Good Drinks. Loud Conversations. A Little Chaos.
Some bars are designed for a carefully planned evening.
The Kowloon Tiger isn’t.
House of Malaka Spice has entered a new chapter with the launch of The Kowloon Tiger, a neighbourhood cocktail bar and conversation room in Baner, Pune, designed around bold cocktails, playful flavours, shared plates and the wonderfully unpredictable rhythm of a night out.
The concept comes from second-generation restaurateur Ilvika Chandawarkar, who is taking the House of Malaka Spice universe beyond traditional dining and into a more bar-forward space.
The brief, essentially?
Come for one drink.
See what happens.
⸻
A Neighbourhood Bar With East Asian DNA
Inspired by the chaotic charm of Hong Kong, Taiwan and contemporary East Asia, The Kowloon Tiger draws from the region’s intimate drinking dens, hidden alley bars and neon-lit late-night culture.
But this isn’t an attempt to recreate a particular city.
Instead, the concept borrows the energy of those places—the spontaneity, intimacy and social ease—and translates it into a distinctly Pune setting.
It is imagined as the kind of neighbourhood bar where guests can drop in casually, order a cocktail, share a few plates and stay considerably longer than originally planned.
This is not occasion dining.
It is the place where one drink becomes five rounds and the conversation becomes the evening’s main event.
⸻
Inside The Kowloon Tiger
The space mirrors the personality of the concept.
Architecture and spatial execution are led by Shefali Shetty, with the design concept imagined by Jungle Gym.
Drawing from East Asia’s hidden bars and after-dark streets, the interiors combine moody lighting, raw textures and bold materials with a sense of intrigue.
The visual language also takes subtle cues from Asian syndicate culture, including references to the Yakuza, Tongs and Triads, creating a setting that feels theatrical without becoming overly formal.
Every corner is designed to suggest that something interesting might be happening just out of sight.
⸻
The Bar Is the Main Character
At the centre of the space sits an Omakase-style bar counter, making cocktail-making part of the evening rather than something that happens discreetly behind the scenes.
The setup encourages guests to engage with the craft, watch the drinks come together and interact more directly with the people behind the bar.
It is intimate, conversational and deliberately a little unpredictable.
Which, considering the concept, feels entirely appropriate.
⸻
Cocktails Inspired by Asia’s Modern Drinking Culture
The beverage programme is led by Prantik Haldar, with inspiration drawn from contemporary drinking cultures across Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Taipei, alongside global cocktail movements.
The menu takes an experimental approach to Asian flavours, combining unexpected ingredients, modern techniques and storytelling.
The drinks are inspired by the world of syndicate culture, with each cocktail representing the signature order of the character it is named after.
The result is intended to feel playful rather than intimidating.
You don’t need to understand every technique.
You simply need to be curious enough to order the drink.
⸻
Small Plates Made for Long Nights
Because no great bar story should run entirely on cocktails, The Kowloon Tiger also introduces an Asian-inspired small-plates menu conceptualised by Rohan Mahabal.
The food draws from bar cultures across Japan, Taiwan and China, alongside the comfort-driven street-food traditions of Hong Kong’s cha chaan tengs.
The philosophy is simple:
easy to share, full of flavour and better with a drink in hand.
Rather than functioning like a conventional restaurant menu, the food is designed to support the social rhythm of the bar—small plates arriving between conversations, drinks and increasingly ambitious plans for the rest of the night.
⸻
A New Experiment for Malaka Spice
For years, House of Malaka Spice has been associated with bringing Asian culinary traditions to Pune.
The Kowloon Tiger takes that familiarity somewhere considerably more playful.
As Ilvika Chandawarkar explains, the concept draws partly from her travels across Asia, particularly Japan, where bars can feel like an effortless part of everyday life.
That sense of ease is central to the new space.
The idea isn’t to make drinking feel like an elaborate occasion.
It is to make the bar feel like somewhere you naturally want to return to.
⸻
The Mauve Take
Pune doesn’t necessarily need another bar.
It needs better reasons to stay out late.
The Kowloon Tiger understands that distinction.
It isn’t selling a formal cocktail experience or another carefully staged dinner destination. Instead, it is building around something much more seductive: the possibility of an unplanned night that turns out to be excellent.
A little neon.
A little mystery.
A cocktail you didn’t expect to like.
A plate passed across the table.
A conversation that runs well past midnight.
And perhaps the most dangerous sentence in hospitality:
“Just one more.”
The Kowloon Tiger is now open alongside Malaka Spice Baner, Pune.
