I was
supposed to meet my friend, Priyadarshini (Priyus, to me), but for some reason
I could not make it before my parents came into town for their semi-annual
holiday. Meek, innocent ol’ me was threatened by Priyus that I would have hell
to pay if I did not catch up with her as soon as my parents left town. I was
petrified. What could I do but relent? (Angelic smile for the public – Evil
grin from within) When we finally honed in on a convenient date and time, the place we decided to head to was Zaheer Khan's Fine Dine aka ZK’s. I had informed their PRO,
Alifya, and she was kind enough to make a reservation for us.
When we
arrived at the restaurant we were politely greeted by their Manager, Shoaib,
and lead to our table. While we checked the menu card the restaurant sent us a
very refreshing complimentary drink. It was made with basil, mint, lime, pieces
of cucumber and was truly refreshing. (Of course, I did not eat the cucumber
pieces. Yeh bhi kya bolne wali baat hai :P ) Later, we also ordered for a
fresh lime soda and a Virgin Mojito, both of which were very nicely made.
As a
starter my vegetarian friend chose Dahi ke Kabab and this carnivore, yours
truly, chose the Galouti Kabab.
The
Dahi ke Kabab were well made but I’m not one for bland food hence it wasn’t a
‘wow’ dish for me. My friend too claimed she had eaten better ones in and
outside the city.
Having heard great reviews from friends about their Galouti
Kababs I was expecting them to blow my mind. Unfortunately, they did not! I’ve
had way better Galouti Kababs. Taste wise they weren’t bad in the least bit and
they were very juicy too but the texture was a letdown! As culinary
history goes, these Kababs were first made by a Khansamma (chef) for a Nawab
who had lost all his teeth and found it difficult to chew on anything. The name
Galouti itself suggests “galla hua” as in softer than soft, melt in the mouth.
These were not so! :( The mince for Galouti Kabab is ideally a mutton paste
that melts on the palate in a jiffy; one simply does not need to chew on it.
This was very fine mince, I will definitely grant them that, but, in no
Universe was it a perfect melt in the mouth Galouti Kabab. Was I disappointed?
Yes!
For the
main course we chose Dahi Pakodi Kadhi, Paneer Makhanwalla and Haleem. Please
don’t give me weird looks. The vegetarian dishes were chosen by Priyus. I did
mention she is a vegetarian.
The
Dahi Pakodi Kadhi was very nice as was the Haleem but... but... but... both had
a tad more salt than necessary. We had already begun eating hence when Shoaib
came over to ask if the meal was okay, we gave him our feedback in regard to
the ‘salt’ issue. We did not want the dishes exchanged because getting new
dishes would mean wastage of food but we did request him to take the dishes
back into the kitchen for the chef to check out. Had the salt content of both
dishes been correct, these dishes would have been perfect.
I tried
a wee bit of the Makhani Paneer. It was creamy, perfectly spiced and seasoned, and
resplendent with soft pieces of paneer. It was a dish that the chef totally aced.
The Garlic Butter Naan and the Khasta Roti (served with Haleem) were also
perfectly made!
I had
them parcel an extra dish for me, Kheema Kaleji. I humbly bow my head to the
chef in utmost respect. It was one of the best Kheema Kaleji I have ever had.
It was spicy, sautéed to perfection with ample pieces of kaleji (liver). I
LOVED it! It was the dish of the day!
Our
choices for dessert were, Malai Kulfi and Shahi Tukda. The Malai Kulfi was nice
but we both felt it would have been better had it been creamier.
As for the
Shahi Tukda, the combination of that fried piece of bread with the Rabdi did
absolutely nothing for me but that Rabdi, when had by itself, was
out’fuckin’standing! I’ll give the Rabdi a perfect score of 10/10.
The
service was attentive without being intrusive. The ambiance was extremely
pleasant. With my teenage crush, Kapil Dev, staring down at me, it had to be.
;-) (Sorry Zaheer, I’m from the 80’s era hence it, for me, it can only be Kapil
Dev.) Food wise, mostly, everything we tried bordered on ‘quite good’ but had
the potential to be much better. The Rabdi and the Kheema Kaleji are, of
course, exceptions. I hope Team ZK’s pays attention to the finer points of
their cuisine thereby ensuring that the diner truly experiences a ‘fine dine’
experience. Will I return to ZK’s? Yes, I definitely shall. I truly feel they
can and will do better the next time around.
Food:
3/5 (for the Kheema Kaleji and Kapil Dev – 5/5)
Service:
5/5
Ambiance:
4/5
Address:
Ground floor, Winner Court, 23 Sahani Sujan Park, Lulla Nagar, Kondhwa, Pune
Tel:
020 66547788 / 020 26834455
Some extra photographs...
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