Koji, Conrad- Bund Garden Road, Pune

A Chic Oriental Fine-Dine Restaurant serving good Sushi. Good Asian Experience.

Recommended Drinks and Dishes: Midnight Silk, Classic Har Gao, Sashimi and Nigiri platter, Chicken Sichuan Noodles

Drinks:

Midnight Silk: It has Vodka, Kaluha, Baileys and Vanilla ice cream. If you love sweet cocktails with cream and baileys in it, you should definitely try it. A smooth, yet strong cocktail.

Tokyo Drift: This had Whisky, Vodka, Sake and lime juice.But it wasn’t that strong on alcohol. All I could taste was lime juice.

Food:

Classic Har Gao: These were good. Perfectly steamed dumplings with very think cover and were served piping hot.

 Koji Chicken: Wok tossed chicken with cashews and bell-peppers garnished with spring onions. Chicken was tender and had a good spice level.

 Sashimi and Nigiri platter with Octopus, Salmon, Barbequed Eel, Red Tuna: Those who love sushi should definitely try them here. I tried Sashimi for the first time and I have to admit, I will stick to Nigiri over sashimi the next time.

Chicken Sichuan Noodles: No complaints on this one.

Service: In all a well-trained staff. But service is bit slow. I think waiting staff could be more attentive. There were times when I could not see any waiting staff in entire restaurant. My order taker could not explain me the options in sushi platter very well.

 

Ambience: Very artistically done décor. Open sushi bar. Cozi seats. Nice chandeliers giving good lighting effects.

 

Value for Money: Depends on how deep your pockets are. One you should try it at least once.

 

Rating: 4/5

China Garden, FC Road, Pune

If few aspects are overlooked, this place serves delicious food.

Recommended Dishes: Chicken noodles soup, Chicken schezwan noodles (Gravy on the top)

Food:

Chicken noodles soup (Thukpa): Served in a transparent tea cup like bowls, this soup was good. Spicy and flavourful soup with noodles. They said it was thukpa. But I could not find any thukpa like characteristic in it. However, the taste was good.

Chicken Momos: You can give a pass ordering these. Covering was too thick and killed the taste. Filling also had hardly any flavor. I did not like these momos at all.

Chicken schezwan noodles (Gravy on the top): To my surprise this dish was too good. Schezwan noodles topped with spicy gravy. Noodles were not too spicy and were not ‘Red’ red though tossed in schezwan sauce. Gravy had tender pieces of chicken and bell peppers. Full marks to this one.

Service: Too bad. There needs to be lot of improvement on this part. Right from the serving to clearing and paying attention to the occupied tables in timely manner.

 

Ambience: Fairly good. Place looks tidy. They have a see-through kitchen. Spoons and forks are kept in a bamboo case on the table which I found something new and innovative design.

Value for money: Yes. But do not order combos. If you order same dishes individually you will end up paying lesser than the price of combos. I tried to explain this to the co-owner but he seemed too adamant to accept the fact.

The Asian Wok & grill Festival- The Gateway Hotel, Hinjewadi, Pune

The Gateway Hotel is having an Asian Wok & grill Festival till 18^th November at their Buzz restaurant. FoodProwl team was invited for an exclusive tasting.

Trust me, you would love these authentic Oriental dishes served here during this festival. This is one of the best oriental cuisine I have tasted in the city in months.

Recommended Dishes: All mentioned below.

 

Food:

Mocktails: They had different mocktails with Asian twist in it. Most of them were spiced up with chillies. I loved the avocado flavoured mocktail and spicy mojito.

Cantonese Chicken Soup: A thick whitish soup having chicken broth, mushroom, vegetables and boiled chicken. This one was delicious and a must try. It had a subtle taste of rice wine and was very flavourful. I loved the soup.

Veg Momos: Piping hot dumplings having vegetable, pakchoy & golden garlic. None of the ingredients had an overpowering flavour. Rather the blended taste was delicious. A thinner covering would have added more elegance to these dumplings.

Chicken Momos: Again highly recommended. Chicken celery & Chinese wine combined together in these lip-smacking dumplings. Chicken was cooked perfectly. Amount of celery was just right. I could not resist myself having 6-7 of these dumplings.

 

Shiitake, Black fungus, tofu in black bean sauce: Though it was a vegetarian appetizer and had tofu if was flavourful. Pungent flavour of Shiitake was skilfully balanced. Tofu surprisingly had a nice flavour and black bean sauce was really appetizing. Despite of being a veg appetizer, I would give full marks to this preparation from my side.

Roasted drunken lamb stir fried with broccoli, tobanjan: I cannot fully explain how amazingly tasty this appetizer was. Marinated overnight with a beer this lamb preparation left everyone on the table awestruck.

Stir fried chicken with Asian green’s in house made mustard sauce: Tender pieces of chicken in plentiful mustard sauce. This sauce wasn’t really strong but just right to complement the chicken and veggies and this did all the trick. Liked it.

Crispy vegetable Sichuan chilli: Slightly spicy. There wasn’t much sauce in this preparation. Nice crispy veggies to munch on.

Stir fried shoots, water chestnut, asparagus & broccoli, coriander garlic sauce: Greens had retained their pleasing color. Sauce was just of a coating consistency.

Chilli Prawn, butter & garlic: Batter coated king prawns tossed in a spicy sauce. I loved these. Perfectly cooked prawns with perfect coating and delicious sauce. Full marks

Chinese Five spiced wok fried fish: Thin yet crispy pieces of fish wok tossed. One of the best oriental fish appetizers I have tasted in years.

Pan fried Egg noodles: Not at all oily. Long noodles with shredded vegetables.

Veg fried rice with Bamboo shoots: Lovely rice when had the curried they had served with it.

Chicken Kopitan Yellow Curry: Do not miss this one. This is the best yellow curry I have ever had. Tender pieces of chicken in a curry with perfect thickness. Coconut milk in just right quantity. I repeat, do not miss this curry. You will simply love it.

Vegetable Thai red Curry: Slightly thin but flavoursome. No overpowering taste of galangal. Hardly any basil, just the way I like. Just that I think, it should have been bit thicker.

Dessert Platter: This platter had date walnut cake, sticky rice & mango pudding, litchi & pineapple pastry and grilled fruits. Artistically presented this platter is also worth a try. I found use of sticky rice in a dessert, pretty innovative. Date and walnut cake was also nice.

All in all a must visit Asian Wok & grill festival in the city.

 

Lunch Buffet price: ₹946 (inclusive of all taxes)

Dinner Buffet price: ₹1165 (inclusive of all taxes)

 

 

Spring Onion, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune

A very small place with decent taste.

Food:

Chicken Manchow Soup: All-time favorite soup served with crispy fried noodles. Thickness was good. Flavour was fine. But it was garnished with finely chopped coriander. That ruined the taste of the soup for me. Also chicken boiled chicken pieces were quite uneven in size. Not that it affected the taste but I would have been better to have even sized pieces in the soup. Taste however was good.

 

Malaysian pops: I would recommend this. Lollypops tossed in galangal and Sichuan sauce. Chicken drumstick were tender and Sichuan sauce was delicious. Perfectly spicy. But again the lollypops were garnished with chopped coriander. Wasn’t necessary. Scallions would have done the trick instead. But for the people like me who do not enjoy the taste of the raw coriander when it comes to Chinese food, would not enjoy the garnish. It is not something you can pick-up easily and keep it aside.

Teppanyaki noodles: Though these were served on a sizzlers plate, I think these were woke tossed instead of griddle cooked. Soybean oil flavor was missing. Served steaming hot. Portion size was good. Chicken and vegetables added were cooked fine. veggies were crunchy and had retained their colour.

Service: It was okay. Lead time was fairly less. Staff was courteous.

Ambience: A small place on Bhandarkar road but could be easily found. Air conditioned place with 7-8 tables placed very closely. Forks and spoons kept on the table in a small container. Tissue papers neatly folded kept in the holder and a glass water bottle with basil stem in it.

Value for Money: Worth visiting once in a while.

 

Rating: 3.5/5

ZK’s- New Asian Bowl Menu Launch- Phoenix Market City, Viman nagar, Pune

ZK’s is all set to introduce the Oriental dishes. FoodProwl team was invited for the food tasting. Chinese is a cuisine hardly anyone wouldn’t love. And Chef Mukesh give these dishes a delicious flavour. All oriental food lovers, this is definitely worth a try menu for you.

Photo Courtesy: Chinmayi Bhambure

Recommended Dishes: Manchow Soup, Sichuan red oil wontons, Schezwan chicken lollypop, Shredded lamb dry in oyster sauce, Chicken teriyaki with broccoli, Khao Suey

Food:

Soups:

Chicken Manchow Soup: Just the right amount of cornflour thickening flavoured and coloured with soya sauce. Finely chopped vegetables, small pieces of boiled chicken garnished and with fried noodles and scallions. The best thing about this soup was its consistency. It wasn’t too thick unlike most of the restaurants. It was served piping hot and was flavourful. I liked the start.

Chicken Wonton Soup: Clear soup with a piece of carrot, cabbage, mushroom and broccoli and a chicken wonton. Though the stock used in soup hardly had any flavour, the wanton was good. Thin covering and good amount of mince chicken stuffing. The vegetable pieces added could have been bit smaller.

Dimsums:

Vegetable and Chicken Dumplings: Covering of dimsums were thin. But slightly less moist than required. Stuffing good. Chicken was properly minced and the accompaniments given with the dimsums were very good. They complimented these dimsums very well.

Appetizers:

Sichuan red oil Chicken wontons: You should definitely try this. It was amazing in taste and presentation was equally good. Steamed chicken wontons topped with chilli red oil sauce and garnished with sprinkled scallions. The taste was amazing. Wontons were moist, hot and perfectly steamed.

Sichuan chicken lollypops: Another brilliant appetizer. Crisp coating on very tender chicken drumsticks and tossed in delicious hot and tangy Sichuan sauce. I simply loved this preparation. I could not resist myself finishing almost the entire serving plate by myself.

Sticky garlic chicken balls bites: Minced chicken balls fried and tossed in spicy sauce. Taste was okay but it lacked the tenderness.

Satay kai: Chicken satay with peanut sauce. Skewered and grilled on a pan. Perfectly basted with fat which helped it to retain the moisture. Peanut sauce was also delicious.

Shredded lamb dry in oyster sauce:. Shredded lamb with shredded bell peppers and spring onions. Oyster sauce was perfect. But lamb was bit tough.

Sichuan dry prawns: Batter fried prawns tossed in a spicy sauce with garlic, bell peppers and onions and sprinkled with scallions. Prawns were of good size. Sauce was delicious. Batter layer of prawns was thin and crisp and that crispiness was retained even after tossing in the sauce.

Mains:

Chicken teriyaki with broccoli: Chicken chunks were tender. Broccoli had retained it’s color. Teriyaki sauce was also good. I was served with buttered fried rice. Quantity of the sauce could have been more but the taste was good.

Chicken in black bean sauce: Again chicken was tender and cooked perfectly. Button mushrooms added in this preparations were also good and slightly crunchy. Veg hakka noodles were served with this gravy. The combination tasted very good.

Thai red curry chicken: Ceamy and had less basil, just the way I like. I was served with steamed rice. Thickness was perfect. Hint of galangal with Thai red chilli gave it a desired spice level.

Khao Suey: Best among the main course dishes we had. Wok tossed noodles served with creamy coconut based gravy and traditional accompaniments on the side. The gravy was perfect. Perfect creaminess, Perfect thickness, perfect flavour. Wok tossed noodles tasted out of this world with this gravy.

Prawns Phad Thai Noodles: Flat noodles tossed in spicy sauce with peanuts. These tasted okay but could have been better.

 

Pan Fried noodles: Just the right crispiness of noodles and gravy was also flavourful. Chicken with exotic vegetables in thick gravy. The crunch of the noodles while eating was good.

Desserts: 

Sizzling brownie: Soft brownie kept on a piece of aluminium foil and topped with vanilla ice cream and lots of chocolate sauce. It was good.

Fruit Cream: Fresh seasonal fruit cuts topped with whipped cream and mint served in martini glass. It was decent.

 

Service: It was very good. All the guest requirements were attended to. Servers seemed courteous and efficient.

 

Ambience: Good. Spotlessly clean. Walls with photo and quote frames related to cricket. Aptly bright lighting.

 

Value for money: Yes.

 

 

 

Shizusan- Around the World with 9 Sushi- Viman nagar, Pune

This review is based on the tasting arranged by Carpe Diem for an upcoming 18 days Sushi fest.

If you love the sushi, you must visit this place. Though very few places in city serve sushi, these were the best sushi I have ever tasted in Pune.

On account of World Sushi day which is on 18^th June, Shizusan is celebrating Around the World with 9 Sushi.

Food: Chef Paul Kinny has given this Japanese delicacy a twist inspired by the flavors of the world. The 9 specialty sushi are dedicated to each part of the globe. This menu consists of 4 veg, 4 non-veg and 1 dessert sushi.

Veg:

‘NO’ri Maki: Regular roll having asparagus, cucumber, carrots, wasabi-mayo and cream cheese. But instead of seaweed, spinach is used to bind the roll. Wasabi-mayo had given this one a great taste. This was the example how awesome some bland vegetales could taste. The natural color od spinach leaf was retained and gave the sushi an excellent visual appeal.

Monsieur Maki (France): This had enoki mushroom tempura, brie cheese, ponzu mayo and truffle oil agrnished with flower petals and leaves. The best one among the veg sushi. Taste of these ingredients together and the crunch that the tempura had in the sushi.

The Saigon (Vietnam): Raw papaya, cured carrots, long beans dressed in a creamy curry in a maki which also had crisp onions, burnt garlic, crushed peanuts and mint. This ‘Khow Suey’ twist to the sushi was great. Burnt garlic and crushed peanuts were actally the pleasant surprise.

The Korean (S. Korea): This was the maki of shiitake, kimchi, asparagus tempura and carrots loaded with creamy gojuchang and toasted sesame. Gojuchang- a spicy sauce made from red chilies, rice and fermented soybeans was the highlight of this sushi.

Non-veg:

The Norwegian (Norway): Smoked salmon marinated with dill along with crunchy kappa, mustard-kewpie-mayo and toasted sesame. Simple looking but was damn good in taste. Smoked salmon was delicious.

The Alaskan (USA): The best one non-veg sushi. Crabmeat salad with creamy avocado, ponzu mayo, unagi sauce and fish roe. Beautifully plated sushi, artistically stacked, and sprinkled with fish roe. Unagi sauce was amazingly delicious to go with sushi.

The Chinaman (China): Crisp Peking duck with Philly cream cheese, spring onions, cucumber, hoisin-mayo topped with shredded pancake crisps. Chef’s idea of having shredded pancakes on the sushi was very creative. It gave the subtle taste to the sushi and at the same time eased the overpowering flavor of duck meat. You must eat this sushi without dropping off the shredded pancakes.

The Peruvian (Peru): Perfectly made Classic tuna ceviche rolled in cooked vinegared rice topped with Chef’s own creation of the velvety lemon-chili-mayo and garnished cilantro.

Dessert:

Chiang Mai Roll: Sliced mango rolled in perfection with sticky coconut rice topped with toasted sesame. Maki as a dessert was indeed a surprise. Mango lovers will definitely love this sushi. While celebrating a sushi fest, a sushi dessert to end the meal. What else do we want?

 

Service: Serving staff is professional and was efficient. Chefs working on sushi counter were extremely proficient.

 

Ambience: Chic. Comfortable sittings. Well-lit area. They have open sushi counter where you can actually see your sushi being prepared, cut and platted.

 

Rating: 4.5/5