The restaurant is inside Taj and ambience and experience is always amazing. I never had less than excellent experience in any taj hotel. The restaurant served free peanuts which complimented my beer. Dimshum, veg main, and hakka noodles I ordered and all good. Go for it.
A nice place with live music, prompt service from very courteous staff, they helped in ordering too. Food was very good, chicken and fried rice both were very well cooked
Craved for some good Asian food and was bored with our usual joints of Mamagoto, Mainland China and the likes. Decided to try Wishpering Bamboo because their menu said they serve Mapo Tofu!
We walked in on a Sunday night at around 7.30 and were promptly seated. We ordered the following:
Soup:
Hot and Sour - Great balance of flavors, thick and sufficient in quantity even though we decided to share the soup
Starter :
We ordered the crystal veggie dumplings and loved how they were stuffed to the brim in a thin translucent cover. For us, the 6 dumplings paired well with the chilly-black bean sauce as well as the spring onion sauce that was served along with three more sauces
Main Course:
Mapo Tofu - I had first eaten this on a trip abroad and was not sure if it was available in Pune. Was pleasantly happy to know this place served it and hence did not even consider anything else. One bite into that silky tofu and what sheer bliss! Do try it if you love your Mapo Tofu! The quantity was sufficient for two.
Tip: The current menu does not show Mapo Tofu, but you can tell the server and they will make it for you for the same cost as their other main course dishes
Shandong Rice - We ordered the Shandong rice to accompany Mapo Tofu and were not disappointed. It was a bowl of stir-fried rice with caramelized onions and veggies and has a great flavor on its own. We managed to finish off the rice, and by the end of dinner were completely full to even think of desserts.
Now, to the main question - Would I visit again?
YES! We liked the food and the service was also as expected from a Blue Diamond.
This restaurant honors Zomato Gold so our bill for the night was 1200 + taxes.
Cheers!
Come here for dinner once every few weeks. Food quality is great and service is even better. Our server Praveen noticed that it was someone’s birthday on our table and surprised us with a wonderful cake at the end of our dinner. Thank you to whispering bamboo and Praveen for the exceptional service!
We accidentally stumbled upon this place while roaming around KP after a salon session. At first the place seemed fancy but it had a cosy ambience and warm staff. For authentic Pan Asian delicacy, one must definitely give it a try. My picks:
Traditional hot and sour soup
Vegetable crystal dumpling
Crispy fried lotus stem
Singapore rice noodles with vegetables
Great chinese food but the quantity is less. The ambience is not very great as you would expect from a restaurant in Taj group. Live music helps to lighten the mood
We were here for dinner on a Saturday night (2 people), service was prompt, accommodating and very attentive.
We had 1/2 a Peking duck, the veg clear soup, some red wine and a gin and tonic.
The duck was authentic and similar to the kind I’ve had in Beijing. The quantity and price were great.
I’m looking forward to being back here.
I have been visiting Whispering Bamboo i think atleast from 10 years and I am never disappointed. The food here is always amazing and they have really maintained their standard. The service is impeccable and the staff are so polite and always make us extremely comfortable. I have tried many many items over the years but to name a few i love the veg hakka noodles, veg manchurian, stir fried veggies in soya chilli sauce, fried rice, lemon coriander, manchow and hot n sour soup, vegetable salt n pepper, water chestnuts in salt and pepper, crispy spinach, lotus stem , Schezuan Babycorn, Spring Rolls etc. I highly recommend the place and they have zomato gold on food too which is great :D
Food was really amazing. We order pan thai chicken bejing noodles with sea food. Really economic place looking onto good food with good ambience and very polite staff. You will definitely get fine dining feel with soothing music. Worth to go
Good service and good food .Staff really helpful and politely . Service very feast and food very testey.. me and my friend very enjoy this restaurant
For drinks I tried Rasam based Vodka Cocktail , nice novelty value for me as this was first time . ( Caution this drink takes 25 min to serve as rasam is made fresh)
It was a large group so many dishes were ordered . Tried prwans in butter garlic sauce, steamed fish with sheshwan , crispy lotus stem . In mains fried noodles and rice was ordered again with some fish preparation .
All dishes were excellent . Service was very good . The place has a nice ambience though I did miss outdoor seating or a view of open area.
Over all a pleasent place with great food & service
One of the best Oriental restaurants in town by far. We had been here for dinner. The food, service n ambience was perfect.
Well trained staff, suggested us good dishes. I m glad that we went here n everything was taken care of.
In food we ordered Chicken Wings, Chicken Fried Rice, Chicken Manchurian With Gravy and a Sweet Corn Chicken Soup. All the dishes were delicious.
Thank you so much guys for a lovely dinner.
Self planned for my birthday dinner and chosen this place. It's really beautiful and tempting interms of food and service. Pure Authentic food and great employee for feeding you. Had a great time and a special thanks to Chef Bala for his great assistance for choosing the right food. Will visit soon with family and friends. Best. !!
Had a nice dinner with family during our stay at Vivanta Taj Blue Diamond. The service was really quick and the place had a quiet, low-key ambience.
It was a small menu with limited options for vegetarians but whatever we ordered was quite good.
We ordered vegetarian dimsums, the brocolli one was better. The corn soup was good but the portion was small. The chili basil entree and burnt garlic fried rice were nicely cooked and turned out a good choice.
Would definitely recommend!
Dinner last night was one of the best meals I have had in Pune. For starters we ordered the prawn hargao and the stir fried lobster. I give both full marks. Main course was pomfret with lemon chili sauce and sliced lamb in black pepper sauce. Absolutely amazing. To top it all we had an amazing dessert. Mango cheesecake. What a meal super. Ambience was nice and service was always with a smile. Keep it up
Indeed a neat place to taste Chinese although not up to the mark yet defiantly worth a try as the taste it very close to the expectation and desire.
A cozy space with well done interiors.
Awesome authentic chinese fare.
Nice variety and presentation.
Good service and over all always like it here.
👍
Best place for family as well as quiet romantic dinner. I have loved the food everytime i visited but the only thing disappointing is the taste of Kimchi which not so great. Also the tiramisu here is a must try and pure indulgence....
Value for money and delicious food.
Minced Chicken dumplings were the real thing!soft,delicious and flavoursome with an array of sauces with it.
Honey chilli chicken was nice and crispy with appropriate(balance) sweetness and heat.
For maincourse the Ice berg golden fried rice with chicken in blackbean sauce was a hit.
The pan fried noodles were separate like sauce and noodles and lacked seasoning mainly of salt,but had the dish had the taste hits.
Jasmine tea/water (welcome drink kind of)is a must and keeps you want it more throughout the meal as it keeps you refreshed at every course of the meal.
Overall good experience.
Most ideal Chinese food, best in the ambience, would never forget the experience with them. Best dish I would always remember is the burnt spinach and garlic, it really an art to make this dish, u should savor it to know the magic of this place, though a bit costly but would give five rate to it... Staff is really helpful to adjust us in their environment and make us comfortable. Had celebrated my anniversary there and really had a good time... Thanks
For me, pan fried is pretty much the benchmark of Chinese food. Generally, if you get pan fried right, everything else should be alright. As for the ambience, the smiles, the service & experience is concerned, nothing beats the DNA of Taj.
I will be visiting regularly, cheers guys !
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Close to perfect place when you wanna go for supreme Chinese dishes. Servings are very appropriate with a nice dish presentation. Loved it!
Been here a number of times- great food and ambience. The preparation is delicious and the service is very welcoming! Lovely place to come with family!
If you are looking for authentic Chinese food in Pune with good ambience, less crowd and live music, then Whispering Bamboo at Taj Vivanta is where you should be headed to. We chose it to celebrate a family occasion and were overwhelmed with the hospitality and the food. Ambience was soothing, service was quick and music was just perfect. The complimentary cake added to the experience. Overall an evening well spent!
Tips: Live music here starts after 8.30. WiFi is available only for in-house guests.
Taj has earned the respect it has on the quality they serve.
Whispering Bamboo is an Chinese food ( Indian Chinese) restaurant inside Vivanta by Taj.
Generally you find residents of hotel there then local people. Quite place but very loud interior. It just does not blend with interior n class lobby shows.
They serve a green tea at start like any other joints in China.
We tried lemon coriander soup. Shandong fried rice with Green vegetables gravy. It was tasty n good to eat.
Food was good but it some howreminded me of Maryland china.
Excellent service. Reasonable price. Good food. If you want indian Chinese this is surely a pick
Citi is organizing a 10 day culinary celebration – Gourmet Flavours wherein people will get an opportunity to sample the best gourmet meals at their favourite and the best restaurants in the cities across India like JW Marriott, Hyatt, Le Meridian, ITC, Taj, Trident to name a few. The cities offering Gourmet Flavours are Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Chandigarh & Ahmedabad.
We visited this place last night and here's a review, as fresh as the food we had there.
The place could use a little better ambiance, in the sense, the lighting and presence of the one man band doesn't do justice to the standard (and prices) of the food here. No offence to the musician, but bryan adams being belted out doesn't go well with dimsum platters, and when folks pay this much for a meal, they're mostly desirous of a quiet dinner and we didn't much like the live music even though the singers and songs themselves weren't bad. It just doesn't go well together with this place. I think they should discontinue the live music and just have soft music playing through the system.
Anyway, on with the review. The food was excellent but the portions were small, very small. the soup was half the size of the soup you'd get in MLC, and the dimsums, while better than royal china, weren't as good as MLC or Shizusan. The other starter we had, was the dry chilli chicken and it was really good. We also ordered glasses of wine, and the amount of wine we got per glass was so less, we can't help but thinking "rip off", of course in places like these, you're itching to use that word, seeing the prices, but seriously, not enough wine per glass.
The food arrived with minimum fuss, and rapid speed. Quick service here, and it was really really good. The veg hakka noodles, burnt garlic fried rice, the kung pao chicken (minus peanuts) and the pan fried chicken in black bean sauce, all truly awesome, and not too small portions compared to the starters and soups. (though the kung pao chicken was just about moderately large) Brilliant taste and really awesome. Good stuff.
We ordered a chocolate cake covered in chocolate sauce (i didnt partake much, u know, high sugar and all that) and it disappeared faster than my money in a mall when out shopping with the wife. read as, fast.
On the whole, pretty steep prices here, and maybe as expensive as royal china but good food and except for the wine portions, no real ripoff moments.
Very good Chinese food. Loved the food out here. Superb jasmine tea and salad. Ambience is simple. The quantity and serving time is usual. I enjoyed dumplings specially, it were beyond my expectations. The staff is cordial. Not many people around at this place.
Taj is Taj.. Never has it been disappointing & this tune was not an exception. Delicious delicious delicious & delicious food.. Loved the lamb . Great service.. Sorry ... Top class service...
It's a beautiful Chinese restaurant. Luxurious yet affordable. The food is very tasty. There are many innovative dishes like a dish with lotus stem. One of my favorite dish is crispy fried noodles with hot garlic. This dish is exactly as it's name suggest, nicely fried noodles with a bit spicy garlic taste. A must visit place. Loved it.
Probably the best Resturant in Pune for Chinese cuisine, excellent ambiance & food. Check out starters made from Lotus stem & water chestnuts they are different & sumptuous. The bar has good collection of wines to accompany your meal .
We went here on May 19, 2016 to celebrate. The food here is very good. You can close your eyes and practically order anything. We ordered over six dishes, randomly (excluding desserts) and we were not disappointed.
They had some sort of mango festival too, in which multiple mango desserts were available. If do feel like mangoes after Asian cuisine, please stick to the regulars. They had some experiments on there as well, which did not complement each other (like Ammalai, diced alphonso with rasmalai)
The ambience however, is sterile, and is paired with an over-enthusiastic staff, to the point that it might even get in between your date.
If you want to go for a good affordable yet a luxurious restaurant, this place is highly recommended. Even if vivanta is completely different from the other hotels under taj, this restaurant lives upto the name.
The pan Asian food served here has excellent taste. The sautéed chicken with shiitake mushrooms in oyster sauce is highly recommended and the flat chicken noodles in hot garlic sauce had an excellent taste with a good amount of veggies. The quantity served is filling and the food is worth every penny.
The staff is extremely polite and friendly! As we were here for a birthday , we were extremely delighted to receive a delicious cake.
Even though this Taj isn't like the rest, space and ambience wise, this restaurant makes up for it. Most of all, the staff gets my applause, cause they were such amiable people! The food was good- generous quantities, on point taste and appreciably fresh! Oh and While waiting for your order, you must eat their tasty kimchi!
We went to this place on a leisurely Sunday afternoon. The place is not so expansive but is neatly organized. The staff is very well trained and makes you feel welcome which is what you expect from Taj.
In beverages, we ordered Draught beer and Passion Mojito. The Mojito was exquisite.
We didn't order any appetizers and ordered the main course. The Vegetable shezwan rice was perfect - neither too chilly nor too bland. The Veg kung pao was nicely made - though the veggies could have been cooked a tad more. The chicken in chilly sauce was nice as well but the veg dish was the better amongst the two.
Overall we enjoyed the food and the hospitality of the place & would recommend this place to folks looking for authentic Chinese food.
It's a new restaurant within the hotel and it's a must try for all the resident guests and people outside too, PAN Asian food with a twist, personalised service and a chef who makes it a point to keep coming to check on all that you have ordered and advices and makes to your pallete
Would sure say it's a must try!
Don't miss the dimsums
Long time since I had been craving for a fine dine restrra and finally decided to pay my visit to this place. Located at KP this place is easy to locate.
Entered the place and the first thing that I though what about the name itself. The theme and the name does not match. This place boasts of Asian food along with that and Chinese touch and having seen the reviews made my expectation only jump a mile long anyways.
Coming straight to the point the first thing that we ordered was sweet corn with broth crab soup and I must say couldn't have impressed me more. Impeccable soup to begin with.
Next in line was stir fried chi yin lamb and the signature dish Peeking Duck. Both of them exception in whatever ways you wanna judge them although the lamb felt a little high on salt and the Peeking duck was simply amazing and orgasmic, infact a serious must have. By this time our hopes has shouted up by stars. Just regretted not ordering the full portion of the duck.
Next up we ordered the main course hakka noodle veg and sautéed prawn dry and this was where the entire experience went below dust. The main course was a disaster. Both the prawn and the noodle felt exceptionally ordinary and infact reminded me of Yo China which is capable of serving you better noodles than what we were having. It took us some time to digest the horrendous main course. It was as if the restrra was making us go through a roller coaster ride. We had to order coke to digest the main course. We decided not to order desserts as we grew sceptical.
Over in over visit this place for some fine dine with some exception starters and Oh so heaven Peeking duck. The place is pricey.
Special mention to the exceptionally courteous staff.
Dinning, Live band with family!!
Ambience is good, decent food, love the Live band. Ensure to taste golden fried prawns and dim sum they are good don't forget to have chilled lychee with ice cream
Probably the only restaurant in Taj Blue D worth going to. Good food, courteous service. Blue D definitely isn't keeping pace with keeping its 5 star status, so don't expect a grand ambiance like you would in a JW or Hyatt. However, this particular restaurant is a must go for foodies. The BEST pecking duck I've ever had anywhere in the world. It's so good, that I don't even remember the names of the other items on the menu I end up eating here. Have the duck & you'll know what I'm talking about. The place has a very cozy feeling to it. Not a place for big groups but for couples or small groups of 4-6 people, perfect for a nice dining experience.
Great ambience, tasty food. The service is outstanding and live music just spices up the food experience. Authentic Chinese food at its best. The best Chinese experience in Pune in my opinion
Very good Thai food, we tried basa fish and chicken with steamed rice. It was tasty. What I didn't like was the hospitality. We entered the restaurant and nobody was looking after us for the seating and menu card. Undoubtedly the food and ambience was amazing. But hospitality needs improvement.
Awesome place. I was there for my anniversary celebration. The place, ambience and food was top notch. They even arranged a surprise anniversary cake which was on the house. Special mention to staff working there. They took great care of my one year old son while me and wife was engaged with food.
Thanks a lot guys. It was an awesome experience.
Whispering Bamboo was perhaps the first venue of genuine South Asian foods in Pune and over the years has continued as a leader in Thai Cuisine! It's no nonsense interiors make the food the center of attraction and allows guests to chat around Straight forward tables, not pretending to have been hauled out of a 1960'd jungle film! If you want Thai food in Pune, this is the place!
Whispering Bamboo...the name itself gives the place a mystical and rich feel! The food, ambience and service justify that feeling!
The ambience is top notch and the staff is very courteous. Being a 5 star however, you shouldn't be expecting anything less than that.
The first thing you get on being seated is the Jasmine tea. It's not the taste but the health benefits that matter. So why not have something healthy before you start on the wines, eh?!
I decided to start off with a Spicy Lemon Coriander Chicken soup. Lovely soup, served nice and hot! (4.5/5)
For starters, it was a round of Steamed Chicken Sui-mai. Nice filling and a very thin coating, a perfect dish! (5/5)
Sauteed Chicken in chilli black bean sauce - Well cooked and tender pieces of chicken served in a delicious sauce, a must try! (4.5/5)
The Kung Pao Chicken - A specialty! Who can say no to it! (4.5/5)
Prawns in Hot Garlic sauce - Well done prawns in a delicious garlic sauce! (4.5/5)
For drinks, I sampled the wine but ordered a Pinacolada. It was quite heavy being made in vanilla ice-cream and honestly, it wasn't something I will be having again! The coconut flavour was a bit too overpowering for me.
Finally for desserts, it was a sugar free Panacotta and a Ferrero Rocher Dumpling coated with crisp sesame. Sounds fancy, so it must taste so too right?! Wrong.
The Panacotta without the sugar, well it wasn't anything more than a big blob. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a medical condition. (2/5)
The Ferrero Rocher blah blah..was a big disappointment. Two ferrero rochers, fried in a batter and coated with sesame seeds and served with vanilla ice cream. You must be kidding me! The names too posh for the dish served! The taste though, isn't too bad. (3/5)
Overall, it was a pleasant evening. Will definitely recommend the place. Good place to spend time with your family over a nice meal.
This place should stop whispering and shout out aloud"Best Chinese / south East Asian food in town".
Service,food and ambience perfect.Food looks and tastes grear.Looking forward to the next journey ......
The most authentic Chinese food I've had in India..
They have a huge variety of dishes and the sea food is a must try here..
They also have a lotus stem option for veggies to try out which I found quite fascinating..
Even if you are not a Chinese food lover-- this one's a must try!!
Had dinner at Whispering bamboo pune on 11th October. It was a very good experience as service was too good. Excellent food. Very good ambience and the staff extremely courteous. Will definitely come again.
Spent a long evening with my dad after a long time. They took care of it and made it a special one. Starting with the steamed dumplings, flat noodles in various sauces offered. Taj hospitality was as expected the best in town. Not much crowded. Recommended for a private silent dinner.
Despite our innumerable visits to vivanta, we have always walked past Whispering bamboos ignoring it - till this visit. In an inspired moment (on seeing a placard outside), we walked in to one of our best Chinese cuisine experiences in Pune.
First thing to notice about this place are the bamboo lined walls that are inspired from the name of the place. The decor doesn't have the over done Chinese feel which is a relief. Subtle pieces like chopsticks and small wall hangings remind us of the cuisine. Complimentary jasmine tea was perfectly brewed and was refreshing. The staff was typical of any Taj hotel - friendly, polite and courteous.
We ordered dry chilli chicken for starters. The chicken was perfectly cooked - delicate and soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. The gravy took me to my childhood days at china town in Kolkata (only a refined version of it). For the main-course we ordered shredded lamb cooked in Szechuan style with scallions along with burnt garlic veg fried rice. The rice was tasty and the burnt garlic added a nice flavour to the whole combination. The lamb was well done and the main course was a pleasant experience. The serving was enough for 2 people.
What blew us off was the Pannacotta which was perfect - the best desert we have had in a long long time. The cream was just sweet enough and had a lovely texture. The menu said the desert was sugar free. The sourness of the blueberry sauce on top complimented it perfectly. Given enough time and money we would have ordered their entire set on Pannacottas. Sadly that was not to be.
All in all a very pleasant experience that deserves a second visit soon.
The 'Dumplings', 'Basa Fillets', 'Fish in Chilli Bean Sause' with 'Crunchy Burnt Garlic Rice' and 'Crunchy Darsaan' are a few of their specialities.
From Ambience to Hospitality and from Flavours to Taste, Whispering Bamboos has it all!
There are very few things that give one as much pleasure as spending a relaxed evening with an old friend (especially if he is a hotelier) over a couple of glasses of beer and some really good food.
My trip to Pune brought me back in touch with an old College friend, Praveen Sharda who is at the Vivanta by Taj (also popularly known as the Taj Blue Diamond. We decided to catch up over dinner and he suggested that we spend our time at the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, Whispering Bamboo.
While Taj has always been known for its Chinese Cuisine, my experience at the Whispering Bamboo took it to a whole new level today. Upon entry we were very warmly greeted by the Restaurant hostess and also the supervisor (Mr. Ganesh) and seated in a quiet corner of the restaurant which made it easy for both of us to have an ongoing conversation. The restaurant itself is extremely well appointed and very well laid out and gives you a feeling of warmth as you settle down for a meal.
Being in the company of a hotelier, I left it to Praveen to order for me and boy, was that a good decision. The only things he checked with me for were whether there were any specific meats that I preferred and how hungry I was.. :)
Being a consummate hotelier, he ended up mostly pecking at what he ordered for himself, so I’ll talk through what I feasted on. I started off with an assorted Dim sum basket that was a combination of Chicken & Fish that came along with a variety of sauces. The Dim Sums were brought to the table in a Dim Sum Trolley that ensured that they were moist and steaming as they were served. The sauces made for a great variety but the one that caught a lot of my attention was the Bird Chilly sauce which punished me for a while but I tell you…is absolutely a must!!!!! Washed down with Chilled beer, those Dim Sums made for a great beginning……
That superb starter was followed by an equally amazing Grouper (Fish) in Chili Garlic Sauce served with some amazing Egg Fried Rice . The fish was exquisitely done, flavoured to perfection and literally melted in the mouth and the sauce blended very well with the rice. So much so, that yours truly pretty much polished off the entire portion without any guilt. Awesome!!!!!!!
While we were enjoying ourselves, it was also nice to see a lot of the service staff happily converging on one of the tables in the restaurant with a cake (looks like the lady at the table was celebrating her birthday).
All of this interspaced with a lot of old memories coming back made for a memorable meal of good food, recollections & a whole lot of laughter. :)
At the end, there were a lot of recommendations for dessert which I needed to decline due to my overfull palate, but I am going to leave that for another day so that I have an excuse to go back and enjoy some of that wonderful food again.
Praveen Sharda & Team, you guys have a great restaurant and it’s good to see the pride with which you cater to your guests. Thanks for a lovely evening and be rest assured you will find me in there soon again…
I've been going to whispering bamboo for ever since I can imagine. Having spent a good part of my life in the Far East, I missed the food here in Pune!
Whispering Bamboo was a blessing.
They have soft melt in the mouth dumplings, which is what I go there for the most.
Main course is lovely too, but there's no particular dish that stands out for me.
But it satiates my craving for good Chinese food!
Melt in the mouth soft dumplings - brocoli and the chicken, both variants were good.
Light crowd - probably as it middle of the week.
Crunchy corn bites went well with the drink
Service appeared to be prompt.
Absolutely brilliant food and service. The ambience was perfect with just the right kind of lighting and light instrumental music to compliment the food. We ordered the spicy sea food dim-sum (which is a must if your a sea food lover) and the crispy chicken which was honey glazed and cooked to a golden brown perfection. Undoubtedly the best Chinese I've had in town.
The brocoli and chili dumpling was awesome!! We had fried rice and assorted vegetables which was also very good!! The chocolate mousse, vanilla cream and spices made my day!! Totally loved it!!
I have never enjoyed Chinese food as much as i enjoyed it here.the staff and especially the chef are extremely courteous,eager to guide us.service was prompt and it gets even better with their all time smiling faces.we are bound to be refreshed by the jasmine green teas offered by them at regular intervals.it is splendid in taste and i ended up having 5 cups of them.as the name suggests,the restaurant is exquisitely designed with bamboos giving it a wooden finish.the food was out of the world.for appetiser we had ordered spicy chicken lemon coriander soup and manchow soup.for the starters was crispy chicken honey chilli which we ended up ordering again because i have never had a tastier chinese chicken preparation.other than that was prawns in butter garlic and chicken dimsums(twice again).they serve you three different kind of dips/sauces each one is wonderful.for the main course was burnt garlic rice,mixed hakka noodles(best noodles i have had) and braised schezwan chilli fish(out of the world again).the cherry on the cake was the tiramisu and we loved every bit of the dinner and i cant wait to visit this place again.
A must try place for all who loves Chinese food...Ambiance is good , with courteous staff.. One can have leisure time with family and friends with great Chinese food...
Service : 4.5 /5
Food : 5/5
Ambiance : 5/5
A fantastic place, my husband made reservations for a surprise lunch, and the arrangements were just osm.. True hospitality experienced. A memorable lunch with two stewards at our service.
Chinese Tea - truly refreshing.
Cripsy chicken honey chilli - yummmm! perfect blend of sweet n spicy.
Dimsum - Mix veg sui mai - naaaa! not all that great.
Noodles - good too.
And the lunch ended with a b'ful piece of pastry from the Hotel staff to add to the b'day celebrations..
If you want to eat Oriental cuisine then this is the ultimate place to be. It has all the right ingredients: perfect location, amazing ambience( gives a Japanese restaurant feel), good service and good quantity.
It's often seen that in luxury restaurants the food quantity is less but quality and decorations are more. Not here, there is less decoration done so u get lots of food and then the pricing justified.
We had ordered prawns dimsums and they were amazing! The chicken and lamb dishes were spectacular along with the noodles.
Recommendation: try out lamb, pork and beef. Everything here is top notch.
Cons: reservations are must. Also as the customers increased service slowed down. A bit of a let down
The food is just amazing ... Had a wonderful time with family ...thank you chef sachin Joshi ... There was lot of vegetarian options available ...
Went out last night to Whispering Bamboo with my family to try out the Chinese festival they were having. I just love the vibe of the taj blue diamond as its my favourite hotel in town as I use to always stay here whenever I use to visit. Ordered Jasmine tea right away and the lady was making sure she always refilled the hot water. Service initially was a little slow but then picked up in full steam.We were in a group of 4 with 2 vegetarians. So we decided to order more vegetarian dishes. Starter Shanghai spring onion cakes. These were very good and love and enjoyed by all. Veg - spring rolls - Were again good. Now I am thinking of what words to use to describe the dishes. Or should it be like the vegetables were finely chopped with the right amount of spices and flavour wrapped in spring roll sheets and fried in hot oil just perfect. hahaha I am so bad at this.Fried tofu with chilli and garlic was a dish u need to order next time you head there.dimsums - disappointed - The pakchoy and mushroom dimsum came out cold and I feel the cover was too hard. Veg siu mai didn't end up coming a mistake by gopu the captain which he came and apologise for and we told him to let go. See this is the service etiquette of a taj restaurant make a mistake and apologise don't try to hide or try to say oh no sir u didn't order like other places. Makes u come back.main course Aubergine grilled in black bean sauce - was really nice.Exotic veggies in chilli coriander sauce was good a tinge of spiciness for the locals stir fry pork was the showstopper. It was really cooked well. Pan fried noodles veg should have been served hotter.hakka noodles were good burnt garlic rice is what I loved .total bill 5100 and I paid for it. no free meals for reviews.I am a epicure member forgot to carry my card so no discount. will go back and recommend definitely. I love this place.
Being a Taj hotel restaurant, it is a tad expensive. However, expectedly, it is backed up by great service. Landed up with a friend, in the evening, after an extremely tiring day. That is when you truly appreciate the ambience and service. Both are excellent. We tried only non vegetarian stuff. Good seafood dishes and excellent chicken preparations. The sauces are subtle yet delicious. Elements are fresh and well combined. Portion sizes are good. Worth at least one visit.
Great ambience, courteous waiters and good food! :-)
Dry Lamb with pepper and Chicken Pan Fried Noodles were good, but the Seafood Shangdon Rice and the Mango Creme Brûlée with Mango Ice Cream were just too good; loved it!
The hunt for the true successor of mainland China continues. Whispering bamboo is another not so successful attempt at providing fine Chinese cuisine in the city.
Can't fault the service but given Taj is running the show you do expect the world on that front.
But the ambiance is a let down with very basic refurbishment over the Blue Diamond days.
The food we ordered was a Black fungus and tofu soup which was neither warm enough nor with strong flavours to leave a mark.
Main course was Shedong fried rice and water chestnut and corn Saudi in black pepper along with pan fried noodles in black bean sauce. In short nothing was bad but nothing left a mark either. The rice and sauce were better than the pan fired noodles for sure !
Of surgeon was the desert - the chocolate mousse with spice was easily one of the best dessert we've had in Pune.
It is quite likely I will visit the place to pick this up in the future. For the food not so sure !
Excellent decor seating and ambience. Had gone there for lunch on saturday and it was not so crowded. Loved the table setup. We had ordered chicken dimsum which simply outstanding. Chef shows his masterclass by making thinnest possible coating. Dimsums simply melt in your mouth. In main course i had ordered duck in pot and the first bite tickled all senses in my mouth. The sauce was excellent and meat tender. Pune is a hyped city with so called five star restaurants serving garbage jn the name of fine dining. TAJ surely stands out as royal five star. Loved every bit of my experince here. Will be back for more. Special mention about staff and attended. Efdicient service without being intrusive.
Perfect place if you wanna feel pampered by service and their delicacies...
Delectable food and perfect ambience to just enjoy your dinner...
Food quality - we started off with our favourite - manchowsoup - which was good. But the hara bhara kabab was a big put off...it was almost tasteless. The tawa veg we ordered had less gravy, wihchi liked, but it had less of salt too!! The captain was handling too many tables at atime, which made him forget about the dal takda we had ordered. IT came a bit later, but was nice to taste. The naan was a bit too thick. Roti was nice, ambience is preety good as per the musicians are called to play romantic guitars
Having dinner all by yourself is no fun. So while twitterati suggested that I dine at the famous Terttulia, I opted for Whispering Bamboo at Vivanta by Taj where I was staying.
Not much of a Chinese food lover, I spoke with the F&B Manager veforehand in order to find out if a table booking was necessary. He said, for one person, reservation wasn’t required. And sure enough, when I went downstairs at 8.30, he had a quite table for me.
A nice cheerful place, not too big, but holds up to 10-12 tables, the staff is extremely courteous. When I told them that I wouldn’t take any hard drinks, they brought in a nice green tea in a nicer tea pot. Although not a Chinese foodie, I love dimsums. The manager suggested I go for the Dim sum platter that would have 2 each of Prawn Sui Mai, Spicy Seafood Dumpling and Minced Chicken & chopped Water Chestnut Sui Mai. Served with an assortment of sauces, the dim sums were YUMM!!!
For main course, I ordered Shredded lamb in Pepper Sauce and Crab Fried rice. On telling him that I eat small for dinner, the manager offered to get me half portions. That worked perfectly well with my appetite. The lamb and rice were very good. And filling too.
They charged me half for the main course. Total bill was about Rs 1100. Perfect, I thought!
:-)
Some good Chinese was what I was craving for. So me n my brother been to this retstaurant.
We had 4 different dumplings and 2 main courses with pan fried noodles. The food was fantabulous, Service was immaculate.
The wine list pretty good and has been put up together with the consideration of cuisine they are serving; this happens vert rarely in Pune.
Perfect food paired with matching wine by efficient servers made the night more enjoyable.
The only point i would like them to consider is the music they play in restaurant ( might be because of my personal liking).
Food: 4.5/6
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Another all time favourite! A must try for pan Asian food lovers. Prompt service, great ambiance and super food! What more to ask for? They also have a good selection of wines, and their chicken/shrimp dumplings are one of my
favourites!
Try making a prior booking as it is almost always busy!
Everything was great about this place... food, ambiance etc, only thing we felt was that the service was too slow, otherwise worth the money.
I will start by saying that a Taj is a Taj and I have never been disappointed in them. Their hospitality and food is among the very best in India, be that at the Taj Palace or a Vivanta. After having tried all of the Chinese restaurants in Pune and wanting to go someplace else, we settled on Whispering Bamboos. It was a great choice and an amazing experience. Starting with the soups to the starters and the main course, the food and the service was absolutely delectable and delightful. I would recommend this place over Ban tao and definitely over Royal China.
If you are a person who loves late night quality eats- TAJ it is !
I have been going there off and on, once in a while, and they have consistently provided good food, quick service, quality ambiance and crowd. For me personally, the late night availability is the highlight, coupled with such fine quality and great taste across a varied range of cuisines.
Good presentation, good ambiance and decor, great food and service.
One suggestion- please serve liquor till the wee hours as well please?
Shambhavi Kumria Sharma
+5
Have been wanting to go Vegan for a while now but if I keep thinking of the Peking Duck with pancakes, spring onions, cucumber and plums sauce I had here, I'll probably never succeed! In all probability, the best duck I have ever had! Crusty from the top but juicy from the inside. Basically perfectly roasted and shredded in just the right size to be able to keep the cucumber, spring onions, pancake and plum sauce in your mouth all at once and taste them all too :D. Anyway, started with the main course as I loved that the most but, let me go to the starters now. For starters, had never even heard of Chestnuts in sweet chilli sauce which turned out to be pretty decent. I have seen chestnuts on trees during my school days which we were asked to paint and make faces of them for chestnut puppet shows etc.so couldn't imagine them being edible somehow. Pretty neat actually!
The butter chilli garlic prawns, Dry tender lamb, Sliced fish with roasted chillies were fab too! Not too fond of crab so did not really try my hands on the Soft shell crab, though people with me loved this too. The assortment of sauces placed on your table is actually quite fascinating.The service is magical as the WB folks keep tracking your reactions it seems; as soon as your glass gets empty-the water is filled, as soon as you take a pause from stuffing your face, they get you Chinese tea in those jazzy Chinese pots and cups. Not to forget, fried honey noodles with ice cream. To be honest, wasn't really keen to try as I detest Honey to the core...but I am glad I did! Scrumptious is the word! This review gives you only a fragmentary glimpse of the place. It seems there is a lot more to explore :)
I'm a frequent visitor to The Taj in Pune. The experience in Whispering Bamboo was as awesome as other restaurants in the premises. The place like any other Taj property is serene and makes you feel at home while you dine here. The food and the hospitality is beyond appreciation. I would recommend everyone to dine here at least once
The right word to describe this place would be- Awe-some.
As recommended by Zomato, did a prior booking for a table for 2 for a quiet Saturday dinner. However, just felt that it was not required as the place is less crowded.
The service, ambiance, decor, music all add up to that lovely feeling of being in a place where time stops. Was greeted courteously by member of staff, and presented with an extensive menu for drinks and food. The staff is always smiling and eager to serve.
Following is my review-
1. Shredded potato chili and garlic- French fries topped with a garlic and chili sauce. Not spicy, but something unique. The fries did not go soggy even after 10 mins.
2. Assorted mushrooms with chili- Totally recommended if you love mushrooms. Done to perfection and loved the taste. Go for it!
3. Hakka Noodles- Like any other noodles. Nothing so great
4. Tofu with vegetables n mushrooms in black bean sauce (this was recommended by the server) - Lovely. M glad I went for the recommendation and tried this with the noodles.
5. Chocolate mousse with vanilla cream n spices ( another recommendation from the server) This was the highlight of the evening! Totally worth it! Need I say more?
Drinks-
Margarita, Cosmopolitan- potent and good.
For 6 drinks, 2 appetizer, 2 main course and 1 dessert, we churned out 5500 inclusive of taxes.
Expensive- yes, off course (It's Taj!)
Worth- Totally.
For special occasions this is definitely a try.
Am usually one that goes all out on the non veg but my favourite here is the brocolli cheese chilly dumplings. The chicken clear soup with veggies (not on the menu) is also a great choice if u want something light.
The burnt garlic chicken rice with lamb is a nice combo.
When it comes to any Taj restaurants Service consistency is always something u can expect and be delighted by.
Very very reasonable prices for a Taj restaurant, I'm sure my bills @even 5 spice in Bombay are around the same price range. Total VfM!
Yummy and authentic Chinese food in Pune! A good place to relax and pleasant dining experience.
My recommendations for Vegetarians will be: Soup: Vegetable Spicy Lemon Coriander Soup Starters: Golden sweet corn five spice, Shredded potato chili and garlic, Crispy Chengdu Lotus Stem with pepper and salt, Water chestnuts with pepper and salt.
Main Course: In the main course Vegetable Stir Fried Rice, Crunchy Burnt Garlic rice is must have along with Vegetables Tossed Hakka Noodles & Veg Manchurian Gravy. You can have Lemon Ice Tea along with meals, it’s quite good and refreshing.
Staff is courteous and my overall experience is quite satisfactory! A must for Chinese Food lovers!
A perfect fine dine restaurant with excellent service. Must visit this place for authentic chinese food and a pleasant experience. The restaurant has never been over crowded and is perfect for a relaxed evening with friends and family. What makes the experience even better is the beautiful presentation of the food and the cutlery used. The staff is extremely courteous and friendly. Must visit!!
Quiet place with excellent service and Great food. Sums it up all .... have been here a few times and really like this place.
Very classy !
Perfect ambiance, great food. Over the years it has made a place in our heart. their pork dishes are perfect and their garlic fried rice is to die for.
Perfect for a romantic day ot
Whispering Bamboos is one of the finest restaurants in Pune. The service and food certainly meet the high expectations set by Taj.
During our visit, the staff was professional and timely. The waiters were polite to all the customers present that evening.
On top of the good service, the food was delicious! There is a wide selection to choose from, all meals special in their own way. I highly recommend you order the Honey Glazed chicken. It's for sure the most mouthwatering dish in the menu.
All meals are value for money and have great rates for a 5 star hotel.
Visit this restaurant, you'll enjoy for sure :)
Excellent service - not too much a crowd and Thus so the waiter had full attention to every detail from our order (detailed explanation he gave) to the cutlery! A father-daughter's quiet Eve dinner it was with the perfect calming ambience and an exciting array of decorations infront - aka the 5 varieties of 'chinese' sauces/vinegar/soy enhanced by the fresh lilies on water bowls ... Pretty!
Food- so my favourites of Crispy fried noodles, a chicken and his favourite of prawns - so flavoursome and really light on the stomach but apt for a meal for two.really humbling an experience - both came out with smiles to end the night :)
Visited this place for Dinner as i was staying here in a Biz Trip to the City .. Was quite tired and did not want to step out for Dinner :-) ....
Was seated quite easily though there was a very large Biz Dinner happening in the restaurant :-) ..... Restaurant has a good ambience and decor and lots of pleasant smiles from the stewards :-) :-) .. Makes you comfortable immediately :-) ......We ordered a lemon coriander soup, Pot of Mushroom Fried Rice for Dinner and found the food to be fresh, tasty and served on time :-) ....LIked the overall experience and found the pricing to be quite fair :-) .......will want you to try this place for sure
Since we suddenly made dinner palns on a Saturday ( read 10pm), we knew the only place where we'd easily get a table and an unrushed meal, unlike most restaurants in the city on a Saturday evening - we picked Whispering Bamboos.
Having been a regular at Latitude, I wasn't quite confident about the taste of the food here. this was also based on a negative comment my dad passed about the place, a few months back.
However, I was pleasantly surprised and will definitely be going back more often.
We ordered the sui-mai chicken momos for starters and they were perfect - but don't order these if you expect spice. these are particularly bland.
Besides, we had the Peking Duck adn the sauces were just brilliant. The pancakes were normal adn the meat was a little tough - but then again, that's duck meat.
The crab meat rice had a distinct strong flavour of crab, and they were totally worth it. The black pepper lamb was also really good.
The portions too, were decently surprising ( we couldn't finish everything between 2 of us).
We ended the meal with Banofee for dessert - but that came from Latitude and sadly - was disappointing.
Ofcourse, i can't miss making a mention of Charles and Vinay ( hopefully the management is listening)! They truly live up to the hospitality standards of the Taj!
All in all, a wonderful evening!
My appetite for authentic Asian cuisine has met with some palatable answers in the city of Pune. I absolutely love pan asian cuisine and have been disappointed too many times by the overpowering flavours created n dished at numerous well rated restaurants.
Over all this place serves a decent fare and would have still earned a 3.5* the bonus is for the perfectly done pan fried noodles which I believe are a must try when you go here.
We started our meal with jade black fungus and tofu soup, prawn sui mai and fish honey five spicy. The soup had subtle flavours and set a perfect tone for our meal, the prawn sui mai was just about oki (flavour was fine but these came out soaked), the server struggled and we ended up with couple broken dim sums. The fish was flavourful, sweet and spicy. Could have been slightly succulent but it wasn't bad at all.
Now the best part of the meal ... the pan fried noodles. This delicacy surely needs a skilled chef to be dished out perfectly, this has been my best digs in a long time. It was not too oily as served in most places, perfect golden crisp at the bottom n soft on the inside. The vegetables were in generous portion and the customised pepper garlic sauce was the star of the evening. The best part was the noodles stayed crispy right till the end and sauce that accompanied did not make the whole thing soggy. If you love pan fried noodle I am sure you will understand what I am implying here.
The ambience was warm and welcoming, the plus was the live piano music with a pianist who played some of our favourite numbers. All in all a great start of another weekend ... Kudos !!
I went here on my birthday with my parents after hearing great reviews of the place by a friend many years ago and was quite impressed by the food. The place lives up to its name as it is done up with bamboos surrounding the walls and the decor is soothing to the eyes. The staff is warm and courteous and their service is great. We started our meal with the soft shell crab with Butter Chilli Garlic which exceeded my expectations. The crab shell was surprisingly soft and pleasantly crunchy and Chilli garlic seasoning accompanied it perfectly. For main course we had the Kung Pao diced chicked with roasted chilli which was a pleasant Chinese staple and was made with the perfect blend of spices. To go with it, my parents chose Chicken soft noodles in a Cantonese sauce on special request as they are from Kolkata, and prefer this style to Hakka (its not on the menu). This is really delicious with a nice blend of vegetables and a bland yet flavorful sauce. Being a lover of spicy food, I ate chicken soft noodles in Chilly Soya Sauce which was a good blend of soya and chilly. Overall, we had a good experience and a nice meal.
Been here for my parents anniversary..
A lovely place.. Quiet.. Serves excellent food!!
Overpriced.. But the service, quality of food, the crocery, elegant furniture and soothing music makes up for it!!
Last night we went to celebrate my birthday at Whispering Bamboo with my family . We were 7 of us.
We ordered soup which was excellent : Sweet corn chicken, lemon coriander and garlic clear soup.
For starters we ordered crispy honey chicken which was very good and cheese mushroom momos which were made very well but was not tasty. My child just spat it out.
For main course we ordered Chicken fried rice and crabmeat fried rice.
Chicken fried rice was good but the crabmeat fried rice was smelling. I know for sure that fresh crabmeat does not smell, but didn't say anything as I didn't want to spoil my birhday mood.
We ordered 5 main course gravy items : 3 chicken( 1 claypot chicken), 1 pork and 1 lamb, they were all good though I didn't taste pork.
While eating I noiced some cups on the table, on asking, they informed us tha its for chinese jasmine tea which would be served at the end. In the US in Chinese restaurants they serve complementary Chinese tea from the beginning. On asking the steward , he started serving us the tea. I mean why wait to be asked, you should ask and then serve.
For desert we ordered date pancake which was ok and toffee apples which were well made.
Would I go again? Sure, if someone gives me a treat.
, I like to try new places, maybe I'll try Mystic masala buffet next time.
Food wise you can only hope taj exceeds your expectations and whispering bamboos certainly did. We went there to celebrate our anniversary and the taj staff and the chef didn't let us down. All in all, we had a great time.
Food:
Lobster: amazing. Just melts in your mouth. Rightly spiced and cooked
Crispy chendgu lotus stem: crispy and good but wouldn't wage money and "stomach space" on it
Claypot chicken and wok tossed Hakka noodle: tasty
Yummy and authentic Chinese food in Pune! A good place to relax and pleasant dining experience. It is located inside Vivanta by Taj, the restaurant offers fine dining experience. Nice, excellent food. The portions are huge and each dish is good for two people. Excellent taste and presentation. Service is too slow rest everything the is perfect.
Whispering Bamboo at Blue Diamond, Pune is one of best restaurant for Chinese and Thai food in Koregaon Park.
The sophisticated and serene vibe at Whispering Bamboo makes it a top choice for working lunches and leisurely meals. The menu serves spicy Sichuan, Hunan and Cantonese dishes that hit the sweet spot for Blue Diamond’s well-heeled guests.
Yummy and authentic Chinese food in Pune! A good place to relax and pleasant dining experience.
My recommendations for Vegetarians will be: Soup: Vegetable Spicy Lemon Coriander Soup Starters: Golden sweet corn five spice, Shredded potato chili and garlic, Crispy Chengdu Lotus Stem with pepper and salt, Water chestnuts with pepper and salt.
Main Course: In the main course Vegetable Stir Fried Rice, Crunchy Burnt Garlic rice is must have along with Vegetables Tossed Hakka Noodles & Veg Manchurian Gravy. You can have Lemon Ice Tea along with meals, it’s quite good and refreshing.
Staff is courteous and my overall experience is quite satisfactory! A must for Chinese Food lovers!
This is a long pending review. Took my Parents out for a quiet dinner to Whispering Bamboos, oriental restaurant at the Taj Blue Diamond in October 2021.
Must say it is a serene place with Bamboo shoots interspersed into every nook and corner of the restaurant. In addition there are props and oriental decor with a cascade of waters.
They serve a very scrumptious Crispy Peking Duck- we ordered half a duck which comes with Chinese pancakes aka scallions, hoisin sauce and honey sauce with a side of Chinese pickled salad, similar to Khimchi or Xinqi.
Since I have a thing for Crispy Conjee Lamb, being our most preferred and widely ordered dish in Dubai, especially for my Parents, we didn't think twice. However it arrived too deep fried it almost burnt. They instantly and happily replaced it- which was perfect- crisp crunch and optimum seasoning.
Golden Fried King Prawns- One of their Chef's special dishes, it was crisp and the element of crunch was there but it was too oily- I could see oil oozing out from it.
Honey Glazed pork Ribs- another family weakness- it was nicely done, well plated very well flavoured. Ribs were soft and succulent and juicy.
For dessert we had Brownie with Ice-cream which is as per SOP. For drinks we had Virgin Mojitos, Virgin Pina Coladas and fresh lime soda. Service followed all the etiquettes.
A nice place to visit for chinese cuisine. Located inside Vivanta by Taj, the restaurant offers fine dining experience. Nice and soothing decor, excellent food. The portions are huge and each dish is good for two people. Excellent taste and presentation. Highly recommended
Amazing food. I was unwell on my birthday and was not in a state to eat spicy food. The cook customized the foods accordingly and i have to say the food tasted amazing. The butter garlic prawns were so soft and nice. The honey spike pork was delicious. I will definitely recommend going here. The service, food and ambience are a must experience at least once.
My experience was fabulous. Quality and tasty food. I ordered dimshum, veg main dish, and noodles with kingfisher pint. Very rarely a restaurant serves tasty free nuts when you order beer. I liked the ambience of it. Its so good. I went early for lunch and we were only guest at the moment. One of the best restaurant in pune.
A really nice place to have oriental and Chinese and it has the best dim sums served.
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