Mohammed Ali Road in Pune !

Rating – 4/5

A lot of five stars these days have an affinity for street food and attempt to emulate the street food flavors within the five star ambience. On initial look the task looks pretty straightforward but I have seen many such events fall flat on their face and is obviously something that is extremely challenging and difficult to achieve within the limitations considering the palates they usually cater to !

Did Hyatt Pune make an impression for this Mohammed Ali Road festival or did it come out as disappointing, read on to know more about my experience.

The Ambience – The Ambience was interesting with thelas, decorations all round and servers dressed in a particular costume to make you feel the atmosphere of the food heaven of Mumbai.

The live counters of chaat, fruits, sharbat and starters were actually able to depict as if I was indeed eating out on the street so kudos to that 🙂

The Food – I was definitely impressed by the starters and tawa items, the Indian Desserts prepared by their in-house halwai were pretty good as well and resonated the vibes of the festival. The Mains except a couple of items was the usual five star stuff which was good but didn’t quite give me anything out of the ordinary from the street food festival perspective.

Some of the best items I enjoyed during this outing were Chicken Seekh Kebab (unique flavors), Bheja Fry (spicy & tasty), Faluda Sharbat – unusual but refreshing drink to start with ! The Chicken Haleem was pleasantly as good as one could get on the streets of Hyderabad – though not quite the same but close enough. Mutton Dalcha & Khichda couldn’t leave any particular impression, I was looking forward to both of them eagerly though ):

The other highlights of the evening were the Desserts, especially the Sheer Khurma seemed pretty authentic with fresh and crunchy vermicelli adding that crunch to the sweet preparation. Among other Indian desserts the Khaja, Kalakand and barfi were something to cherish about.

The Verdict – At 1450 + taxes, the festival can be termed as value for Money simply because of the starters & desserts coupled with the overall festive atmosphere. The festival is ON till 15th of June so hurry and enjoy the fun while it lasts !