The Saturday Dim Sum Luncheon at Koji – A Class Apart!

Exec. Chef Pavan Kumar Chennum invited a few of us from Team #FoodProwl for a tasting of ‘The Dim Sum Luncheon’, at Koji-Conrad. 

Every Saturday afternoon, Koji has an unlimited dim sum luncheon available. On offer are two types of menus; vegetarian and non-vegetarian. This was Koji, my favourite restaurant in town hence, I skipped brekkie that day as I wanted to do full justice to the food served. *greedy grin*

The first dish sent our way was the Chicken Wanton Soup. This was a thin, clear soup served with a chicken wanton. While the soup was very flavourful, the wanton in the soup disappointed. It was too doughy. We did inform the chef and they promised to look into it.

Once we were done with the soup our dim sums were sent to the table. The first was Chicken Bao. These babies were beautifully steamed and the filling within was yum! 

Prawn Dumplings, Scallop Shumai, Chicken Shanghai and John Dory & XO Dumplings were then brought to the table. 

The Chicken Shanghai was pan fried and the texture of the dim sum casing was a tad crisp. The difference in texture was a nice change for my palate. 

Taste wise, I couldn’t find fault with any of the dim sums. Also, there is no way I can point to any one of them say, this one was the best. Each and every one was superb! I expected no less, after all, this was Koji!

They also served us a Xiaolongbao. If you cannot remember its name, simply call it a soup dumpling.

The Xiaolongbao is a dim sum filled with soup (sometimes it is filled with soup and a bit of pork meat/crab meat/etc). This one was filled with a delish chicken stock. There is a certain way to eat them. Use chop sticks to pick up these delicate babies from the tip of the dim sum to ensure you don’t break them. Dip the dim sum in light soy sauce (or the extra soup, if served by the restaurant) and then place it in a Chinese soup spoon. You can then bite off the top of the dim sum and slurp some of the soup. When a wee bit of soup remains in the dim sum, eat the dim sum with the remining soup. Never put the whole Xiaolongbao in your mouth. The soup inside is, usually, hot and can burn your mouth. Also, never put a Xiaolongbao on a plate and cut it with a fork or knife. That’ll be the death of this gorgeously delicate and delicious dim sum.

We also tried a couple of vegetarian dim sums and they, too, were beautifully done. Chef Tenzin is a dim sum chef par excellence. Actually, I’d much rather call him an artist coz I’ve been following his work for quite a while now and his dim sums, truly, are a work of art!

The last savoury dim sum, Cheung Fan, served to us happens to be my all-time favourite! With all my heart I believe, no dim sum compares to a well-made Cheung Fan and this one was supreme in quality. We tried the veg and the non-veg versions. Both were excellent but, no prizes for guessing that this carnivore preferred the non-veg one. 😉

We finished our meal with a sweet Custard bao served with Mango sorbet. The piping hot bao with the sweet custard filling was heavenly. I loved the Mango Sorbet as a stand-alone dessert but paired with the Bao, they both kinda fell flat! They did not complement each other. Do not eat them together. Eat each of them by themselves and I promise they will stand tall and shine.

This unlimited Dim Sum meal is available at Koji, every Saturday afternoon. The unlimited Dim Sum menu is priced at 1699 + taxes for the vegetarian menu and 1799 + taxes for the non-vegetarian menu.

What a way to spend a Saturday afternoon! A scrumptious dim sum lunch set in the elegantly outfitted Koji. Life doesn’t get any better or any more luxurious than that!   

While this Dim Sum Luncheon menu is curated for Saturday afternoons, I have just received news that Koji is about to commence a weekday luncheon; ‘The Koji 45er’; an express lunch for busy weekday afternoons. More on that soon! 😉

Address: Koji - Conrad - Pune, Mangaldas Road, Pune.

Buzz: 020 020 71967158

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Big Belly Canteen – Perfect For My Belly! 😉

Yesterday, I was itching to have Indian food hence decided to order Rara Chicken (INR 320) from Big Belly Canteen (BBC). I'd heard very good reviews about it. I have to agree with each and every positive review ever written about BBC's Rara Chicken. 

The gravy was delish, and the chicken was juicy and tender. The Butter Garlic Naan (INR 35) that I'd ordered, as accompaniment, was also very nicely done.

A couple of months back Jitin bhai had called to say he was opening a new delivery kitchen at Viman Nagar; Big Belly Canteen (BBC). He mentioned he wanted to send over a few dishes for me to try as he wanted feedback for the same. I tried the food and gave him honest verbal feedback, as requested.

As I'm penning about last night's dinner, I've decided to pen about the dinner Jitin bhai sent me a couple of months back. So, read on... 

At the time he'd sent me Khandeshi Chicken which was spicy as it had special ground Khandeshi masala added. The light bitter aftertaste of Javantri (Mace) came through delicately and beautifully. 

He also sent Veg Butter Chicken, Dal Gheewala, Jeera Rice and Lachcha Paratha.

While I loved the robustly spicy Khandeshi Chicken, the Veg Butter Chicken did nothing for me with regard to the overly sweet gravy. The Soya Chaamp in the gravy were nice but the sweet gravy was a letdown. Having said that let me add with honesty, mum cannot handle spicy food hence this was the dish of the day for her. (Such a perfect example of 'taste is subjective'). 

The Dal Gheewala was fabulous, and they weren't at all stingy with the ghee. It was yum! The Jeera Rice was also superb!

Next, I need to try their Chindian food. I'm told they do a mean Chilli Chicken. 😉

Please note: Big Belly Canteen is not a restaurant; it’s a ‘Delivery Kitchen’ based at Ramwadi, Viman Nagar. They are (soon) opening a second branch at Baner.

To order, you may call them on +91 8669994001 or you may order via Zomato, Swiggy or Dial-A-Meal.

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Rustom Battliwala: Sojju Khavanu – Peevanu; Majja Ni Life!

I’m a Bawi, which is why when it comes to Parsi cuisine, I’m a purist; no two ways about that. I’m the non-violent type but, mess with my Dhanshak and Saali Boti and rest assured, ‘mein tumhari boti-boti kar dungi’. (Well actually, I’m very angelic – oh come on, please believe me!)

When I received an invite from Rustom Battliwala, my recce revealed the restaurant was headed by a Sindhi chef; Chef Deepu. Quite unheard of! I wondered which gastronomic hurricane I was heading into. Chef Deepu walked in (if I might add, with immense swag – the nice kind) and introduced himself. Within a minute (or two) of talking with him it dawned on me that he knew Parsi cuisine and the culture really well. I knew then, the afternoon was going to be a cool, pleasant breeze; no hurricane hovered on the horizon. 😊

We clicked photographs of the venue and took in the feel of the place. A stained-glass wall, glass ‘barnis’ (big glass bottles) filled with biscuits and toffees, a typical Parsi-Irani type ‘galla’ (cash counter), antique chandeliers and checkered pink and white tablecloths. For an added Parsi-Irani feel, the tablecloth was held down firm with a glass top and the menu was ‘typically’ placed below the glass top. The décor is very authentic with regard to how Parsi-Irani restaurants have always been. Let me at the very beginning add that, while they have quite a large Parsi menu, they also have regular Indian fare on their menu. We were lucky enough to try both cuisines; Parsi and Indian.

We began with a couple of mocktails. While I chose Goldspot, a refreshing citrusy drink, my friend opted for a Raspberry-Ginger mocktail. 

The Raspberry-Ginger mocktail, however, lacked in ginger flavour. An extra touch of ginger would’ve been nice. The Goldspot sure wowed us, though!

The first dish sent was the Malai Shikhampuri. The carnivore in me was so not expecting the first dish to be vegetarian but I admit, we couldn’t have started off on a better note. The kebabs were made of minced vegetables and stuffed with nuts and cream cheese, sprinkled with a bit of chaat masala. These were absolutely delish! I’d opt for them time and again in the blink of an eye. 

Next, were the Murghi Na Farcha and Patra Ni Machhi. 

For Farchas, most restaurants boil the chicken, marinate it and then fry it. End result: an overcooked piece of protein. Meh! These Farchas were done just right. The chicken was tender and luscious, and the coating was classically ‘Parsi’. 

While the Patra Ni Machhi was good, it could have been better. It needs a few tweaks. They need to get the consistency of the chutney right; it should be a thick chutney so as to coat the fish without getting runny and watery during steaming. They also need to spice up the chutney and then give it a bit of a sweet-tangy zing. The spiciness should play the main role while the sweet & tangy flavours can play cameo roles. 😉

When asked what we’d like for the mains, I told Chef Deepu he could send over whatever he liked but there was one thing I definitely wanted to taste and that was Dhanshak; Mutton Dhanshak! He gave me an impish grin, knowing exactly why this request was coming his way. ‘Mutton Dhanshak, it is!’, he said.

The dishes that made their way to our table as mains were; Mutton Dhanshak (served with traditional Caramelized Brown Rice - I missed the addition of mutton mince kebabs), Chicken Bafat Curry, Mutton Kheema Pau and Maska Dal. Our roti accompaniments with the mains were, Butter Garlic Naan and Tandoori Roti.

The Chicken Bafat Curry was tasty but a tad spicier than expected. The chicken wasn’t overcooked and that was a big plus. 

The Maska Dal served was not the traditional Maa ki Dal; it was Chef Deepu’s take on the original. It was buttery and very well made.

Each Parsi home has their own recipe for Dhanshak hence, while this Dhanshak was not similar to the one I make at home, it definitely was Dhanshak! The flavours were intact! The robust dal, the succulent mutton with the caramelized brown rice was the perfect thing to have that rainy afternoon. 

Chef Deepu continued to wow us with his version of Bombaiya style Mutton Kheema Pau. The kheema was ground just right; not too fine or too coarse. The spice level and the consistency of the gravy was perfect. Served with buttered ladi pau (bread) this dish was stellar!

We ended the meal on a sweet note; Lagan nu Custard. What was brought to the table was Lagan nu Custard and yet it wasn’t. I say this because the custard was steamed instead of being baked. Ideally, Lagan nu Custard is always baked! I did miss the ‘baked texture’. Would I reorder this? I would, in a jiffy, coz it was yummy, but I’d order it as a custard, not as a Lagan nu Custard.

Chef Deepu’s joie de vivre and enthusiasm for the work he puts out is so heartwarming. Behind all that ‘swag’ is a humble soul who knows and understands food and yet is open to constructive feedback. ‘Food talks’ are always the best talks and we sat discussing ‘food’ for nearly 30 minutes after the meal. It was indeed a pleasure knowing and talking to Chef Deepu. I wish him the very best for this Bawa venture and extend a heartfelt thank-you for the invite.

Address: Shop No 9, Balewadi High Street, Panchshil Business Park, Baner, Pune

Buzz: +91 8637773888



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