Baan Tao — Restaurant in Pune

Baan Tao recently launched their new menu and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. What better way to celebrate winning the “Best Pan Asian Restaurant in the Fine Dine Category” at the Times Food and Nightlife Awards 2017 for the 3rd successive year than with food?

Dim Sums The Baan Tao Non Vegetarian Dim Sum Platter had loads of options and was a pretty sight to boot. Hargao, Chicken Bao, Lamb Dumpling, Pan seared Gyoza, Mushroom & Chicken Siu Mai, garnished with Viola flower, chamomile, Japanese mayo, sesame dust, unagi sauce and red amaranthus certainly draws one’s eyeballs to the plate.

Loved the chicken bao and the chicken mushroom Siu-Mai while the hargao with shrimps and the gyoza were new flavors for me.

The Prawn and Chicken Siu-Mai were topped with Tobiko which is flying fish roe. It had such balance of flavors that even within a single small bite, we could get the distinct taste of the prawn as well as the chicken. #MustTry

The Exotic Mushroom and Bell Pepper Crystal gets its name from the crystalline transparency of the wrapper. The stuffing was just right, enough to get all the flavors in each bite but never in danger of bursting.

Pork Pot Stickers were served upside down, with the sticker part of the dough forming what looked like a cover for the dish. Perfectly cooked pulled pork shreds in translucent dumpling, could find nothing wrong with this. #HighlyRecommeded

Appetizers Wok tossed Hoisin Pepper Lamb had these amazing thin strips of lamb tossed in hoisin pepper sauce and served with onions and bell peppers. Good combination of crunchy and soft textures and flavors.

The Prawn Salt and Pepper and Diced XO Chicken were similarly prepared and presented. Thankfully tasted as expected with perfectly cooked meats.

Sichuan Pepper Mushroom had a nice crisp exterior which complimented the softness of the shrooms. The Sichuan peppers and bell peppers provided good heat to the dish.

Vietnamese Steamed Rice Paper Wrap served with Nước Chấm [Vietnamese dipping sauce] looked gorgeous in their translucent wrappers and tasted just as delicious. #DeliciousDelicious

Mains Like in the appetizers, the Chicken Mongol Kublai and XO Prawns were similarly prepared and presented in a brownish gravy. Both equally delicious.

The Pad Thai Chicken was the usual fare with the rice noodles, pad Thai sauce and green onions and wrapped in an egg fry. Very clean flavors, just the way I like it. And the peanuts provided the needed crunch to the dish.

The Silken Tofu was as silken as its name. I have always loved the silken-ness of the tofu here and this time too was no exception. Best silken tofu in town, in my humble opinion!! #YumYum #HighlyRecommended

The Pad Cha Pae [Thai Basil Lamb with Red Chili] is a really delicious dish that represents everything “Thai” to me – spicy, saucy, sour and crispy. Absolutely bang on flavors and textures of the dish. #YumYum #HighlyRecommended

Desserts The Anmitsu was one very pretty dessert. On a bed of Dangu and Vietnamese coffee jelly, scoops of dragon fruit, kiwi, papaya, strawberry were laid out and topped with a generous scoop of mango ice-cream. Absolutely gorgeous to look at and equally bang-on flavors!! Hands down, the best dessert of the lot. #YumYum #HighlyRecommended

The Matcha Tea Opera certainly came with its own opera theatrics. The matcha cake encased inside a chocolate ball which melts when the hot sauce is poured on it. And the combination of flavors – oh, la la!! A match(a) made in heaven! [;-)] #DeliciousDelicious

The Passion Fruit Panna Cotta with ginger crumble and coconut ice-cream had a very simplistic look however packed a very passionate punch. The mild heat of the ginger crumble cut through the sweetness of the panna cotta nicely while the crispy tart bowl of the ice cream provided the required crunch. #MustTry

The Papaya and Orange Pudding too was presented beautifully with a skewer of fruit scoops as accompaniment. Nice sweet and tangy flavors of the fruits and the sticky rice pudding,...

What a gem of place this is! I am a big lover of asian food and flavors and this place delivers it all! Without adding any Indian touch to it. Which I really appreciated!! It's very hard to find an authentic asian place which stays true to it's taste. We were there on Wednesday, unfortunately/fortunately they had buffet menu that day.. Though I was hoping to catch the Japanese fest, I couldn't. But nonetheless, the buffet was wonderful and delicious.

Food: 5.0

Try their: Laksa with prawns All of their prawns appetizers Pork dimsums Mie goreng We were so full that we couldn't try any of their desserts. Even after all this, the staff brought us a complimentary thai drink mixed with rose flavoured milk and what not, I gulped it all, it reminded me of thai beaches and sunshine!!

Service: 4.5 Their staff is very attentive and has eyes on you the whole time :P They slacked a bit at the time of appetizers but I won't judge as the food compensated all.

Ambiance: 4.0 We sat indoors, which was way different that that of outdoors. I could feel the asian vibes outside, but inside it felt as if I am dining at some regular 5 star restaurant. Would love to see some asian culture inspired interiors!

Cost: 4.0

Well you get unlimited food! What else you need!! Jokes apart! The food was totally worth the money, though I could have hogged a bit more (pardon my language when it comes to eating) but the slow service during starters made me lose my hunger a bit! Would have appreciated otherwise!!

All in all I will recommend this to everyone if they want to taste that authentic asian cuisine.. If you don't feel like taking decisions on a particular day, go for the buffet menu! But I will recommend to visit this place on a day when they have a la cartè! There is so much to choose from!! I am sure you won't be disappointed. Try to reach early or book a table in. advance to secure that amazing spot next to waters! (Perfect for this hot summer). Let me know what you...

Unfortunately My experience for this speciality restaurant is worst....Sorry guys I will just give detailed review. I was there with my wife on this Valentine day evening Dinner which was well advance booked with limited number of tables available and sold in very flashy manner. We were there on time and was expecting that our evening is going to be very romantic and special. Now the surprise started with the moment we reached to our table. With the Valentine Bundle my wife booked for me, it was like dinner with starter/main menu and sweets but starts with Candle night and Wine. We reached there and started talking with each other. One guy came and took the order like what options you wanna have in starters/main meal/sweets etc. And to be surprised even after 1 hours he has not started serving wine or haven't asked if he need to bring starter. So, I asked him finally and he was showing like he is busy like anything apart from serving customer. Even after ordering..he took another 30 mins to bring starter and then I asked where is our wine..which I already told. He served wine after 30 mins of this conversations. I asked one of those guys to ask their manager to come to us, Th manager took 30 mins to come to our table....Guys after 30 mins he is serving me the mail meal with Soup spoons..and when I enquired about starter. He said because main meal is ready so I brought that. It was horrible experience as we have now wine,starter,main meal eth at one time.

His manager was not even bothered much. The waiter was I think not even qualified to be there. I ended ruining my mood as well as my wife was pissed off and then we paid our 4K bill and left. His manager assured us that He will highlight it, he expressed his apologies...But BE CAREFUL before visiting this place. FOOD was actually average apart from MOMOs.

I just hate this place. F**k with...