Honk If You Love Duck And Dim Sums

At the Pullman hotel in Aerocity, the fine-dining restaurant—cutely named Honk—serves up a variety of sushi, dim sum, meats and sea food that spans Japanese and Thai cuisine, but the cocktails are what you should really head here for.

Nanjing Style Duck, Caramel Chocolate & Peanut Parfait

Honk Sour, Honkito, Tom Yam Siam

The asymmetrical, hand-made crockery, and the innovative twists they give their dishes

Take the long staircase down to Honk and you’ll find yourself in a restaurant that has really managed to utilise its space well. The lighting is dim, yet bright enough for you to read your menu easily, and the tables are spaced far enough apart that you won’t need to worry about someone at the next table overhearing bits of your conversation. We recommend making a beeline for the tables with the funky, mutlicoloured cushions; they’re quite comfortable.

Don’t forget to take a minute to scrutinise the cutlery {plates and dishes too}. It’s all hand-made in Spain and no two pieces look exactly the same.

Although they have an extensive {and very imposing} wine menu, we say go straight for the cocktails. If you’re looking for a good ol’ twist, look no further than Honk Sour {gin, kaffir lime, chamomile tea and egg white}—we had two of these, and beware, these go down easy. Gin not your thing? Try the Tom Yam Siam, which is a mix of vodka, bacardi, rambutan, lemongrass and other Thai spices.

We also tried the Oriental Margarita {tequila, galangal, pineapple juice with a pinch of chili pepper} and we suggest you skip this one altogether; it tasted neither oriental nor much like a good margarita.

We ate the Four Mushrooms dumpling, and the soft shell crab and salmon and cream cheese sushi rolls as appetisers. While the dumplings were great, a complete explosion of mushrooms in your mouth, the sushi was good but didn’t really stand out. In fact we questioned the use of cream cheese in the sushi; it didn’t taste bad, but felt very alien to our tastebuds—then again maybe we’re just traditionalists.

For the mains, stick to the Char Sui Pork & Prawn rice, and the Nanjing-Style Duck {though they do have a lot of other crab and prawn dishes on the menu that we’re thinking of going back for}. The duck skin was crispy, and the insides perfectly cooked, sweet and filling.

Make your way here for a meal before you have to go pick someone up from the airport. If their flight is late, definitely save 15 minutes to indulge in the Caramel Chocolate & Peanut Parfait; each bite is decadence.

After all those cocktails, climbing up the staircase is a little tricky; they’re lit up, and can confuse you. We speak from experience, of course. Hic.

Where: Pullman Aerocity, Aerocity District, IGI Airport

Nearest Metro Station: Aerocity {Airport Express}

Timings: 7pm – 12am

Price: INR 2,500 for two {approx.}

Contact: 011 46080839