The Dimsum Luncheon at Koji, Conrad Pune
Restaurant Name: Koji
Location: Conrad Pune, 7, Mangaldas Rd, Sangamvadi, Pune, Maharashtra 411001
Buzz: +91-20-6745-6745
The Dim Sum Luncheon
Koji has been flag-bearer of Japanese and Asian cuisine in Pune for over two years now, their food is nothing less than phenomenal. Team Koji announced good news for Koji lovers, they will now be operational on all Saturdays for lunch, with a special all you can eat set Dim-sum menu. This menu consists of a full spectrum of gourmet dim-sums prepared using different cooking techniques and exotic ingredients. The menu consists of soup, 7 types of dim-sums, a rice preparation and dessert.
The Food Prowl Team was invited by Executive Chef – Pavan Kumar Chennam for a food tasting.
Our food tasting kicked off with a Welcome Drink made with seasonal fruits and aerated beverage which was soothing and refreshing. We opted for the Non-Vegetarian menu, and soon were served the Chicken Wonton Soup, a clear broth shining with the oil in it, with not too many veggies and a steamed chicken wonton with minimalist on flavors and right amount of warmth. Our Indian palate might cringe for a little more spiciness to it, but the condiments served along come in handy to break the traditional way of the soup.
We were served a variety of dishes from the Set menu:
BBQ Chicken Bao: Bao’s are just so special for depth of soothing flavors from the light slightly sweet dough (if done right) imparts. These Bao’s were fantastic, the dough buns had generous filling of BBQ chicken that complemented the flavors very well.
Prawn Dumplings: These dumplings were poached and drizzled with chilli oil. The poached cooking gave it a different feel and cooked the prawn just to the right level, we could relish biting into these, and chilli oil gave it more flavor.
Scallop Shumai: An open-faced dumpling with Australian scallops as the core topped with salmon roe, soft scallops with tiny crunchy roe, it was gorgeous combination.
Chicken Shanghai: These dumplings were more spiced than others and were served with a spicy sauce on the side, we dunked each dumpling into the sauce and crisp fried layer with minced chicken along with the sauce gave a burst of flavors, this was so good for an Indian palate.
John Dory XO Dumplings: A flaky somewhat sweetish John Dory with XO sauce flavors, another gourmet masterpiece.
Chicken and Fish Cheung Fun: They were both good, but the fish Cheung Fun could have had more flavor to it.
Sticky Rice: Steamed in a lotus leaf this was quite good.
Sesame Pops: Big spheres made with sticky rice and sesame, nestling within a mix of mushrooms and water chestnuts. The chestnuts gave it certain bite and overall it had complex flavors.
Veg Shumai: It had fried garlic replacing the roe and had a crunch from veggies.
Done with all the dim-sums it was time for desserts, and it had to be dim-sum themed, it had two components to it – Crispy Custard Bao served along with Mango Sorbet. As a dessert a fried crispy bao is always better than a steamed one, its lightly sweetened and has a soft heart of custard, delicious. Still the shining star of this combo was the sorbet, it was unlike any regular Sorbet, smooth not icy at all and a perfect mango flavor.
The set menu is priced at Rs.1799 + taxes for Non-Veg. It might feel slightly towards the higher side at first, but then looking at the high-end ingredients like Scallops and John Dory it is worth every buck spent.
The Dimsum Luncheon at Koji, Conrad Pune