The Kukkad Diaries

Those who know The Kukkad Diaries enough know this: We are immensely, unequivocally in love with breakfast. Period.
Our days start with a hearty breakfast and even on work days we make sure we spend a good half an hour or more on the first meal of the day. Weekends are better. We make it a point to discover new places to breakfast at. Sometimes we have the places picked 2-3 days back rendering us useless for the rest of the week as we keep dreaming of pancakes and bacon and eggs. Mr. TKD is a sucker for good eggs, sausages and everything savory while I love sweet start to the morning with pancakes and waffles. It's quite a task trying to shortlist a place that's a crowd pleasure. When we do find a place that appeals we haunt it like it's nobody's business.

One such place we came across was Yolkshire. We remember coming across on Zomato and drooling over their menu. It sounded like heaven for egg lovers. Every kind of conceivable egg preparation was listed. Poach, scrambled, devilled, fried, sandwiched; the variety was sinful. We had to see for ourselves if the place was more than just its menu.
So one Sunday morning we piled into a cab and made our way to Aundh. It's a quiet, restful place to spend your mornings, littered with choicest cafes and eateries. It has a large bookstore, Crosswords right besides popular joints like Starbucks and Pizza Hut. If you are eating out in Aundh, its just not a meal but an experience. Walking through the leafy streets, taking in the busy yet quiet suburban vibe of the place. In one of the quieter lanes is Yolkshire. It is flanked at the sides with other eateries. Its quite small in the inside and there are 3-4 tables upstairs but meals are best enjoyed here sitting outside with the view to the street across.

After the first time we have visited Yolkshire a number of times, most with family or friends to show off our find. And every time we have a good meal. For breakfast the best bet would be the eggs combo. It comes with a side of crisp buttered toast and options for 2 other side from sausages, hash browns, french fries, olives, beans or mashed/toast potatoes. Quite a spread.
AMERICAN DREAM is our favorite choice of omelette. This omelette has salami and sausages and veggies loaded in it which makes it the perfect breakfast option.
OMELETTE REVE is yet another hot pick. It's omelette folded over with chicken in between. You can't go wrong with this one.



There are also 'just whites' omelette in case you are not much of a yolks fan. We liked the FRANKLY SPEAKING omelette which has a frankfurter lodged inside the fold of the omelette.


The other major thing that keeps getting us back here is the stellar sweet breakfast options. You can choose between CREPES or WAFFLES or PANCAKES, which is a task in itself. We usually order the CREPES or WAFFLES with whipped cream and chocolate sauce toppings on the side. It spells the perfect end to our hearty brunches.
Apart from that there is the sinful CHOCOBURST PANCAKE that we have been in love with lately.It has layers of pancakes smothered with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. And trust us, it's taste better than it looks.



We suppose we have put a convincing argument to explain all the hogging that we engage in during the weekends... If not, might we suggest you go through the pictures once more (seriously though, who can resist those pancakes? Egg-zactly)

Rosso Bianco in Italian translates to 'Red and White' in English. These two colors are not only a part of the Italian flag but have predominantly distinguished the foods and drinks when it comes to Italian fare. Bianco and Rosso are the colors ubiquitously found across all Italian kitchens and are used to differentiate varied items ranging from pasta sauces to wines.
Pasta Bianca is simple white pasta with white sauce while Pasta Rossa with more distinctively tomato flavoured savory sauce. Same goes for Pizza with the simple cheese or the red tangy sauce. This color differentiation traverses most of the Italian foods and also encompasses the drinks, most popular being the Vino Rosso ( Red Wine) and Vino Bianco (White Wine).


The Kukkad Diaries has always been long standing fans of Italian cuisine. Apart from the great Indian gastronomic culture, Italian have the rich heritage of celebrating good food and great wines. The simple yet delectable meals means it easily finds admirers across the world and of course, India and Indians, who have been known to acknowledge great food no matter what the geographic origin. And TKD is nothing if not vehemently patriotic in this case. We always make sure to glorify a plate of good pasta when we find one or a bowl of creamy ravioli or a slice of cheesy pizza (And even though, Mr.TKD is a health freak, he has hardly ever managed to resist the charms of a good looking pizza no matter how cheesy it may be).


The long weekends proved to be a good opportunity to spend the morning with some nice Italian. Rosso Bianco, located right at Aundh Road on the way to Range Hills, had caught our eye a while back and a quick check on zomato had made sure we bookmarked it for sometime in future. The future arrived early on Saturday morning when we decided to Uber right to the restaurants for brunch. The location is easy to find as it's right on the street and hence quite hard to miss if you have your eyes peeled.
It seemed to be a slow day for Rosso Bianco as there were hardly any patrons but there were two servers waiting on us. The place is small but quainly decorated and is quite cosy with red couches and warm lights. The menu is quite inclusive though I wish they served ravioli. We ended up ordering PINK SAUCE VEG PASTA, VEG BEANS AND NACHOS CHILLI and ROSSO BIANCO SPECIAL PIZZA. If you are staring at wonderment at the all-veg fare we ordered, we have to one word: "Navratri". Specially instructed by wary elders back home we are on a vegetarian diet for at least 9 nights in solidarity to our Hindu mums.


The service was quite quick and courteous save for one occasion where we pointed out that our glass of water had something floating in it to which we were informed that that's how regular water is. Well, we were convinced enough to drink only bottled water from then on.

THE PINK SAUCE VEG PASTA was actually delicious. It was the perfect balance of the cheesiness of the white and tanginess of red sauce. It came with 2 slices of garlic bread on the side. The quantity was decent enough. The pasta was cooked al dente and it was the top favorite.



THE VEG BEANS AND NACHOS CHILLI was a bit of a downer. The quantity of salsa/sauce on top was quite less in comparison to the nachos which made it quite dry to eat. It came with a side of dip with made with beans which was yummy but it didn't really suffice with the dry nachos. We were longing for some mayo or sour cream on the chips.


ROSSO BIANCO SPECIAL PIZZA was recommended to us as the house special. It was a good sized pizza with nice, crisp base and adequate cheesiness. There was good helping of vegetables in it. However, we found it a bit over seasoned to our liking.;However, in spite of the spiciness, we found the taste quite appealing.



The restaurant is very reasonably priced for the quantity and quality of food. It is a good place for catching up and hang outs. We liked the general vibe of the place and are already making plans to come back once we are back on our Kukkad diet.

Sunday brunch and I was almost wishing I had Joey Tribbiani's infamous stretchy 'Turkey eating pants ". We had visited MoMo Cafe at J.W.Marriott premises for a buffet. We had gotten there by noon and started digging into the amazing, mouth-watering delicacies on offer. For a couple of lazy bums it surprised me how we proactively took turns refilling our soup bowls with the chicken and leek soup (seriously though, that was some great stuff.

MoMo Cafe is the hotel restaurant of Courtyard by Marriott hotels and is known for hosting amazing themed brunches. They ensure that they keep circulating the menu bringing new concepts on the table and there's always new things to discover. There are 3 MoMo Cafes in Pune. We picked Bund Garden one for a meal.

It was a usual lunch buffet on offer when we popped in for eats. The Cafe itself is in the inner sanctum of the hotel premises and boasts of tasteful decor. There are couches and chairs to settle down with food while you check the latest match scores on the TVs around. The staff was attentive and quickly helped us get tables. We were served refreshing drinks as we settled down.


We were spoilt for choice when we made our way to the buffet area. And it was physically impossible to try everything. So we stuck to some we really liked. Some of the dishes that we tried were CORRIANDER SOUP, CHICKEN AND LEEK SOUP, FRIED COTTAGE CHEESE ROLLS, EXOTIC VEGETABLE SALAD, AMERICAN CORN AND GREEN PEAS SALAD, FRENCH BEAN AND MUSHROOM SALAD, PORK MEAT WITH BELLPEPPER AND EGGPLANT SALAD, STEAMED FISH WITH BABY CORN AND SPINACH SALAD and this was just the starters. Fitness junkie that Mr. TKD is, he got really happy with all the choices of salad.


There was a decadent display of breads and buns on display. You could have your pick and cut yourself a slice of the goodness to go with your soup. We might just have ruined our appetites with all the CHICKEN AND LEEK SOUP and fresh baked bread sprinkled with olives.



The mains had its own line up of delicious dishes. There were variety of DALs and Vegetable preparations. We also loved the Chicken curry and fish curry preparations. There were servers waiting on us who were super fast with service. There were variety of Indian breads to choose from right from Naan to Paratha to Roti which were freshly made and served on our table. There were PULAO and RICE too.

The desserts table was like a happy place. It was as much a feast for eyes as for your stomach. It had everything right from the FRUIT SALAD to sinful RED VELVET BROWNIE. There was also this absolutely irresistible TOFFEE OREO DELIGHT that we couldn't get enough of (Actually we could, by now we were almost bursting at the seams..). There was also APPLE UPSIDE DOWN pie, LEMON BAR pastries and some indian sweets too like RASMALAI (so yum!).



We hogged almost for a couple of hours before we accepted defeat and acknowledged the human capacity of devouring food, no matter how delicious.

Apart from the food, it was the service that impressed. Though it was a buffet, there were people waiting on you making sure the tables were clear before you got to the next course. A concierge kept checking if we were having a good time. The chefs, although busy at work cooking, cutting, baking pizzas had one eye trained to make sure the guests were getting the food they required. I was wandering around nonplussed searching for Naan when a kind chef offered to get the naan sent over to our table. It was almost like getting your mind read. It might have been creepy but my mind was still trained on the last pieces of fried chicken to care.

There's actually a thing called Asian-food craving. We go through it every month. At least once. It entails a sudden craving for tangy chicken or big bowl of wanton soup or nice pho.

However there are only a few places we have discovered in pune that we actually like and frequent. Not to mention that one of the eating joint we loved for its Vietnamese cuisine closed down. Smiley House as it was called was run by a couple of Vietnamese ladies and they ladled lip-smacking dishes until they decided to pack up and leave for Vietnam.

So it was of utmost necessity to get a replacement stat! We spent an evening at work poring over Zomato, wishing we could taste food off the internet and somehow we'd know that it was the One. Like sorting hat for restaurants.....You know like the time Harry pulled out the Gryffindor sword from sorting hat. But then Mr. TKD asked 'Isn't Zomato like the sorting hat for all restaurants?' Umm, well? I guess. But anyway, I digress. So after an hour or so of scouting we picked Malaka Spice for dinner.

Weaving our way through heavy traffic we got to the Malaka Spice in Baner. We were greeted with a cycle rickshaw wildly decorated with flowers. The rickshaw brought back memories of Kolkata as its a common sight there but I guess, it comes off as a novelty in Pune.

When we reached the reception at the first floor we were greeted by pretty Asian ladies enquiring us of our table requirements. Asian decoration, Asian food, Asian ladies, Asian servers.... It doesn't get any more Asian than that I suppose. We were pretty pumped (and starving) by the time we got to the table. The menu was massive. It was hardbound with pages and pages of dishes from Vietnam to China to Malaysia. The good thing about the menu was all the exotic sounding dishes had an apt description underneath it to help you decide better.

But it was not only the description helping us. It was our main server for the evening, Basant. He thoughtfully placed pamphlets about him on each tables so that we knew a little bit more about the person who was to handle our food for the evening. The personal touch was endearing. Basant was well versed with the menu and he gave his insights on which dishes would be suitable for us.


In the end we picked D FOR DUMPLING, CHICKEN FRITTURA, HONEY GARLIC CHILLI CHICKEN and SINGAPOREAN NOODLES with chicken.

The DUMPLINGS were a result of the Asian food craving. We ordered it steamed and stuffed with vegetables just as Ms. TKD remembered from back home. Well, it didn't really make up for the momos from back home but it was good on its own right. It was served with soy sauce and schezwan sauce. The schezwan sauce and dumplings seemed to be match made in heaven. A better love story than twilight at least.



The CHICKEN FRITTURA were chicken fritters with slices of chicken dipped in batter and fried crispy. It was actually served with a candle in the middle, hidden right inside a hollowed out tomato and we really didn't know better than to blow it out and attack the chicken. The twist was it came with a sweet mango dip and it went famously with the fritters. We loved the entire concept and we licked the whole thing till the end.



The SINGAPOREAN NOODLES were like any other tossed noodles. It seemed to have cooked with eggs and chicken. The quantity was quite filling, in fact a lot, for two people.


The HONEY GARLIC CHILLI CHICKEN was a type of stir fry. It had mild spices as promised and it had sweet salty flavours in the gravy. We had ordered it for sides with the Singaporean noodles. The chicken was tender and yummy. Though the dish might come off as meh for some , it was subtly delicious to us.



The place as outdoor seating for non AC as well as indoors air conditioned seating. The whole gallery leading to the seating area are interspersed with white cushioned couches and ornamental walled plants and decked up rickshaw.


It's a great place for a date or a dinner with friends. The service is attentive and food authentically delicious. So you k ow where to head if you ever get the Asian-food

The city is burning up. Temperatures are soaring and tempers running high. It's a bit uncharacteristic for Pune because it's always been known for its all year round cool weather.

One of the consequence of the sweltering climate has been to fill us with sloth and lethargy. It's been a chore just to imagine going out to scorch in the sun.

On a Saturday we decided it was enough lounging around the house. So we picked ourselves up and drove all the way to Phoenix mall. A mall because it's always centrally air-conditioned, has the choicest selection of eating joints and it doesn't hurt that it has stores to carter to your sartorial needs. We made sure we carried our cameras because you are all ways sure to meet new people, find new faces.

By the time we were hungry we already had our eatery selected.  We had heard and read quite a bit about the place and we were raring to have a go. The place is deceptively small but it has got an outer seating area too. The inside seating comprises of plush cushioned couches and tasteful white chairs with warm lighting and artful wall art.




We chose to sit by the glass facade which had a nice view of the outdoor seating area. The outdoor seating is nicely done up with lots of green shrubs, strategically placed fans and with the central fountains to be admired on one side. We would have liked seating outdoors only if it wasn't boiling over outside.



Apart from all the decor you can also choose to play boardgames with your friends while you wait for your order to arrive. You can choose between Jenga, monopoly, pictionary, Taboo or other games on offer. But we hardly got to play a few rounds of Taboo when we got our food brought. The service, needless to say is pretty quick,  very courteous and attentive.

The other good thing here is there's 50% off on alcohol post 4pm up till 8pm. So you have that going for you on a hot afternoon. We took advantage of the situation by indulging on tangy MIMOSAs.



For eats we ordered TENDERLOIN BURGER, MEDITERRANEAN BURGER and HOUSE STYLE CAESAR SALAD.  The portions sizes weren't that great especially for the salad but the taste just blew us away. The flavors were on point and had very authentic taste.

THE BURGERS came with a side of freshly fried fries (wow,  there's some alliteration for you) and fresh salad. The burger was decently sized and came stabbed with a steak knife (literally). The filling was scrumptious and had a good balance of patty and cheese and vegetables. The bread seemed fresh too. It might just have been one of the best burgers we have had in Pune.
The French fries too were really crispy and fresh.



The CAESAR Salad has always been a favorite and we've seen its the dressing that's seems to be the most crucial bit that makes or breaks the dish. The dressing here was punched with flavors. The salad and chicken was nicely coated with a good amount of dressing and with croutons on top. The greens were fresh and crunchy and the chicken was well done. The quantity was a bit of a bummer but the taste was impeccable.



Our experience in the 212 Cafe and Bar was certainly a great one and we are already planning our next visit here. There are some great stuff on offer and it's high time you pop in to sample some of their goodies.