When I first came to Pune, I was completely unaware of its gigantic food scene. But my friend would take me every night to a different yet good restaurant by just saying - "Do you wanna go to this great restaurant tonight that....". And, I was like- " How do you know It's great?" And he used to be like - "Because It has a lot of usual crowd? Because it's popular." And then I'm like - "But Just because it has a lot of people coming in everyday because it's convenient for them, makes it a good restaurant? what about the food?". And then he said something that sort of explained everything, he's like - "would you go to restaurant again if the food was terrible? Never Mind, would you go there everyday?'. Well that did help me to take a note afterwards. But that did create another doubt in my head- "Okay, so the place is great because it has good food which explains the crowd and long waiting lines, but doesn't that impact the service and hence the overall doing of a restaurant?".
And, With the time, I had encountered many such experiences. A restaurant is good, food is good, but service is like super lousy - Just kills the excitement, Ugh. Until I was invited for a dinner tasting at The K Factory on one of the weekends which is usually super crowded for them.
This cute little yet huge (in terms of the number of people it still can accommodate) standing at Baner Road, did an outstanding job at their service irrespective of the number of people available that night. Along with a great ambiance and good food, the service was an overwhelming addition to the experience, But hey it's a food blog! So, Let's talk about a few of the amazing dishes that I got to try my hands on:-
MOCKTAILS:-
Watermelon and Basil:- This one got me confused for the uneven flavours of Watermelon and Basil at first. But as you know, I always believe in knowing the chef's opinion before judging any food. And It turns out they have done it on purpose to add a surprise element to this drink.
SALAD:-
K Cesar Salad (229 INR) (Grilled Chicken):- I must admit that salads at The K Factory are very stuffing. This one had chunks of Grilled Chicken with Lettuce leaves, black olives, parmesan cheese shavings and crunchy croutons with a creamy mustard mayonnaise dressing.
FLATBREADS:-
Feta Mousse (253 INR):- Chef rolled this one out to us saying - "I'm serving you a special flatbread now." And, It couldn't be more special, a really really thin chunchy flatbread was topped with onion, tomato, corn, basil, tomato concasse, mozzarella cheese top up in feta mousse. And, you know one thing, All of their breads are made in house,!!
CHARCOAL GRILLS:-
Roasted Chicken Drumsticks (296 INR):- This was a whole lotta treat to my tastebuds. Chicken drumsticks are marinated & dipped in carom seeds, roasted on charcoal and then tossed in paprika puree, herb cream & BBQ sauce.
SMALL BITES:-
Prawns Poppadum (325 INR):- Okay! This is a lot coming from me, so you might wanna read every single line carefully.
So, Y'all know I love Prawns, I love Prawns so much that I believe if every other food from universe will vanish one day due to some apocalyptic catastrophe (Kudos to my imagination, -10 points for the same), and if there survived only one item that we had to live eating for the rest of our lives, it should be Prawns.
Now Everytime when anyone asks me what's your favorite food, the answer is obvious, but one thing I don't forget to mention at the same time is "Mustard Prawns at Effingut to be Specific". I was introduced to Mustrad Prawns as well as @effingutbrews by @freakyfoodiepune and I just fell in love with the recipe. Nothing had made me fall in love with Mustard Prawns as much, not even Mexican Burrito and Chocolate Shake at Taco Bell (Although You might wanna try that). Untill this happened, For the first time in a long time, something gave me second thoughts about placing Mustard Prawns at the top of the list, Although it still remains a win win for Mustard Prawns at Effingut - This is something that'll always be at option. Now idk if it was worth your read or time, or you found it special or not, but that fairly means a lot to me, like it's a huge f-ing deal for me.
Texan Fish Fingers(315 INR):- To all the fish lovers out there,I guess this can be your go-to small bar bites to accompany your drinks. Crumbled fried fish fingers are served with fries, coleslaw and lemon mayo.
DESSERTS:-
Mango Pannacotta (248 INR):- The K Factory is game with their seasonal Pannacottas. And, To all the mango lovers who go ga-ga about mangoes every year, this pannacotta is a win-win for you which is served with served with candy floss and coffee dust.
Okay, Now that I explained the food in as much details as I could, let's get back to the service. Lol Jk, I won't take much of your time talking the same thing all over again. It's just that I'm head over heels in love with their service. It was really overwhelming.
Thank You Mohini Khandane and Team Wiztrah for extending the invite and Thank You Team The K Factory for hosting me.