ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Address: Unit 11, Pub Town, Creaticity, Yerawada, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Time: 12 Noon to 12 Midnight
Meals for two: Rs. 1,200
Cuisines: Chinese, Asian
Facilities: Home Delivery, Full Bar Available, Valet Parking Available, Outdoor Seating, Smoking Area, Table booking recommended
Wicked China which has recently opened at Pubtown, Creaticity in Yerawda, is the new addition to the ‘fusion food’ scene in Pune and serves Chinese food with a quirky twist.
Wicked China, Yerawada, Pune: Decor
With many other pubs and bars to keep company at Pubtown, Wicked China sets itself apart by being the most vibrant and kitschy of the lot. The outdoor area uses a lot of natural lighting and woodwork. The interiors are done up well and the seating is a mix of comfortable chairs and sofas. The walls are covered with paintings, photos and murals depicting Chinese art. The most striking feature are the ceiling lampshades which are inspired by Chinese hats and painted in bright teal.
Wicked China, Yerawada, Pune: Food
With an extensive bar menu, there are plenty of options to choose from.
The server recommended their most popular cocktail Wicked Chuski, a white rum based cocktail with a refreshing kala khatta ice-lolly, and cheeky linghun fizz, a kokum mocktail uniquely paired with chili, lime and cilantro. Both the drinks are refreshing and the flavors, bang-on.
Very rarely do you find any dish with turnip on the menu. So the first pick was the turnip cake with burnt garlic and chilies. The deepfried turnip and carrot cakes are crispy and go very well with a liberal topping of crunchy burnt garlic and chilies. The bags of gold are fried wontons stuffed with vegetables and served with a sweet-chili sauce. Though the wontons are fried perfectly and aren’t greasy, the flavor on the stuffed veggies seems amiss. The wonton nachos with chicken and citrus cheese seems like an odd combination, but it totally worked. Fried wonton nachos smothered with tangy cheese and covered with spicy chicken; this dish is a winner. The last pick was the spicy chicken baos which, when served, looked like button mushrooms. The soft steamed buns, stuffed with spicy chicken in Indian flavors and served with spiced mayo, fetches full marks for plating, flavor and taste.
The mains menu is simple and features some classics from the Orient. For meat-lovers, the braised lamb with pak choy and mushrooms is a must try. The lamb is tender and cooked to perfection and the pak choy and the Chinese mushrooms add a different texture to the dish. Though this can easily be had by itself, coupling it with burnt garlic fried rice should be given a try as well. Vegetarians can go for the stir fried vegetables in oyster sauce accompanied by steamed jasmine rice. This is one combination which never goes wrong.
Among the desserts, the flour-less chocolate cake served with basil ice-cream gets mixed responses. While the dark chocolate cake is decadent, moist and doesn’t go overboard with the sweetness, the basil ice-cream can be given a miss as is doesn’t complement the cake. A scoop of simple vanilla ice-cream or maybe some chocolate ganache would’ve done the trick.
Wicked China, Yerawada, Pune: Plus & Minus
Wicked China is a vibrant and energetic space which serves quintessential Chinese food with a refreshing twist. With the quirky and colorful interiors, this place might be one of the most Instagram-worthy restaurants in the city.
