CAFE MAROO

It was the first time I felt like I wasn’t really entering a restaurant, but rather stepping into someone’s living room for dinner, in a wonderfully hospitable atmosphere. That’s what tops the list of opinions about Café Maroo. The word ‘maroo’ means a Korean living room, where Korean people traditionally eat, sleep, cook and gather, for it is an area which is cool in summer and warm in chilly winters. Frames and artefacts, household appliances, cooking utensils and a couple of dining tables to sit around, are what make up the decor of the place, and one gets the lovely aroma of Korean food being cooked right in front of you. It also has a traditional sit down area on the mezzanine, where you have to promptly take off your shoes to maintain the sanctity of the place.The menu has sufficient choices but very few for vegetarians. Koreans take their tea seriously and so there is loads of tea-variety on offer as well. Some preparations that stood out on the menu include the Korean Beef Steak (Rs 350), Veg Jjajang Myun (Rs 200), Dak Bulgogi (Rs 350) and Cheese Ggas (Rs 280). Koreans use ingredients like ‘doenjang’, which is a fermented soybean bean paste, as well as soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger and spice it up with ‘gochujang’ — a fermented red chili paste. The beef steak is generally soaked in red wine for three weeks before they grill it to the done-ness of your choice. The soaking is pretty fruitful as it gives out a wonderful flavor to the meat. The Jjajang Myun are Korean noodles served with a light soy sauce in which mushroom, onion and potatoes are preserved for a while, giving it that particular woody flavor. Dak Bulgogi is chicken pickled in doenjang, which is a fermented soy bean paste that gives out a peculiar tangy, sour, spicy taste different from the gochujang sauce. Cheese Ggas are mozzarella cheese covered with an all purpose flour flown in from Korea, and then grilled. It is best served with Korean bread. The Honey ginger lemon tea (Rs 85) and Green tea (Rs 80) here are really good. What really matters is that this is not Indo-Korean cuisine. It is cooked by a passionate Korean national settled in Pune for the past 10 years. He gives you that original taste, un-altered for the Indian palate. That’s why you probably need to have the inclination to try out new stuff. If that is the way you feel, this is the best place for Korean cuisine. Personally I didn’t find the place pricey. The quantity is wholesome as well. I feel the efforts taken by a person to run a business and maintain all the overheads just to feed his community in a foreign land as well as friends and Indians is quite appreciable. Those who visit the place are asked to leave a comment and needless to say most comments are gushing praise. Do visit to sample some authentic Korean cuisine

CAFE MAROO

Westend Plaza,

Next to Rahul Hotel and The electronics store,

Nagras Road,

Aundh,

Pune