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Photos By:: Adil Arora
 ‘Many people ask us why we named this restaurant as Honk,’ said Tristan de Lomenie, General Manager of Hotel Pullman who has been working on the hotel project from the beginning and was also involved with the concept of HONK. ‘My brief to the staff was to get the best street foods from across Asia- Japan, Thailand Vietnam and China etc and come out with an excellent Menu,’ he added. But why Honk? ‘Honk means noise and we wanted to make a lot of noise about it and hence named it as such.’ He didn’t realise then that 30 members of the DWC are capable of adding a lot to the noise in the evening with 5 wines with 5 courses, howsoever pleasant it may be. But the noise at Honk also highlights casual and informal atmosphere where one can eat, praise the food and chill out.
The food in Honk is delicious from the word ‘Good evening.’ (It’s open for dinners only) Stepping out of the restaurant into the Courtyard there is an open area for Al Fresco dining which was fruitfully used for aperitifs on July 7 when about 30 members and their guests relished the evening with the quaffable wines from this Chilean wine company.
Crispy lotus stems are my favourites and with a touch of the chilli garlic and caramelized onion, they tasted crunchy and delicious, downed nicely by Emiliana Sauvignon Blanc 2016 which was clean, fruity, fresh and very quaffable. Tori Karragay Tonkatsu, the Japanese –styled chicken (usually they are pork) cutlets fried in Japanese flavoured sauce and served in small shot glasses were also very crunchy, slightly spicy and like Lay’s potato chips, you could not ‘stop at one’! The bright acidity of wine was also able to cut through the fat of the deep fried dish. It was a great start for the evening, helped by weather Gods gifting us a pleasant, caressing breeze that made us enjoy the ambience, snacks and the wine longer than usual.
 The event was somewhat marred by the involuntary absence of Guillermo Beltramín, Export Manager Asia for Emiliana, who was visiting India for the first time and we were looking forward to hear about the excellent efforts made by the company in organic farming and sustainability . In fact, the date was synchronised with his programme. He did arrive in Delhi airport a day earlier, as planned. But due to a freak visa problem he was not allowed to enter by immigration authorities (who incidentally cannot be faulted with the harsh step).
However, we were pleased to welcome Ms. Marisol Perez, Charge d’Affaires of the Chilean Embassy (Ambassador H.E. Andres Barbe who is very supportive of the Chilean wine industry and the Delhi Wine Club), had regretted since he was to be in Chile. Ms. Marisol mixed very comfortably with members and also substituted for Beltramín to an extent as she talked about Emiliana and the organic wines later.
California Crab Rolls with avocado, cucumber, sesame with the special tobiko mayo were not only delicious but a perfect match with nice chilled Chardonnay 2016; one saw many members request for more and the wait staff happily obliging. But what took the cake was the next dish- Duck and Sour Cherry, wine reduction dumplings from China. The lovely texture and complex flavours with the 3 sauces ( I preferred the medium hot intensity)exploded in the mouth, making you want another piece instantly; akin to drinking an excellent wine-talking of which, the Adobe Reserva Chardonnay 2015 failed to impress. The wine was not only a bit over oaky but it would have been able to match the duck if it had not been over the top and a couple of bottles were even slightly oxidized, perhaps due to improper storage (it was not corked).
 Chicken Tsukune is a Japanese dish- meatballs on skewers-In fact, its origins are known to be in South America-typically Peru. The Honk version was similar in shape but smaller in size than a choc bar-on a skewer. The yuzu juice vinegar and the chilli paste give it the Japanese flavours. This was an excellent addition to the Menu this evening- also a perfect match with Emiliana Merlot 2015- medium bodied, fruity and luscious wine with cherry flavours. The vegetarians might have felt a bit short-changed with the healthy looking Zucchini Bononcini Anticucho. I sincerely hope they knew that the vegetarians always have an option to substitute or even add to their dish, if not quite pleased.
Massaman Beef Curry is a very staple dish in Thailand, popularised by the Muslims in that country. It’s also a regular dish for food and wine match in HKIWSC- an international wine Competition in Hong Kong where I judge every year by tasting it with different wines in the food-wine match flights. I never realised that Massaman Lamb Curry could be so much more delectable and compatible with my palate! This Thai lamb curry with baby potatoes, cinnamon and coconut cream was the best I have  had in Delhi and was a great accompaniment with sticky rice, noodles and the Stir Fried Bok Choy and Braised Shitake mushroom. The Adobe Merlot Reserva 2014 was such a perfect match that members kept asking for more and more till it was finished prematurely!
Jasmine Crème Brûlée with ginger medallion and honey streusel on top was a sweet ending to a near-perfect evening. The staff had been on their toes the whole evening with smiling faces. Not only were the wine glasses of correct design and shape, the service was very good with wines at perfect serving temperature, including the red wines which finished faster than predicted, even though white wines were still available till the end.
The evening was also a tribute to the time-tested theory that to enjoy wines with food, it’s not important to drink the best and the most expensive wines. The most easily available varietals Chardonnay and Merlot were a decent enough match with the 6-course Menu. The food by Chef Deepak Malhotra’s team of chefs and servers and the Sommelier Kriti Malhotra and her team of wine pourers were ample evidence that it’s the combined effect of food quality, wine, service and ambience that make an evening experiential- and that’s what Delhi wine Club aspires to offer its members, dinner after dinner, year after year. A big Thank You to Tristan de Lomenie who is also a member of the Delhi Wine Club since he came to India about 4 years ago!
Subhash Arora
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