| rev:text
| - Pukka touts a pretty impressive international selection of wines, hand selected by Scaramouche's sommelier, Peter Boyd. At our tasting, Peter explained to us that pairing wine with spicy Indian food can be a challenge at times as the big, bold higher alcohol offerings wont work with certain levels of heat. He therefore has very meticulously put together a list of about 12 International wines by the glass, and a total of about 25 wines available by the bottle that he felt would best balance the complex flavours on the plate.
Over the course of the evening we sampled a nice spread of the restaurant's offerings beginning with a few cocktails and transitioning quickly to two different wines to pair with our appetizers and mains respectively. Take a peak at what we tried:
Welcome Cocktail: Pomegranate Royale
Indian Caesar
Addictively good- I loved the addition of ginger and curry spices for the kick
2012 Pinot Bianco, Nals Margreid Italy ($46/bottle)
2012 Cotes du Rhone, St. Michel France ($9.30/glass, $45/bottle)
Cold Tandoori Smoked Eggplant Tartare - Khasta Roti ($7.90)
Vegetarians rejoice- this tartare was fabulously meaty in texture and flavour.
Mixed Vegetable Pakoras - Tomato Chutney ($7.80)
Super crispy and addictive, I loved the generous dusting of aromatic spices.
Vegetable String Chaat- Puffed Rice, Sprouts, Chutneys, Sweet Yoghurt ($8.70)
Refreshing and light.
Baby Kale Salad - Dates, Lotus Chips, Spiced Cashew Dressing ($8.40)
One of my favourites of the night (and I am admittedly not one of those crazy kale lovers). The combination of salty nutty dressing with the sweet dates and the crispy chips really made that otherwise tough green shine.
Chicken 65 - South Indian Fried Chicken, Chili Tamarind Sauce ($9.40)
Loved the sweet and mildly spicy sauce.
Goat Cheese Stuffed Lamb Kebabs - Pomegranate Reduction ($10.20)
The lamb was incredibly juicy, while the tanginess of the herbed goats cheese was perfectly balanced by the sweet pomegranate sauce.
Poppadoms and Chutney ($2.90)
Like the lightest, crispiest chips ever.
Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Paneer - Pistachio Korma Sauce ($16.40)
While I'm usually not a crazy paneer lover, I liked the addition of meaty mushrooms to beef it up.
Pan-Seared Pickerel - Coconut and Curry Leaf ($19.80)
A fabulous coconut curry sauce that demanded to be sopped up by extra naan.
Butter Chicken - Tomato Infused Butter Sauce ($18.40)
The hands down favourite dish at the table. Succulent juicy chicken in a lusciously creamy sauce. I think we were all fighting over the extra sauce on the plate.
Beef Short Ribs - Braised with Black Cumin, Garlic and Ginger ($21.80)
Super tender beef in a very savoury sauce that offered a nice relief from the rest of the more creamy options.
Daal Makhani - Slow Cooked Black Lentils ($7.80)
Daal to me is comfort food, and this was truly divine.
French Beans - Caramelized Onions, Tumeric and Coconut ($8.20)
Loved the crispy coconut on the nicely al dente beans.
Naan Basket
So many fabulous options here- my favourite being the sweet garlic naan!
Eton Mess - Rosewater Meringue, Pomegranate, Mango, Sweet Lassi Cream ($7.90)
A light dessert with a nice balance of sweet fruit, tangy yogurt and crunchy floral cookie. Yes, I inhaled this, and everyone took notice.
Pukka is now open daily for dinner at 778 St Clair West. You can book a table online (bonus!!), and I definitely suggest you do because with food and drink offerings like this, you can bet this is going to be a hot Toronto spot. Is Indian the next Toronto trend? If it all tastes like this, we can only hope!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)