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Showing posts with label lavasa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lavasa. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Stay at Mercure Hotels Lavasa - Accor Hotels

Staycations are underrated - Don't you think ? We crave for vacations from this hectic life but dont have the luxury to take them often and then they are these magical mini vacations which you can have at your comfort nearby or at home anytime.
Well enjoying one such staycation amidst the hills in Lavasa at Mercure and I am taking you guys along with me. This place is located amidst the serene Sahyadri Hills.
Mercure Hotel is a small property by Accor Group. A mid range brand which has around 750 hotels in 51 countries.





Though this property is small it takes very good care of all the comforts and is equipped with all modern amenities.
The service is superb and the staff does deserve a huge shout out for their warm hospitality. They make you feel at home without being intrusive. Soft spoken, polite and good at their job - they really deserve a thumbs up.


We were booked in a standard room for a one night stay.
Upon arrival the formalities of checking in were swift and we were ushered to our room quickly.
First thing that impressed us was it was a cosy room with a pretty view.


The room had all the amenities like safe, toiletries, iron, hairdryer, hot kettle, mini bar, 24 hours in room dining, Wi-Fi, LCD and more.
The bed was comfortable and we just wanted to sleep like logs but we were ravenous, hence headed to their restaurant - Celebration.

Everywhere you look every place you go - the view truly takes your breath away.

I have to say after having three feasts over here - I hereby certify the food over here is nothing less than mindblowing.
It was a food coma that we were lulled into by the feasts that greeted us at every meal.


For Lunch we had had from top L - R clockwise.
Arak of tomato with golgappa shot.
This dish was so different and the rasam like tomato arak went so well with the golgappas. Must Try!

Smoked Murgh Lazeez kebab
As the name suggests a smoky tantalising flavour engulfs you with melt in your mouth juicy tender chicken. Mild flavours, this was my favourite from the lunch. Highly Recommended.

Dahi Ke Kebab
Another must try especially for the vegetarians - soft creamy Dahi mixed with paneer and a centre filled with cheese, mild flavour of green chillies. All this crispy fried and served with a spicy green chilli dip.

Baked Gosht Ki Tikki
This was again Mashallah Lazeez. The flavours were lovely and robust. The meat well cooked, minced blended with masala in a tikki and cheese on top.


For the main course we had Paneer Chilla with okra and potato
Palak Aur Mushroom ki Mail with Baingan Bharta

Patrani Macchi with Moilee Sauce  - exceptional, melt in the mouth fish, amazing flavours, highly recommended!
Himachali Tawa Murgh with Minted Cashew Curry.

Dessert was Chef's Special ;p

After this long elaborate lunch we desired a much needed long snooze and so we did and the bed just made it so much easier. Waking up to another elaborate feast, this time it was oriental and did they hit it off or what....



Crispy Corn Tempura
Fish Salt and Pepper - THE STAR OF THE NIGHT
Chicken Kentucky
Chicken salad with peanut dressing and oriental soup as if that was required.
You might just think that we are lunatics because inspite of all this we even requested for an Alfredo pasta.



The main course consisted of
Stir Fried Vegetable
Kung Pao Chicken -STAR
Fish Thai Curry - STAR
Veg Hakka Noodles
Burnt Garlic Rice
Everything was so good I just cant pick one. We ate till we dropped and then the Dessert arrived with its full aplomb.


Honey Noodles with Vanilla Ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce with a side of Banana fritters, Toffee Apple with choco chips.
Need I say more. The table was quite for the next 3 minutes within which we demolished that entire plate and licked it clean - two happy puppies.
After that we really required some effort to get to our room like literally....
So we used the time to play some carom and let our food digest a bit followed by a movie marathon and we just fell asleep like that.


After eating so little and doing so much naturally morning meant another favourite meal of the day - BREAKFAST and oh boy we did break our fast in a royal way.
It was the weekend and they had an elaborate, vast and a yummy spread covering quite some cuisines. Must Try !
The weekend was spent in eat - sleep - chill REPEAT mode and we really got the much deserved break we required.
Before we knew it, it was time to head back home after an amazing and relaxing staycation which I think was more of foodathon (guilty - nahhhh )

Btw they also have tie ups with Spa facilities and offer an awesome discount ( well that's surely for the next visit ).

You guys can check out the videos below to know more about how our staycation was and what we did.

Until we meet again.

xoxo
Bhakti







Easy Pasta Recipe from the Chef at Mercure

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Lavasa Monsoon Weekend Picnic



Another day, another weekend, perfect weather, monsoons and another impromptu plan. This time
Lavasa it was with the entire family.



Family time is the best time only made better with a late Sunday lunch comprising of mom made sabudana wada.
The spicy piping hot balls of sago deep fried and enjoyed with crunchy sweet groundnut chutney - Bliss - especially when its raining and you are just lazing around on a Sunday.

The Mayhem


We Left at around 3pm.

Our plan was simple we wanted to enjoy the beauty of Lavasa and the monsoon magic with tasty rustic country style food. We are very earthy and that's what we wanted to do. So drive to Lavasa with lots of home made rural food was on agenda.

One can also stay at the varied resorts there and have food at the restaurants located there, however I think they are overhyped and over priced and the food is strictly ok. Ekaant is a good choice with an awesome view. (do let me know in comments below if you would like me to do another post on good places to stay in Lavasa and the food available there.)

Lavasa is just 1.5 hours from Pune. The road is very scenic. Do take the road going to pirangut which is better (quality wise).
We took the detour which was very scenic running parallel through the fields, the road however is not in good shape.
Stop for a quick snack at Shreepad at Pirangut. Amazing place for missal, thalipeeth, taak, vada pav and all puneri snacks.

You can also have lunch or grab a quick thali at the kiosks on the ghat towards lavasa, they serve really good country veg fare (Maharashtrian) comprising of Pithla, Bhakri, thecha - yum.
The villagers from the villages below run these kiosks and they are completely rustic in taste and vfm.
Atharva is a good choice - small restaurant kinds.

After a heavy brunch we decided to gorge on yummy sweet corn roasted on chulha and flavoured with lime and masala. Yum again and so healthy. Great snack even at home however it wont taste the same not unless you have a chulha and nature, lovely weather and rains accompanying it.




slurped on tea .

There are many hotels, resorts and activities to do in Lavasa but that is for next time, this time we just enjoyed the rain with the beauty of this small town nestled between the hills.

The weather made us ravenous and we were soon on a look out for a nice place to satiate our tastebuds and our screaming tummies.
muttonawal to our rescue.






Sipping on bowls of rustic country chicken rassa is magic to my soul.
The thalis were really tasty and the food was piping hot especially the chicken thali.
A small place with good clean setting and tasty vfm food,  what else does one need.
After devouring the entire meal we hardly could move.
Yet the heart wanted more a wee bit more. So just for the sake of our heart we decided to do a pitstop at Rajmandir on our way back home.



Ice cream in rain melody to our heart and soul and a perfect ending to our awesome day out.
We had an awesome time, check the snippets here.



As you can see the dam is hardly full, its scary, it really should rain..



lost admiring the nature


under my umbrella



cant keep my hands of this cutey


I feel like a super woman amidst nature. So much beauty all for me (for us )








They say Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground- I got both of them right here, right now and I am holding on to them.

Outfit Details
I kept it simple warm and hassle free.
Leggings - Forever 21
Top - D C Comics
Bangles - Here and there
Flip flops - Bata (anti skid )
A light cardigan - Thailand


Hope you enjoyed...
Let me know some lovely monsoon getaways to visit if you know some nice ones.

until we meet again.
Stay happy and cheerful!!

Lots of love
xoxo
Bhakti








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