Puranmal’s ‘Pure Veg Restaurant’ Opens in Main Street, Fujairah

Long Awaited

“We have been waiting for weeks for this restaurant to open in Fujairah,” said one of the Fujairah-based diners from Hyderabad.

He added, “This food tastes like home. When we are away from home this food gives us great comfort.”

Before the ‘Pure Vegetarian restaurant’ opened earlier this month Puranmal was receiving 10-15 phone calls a day from people asking, ‘When is the opening day in Fujairah?’

When the Puranmal team came to Fujairah last year serving their sweets at a Diwali festival, it raised the awareness that the new restaurant was coming to the north-eastern emirate.

Judging by the number and variety of people coming to the restaurant each day it appears that there are many who have already tasted and enjoyed the Puranmal food in Dubai and Sharjah.

Puranmal Group

The Puranmal flavour has been known for three decades in the UAE. The ‘Pure Vegetarian Restaurant’ in Fujairah is a franchisee of the Puranmal Group which has a dozen restaurants and sweet shops in Dubai and Sharjah.

Puranmal Pedigree

Puranmal is now a third generation business that was established by an Indian who came to the UAE 36 years ago. The early family members were Brahmans who had vegetarian convictions and did not consume eggs.

The goal of the Puranmal Group is to open an outlet in every major city of India but they still have more plans for the UAE. They are exploring an outlet in Khor Fakkan, if not a restaurant, at least an establishment where people can buy snacks and sweets.

Architect Restaurateur

The CEO of the ‘Pure Veg Restaurant’ is Gurnam Singh, who is a partner in the Puranmal Group.

He is also an architect who works as the Managing Director of Bikram Industries.

Gurnam, who has been making the daily journey from his home in Sharjah to Fujairah, said:

“My father came to the UAE in 1976 and my dream has been to enter the field of hospitality. We have been doing regular projections in Fujairah for many years and now it seems the right time for us to set up a restaurant in this emirate.”

Fujairah Restaurant

The outlet opposite the ADCB Bank in Fujairah’s main street consists of a snack bar (chat pati chaat), a sweets and nuts counter, meals to enjoy within the restaurant (breakfast, lunch and dinner), a takeaway service, and off-site catering for parties, corporate dinners including outdoor events.

The Puranmal Experience

When I asked Gurnam Singh what he wants people to think of when they hear the word ‘Puranmal’ this was his reply:

Taste

Firstly, I want people to remember the taste because we have been working to create a consistent taste for many years.

Quality

“We are well known in the UAE for our ‘class cuisine’. We supply sweets to many 5 star hotels in the Emirates as well as to the Dubai Palace and to sheikhs and their families.”

“The way we maintain our standards is to employ expert staff who we train for a further three months to ensure that they know the ingredients we like and the methods we have used for years.”

Pure Veg

“We only serve vegetarian food but we are pure vegetarian. 70% of our ingredients are pure quality vegetables direct from nature and cooked with no additives. Our diners have become very conscious of the need to eat healthily and we want to honor that desire.”

A Touch of Home

“As a restaurant owner and architect I want people to remember their experience of India in our restaurants not only through their taste buds but by the overall ambience of the place.”

“We have created areas for open dining but developed some ‘cosy corners’ for people who want more privacy. There are designated areas with partitions and we are considering the possibility of having dedicated family rooms.”

“The dark colours create a feeling of coziness and the warm tones instill comfort and they soothe the eyes. We have hung good quality paintings and the lines are clear and striking. We have used the traditional Arabic ‘mashrabiya’ (carved wooden latticework) to remind people that they are having an Indian experience in the UAE.”

“Towards the back of the restaurant there is a board containing crafts from many different states of India and one from Pakistan. We hope people will see this and recognize items from their home state.”

“I have selected the music that is played in the restaurant and this features many well-known and much-loved songs.

“All in all, we are aiming for a classic design with a warm contemporary touch. We want to offer every person the many tastes of India.”

Economical

Mr. Singh said:

“We have set our prices so they are not too high and not too low. We do not want to put our prices so low that we cannot purchase quality vegetables and ingredients. We will not compromise on the Puranmal taste.”

“If say a family does not want to pay 100 dirhams for their meal they can choose a thali in which they will get a variety of portions on the one plate all at a very good price.”

“We are flexible and we will never say ‘No’ to a tourist because if they don’t like Indian food we will cook Chinese and if they don’t want a big meal we can serve snacks. We have a spicy taste but for those who don’t like it hot we modify the cooking for the customer’s requirements.”

Hours

Opens at 9.00am and the last order is taken at 11.30pm.

Check the menu. Some orders are only served in the evening.

Location and Contact Details

Pure Vegetarian Restaurant

Opposite ADCB Bank,

Hamad bin Abdulla Street

FUJAIRAH

Tel: 09 2239741

Email: pure_veg@eim.ae

Website: www.puranmal.ae (under construction?)

Find it on Google Maps

Check out the location at this link on Google Maps.

Download the Menu

The dishes and prices are bound to change but these are accurate as at April 2011. You can download the menu at this link.

Take a Look

Some photos of the ‘Pure Veg Restaurant’ in Fujairah, the snacks and the sweets can be viewed in this photo album.

Geoff Pound

This article is also posted in the Fujairah in Focus—Facebook Page.