Great restaurant for Fish eaters.

When I classify fisheaters I put them into 2 types, 1 fisheaters – those who genuinely enjoy fish and some others who are comfortable with ‘seafood’ in fancy restaurants. For some time now in Pune the lack of the first type of restaurants has meant that I had to frequent the second type more often.
The only one I had visited was in Deccan and near the bus depot and I don’t remember the name – maybe because the experience was not the best. Others like Mahesh lunch home probably started as a fish eatery but then is a wannabe fancy seafood joint.
So recently when someone mentioned a fish restaurant in the city, I was not too hopeful – as I could not imagine what was a good fish restaurant doing in Shaniwar Peth / Narayan Peth. But then I decided to travel the long distance just to take a chance – so bored I was with the other type of seafood.
This is a hardcore eaters place – clean but no fancy decoration, just a line of tables and benches – in the classic udupi fashion in Mumbai.
The Menu has many parts – but we focused on the fish part and gave the chicken and veg part a complete miss. You can go for A la carte or then a fish thali + a la carte. Our family had parts opting for both options and you can also go either way and try the other next time around.
The food is good and more importantly authentic goan / maharashtrian kokan / karwari and should satisfy a good fish eater.
Great items to try – Bangda Karnataka and Pomphret Pedavan. Tandoori crab was good – but then you will have patience and strength to break the shell with your hands and teeth.
The owner is helpful with suggestions and you can listen to all of them – but follow your heart (or should I say toungue). It is next to Kanyashala in Narayan Peth / Shaniwarpeth.

Movie 'Review' - New York

Let me say at the outset, I am not a Yash Raj films fan. The last movie I like liked was Hum Tum. And now comes New York. Though the movie is based on the “persecution complex theory” the basis of itself is questionable, the conclusions are sensible and practical.
The story line is good and well managed and even the end does not get hysterical. Though the average fan does not like Katrina to die – but I think gone are the days when a hero’s dying at the end made or broke films. I would have liked a little more unpredictability in the story line (say a Arlington Street). But then it is not bad for a Hindi film.
As far as acting is concerned, all the actors have done a good job in my view – yes even John and Katrina. For me this movie is definite see.

IPL II semi final Line UP

The IPL

A lot has been said about IPL and even the king of pain Raja has been brought back. he is probably offering a unemployment discount.

1. Kolkatta Knight Riders sucks – as a team lead by a combination of 2 self proclaimed dons and one sulking don would.
2. All other teams are doing ok.
1. Mumbai Indians have been let down by their inability to finish and some poor captaincy from the master blaster, the batting order changes made Mumbai Indians like me cry
   
2. Rajasthan Royals continues to be pushed by Warne and the results of his motivation on a team of limited capabilities is obvious.
3. Deccan Chargers are better than Bangalore, but then have a poor bowling attack. Bangalore wins matches on and off – but is not reliable
4. Punjab is also a decent team but is obviously missing Shaun marsh who could have taken them over the line
5. Chennai differentiator is “Uncle” Hayden and they will sleep if he fails in the knockout rounds.
6. Delhi stands out, but hope they are not delivered a knockout punch that some of these people are capable. Viru Baba hope you take the team over 300 runs in some match.
   

My prediction for the Semis Delhi, Chennai, Rajasthan and Deccan

PS - can some one tell me where I can buy a Mumbai Indian T-shirt, not sure an Ambani is running this franchise.

Barbeque Nation - Good food but ...

This Feb 14 we had planned for a family outing at Barbeque Nation on Nagar road. A slight delay in booking and a 50% booking only policy meant that we were left to try our luck. But then our early lunch habits meant that we more or less assured of a seat or so we thought.
Unfortunaltely the gods had conspired and the route we took had load of traffic jam and we reached the place only at 8:00 pm. Our heart sank, when we saw the long line of cars outside the restaurant. But we were somewhere on the waiting list and were asked to wait for 15 minutes for some new on dinning tonight.
We sat there and waited only to hear people coming after us discouraged to wait and told how people were waiting from 6 pm for a seat !!!
Well luckily for us, a family decided to have their dinner elsewhere and we got a seat within 10 minutes of arriving at the restaurant. Now for the actual review.

Ambience - I would rate it good, seating area is large with large free areas, looks modern and has a certain signature (probably common across the chain) look. There was live music and though we were near the singer, the music did not seem too loud.

Food - For me the most important past. "Apparently it is a concept - which if I describe in plain English - 10 Starters and a Buffet comprsing of Soup, Main course and dessert.

Starters - as the best part, it is a mixture of Veg and Non veg and within Non Veg - chicken, Fish and Mutton. The spread is good, but then there is a weak point - I would have preferred a smaller choice but maybe outstanding taste (instead of the good taste on an average that I got). I liked the Prawns, Sheekh Kabab and Mushroom the best. Potato and Paneer were below average.

The soup was OK and the main spread disappointing and seems like a afterthought.

The desserts are great - both the spread and the quality.

Pricing - for dinners it costs rs 450 per person. The drinks though are costlier than what they would cost you in the Taj.

Service - It seems to be good as long as the starter routine lasts. However the moment you want a selected dish like say in our case the fish, it can take for ever. They took very good care of our little one's peculiar eating habits - I would rate the service good for that alone.

In short I felt the place was good - but then pity the ones who were waiting from 6 pm. One look at that place and the slowdown seemed like an illusion.

Madagascar - following in the footsteps of sequels

Frankly this movie was a huge disappointment but the whole trip to the movie was the best experience we had - a bit of contradiction.
First the movie - the story line is extremely weak and luckily they keep it short and sweet. Fun part is restricted to the "King", the monkeys and the penguins.

Only people like us who were taking their kids for their first movie (and subsequent movies) will enjoy the movie.

Rahul Dravid and other old men

Finally Rahul Dravid has scored a century, for this a lot of people especially ex-cricketers like Ravi Shastri will say things like how you cannot forget the 10,000+ runs etc. Sir – an Indian cricket team has place for 11 best people only, there is no obligation to carry baggage for so long. Especially in these days when cricketers make such a lot of money at the international level - tolerance for non-performance should be minimal.

Yes Dravid – I have to use this harsh term and it is you who has brought it on yourself.

The second innings brought back familiar memories of failure. It is high time Dravid retires or is then kicked out. Laxman and Tendulkar are next in line. But will their egos allow them to take the correct decision or then will the Indian team have to suffer their seniority

OLD MEN in cricket

The Indian Test Cricket Team is full of OLD Men and it is time for them to GIVE WAY. Unfortunately no one likes to give up even when they stutter and totter on their way to their crickting grave.

KUMBLE the Old man no 1, look at his performance over the past few series and you will see that performance does not count. Instead we are asked to rely on his supposedly "RECORD". Well the record is great but it is worn out and needs to be replaced. Kumble should set an example by putting in his papers immediately.

This will inspire Laxman, Tendulkar to follow.

Sourav Ganguly meanwhile is setting the stage for a political career by appealing to the Bengali sense of justice by saying he was discriminated against. But then if you look it the other way - he has heaped injustice against a Bengal player Saurabh Tiwari (and the India team as a whole) by staying too long.

In the end it is just not how good these people are but then how good will be Suresh Raina, Viraat kohli, Rohit Sharma, Saurabh Tiwari and amit Mishra in their places.