Jul 08, 2005 10:10 AM
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(Updated Jul 08, 2005 10:10 AM)
Apte Road, Pune
Nearing noon,
Rainy afternoon of June
Mother and I were huffing and puffing with a load of shopping. I was huffing with the load on my shoulders, and mother for the load that she had had to shed from her purse. That was a minor technicality I was going to overlook. It is not easy to live in a new house that does not have curtains, soap dishes, buckets, mugs, crockery, plates, spoons, wall clocks… you know what all you have in your cubby holes! After a whole morning full of shopping, we were now in severe need of wholesome food inside our respective stomachs. As we trudged the Apte Road that shot off from the bypass joining the FC Road to the JM Road, a blue plaque caught our attention. Hotel Shreyas… sounds promising…
We had to walk down a small by-lane to the hotel where we were welcomed into an antechamber. A waiter wearing a blue shirt, red tie, black trousers and an unnaturally human welcoming look took down our names and asked us to wait five minutes. Our sense of foreboding began to rise with the irritation borne out of complete intestinal vacancy (we were hungry, in short). Crowds always put me off. Several five minutes later, the door to the dining hall opened revealing another pot-bellied waiter in a shirt of a different (more insane) shade of blue. He approached us, asked us if we were who we said we were, and ushered us into the hall.
Rows… three rows of tables for four, or six, or two were arranged. The hall was brightly lit and the air conditioner was doing its job well. Tired of sitting in dining halls with chipped-china crockery, fork-and-spoon mockery and oil-stained napery, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw plain steel plates with plain steel cups and bowls and plain steel drinking glasses. The waiters were dressed in a simple shirt with the name of the hotel embroidered on their pockets, wearing the typical Indian cap of a matching colour. They were carrying serving vessels that were just like the vessels used for serving food in homely feasts in family functions. The aroma reminded me strongly of a functional kitchen back home, and the faces of our fellow-diners radiated culinary ecstasy.
It was like sitting at home. The menu was astonishingly simple on the stomach. We had a koshimbir (the Marathi equivalent of a raita), a couple of authentic and typical Marathi chutneys, the classic home-made dal, classic home-made tasting vegetable preparations and a marvellous usal of matki (sprouts). As we sat on our table, being served by waiters who looked more like the chef of regular homes, we felt strongly as though we were sitting at a relative’s wedding feast- you know, somewhere at home.
It turned out that the dining hall was not crowded. We had been asked to wait simply because a fresh lot of chapattis and puris were being made. The hotel management had asked us to wait so that we get those freshly made chapattis. Who wanted to know if it was the true reason? The sound of it was good enough…
The food was unbelievably homely. (How can I elaborate on that? Let me use the board-exam technique of rephrasing the same thing in different words and claiming to have made several points.)
The food tasted just like homemade food. The taste of the food we were eating reminded us exactly of the food we make at home. The difference between the food made at Hotel Shreyas and the food we make at home was only the fact that it was made in a commercial kitchen but the taste had uncanny similarities. Therefore, we can say that the food tasted just like homemade food.
(That justifies my good performance at the HSC exam).
The waiters were simple but very hospitable. They weren’t bowing low like starred restaurant waiters do (wonder how they don’t develop lumbago half way through their careers) nor were they talking in polished, sophisticated and grammatically incorrect English. They were not “recommending preparations” or “insisting that you sample something in particular”. Instead, if you said you had enough of something, they said simple things like, “Arey? Nakki?” which meant, “Oh dear, are you sure?”
Oh, yes, I must not forget to mention this. You don’t get a menu card to choose an order from at Shreyas. You just seat yourself comfortably and a pre-planned menu is served to you. This restaurant offers only thali. That I didn’t need to rack my brains deciding a menu for the meal took my wicket. I hate deciding what to eat in a public place. Wonder why…
Summarising my review by rating every aspect of the hotel…
(Stars out of five)
Ambience: * * *
Food: * * * *
Service: * *
Crowd (more stars mean more people): * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Value for money: BURP!
Pricing (more stars mean more affordable): * * * * * (Rs. 75/- per person, without the sweet dish)
Important notes:
Offers the food offered at a typical Marathi home on an average day
Food is not spicy but preparations are marvellous
You can have as much of anything you want
You can order a sweet dish (which is also from the Marathi kitchen) at an extra charge
You might have to share your table with someone
You can’t go out here for a date or for quality family outings… Hotel Shreyas is meant for those who need a good, wholesome, affordable meal to keep them going through their regular day or a warm and delicious meal that will lull them into sleep
I recommend:
If you are in Pune for a visit, standardize one meal at Hotel Shreyas. You will be dining to your health at a place where the food is safe, tasty, filling, nutritious and easy to digest. It is like eating at someone’s home.
If you live in Pune, you give your Home Minister a break from cooking by eating at Shreyas without giving your regular digestion a break.
Old people will never have a problem after dining here both because the food here will suit their taste buds as well as their constitution.
Your children won’t ever ask for a meal outing if you bring them to Hotel Shreyas every time they throw tantrums and that will ensure they get proper nutrition and don’t run the risk of teenage obesity (look who’s talking).
