A Stop at the Shopper’s Stop

Shopper's Stop is a retail chain in India with outlets in most metropolitan cities. Much before any of the present day malls made a foray and changed the landscape of the retail industry, Shopper's Stop has been in existence catering and adapting itself to the upscale designer and fashion conscious generation of today.

Sunday was our day out. V and I took a bus to the city to get a first hand experience of the other public transportation systems in Pune. Taking a bus is any day better than hanging out from the train with the hand rails standing between life and death, though not so much good as the Baleno :). The frequency of buses is good and we reached within 30 mins which was incredible.

Vivek was famished by the time we entered Shopper's Stop and found his way directly to the top floor that houses a restaurant called Maiche. Maiche is a very small restaurant with a seating capacity of about 30 people meant mainly for the shoppers. The ambience is modern, delightful and very modest, as it is surrounded by the home store featuring colourful coffee mugs, rugs, bedsheets, pot pourri and such.

The food ranges from classic Italian to Thai to desi dishes like Paratha. While I enjoyed the Pad Thai, Vivek treated himself to the Pennae Pasta with Bolognese Sauce topped with his favourite olives and bell peppers. The service was efficient and quick. I have to admit that I've had better Pad Thai at the Star of Siam and Big Bowl in Chicago. There's something about peanuts ..as kids Indians don't grow up eating peanut butter so it is difficult to develop a taste for anything peanutsy..

After the sumptuous meal, we went on the long awaited shopping spree. The highlight of our shopping was the Tantra T-Shirt section. These T-shirts are hilarious sporting funky slogans and are amazingly cheap. Here are a few slogans that I liked --

God is too big to fit in to one religion

#%&!
The next guy who asks me what it means gets a punch in the face.

Definition of a dhobi – the only man who can say this to your wife –
"bhabhi kapde nikhal kar rakiye, main aaata hoon".

Stoned immaculate – chill out or die

One billion people cannot be wrong

Beer makes you smarter.
IT made Bud Wiser


All good things come to an end and so did our indulgence. It was a day well spent.