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