Gong Modern Asian | Pune — Restaurant in Pune

My this monsoon weekend was perfectly planned Long drive in Express Highway Meeting foggy hills, cloudy sky, breathing fresh air, away from Mumbai traffic & pollution.

A non-stop drive of around 3 hours I reached Gong.. Yes great Bong foodie reached Gong😀👍

The restaurant started in April 2017, is situated in the upmarket commercial hub of Pune city, Balewadi High Street. It's one of the most popular & loved restaurant of the foodies.

Yes not only of Pune, foodies from other nearby cities visit here to enjoy lovely meals curated by Corporate Chef Mr Ram... The aroma & popularity of good food spreads very fast 👌

Welcomed with Namaste🙏 & nice😊smiles by Asst Business Manager Mr Sunil Restaurant Manager Mr Santosh, who served me hot herbal tea & a traditional Asian welcome dish of a piece of tofu with some exotic jelly, served in a spoon.

Huge spacious restaurant with 86 covers Very stylish chic Interiors, this place will make you feel happy. Nice background music.. A big bar area..

With two different kinds of imported wines, perfect way to start my Weekend brunch..

1. White wine - Black tower Riesling (Germany)

2. Red wine - Jacobs creek Shiraz Cabernet ( Australia)

Then came 4 signature mocktails in tall glasses..

3. Malaya spiced Melon - refreshing melony

4. Thai Exotica - It's too much yummy Thai

5. Jade spring - With the goodness of fresh basil leaves

6. Orangepiroskha - loaded with VitC & tasty, perfect for monsoon

Now am going to say about the authentic Asian Gong singnature dishes -

Sushi 🍣

1. Cream cheese Avocado (veg)- creamy & tasty

2. Spider Roll, it's soft shell crab sushi (non-veg)- Being a seafood lover, I loved this crab sushi

3. Salmon Nigiri (non-veg) - one of my favorite fish & when it came in the form of sushi 😋😋😋

4. Green Papaya Salad - Famous Thai dish, very nice looking & healthy

5. Crispy Chicken Katsu Bao - the signature mild spicy stuffing of the bao, perfectly prepared & presented

Then came signature Dimsums:

6. Edamame & truffle dumplings (veg) - pretty looking & super tasty

7. Asian Crab Ravioli (non-veg) - This dish looked really sexy😍 martini glass, tender crab ravioli on thick Thai gravy, super tasty.. The taste of the gravy will stay back for the presence of soothing lemongrass ..

8. Crispy Prawn Cheung fun (non-veg) - Prawns are my favorite so enjoyed this signature dish

9. Red curry shrimp dumpling (non-veg) - Dumplings were little pinkish in colour for the red curry shrimp stuffing, excellent presentation..

Signature Appetizers :

10. Smoked duck roll (non-veg) - mild spicy duck meat with lots of shredded veggies stuffed in a roll, served in 2 pieces, very filling dish

11. Vietnamese Fish Parma fingers (non-veg) - I tried this dish first time & totally fallen in love with it.. Fish fingers were served with different kinds of accomplishments

Soup:

13. Mushroom cappuccino (veg) - perfect cappuccino look, served in a glass cup, perfect for monsoon 👍

14. Meal Bowls- Chicken Ramen (non-veg) - the name of the dish is right, it was totally a complete meal. A big bowl of noodles, chuncks of boneless chicken pieces, veggies, boiled egg cooked in chicken stock, served hot, very healthy dish..

After having super tasty 14 dishes Came the Mains:

1)Filipino Chicken Adobo (non-veg) - a lovely traditional dish.

2)Sobayaki Noodles - an innovative preparation

3)King prawn red curry ( non-veg) - An excellent prawn dish

4)Stir fried Asian greens with thai basil (veg) - very healthy & light dish

An exotic signature dessert Snicker cake - Pure vegetarian Belgium chocolate 3 layered cake with crushed peanuts served with vanilla ice cream😋😋 A yummy combination of chocolate cake & ice cream...

Am very sure, I'll visit this place again.. Because I can hardly get these dishes in Mumbai. Highly recommend this place to Asian food lovers, discover amazing Asian delicacies from their huge varieties of signature dishes ..

Home delivery facility is available through swiggy and zomato Apps..

Chef Vinod Rai, you really...

Tell me you love GONG without telling me you love GONG.

Gong- my go to place for Asian food. The no. of times I have visited this place must be more than total no. of restaurants I have visited specially after unlocking of second lockdown . Also, I’m not even counting times I have ordered food from this place. And I’m one of their loyal customer as I have been going to this place regularly ever since they have opened their door to people. Not just this, I have introduced this place to a lot of people for the first time. Is that enough to tell my love for this place or should I say something more? So, let me tell you reasons why I absolutely love this place and why I don’t mind going to this place over and over again.

AMBIANCE: Gong’s ambiance is quite inspired from Japanese and Thai architecture. Their interiors has been done nicely and thoughtfully. It’s gives you a feel of fancy fine diner with a touch of cozy vibe. Dim, yellow lights make you feel like a candle light dinner ambiance. And light lamps hanging out of ceiling is my favourite part of this place. Having said that, their ambiance totally justifies the theme of this restaurant which is Asian.

FOOD: For most of the time I have been to this place, 2 signature dishes have always made to my table; Sushi and Dim-sums. I absolutely love their Sushi. This time, I have tried more diversified menu as they have recently added new food items to their menu. Let’s start with the Sushi. I have tried ‘Cream Cheese Avocado Roll’ and ‘Blue Rice Salmon Surprise Roll’ and without any doubt I liked Blue Rice Salmon more than the cream cheese avocado one because simply Sushi is about fish and rice and somehow I was never convinced with the idea of veg sushi. Not that Cream Cheese Avocado was bad but my tastebuds went ahead with Salmon, because Everytime I hear Salmon, I hear sushi with it 😅 This Sushi was purple in Color which was quite fancy, and taste wise it had mild flavours which is how it should have been. I totally loved it. After this I have decided to try something different and ended up trying their Tortellinis. For all those who don’t know what tortellini, it is a type of pasta which looks like sea shell. But this weren’t regular Tortellinis, they were moreover fusion ones as mix of Italian and Asian food. I had ‘Smoked Water Chestnut’ and ‘Chicken- Shrimp’ Tortellini. Again my vote goes to Chicken Shrimp as Asian food offers more variety in non veg. Chicken and Shrimp cooked in perfection and wrapped/ filled in Tortellini, steamed and served perfectly. I liked it. Then comes to their one of the dishes which I’m not really fond of- BAO. Twice I have tried their Baos but didn’t like the overall texture, taste as I have had better ones. So wouldn’t recommend those. Coming on to their main course, I have tried my regular which was Black Rice, Chicken Burmese Curry and Shiitake Mushroom on the side. All 3 were flavoursome, enriched with flavours and made my tummy feel good by tantalising my tastebuds. And lastly finished my meal with a dessert called ‘Chocolate Dome’ which was more like our classic chocolate brownie with Vanilla icecream but covered with a dome made of chocolate which melted right after they poured hot chocolate on top of it. It was delicious and filling.

SERVICE: Of all the times I have visited this place, not even once I was unhappy with their service. I really liked their attendant as they greet you nice and proper with a smile on their face. A smile goes a long way they say and probably this is one of the reason I have always found their hospitality is warm, courteous and amazing. Service is always prompt and I won’t say quick because sometime some Asian dishes take good long time to get prepared so I can totally understand that. Overall I am and have always been happy with their service.

Ps. This place is close to my heart so this review has come from the...

Sacred Chinese gongs are inscribed with the Mandarin Chinese characters called Tai Loi, which means, happiness has arrived. GONG- Modern Asian takes you to a new level of happiness with its high energy ambience that is a contemporary take on traditional Japanese temple architecture and diverse Asian flavours that are prepared using western cooking techniques and presentations.

The menu features a progressive mix of Sushis, Asian Tapas, Stir Fries and Curries – rolled, steamed, baked, fried, tossed or slow cooked. The cocktail concoctions make use of fresh and dehydrated fruits, herbs, spices and liqueurs to achieve a perfect harmony of flavours.

The result is a perfect balance of ingredients and textures that are all a testimony to GONG holding the baton of innovation.

We started with Amuse Bouche: The term is French and literally means "mouth amuser" It has often becomed a showcase, however, due to the artistry and showmanship of the chef, intensified by the competition among restaurants. They had a cranberry sphere Jelly type with basil crumble, followed by kaffir lime tofu. Nice mix of sweet and spice in one go.

Mushroom Cappuccino Soup: This was Smooth enough to start with and served hot with Extra finely chopped Mushrooms by the side in a small bowl. Very nicely presented. #MushHave

Sushi Rolls: Asparagus Tempura: A Chef's speciality. Young leafy tips of asparagus, tempura fried to a nice golden colour and rolled into a chumaki size sushi. Avocado inside and are topped with crunch. So delicious!!

Cream Cheese Avocado: This was another gem from the Chef. Mouth melting Cheesy with Mayo dressing along with Asparagus and Cucumber were there for holing up. Rolled in Sushi rice. served with Wasabi and Tender and sweet Thai Ginger. #MustHave.

Dimsums:

Edamame and Truffle Dumpling: These little babies were tender soft, silky and shiny. Along with this to add some spice and enhance the taste they had given us some authentic Dipping Sauces.

Asian Cottages Cheese Ravioli: This was absolutely must have. Flimsy Ravioli dipped in Thai flavoured curry served in Martini Glass. Wow. This is a beautiful creation by the Chef. #MustHave

Crispy Vegetable Cheung Fun: This cheung fun is one of the more untraditional dishes, mixing the textures of the soft cheung fun skin, the crispy beancurd sheets and the Veggies filling. I loved this! No wonder its the Gong's most favourite dish.

Crispy Lotus Stem: This is unarguably the best Crispy Lotus stem I ever had. The speciality of this is the Stem are big in size and which are directly imported from Thailand. Thats it has a different taste and crunch with every bite. #MustHave

Burnt garlic fried rice with vegetables in Chilli basil: This is the only restaurant where I liked the Fried rice, nice and flavourful with burnt Garlic. Vegetable tossed and served with Chilli Basil sauce. Stir fried Noodles: Good in taste Finely chopped veggies added to it.

Desserts:

Chocolate Dome: One of the fancy items from the menu. Big Chocolate Dome is placed and Hot Chocolate Sauce is poured over it to uncover the hidden gems like Brownie cubes, Crispy honey flat noodles, Some Popcorns, and a Scoop of Vanilla Ice-Cream. #MustHave.

Mocktails:

Malaya Spiced Melon and Hot Guava Punch: Its bit difficult to decide between both but Hot Guava Punch is my favourite.

Overall:

Gong takes you to the Journey of Asian cuisine along with some latest Molecular Gastronomy techniques and which embellishes the overall dinning experience. The Interiors of the Gong makes this journey Magnetic...