La Kheer Deli (LKD) - Gourmet Kheer, Indeed!

After lunch, on Sunday afternoon, we drove around wondering where and what to eat dessert. We suddenly realized La Kheer Deli (LKD - I'm a true blue Bawi hence the initials brought another acronym to mind. I am going to (angelically) refrain from mentioning it here 🙊🙈) was in the vicinity.

We tried four flavours.

Blackcurrent: Surprisingly, this turned out to be a beautiful balance of sweet and tangy flavours. I'm not much for fruity stuff, but, I have to say, I really liked it.

Brownie & Nutelloreo: Both these were chocolate based. What, in heaven's name, can ever go wrong with a chocolate flavoured anything? Answer: Absolutely nothing!

I'm not a big fan of kheer, but by now I was quite impressed with the flavours I'd tried.

The fourth flavour I tried was Gulkand. I don't eat paan, which is why this was not a flavour I was eager to try but I gave it a shot. I was not expecting any 'wow' factor. Well, it stumped me! It didn't merely have a 'wow' factor; it had a 'WOW' factor. The kheer had just the right quantity of Gulkand and Dry Fruits added to it. Of the four that I tried, this was my favourite! 🤤

I cannot wait to head back to LKD and try some more flavours. They have two branches so, if you're at Aundh or JM road, do walk in and give this place a try. You won't regret it.

We paid a total of INR 416 for 4 cups of gourmet kheer. Well worth the price, I'd say.

Address: Next to Natural Ice Cream, Ghole road, JM Road, Pune

Tel: +919766777854 / +919970710036

UNO Street Foods – Surprisingly Good!

It was one of those days when mum and I were out for chores and hadn’t eaten lunch. We were ravenously hungry by the time we finished our outdoor chores. Luckily, we spotted UNO Street Food at Koregaon Park and, on the spur of the moment, decided to walk in for a bite.

UNO Street Foods has two sections. One section serves churros and desserts and the other, salads and pizzas. We wanted something savoury which is why we walked into the salads and pizzas section.

Of course, the carnivores did not choose a salad. Our choice was the Mad Dog Pizza. Tomato Sauce, Chicken Pepperoni, Smoked Sausage, Roast Chicken, Crushed Meatballs, Chicken bacon, Yellow Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Fresh rocket leaves and, In-house Barbeque Sauce; this was one loaded pizza. The only meat they serve is chicken, so don’t go there expecting other meats.

We were about to place the order, when we were told the pizza would be made from scratch hence would take a minimum of 15-20 minutes to arrive at the table. We thought a few extra minutes of wait wouldn't harm us, which is why we went ahead and placed our order.

A piping hot pizza made its way to our table within the stipulated 15-20-minute time frame. Thin and crisp base, the tangy tomato sauce and the sweet-spicy barbeque sauce, all, added that perfect oomph to the pizza. The toppings were more than adequate. The pizza was topped with lots of meat and was oozing with ample cheese. This spur of the moment meal turned out to be delicious.

I’m not a goat, hence I shall not try anything leafy (read: salads 😜) but, I would like to more pizzas from their menu. I’d also like to visit their dessert counter to check out the churros. If you happen to be at Koregaon Park, do check out this eatery. I merely tried one pizza, but, I have a sneaky feeling the other pizzas won’t disappoint either.

They make pizzas in one size only and this huge 13-inch baby cost me 700 buckaroos (all inclusive). For the loaded pizza they served, it was well worth the moolah spent.

Address: A-6, Ashiyana Park North, Ragvilas Society, Main Road, Near Lane 5, Koregaon Park, Pune

Tel: +919309844889

The Urban Foundry (TUF) – Delightfully Delicious Food!!

A few weeks back, a few friends suddenly decided to catch up for dinner. We were looking for vegetarian options that night as one friend was vegetarian that particular day. We were okay with veg food, but we wanted to dine at a nice hep and happening place. We decided to go to The Urban Foundry. We’d been to TUF for a pre-launch tasting and tasted quite a many of their non-veg and a few veg dishes. It had been a good tasting; we were looking forward to another good meal.

For starters we ordered, Krispe’ Lotus Stem Ki Bhel, Tilwala Paneer, Mushroom Tunday On Toast, Magik Mushroom Dumpling, Malai Broccoli Dumpling and Paneer Cheese Balls.

The Krispe’ Lotus Stem were one of the best I have ever had in Pune. They were beautifully crisp and even the ones that were eaten last, hadn't gotten soggy. Fabulously sweet and spicy; more spicy than sweet, these babies are so moreish. Put this dish on your ‘must-try’ list.

The Paneer Cheese Balls were soft and delish; very nicely done. 

The Mushroom Tunday are toothsome, melt-in-the-mouth babies and the crisp, thin toasts that the kebabs are set on, provide the crunch factor. 

The dumpling wrappers for the Magik Mushrooms and Malai Broccoli Dumplings are delicate and silken. The fillings for both dumplings are a velvety delight to the palate. 

The paneer used for Tilwala Paneer is of excellent quality, or then, I’m guessing, they make the paneer in-house. This dish has a lovely spicy zing, but not overly so.

The Tilwala Paneer, Magik Mushrooms, Malai Broccoli Dumplings and Mushroom Tunday were repeats. We liked them when we’d had them at the tasting, hence decided to re-order them. Trust me, guys, all these are ‘must try’ dishes!

We were quite full by the time we finished the starters, which is why we decided to order one main dish and share. We chose the Dal Baati Khow Suey.

They haven't fidgeted with the dal or the baati; it’s the real deal. This Dal-Baati, though, is served with accompaniments similar to the ones used for Khow Suey, which is why it is named so. I was anxious to dig into this dish because I'd eaten only one bite of this during the tasting. The reason being, I’d eaten too much food that evening. The ghee soaked Baati and the Dal was delish, and the accompaniments simply took the dish to a new high! We all loved it!

Our dessert was The Foundry Cheesecake. Once again, a repeat from our tasting event. This is a fusion dessert, read: Gulab Jamun Cheesecake. I’m a food purist! I am not very fond of fusion twists on food. This dessert, though, felt gorgeously delicious to my palate. 

Cheesecake for me, is a new-found love. The crumb base was a touch savoury, the stuffed Gulab Jamuns were sweet, while the cheesecake lent that lovely, light tang to the dessert. As the restaurant theme is ‘urban foundry’, there was a huge chocolate nut-bolt dug into the cheese cake. So darn quaint! This dessert, in totality, was perfectness on a plate!

The manager came over to ask us if everything was nicely done that night, as it was during the tasting. With a very stern and straight face, I said, "NO!" (pause) The poor chap looked aghast! With a hint of smile, I continued my sentence and said, "It was better than the tasting. At the tasting we had suggested you make a few small changes to improvise, and you’ve done just that. The food you serve is no longer good; it’s great!" He burst out laughing. More with relief, I’m guessing, than at the mischief I’d just put him through. *I can be very angelic at times – evil grin* I kid you not, the food served was absolutely superb! Had it not been so, this hardcore carnivore wouldn’t have bothered writing a full review for an all vegetarian meal. TUF also serves stellar non-vegetarian cuisine, but that’s a write up for another day.

Damages for the evening, including mocktails, soft drinks and taxes was INR 3440. 

Team TUF, please do keep up with the quality and deliciousness! I promise to return to TUF, time and again, if you do. 😊

Please note: The quality of photographs is not very good as the Urban Foundry is a dimly lit restaurant. We had to use the camera flash to click photographs. ☹

Address: B-3, Ground floor, Cerebrum IT Park, Near Marigold Complex, Kalyani Nagar, Pune.

Tel: 020 71967421