The Travelling Dim sums Festival, Shizusan, Phoenix Market City, Pune

Known for its Pan-Asian delicacies, Shizusan is a well-known name to Pune’s food community. They always come up with something new and innovative fests. The Travelling Dim sum Festival is one of them. They are celebrating this festival till 13^th of May in which you get to try out 11 different and really lip-smacking dim sums from various Asian counties.

Here is the menu of this festival.

The non-veg dim sums are priced at INR 375++ and Veg and dessert dim sums are priced at INR 325++.

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Recommended Dim sums: Asparagus & Kimchi Mandoo, Cottage cheese & Sambal Dumpling, Activated Charcoal & Crab Xiao Long Bao, Poached Sea Bass, Pan Fried Crystal Duck Buns.

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Food: I came across some new dim sums which I had never heard about before tasting those here.

Cottage cheese & Sambal Dumpling: Cottage cheese, spinach and golden corn minced and put in a crystal covering. Delicate and delicious dumplings. This is a must try for vegetarians.

Spinach, Dates & Cashewnut Buns: Minced spinach, dates and cashew mixture stuffed in a bun and then steamed. Tasted fine. Slightly thinner bun could have helped this dish even more.

Asparagus & Kimchi Mandoo: A spicy dumpling from South Korea. Kimchi and asparagus with Pokchoy, celery finely chopped, put in a thin covering spiced with gochujang and steamed. Delightful dumpling. I loved this one. Subtle taste of gochujang was the unique characteristic of this dumpling.

Tung Tong Peanut Moneybags: Golden fried moneybags which had curried veggies tossed in peanut sauce. Perfectly fried dumplings had beautiful golden-brown color. Sauce served with it also complemented the dumplings. However, the flavor of peanut sauce was missing. A peanut sauce on the side might help this one.

Chicken & Water Chestnut: This dumpling was also tasty. But what gave it an even better character to this was the coconut curry served as a dip with this. This dip was outstanding and took this dim sum one level up of deliciousness.

Activated Charcoal & Crab Xiao Long Bao: Outstanding dim sum from Vietnam which is not to be missed. This dim sum has a crab meat and stuffed with Pho- a Vietnamese flavourful soup. This dim sum has so many flavours and is a real treat to your taste buds.

Seafood Sui Mai: An open-faced dumpling from Japan which had a minced seafood stuffed inside a thick covering and steamed. This tasted okay however, I felt that the covering could have been thinner.

Poached Sea Bass: A lovely dumpling served with Singaporean superior broth and coriander cress. Piping hot and absolutely delightful in taste. The broth gave this dumpling a subtle flavor and helped to keep in juicy.

Pan Fried Crystal Duck Buns: A beautiful looking pan-fried buns having spicy shredded duck meat. Buns were drizzled with Cinnamon Onion Sauce. I am not a fan of Asian buns. But this one is not to be missed. Perfect amount of dough to meat and spiced just right.

Green Apple Pie Moneybags: A dessert dim sum. Shizusan claims that it is the first time ever that dessert dim sum is being introduced. Green apple with palm sugar put in a moneybags and golden fried. It was drizzled with caramel sauce. Innovative yet not very impressive. Some other fruit instead of green apple could have been better. I am not very sure though.

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If you are a dim sum lover do give this festival a try. They also have suggested a cocktail to go with each of these dim sums. I am sure, you won’t be disappointed.

What: The Travelling Dim Sums Festival

Where: Shizusan, Phoenix Market City, Pune

What do you get: 11 innovative dim sums which touch your heart.

Price: INR 375++ for non-veg and INR 325++ for veg (4 pieces to basket)

Till When: 13^th May 2018

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Bar Bar, Viman Nagar, Pune

Happy Hours always. Be it a weekday or weekend, rates remain same. More you order, lesser you pay for each drink. The only problem is that you have to place your drink order at one go. So more the people, less the check. You can also order your hard drinks by bottle. A minimal storing charge is levies on the MRP. Come to think of it, buying a bottle here would be comparatively way cheap.

This tasting was organized by Carpe Diem for Bar Bar which was anyway on my wishlist.

Recommended Drinks: The Iced Teas, Watermelon and Lemongrass caipiroska.

Drinks: We tried The Lyncheburg, Red Wine spritzer, Watermelon and Lemongrass caipiroska, Mexican Merry, Italian Mule.

I liked the way they serve the cocktails in white translucent measuring graduated cylinders. 500 ml as well as 25 ml.

Watermelon and Lemongrass caipiroska: Vodka with watermelon and lemongrass. It was very refreshing. Lemongrass was added just in right quantities. Though I could taste it with each sip, it did not overpower the taste of the cocktail.

The Lynchburg: Jim beam, Vodka, Triple Sec and ginger ale. This is almost a colorless iced tea. Strong. Subtle taste of ginger ale.

Red Wine Spritzer: This has red wine, apple juice and soda with some cut oranges. This seemed a iced tea version of sangria. It was not as sweet as sangria though. I am not sure which wine was used but it was quite dry. A full bodies, sweet would have been better.

Mexican Merry: Tequilla, vodka, hot sauce with tomato juice and black pepper. It was okay. Nothing great about it. I as it is do not like tomato juice in my cocktails.

Italian Mule: Vodka, Sambuca and Ginger. This was fine as well. Ginger was slightly more.

Food:

They got many good options in appetizers which go very well with the drinks.

Popcorns:

 Buttermilk chicken popcorns, Shrimp popcorns, Pork Cuchifritos, Vad paav popcorns, Chili Garlic Potato popcorn, Jalapenos and cheese popcorns.

The best one out of these for me were Shrimp popcorns, Pork Cuchifritos, Vad paav popcorns. Shrimp and pork popcorns were perfectly batter fried popcorn-size pieces served with accompanying sauces. You can ask for nothing better than these to much-on while having your drinks.

One innovative preparation was vada paav popcorns. Popcorn-sizedd batata vada with same sized paav. These not only look interesting, but tasted good as well.

Toasties: 

Basically grilled sandwiches. We tried Tandoori Murg, Kheema ghotala, Kung Pao chicken, Ham and Chili cheese toasties. Perfectly toasted bread with hearty fillings. I loved the ham and chili cheese which was amazingly cheesy. I also liked Kheema ghotala which was perfectly spicy.

Paratha Rolls:

We tried pahadi paneer paratha which was mint and coriander paneer wrapped in flay malabari paratha. Paneer was soft and paratha was nicely flaky and soft. We also had seekh kebab wrap which was also decent.

Potatoes:

DIY basket of fries which consisted of shoestring fries, Twice-cooked fries and Potato wedges with 3 accompanying sauces. All 3 variations of potato fries were tasty.

Potato skins loaded with plum tomatoes, chives, sour cream and lots of melted cheddar cheese. If your like something crunchy as your appetizer, this is not something for you.

Eggs:

We tried Mumbai masala egg benedict which was really nice. Soft poached eggs on top of masala bread. More hollandaise sauce could have been better. Seasoned sautéed potato cubes and tomato wedges were served on the side.

We also had Hotch Potch. Beautifully presented. Egg bhurji put on a matka shaped bun. Taste was okay though. Nothing great.

Tiffins:

This is only main course options they have. They have Goan, North Indian, Thai, Chinese and biryani. All these tiffins are available in veg as well as non veg. They have one gravy, rice or chapati and a side portion. I found Chinese one the best among all.

Service: Efficient, fast.

Ambience: Good. Loud music. Nice arrangements for groups to sit. They also have table outside/ non-AC. But I liked the one which are inside.

Rating: 4/5

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