“So Pune has finally reached this point too…”
I felt this when I spotted the Korean restaurant "Kini" in Koregaon Park.
Kini is a Korean street food speciality restaurant that opened around 2023.
Run by co-founders with Korean backgrounds, the restaurant focuses on authentic Korean street dishes such as tteokbokki, pajeon*, twigim*, ramyeon*, and bibim noodles*.
The restaurant also pays attention to house-made sauces and in-house-prepared ingredients, while side dishes such as kimchi and mukimchi* (pickled radish kimchi) are served alongside the main dishes.
Rather than being merely “Korean-style,” the place gives the impression of genuinely trying to recreate Korean street food culture with a fair degree of authenticity.
I should note that I have not yet visited the restaurant in person.
The other day, however, I ordered a japchae rice bowl*, pajeon, and “Mochi” for dessert through the food delivery service Zomato for the first time. To my surprise, the food matched my personal tastes so well that I felt compelled to document the experience.
Kini, Koregaon Park, Pune _ Zomato
The first thing that impressed me was the pajeon.
Made generously with chives, it was the real deal: crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside.
The dipping sauce — a perfect combination of sesame oil and soy sauce — was dangerously addictive. It also reminded me somewhat of थालीपीठ, the savoury pancake-style dish popular in Maharashtra around Pune.
The japchae was equally excellent.
With delivery japchae, it is not uncommon for the glass noodles to harden into a single clump by the time the food arrives. But Kini’s version remained moist until the very end and paired extremely well with rice. The sesame oil aroma also felt natural and balanced, giving the dish an overall impression of care.
And then there was the dessert: “Mochi.”
No — despite being labelled as “Mochi,” this was essentially daifuku, a traditional Japanese sweet featuring a chewy rice cake exterior and a sweet filling. Even Siddharth, who usually dislikes mochi, approved. If that is the case, it is not difficult to imagine that Pune’s younger crowd would warmly embrace it as well.
As for the mukimchi served on the side, biting into its crisp texture somehow reminded me of Japanese takuan pickles, evoking an oddly nostalgic feeling.
Given all this, next time I would very much like to try the food freshly made at the restaurant itself.
*Pajeon: A Korean-style pancake made with chives, seafood, and other ingredients.
*Twigim: Korean-style deep-fried food, often consisting of vegetables or seafood coated in batter and fried. Frequently eaten together with tteokbokki.
*Ramyeon: Korean instant noodles known for their spicy broth, distinct from Japanese ramen.
*Bibim noodles: Mixed noodles tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce, usually served without soup.
*Mukimchi: A type of kimchi made from radish, known for its crunchy texture.
*Japchae: A Korean dish made by stir-frying glass noodles with vegetables and meat, characterised by the aroma of sesame oil.
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