Got a message from Malaka Spice one fine day, mentioning their Winter Menu, inviting me and a friend to try it out. I’ve been there several times, right from the time it was in a small place in Koregaon Park itself, near Arthur’s Theme. Now of course, it is bigger and more spread out, and definitely one of the better restaurants in Pune.
Told a friend about this when we met. Initially, she wasn’t too keen as she’s a vegetarian and the Malaka Spice menu is more to a non-veg person’s liking, even more so if you enjoy Southeast Asian cuisine. Misgivings aside, we decided to give it a shot and try out the winter menu on a Sunday night.
We’d made a booking in advance, knowing the place is crowded on Sundays and sure enough, once we reached, it was already getting packed. We wanted to sit outside but there was no decent seating available, so inside it was, where a table was kept reserved.
We started off with drinks, and cocktails seemed to be the order of the day – Virgin Mojito for her and a Long Island Iced Tea for me. For starters, we ordered Marital Prawns (crisped prawns paired with chicken), and “A Jolly Good Fellow” (freshly farmed portabella mushrooms with vegetables, balsamic vinegar and basil). Both the dishes were pretty good, though we felt the mushrooms could have been just a little bit ‘softer’. The prawns were crunchy and crisp.
For the main course, it was Phad Thai (noodles with crunchy peanuts), and Khow Suey (Burmese curry noodles with chicken). Both tasted good, though the noodles in the Khow Suey were slightly cloggy (I prefer home-made Khow Suey anyway). Both these dishes were from the main menu, as we found the winter menu slightly limiting in terms of choices and probably what we wanted to eat just then.
As always, the service was good and attentive, without being obtrusive, though it seemed just a bit slow at times – maybe for the ambience to sink in, as well as letting the drinks and conversation flow, both of which did 🙂
For dessert, we decided to order the Chocolate Sin Mousse Cake and Apple Pie with ice-cream, both were a delight, and undeniably the best part of the meal 😀
*The only “regret” – No photos :p
Malaka Spice
Lane 5, North Main Road,
Koregaon Park,
Pune 411001
Tel: +91 98230 64050
