?

Now, Tushar and Ishita offer surfing lessons to anyone interested in the sport; in fact, the beach that they operate out of, located about 20 minutes from Manipal, is ideal for beginners – the waves are gentle, and there are no rocks or reef, so even if you take a tumble, chances that you’ll hurt yourself are slim. “Surfing is not dangerous, as long as you understand your skill level and stick with what you can handle,” explains Tushar. Still, even beginners need to have certain skills, like knowing how to swim and being comfortable in the water. “We don’t work with non-swimmers,” Tushar says firmly. And although they concentrate on training beginners, The Shaka Surf Club holds advanced-level courses as well, conducted by experienced international surfers travelling to India.