When we were starting off with the whole idea of blogging, we had shortlisted a few places that we wanted to visit and review for the sole purpose of the blog. It was a crazy time. Enthusiastic as any newbie blogger could be,pumped with the idea of getting as much pictures and visit as many places that we physically or rather gastronomically could. We often dragged along friends to new eateries,for company and help us hog along with us as we tried to eat our way through the food blog scene.

There was this one time we decided to visit FC road and ate in 3 places in a row. We only stopped at 3 because we couldnt eat anymore. We were really stuffed at the end of the morning; my stomach was positively bursting and threatening to declare independence from the rest of the body.
Well we did learn quickly, that we might as well mellow down and take things coolly. So now we visit places that sound promising and we keep it restricted to one restaurant a day on the weekends. We have also found, that apart from anything else, a food blogger really needs good digestion especially when you start attending food tastings regularly and sometimes every other day.

But our mad quests also yielded some interesting result. On our FC Road sweep we chose The Chaai as one of our stops. It was very difficult not stopping for some shoe shopping spree because we had so much ground to cover. So we just walked into the The Chaai, which was located at the first floor of the main building right on FC road.


The place is quite large for a cafe. It has a lot of tables and some strategically placed ones right by the glass facade looking out on to the road. There are cabins too if you might prefer some privacy. Although you have to pay for that, apparently. There is also a large TV playing the day's matches if you might feel ever so inclined to check the day's matches and scores. It's built with afternoon hangouts with friends with all the comfy couches and air conditioned seating area. One wall has a cabinet with quirky cups and kettles. We liked the general, cafe vibe of the place.



By the time we had properly settled in we had placed our orders. One thing that happens when you are out and about with vegetarian friends is that you have to order more vegetarian food so you can share it with them. Because lets be real, its no fun going out for a meal as a group and not stealing a bite from the person beside you. So no matter how much we crib about it, we end up eating the herbivorous fare anyway. We opted for Neopolitan Pizza, Chicken tender, Pomodoro Queso pasta, Pancakes, Almond Frappe and Masala Chai.

The order arrived promptly. The CHICKEN TENDER was like fritters, deeply fried and a bit dry. We didnt really fancy that as much. Also it was the only chicken dish we ordered so it was rather disappointing.



NEOPOLITAN PIZZA had a thin base which is how we prefer it. However we wish it was more crispy. The toppings were as good as vegetarian pizza topping can get, though it may be up for a debate as we soon did. The opinions about the pizza varied from good to decent to meh. But we liked it anyway.



POMODORO QUESO pasta was a mix of the red and white sauce. It was perfect balance of tangy and creamy with al dente pasta. Being a hard core non-vegetarian means you are bound to miss the chicken bits in your pasta but our vegetarians friends loved it. So that means The Chaai people did good. A+ for the pasta.



Now the PANCAKES were the last, but it took the cake. It came neatly stacked with side of maple syrup and cream. It was spongy and soft and delicious. I generally love pancakes so I tend to like pancakes any which way but going by how the other "I'm-too-full-for-sweet" sayers attacked my pancakes, it's safe to say they were indeed good.


ALMOND FRAPPE was a bit too watery for our taste. Though it looked nice with the whipped cream and had a subtle almond taste but the consistency was off-putting. The CHAAI too wasn't impressive especially for a place named just so.


The Chaai wasn't the only stop that day but it was one of the most noticeable ones. Try it out the next time you are in FC Road for shopping.

Being a food blogger has been rewarding so far. But to be honest it's only just another excuse to wolf down not very diet friendly food on the pretext of tasting it for review later. 'For the love of blogging', we placate each other as we devour slices of pizzas and plates of ravioli.
To be honest, it does tone down the guilt trip considerably.

A part of our blogging business, got us down to Aundh for a quick chat with Saili, who runs the delightful Yolkshire Cafe in the area. While we were at it, we made sure to take some pointers about eating joints, in case we had missed a place out. Well, nobody knows food better than a person who actually deals in food. Apart from other places, Skips Cafe got a glowing recommendation from her for its burgers and sandwiches. Now we have had breakfast here before a while back and quite liked the bacon and eggs; although we hadn't tried much out of its menu. Skips Cafe is just down the lane from Yolkshire and as we walked back, we decided we had to give it another good try.

We decided the BACON AND EGGS sandwich and SALAAM SALAMI sandwich. We have also tried the CHICKEN and MUSHROOM sandwich along with a breakfast platter consisting of eggs and bacon with toast.

The service, we have found is always a bit slow, which might also be because of the constant crowd. However the taste is uncompromised all the time.
The BACON AND EGGS sandwich was delicious. It had a filling of mashed boiled eggs and crispy fried bacon. We always love the bacon here, just the right amount of crispy.

Bacon and eggs sandwich

Bacon and eggs sandwich

The SALAMI sandwich had a good amount of salami filling. If anything Skips Cafe is generous with it's meat.

Salam salami sandwich

The BREAKFAST PLATTER is perfect if you are a bacon and eggs lover. We requested the eggs be done sunny side up and they obliged with perfectly done juicy eggs. Pair that with crispy bacon and you have perfect start to the day.

Bacon and eggs

Bacon and eggs

CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM sandwich had an overload of chicken with succulent flavored mushrooms.

Chicken and mushroom sandwich

Chicken and mushroom sandwich

Indeed the sandwiches are commendable here. It's a reliable place to go for eats when you get that hankering for light bites. However the menu has remained the same throughout. Addition of new dishes would always be a refreshing change to the options available at Skips and we hope the management considers this.

Nonetheless, do hop, skip or jump over to Skips for your mandatory plate of sandwiches.

One weekend we decided that enough was enough and we had to stop hogging on too much breakfast on weekends which majorly compromised the lunch timings and we'd usually end up eating a large meal in the early evening, making us incapacitated during the mandatory 'dinner out with friends'. And didn't our parents keep harping on the importance of having regular mealtimes for the sake of our (as per their imagination) extremely fragile health and ridiculously weak disposition? That's the thing about parents, if you are living away from home, no matter how many kilos you strap on to your bottom half or how many jeans that you grow out of, you will always be the sickly, starving child always losing weight and their favorite target for force feeding whenever you are in the vicinity.

"Dosa is India's gift to the world" or so someone proudly declared on Twitter. He was torn down by trolls but he did have a point. Dosa is pretty damn good stuff. We'd hardly ever get tired of it to be honest. There was a time when we we ate dosa for breakfast at work for 3 months straight because we couldn't get enough of rava masala dosa. Well we did stop eventually but mostly because we had discovered other breakfast options by then.
But a good South Indian breakfast is always a nice option when you really want to keep it light. Dosa is always a safe bet but the options are not limited to just that. Idli, wada, uttaran makes sure you are spoilt for choice. However the ubiquitous existence also means watering down of taste or at least it starts tasting the same.
In comes a humble yet surprisingly impressive eatery cartering authentic, home made South Indian fare. Aptly name Banana Leaf this outlet serves all dishes on plates lined with sheaths of banana leaves. The chutneys and condiments that come with the dishes taste endearingly homely. The service staff consists of the owners itself adding to the domestic charm. If you pop in here for breakfasts someday you might feel like you are over at your uncle's for a meal.



There is not much of an ambiance to talk about if you don't consider the casual, domestic disarray of the place as one. There are 7-8 tables for seating. The utensils used are steel plates and glasses in accordance to the unassuming, unpretentious air.

In spite of the tiny proportions the place boasts of a steady clientele so don't be surprised if they are out of wadas by the time you are here on Sunday at 9 am. We have been to Banana Leaf 3-4 times and have tried the idli, wada, rava masala dosa, set dosa, butter onion uttapams, filter coffee and buttermilk.
The IDLIs were fluffy and soft and warm as they were freshly made. It was served with a white chutney and an other red onion chutney which was bit more spicy. The chutney went perfectly with the idli. The sambhar was warm and had a homely, humble taste which was not unnecessarily spicy as the other market varieties are. We are not big fans of sambhar but we like it here at Banana Leaf.
The WADAs are always a favorite. Crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. The medu wadas here are especially good.



MASALA DOSA is our to go alternative veg breakfast. The dosa is crispy and delicious while the filling of spicy mashed potatoes inside is an added bonus. Goes amazingly with the white chutney.


SET DOSA comes in a set of threes. It's soft and fluffy and makes us happy when we see a stack of dosas to gorge on. It also has a spicy mashed potatoes to go along.



The UTTAPAMs are wholesome and taste delicious.

FILTER COFFEE is right amount of bitterness and milkiness. Though you can always ask them to make it stronger or otherwise as per your preference. Though we have had better filter coffee during our stint in the south, yet this has been one of the better filter coffees in Pune.

The BUTTERMILK has always been Mr. TKDs favorite. It's flavorful, refreshing and quite delicious.


The service is humble and warm. The owners greet you courteously with a smile always. The service can be bit slow or quick as per the crowd. However we have started frequenting this place due to its its reliant quality.

However our last visit in the previous weekends were not as happy as other times. The food didn't impress us as much though we don't know what the reason may be. Perhaps they are hiring new cooks or trying new recipes. But the taste was not as brilliant as the before. There was only one type of white chutney and that too had a dry consistency. The sambhar too failed to impress. We had a set dosa and wadas and the only thing we ended up liking were the wadas and buttermilk.

The one undoing of a great eating joint is its own brilliance which only make its patrons expect better experience each time. We hope banana leaf can only mould itself into a better and better brand of South Indian food.

A heavy meal always calls for sweet endings. Resist as much as we try, dessert has an annoying habit of making its need felt. So no matter how much we try winding up our meals in 2 courses to skip the sugary fare at bay, we end up walking around and entering the first bakery we find on the pretext of 'just looking' at the wares at display and then walking out with a considerable chunk of cheesecake.


Koregaon Park is peppered with eating places of the best kind. Every hankering and every whim is catered to if you look close enough. And it's always fun wandering through the leafy lanes of KP, walking into any bistro that catches our fancy and looking for desserts later.

On one such quest we came across a quaint store while walked down lane number 8 which had FORENNTE written across in gold. We stood outside deciding if it was a cafe at all. It piqued our interest enough for us to walk in through its front doors. The inside was much more convincing especially with the very enticing display of rows and rows of pastries and cakes, a counter top laden with cookies and takeaway packs of bread. There was separate section for savories as well which comprised of appetizing slices of pizzas, sandwiches andrunch burgers. A separate cabinet displayed a shelves of muffin that looked so cute, we got some immediately.



There was partition that separated the display area from the dining area that had a couple of tables. The decor was simple and classy with choice of art works on display along side a adorable reading nook complete with decorative lights and a shelf full of good selection of books. I would have loved lounging there for the day poring over the volumes but we had the serious business of choosing dessert to get over with and all the options available was only making decisions harder. Finally we settled on RED VELVET PASTRY  and BELGIAN CHOCOLATE PASTRY.
We also got some RED VELVET CUPCAKES, MARBLE CAKE SLICES and EXOTIC VEG PIZZA slice to go.



The service was fast and courteous. The people serving us were were kind enough to let us have our way with the pastry. We asked them to warm up our BELGIAN CHOCOLATE pastry a bit after we were served but they took it back and got it all melty and gooey just the way we liked it. To say the least, the chocolate pastry was sinfully delicious.



The RED VELVET pastry was soft and just the right amount of sweet. The presentation was on point. All pastries were served with a fine dusting of chocolate powder shaped into smiley faces and forks. The cake was moist and the smoothness had us ooh-ing over it.



The EXOTIC VEG PIZZA had thin crust and was loaded with a vegetables and cheese. It had a subtle, muted taste that appealed a lot. The size of the slice of pie was decent enough for a single person. We really enjoyed the crunchiness of the crust paired with the cheesiness and the vegetables.



We packed up the cupcakes and cake slices for home and needless to say we really enjoyed tea that evening. Forennte really took us for surprise that day and we are looking forward to visiting it again during our regular jaunt to KP someday which only means we will be out hunting desserts. And we have found our hunting grounds.