The Kukkad Diaries

Sealing Koregaon Park's fate as one of the most popular party and hang out zone in Pune, is the brand new entrant. Rubbing shoulders with the oldies like Hard Rock Cafe is the spanking new complex of Unwind.

My initial impression of the place, when I first got there for the launch, was that it looked incredibly like a classy Goa shack with live music and people thronging the area. The ambience, needless to say, was incredible for a weekend night out.
The most recent visit I had was for a quiet dinner in the Bistro area and it was a spacious location, overlooking the alfresco area. Its very open and breezy space, with wooden table and chairs giving it a very beachy feel.

Unwind is now soon going to unveil its incredible night club which seems kick ass just by the sound of it. But if you are visiting for a nice meal here are a few tips you could use from my experience of the place!


Here are the things that I thought were amazing and you should try!

• DRINKS: Frankly going by how they want to market themselves, they are on point with the drinks. All the concoctions are great and you might want to get a bit more adventurous with the drinks menu to find out what really ticks your taste buds.
  I downed quite a number of MOJITOs which is hard to go wrong with but they still did a pretty good job nevertheless. Another favorite that you can try if you are not adventurous is the white wine based, HUGO, which was definitely the star of the table that night.
• DIM SUMS: I loved all the dim sums that we were served that night and especially loved how they were paired so well with the accompanying sauces. I particularly favored the CHICKEN DIM SUMS though and quite liked the BROCCOLI AND WATER CHESTNUT one as well.

• MALAI BROCCOLI: I know right? Broccoli has been the bane of my existence growing up with my mother sneaking it into my food ever so often. We have been at loggerheads until I was served this cracking of a dish. We actually had seconds and maybe thirds. But seriously guys, vegetarian or no, give this dish a shot. You might be in for a surprise.
• CHILLI GARLIC FISH was supposed to be an appetizer but it came with a nice thick gravy that made me wish for a bowl of piping, hot steamed rice so bad! The fish was delicately cooked and the gravy was beautiful, but it can be disappointing if you order this for starters. I'd definitely treat this as mains.

• I was eyeing the SOBA NOODLES in the menu since the time I sat down at the table. And it was worth all the wait! It was so good with the eggs on them. Definitely go for them. Soba Noodles are made out of buckwheat flour so they have this really amazing flavor, almost nutty. I really enjoyed this one.

• PRAWN THAI RED CURRY was a beautiful, beautiful curry that I just wanted to carry home, snuggle under a blanket in front of the telly and hog on it till I was fat and happy. It was absolutely comforting and with the steamed, sticky rice absolutely heaven. Try it, please?

And now the things I'd suggest you miss, in case you were wanting to try it at Unwind:

• FLATBREADS: Maybe it was just me, but the flat breads didn't sit well with me at all. Was it the blandness? or the weird cheese? I don't know but I'd personally steer clear of all the flat breads when I'm down there for my Soba Noodles run. Only other thing flat about these breads was the taste.

• I nearly chocked on BARBADOS KE JHINGE. I do believe it could be amazing because it sounds incredible on paper. Marinated prawns flambéed with old monk. But sadly all the flambé left the prawns swimming in rum which only made it bitter. Too cloying for my palate. Maybe someone into Rum may like it? Now that's a thought, but you wouldn't really be tasting any prawns though.

• The only dessert we had that night was the CHOCOLATE MUD PIE which did look tempting. The consistency was however very congealed and thick. It was a bit unyielding to my spoon and didn't want to be eaten that day. So I let it go, with a taste of course. :D
  But I guess they have a lot of other desserts to choose from that you can try.

Culture Pune has opened up in one of the busiest streets of Pune, Fergusson College Road, and I have already cataloged it as my go-to place for food and drinks with friends.



This was one of the places I was able to go to with Mr. TKD in tow (occasions like these are few and far in between since he upped and left for Delhi last year) and we enjoyed it.



For people who are familiar with Delhi food scene, Mr.TKD reports he could draw a lot of similarity as far as the ambience , the design of the menu and the aesthetics of the place went. But it was one of those fun tasting with friends which start as a tasting but ends up like a hang out instead. But yes, a lot of the good time was drawn out of the fact that the food and drinks were good.



But, but, but....there's a caveat. Next time I go I'll personally steer clear of the mains perhaps.

As they admitted themselves, Culture Pune is trying to be a place where you go in with your friends and hang out and spend time while you indulge in some good drinks and munchies by the side. They are not looking to be a proper restaurant which I guess is a fair point.
So the do have mains in the menu, but you might want to go for some amazing options in other parts of it instead.

Here's what we suggest you try!

• DRINKS: I was really happy spending the night nursing a glass of my much loved SANGRIA (which was really good tbh) but I was on a tasting. So I tried the CULTURE ELECTRIC GIN which came in a cool bulb  It tasted delicious and found many takers on the table.
  I also specially liked the TULSI BAUG which was vodka based and unusually served in a brass pot but tasted really nice too.

• My suggestion, go experimental and try what catches your fancy. They take great care in preparing their drinks and almost everything we tried, we liked.
• PANEER SOFIYANI TIKKA is something we all unanimously liked and devoured, vegetarians, non-vegetarians alike. Very tender paneer pieces and spiced delicately. Really tasty.

• TOSSED THAI BASIL CHICKEN was another crowd pleasure. The thai elements were well played on the dish and it really made for a good accompaniment to the wonderful cocktails.

• PRAWN CURRY WITH RICE: We know we asked you to stay clear of the mains. But this here is your savior if the hunger pangs are too much to handle. I personally loved the curry and
  with the rice it made for a good after-drinks meal.

• BOURBON PANNA COTTA was one of the satisfying desserts we tried that day. Beautiful, creamy panna cotta sitting pretty on a bourbon based sauce. It was wiped clean so fast, how I managed to get a picture is a miracle.

• RASPBERRY CREME BRULEE: Oh my heart! The creme brulee at Culture Pune is something you must try when you visit. They do it right with the creamy custard and that caramelized sugar coating on top that cracks as you go for it. Plus they add a twist with fresh fruits. My favorite perhaps. 

Hey, I won't lie, I have participated in the enjoyment and brief moments of merriment these novelty delights had to offer. But there comes a point where you start wishing your Dal Chawal didn't come pre-balled and trussed up and disguised as what it was not.

And evidently I am not alone when it comes to this ideology. A lot of new and upcoming restaurants are going back to the root and re-doing food as they originally intended it to be. Old-school yet original, lip-smacking yet wholesome.


One such place that I had the good fortune of dining at was Dalchini. Chaitanya Adgaonkar is a man with a plan. And he plans to bring to us food and the reminder of how richly and diversely blessed our Indian culinary map is. He travels frequently and extensively to discover and learn about the food that you find in kitchens of Indian homes but rarely in snazzy restaurants.




Might I say it was one of the satisfying tastings we've had. The amazing food came peppered with enlightening nuggets of information about it's backstory. It was like traveling while you stay put, gorging on some brilliant grub.

As always I would invite you to be adventurous with your choices off of the menu and let us know of your discoveries. But here are some of my favorite picks:

• Salad love: I am a sucker for good salads though I'll be honest I do add a good helping of chicken to make it all the better. Dalchini served us a choice of vegetarian salads and I surprised myself by how much I loved them. KAIRICHI VATLI DAL was Maharashtrian spin on salad with tangy pieces of kairi or raw mango.
  KOSUMALLI was a beautiful South Indian salad with soaked moong dal mixed with carrots, cucumber and spices that made it hard to resist.

• PALAK PAPDI CHAAT is one thing that you should make it a point to try. Inspired from the streets of Lucknow, this chaat has papdi made out of Spinach leaves! And it tastes stellar. Better than the regular chaats might I say. 

• GHEE ROAST ALOO is a thing of dreams for carb lovers like me. Bite sized potatoes crispy fried in Ghee and coated in aromatic spices and served on a banana leaf. I'm in love <3

• AMER KI KEEMA BAATI blew my mind yet again. Not the biggest fan of mutton, but the mutton keema filling in this baati was so carefully spiced and such delicately prepared, I couldn't help but falling for this.

• BATLIWALA AUNTY'S PATRANI MACCHI is a dish that would do anyone from Bengal proud and some more! Such a spectacular dish. It's common in Bengal to steam cook fish wrapped in banana leaf but the spices in this one, the aroma that hit as soon as we unwrapped our fish was something to remember. If you love fish, heck even if you don't, give this a go. Thank me later?

• 24 GHANTE KI DAAL was surprisingly my favorite from the mains even though there was such brilliant non vegetarian dishes on the table. Maybe the simplicity hit straight home but the creamy, comforting gravy just did magic. To think they hadn't added any cream to make it this smooth. Kudos to the chef!

• RAMPURI TAAR KORMA was another thing that fascinated me no end. So apparently this dish from UP is prepared everyday using a bit of yesterday's leftover korma which is added to the new korma. This is done everyday and in some parts of India the taar or thread of has been kept on for centuries.
  Dalchini is doing the same with theirs, so make sure you taste this dish!

We wrapped our hogging spree with SERRADURA, a dessert from Goa in a glass, with layers and layers of whipped cream and crushed Marie biscuit. Nothing fancy, nothing theatrical just good ol' comforting food that puts a smile on your face after. Well, isn't that just what we are looking for anyway?

By now, you must have been introduced to White Owl as a premium brand of Craft beer. Since its inception it has made its presence felt in more than 70 restaurants and bars across Pune and Mumbai. Until now it was available on tap at all these locations, but there is a big news coming for all beer lovers. To cater to the huge growing demand for its brews, White owl is going to debut its beer in 'BOTTLES'!

It has been boiling over in Pune and all I have been dreaming about has been a quick get-away to the sunny beaches of Goa, lying around in the sandy, sea-side shacks sipping on the millionth Pina Colada and enjoying the beautiful breeze.

That and the amazing lip-smacking fare. The restaurants there are much more experimental yet fun. The variety is mind boggling. I guess that comes with the territory. When you have to cater to a clientele spanning not only all the Indian states but continents all over the world, you tend to find new things and the local taste fuse together to bring the best (or sometimes not as good) taste on your plate.
Since my luck hasn't been the most stellar right now so a vacation to the beaches doesn't seem to be coming to fruition any time soon. But lady fortune seemed to take pity on me because I got invited to the spanking new joint in town, Baraza.


We got there for dinner and the beautiful outdoor setting, with candle lit tables, wooden deck, potted palm trees and high chairs seemed like I had walked into a nice beach side restaurant for food. The indoors were just as charming with a nice bar, french windows and a brightly lit room decorated with hundreds of bottles suspended from the ceiling.




We chose to sit out and it was pleasant with the evening breeze. A nice place to take your date to. And if you tried enough you might feel like the beach was just out of ear-shot and you weren't actually sitting in a huge and rather deserted Ishanya mall.

We started with the drinks and each one was as stellar as the other. I do get hazy memories of downing a good number of SANGRIAs (which I should inform you were amazing) and getting really happy by the time we were done with the meal. Red wine Sangria is my go-to for drinks because I am really lousy about deciding from a menu. And if you love Sangrias just as much make Baraza a must-visit!



Apart from my usual fix I also distinctly remember the COSMIC BUBBLE MARTINI which came with a side of theatrics. So it came with a martini glass loaded with candy floss and you got treated with a view of the bartender pouring a mix of vodka and citruses into it making the floss disappearing into the liquid leaving behind the cute pink and really delicious drink behind.



I also really loved the BERRY KHATTA SLUSH which tasted deliciously of kala khatta and the SOUL COOLER which had a kokum based but infused with chillies, lemon and cilantro.
But to be honest, I mostly spent the night nursing my glasses of spectacular Sangria.

Now the food was a terrific part of the night. Just recalling back about the grub is making me hungry. I would really like to encourage you to visit and be brave with the menu because everything seemed so different yet so good. But if you are just as lost as I am with the menu, here are a few things you should really consider trying:

• BARAZA CHICKEN TIKKA- If you love kukkad just as much as I do, you NEED to try this. One of the better tikkas in town, the flavors are smashing with the oh-so-tender chicken pieces grilled to a smoky perfection, topped with cheese and doused in the spicy and creamy gravy. It came with a side of no-can-do-without green chutney and onion slaw.
  
  
  
• KOLHAPURI CHICKEN TACOS and ding ding ding we have a winner! I usually am not a taco person because I eat like a pig and always end up feeding my whole face and my hair and my clothes. But these tacos were manageably bite sized but that's not it. It was stuffed with the ultimate hot and spicy chicken in Kolhapuri masala that wowed every one at the table.
  
  
  
• AMERICAN CORN CHILLI AND SPINACH TEMPURA: This is a must have as nibbles while you wait for food and sip your drinks. I would have had my fill with just these if I didn't have more people clamoring for it at the table. These tempura fried munchies come with a dash of sriracha mayo that made it absolutely impossible to stop at just one spoonful.
  
  
  
• STUFFED NAAN: Do NOT forget to try this. This was perhaps the most loved dish by the end of the night. Its hard to tell because we loved almost everything we were served. We tried the GOA SAUSAGE and SLOW COOKED RAAN and were bowled over each time. SO good!
  
  
  
• GHEE ROAST CHICKEN: This was a Kukkad dish that made me really happy. The aroma of ghee and piquant taste of spice went really well BUTTER GARLIC NAAN it was served with. The chicken was really well cooked. The meat was tender and was falling off the bones. A good mains dish to consider.