Dim Sum Republic

Review: Chao Ban

Frankly speaking, I was very disappointed when Joss shut. My family was a regular patron and we loved our khowsuey and sticky mushroom rice. I know, I know “there is Umame”, you would argue, but Umame is stupendously over priced for the minuscule portions they serve.

If Farrokh Khambata is hearing me somewhere... We want Joss back! Period.

Coming to Chao Ban, the latest addition to South Mumbai’s ever increasing Chinese food scene. Does it have what it takes to make the cut? Will it give the Lings Pavilions and the China Gardens tough competition? CM is here to find out.

To begin with, Chao Ban is owned by the Global Kitchen Group, which runs Irish House & Serafina. For Chao Ban they have got onboard famed Baba Ling’s (of Lings Pavilion) brother who consults them on their menu.

The almost 12 page menu boasts of extensive variety of dim sums – steamed, fried, pan fried, soaked & Cheung fun.

Hot Xian Soup

We started off with the soups, not the usual hot & sours and manchows thankfully, we go in for the Hot Xian Soup – a thick orangish red soup with a mix of chicken and seafood – quite bland and not very flavourful. Can be avoided

Chive and Prawn Dumplings

The Chive and Prawn Dumplings – delicate parcel of heaven. Must have!

Non-Veg platter 

The Non-Veg platter – a variety of fried, pan fried dumplings with spring rolls and barbecue wings (yeah I don’t know what that is doing on the menu). The pan fried dumplings were yum but everything on this platter was soaked in oil!

The Chicken and Mushroom Bao – delectable savory mixture wrapped in the slightly sweet bun.

Soaked Chicken Dumpling in Soy Chilli sauce

The Soaked Chicken Dumpling in Soy Chilli sauce was delectable. Chicken Dimsums soaked in light balmy soy gravy topped with garlic shavings

Crispy Prawn Cheung Fun 

The Crispy Prawn Cheung Fun can be described in one word - Immaculate!

The Sticky Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf with Chicken was yum but a tad bit oily.

Stewed Chicken with Bamboo Shoots,
Mushrooms & Chinese herbs

In the mains we order for the Stewed Chicken with Bamboo Shoots, Mushrooms & Chinese herbs – a dish full of potent flavours, the gingery-peppery aroma can get to you. Pair this with a portion of fried rice and you will be set.

Pan Fried Noodles 

The Pan Fried Noodles – rice noodles covered with a thick white sauce and exotic vegetables. Very earthy not as over powering as the chicken but delicious.

My overall take

 -- The quantity of the appetizers is poor eg. dimsums were just 3 pieces per portion but the quantity of main course is HUGE

 -- The food could be a tad bit oily

On an average a meal would cost Rs 2000 for 2 without alcohol

Verdict:

Food: Good

Ambience:  Chic

Service: Good

Quick Tip: Go there for the dimsums...the Crispy Prawn Cheung Fun & soaked Dimsums are a must!

The Co-ordinates:

Chao Ban

Where: Rampart Row, Ground Floor, 30, K. Dubhash Marg, Kala Ghoda, Colaba, Mumbai

Tring Tring: 02249150050, 02249150055

Timings: 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Food Type: Chinese, Fusion Asian

Payment Methods: Visa, Master, Cash, Credit Card Accepted

Royal Feast

Review – Royal China

Mumbai has always been home to some of the best Chinese fare. Whether it’s the roadside spicy affair or the finer more authentic ‘peking duck’ et all offering places Mumbai has it all!

Royal China has been in the Mumbai Chinese circuit since sometime now. Quite popular amongst the hoity toity it’s located at next to Sterling Cinema. The first time I went there I didn’t quite like what I ate. Blame it on my HR College fiery Chinese upbringing! But last time I went there, the meal was something worth writing home about. It also has Bandra outlet.

Now for all the Apple/Mac suckers and for the usual technoholics ordering at Royal China is quite a treat with an Ipad Menu. Personally I loved the experience of just holding in my hand, delicately touching the screen, to view the dishes I am about to order. That’s the best part you can actually see a picture of what your ordering making it an awesome experience.

Hot & Sour Soup

Stir Fried Chicken with Chilli Oil & Spring Onion

We start our meal with the traditional Chicken Hot & Sour Soup, a brilliant peppery and tasty broth not the one you would usually find.  The next was Salt & Pepper Prawns which was crispy batter fried prawns sprinkled with wok tossed Chilly and Garlic. Again yummy in my tummy! The Stir Fried Chicken with Chilli Oil and Spring Onion, which is actually a main course but we ordered on suggestion from our Maitre d’ and also lack of options on the appetizers bit, was good as well. Pan tossed Chicken flavoured with light Chilly oil made for delectable combination. In the vegetarian the Lettuce Vegetable Wrap is also a great dish. A mix corn peppers, crispy fried noodles is provided that needs to be filled into fresh crunchy lettuce leaf that painted with Plum Sauce

Salt & Pepper Prawns

Braised Mushroom Noodles

Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce

Lotus Leaf Wrapped Rice

In the mains we order for the Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce was delicious. The Lotus Leaf wrapped Rice had a beautiful aroma emanating and with a taste so ambrosial it could give the whole Hrithik Roshan in Spain Combination of ZNMD a run for its money . The Braised Mushroom Noodles – pan-fried noodles on a bed of Lettuce Leaf topped with braised Shitake mushrooms was a divine dish! Nothing like I have had before, this dish is a must have especially for the lovers of Shitake Mushrooms.

For dessert we had the dulcet Banana in Toffee syrup – crispy batter fried bananas topped with honey and sesame seeds served along with Vanilla ice cream. The crispy exterior, the hot goey banana interior combined with chilled ice cream made the dish saporous! Not for the diabetic or calorie conscious though!

All in all the experience at Royal China was great. I think with a menu like that, Royal China manages to cater to the growing sect of discerning foodies and is doing especially well at it taking by the crowd that started to fill the place on the day I went.

An average meal for two would be a mere Rs 800 – 1000 per head

Quicktip: If you love your Chinese and want to eat it too! Royal China is a must go. The Lotus Leaf Rice and Braised Mushroom Noodles are must haves!

The Co-ordinates

Royal China, Behind Sterling Cinema Building, Hazarimal Somani Marg, Fort , Mumbai

Phone: 66355310, 6635531, 22077513, 22072492

Timing: 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM, 7:00 PM to Midnight

Food Type: Chinese, Pan Asian

Serves Alcohol: Yes

Payment Methods: Credit Cards Accepted

Enter The Dragon

Review: Ming Yang                                          

You know you have entered a restaurant at one of the Taj Group of Hotels when 1) it’s not too crowded (certainly too expensive to be crowded) and 2) the hospitality with which your greeted at the entrance. So we enter Ming Yang, the upscale Chinese eatery at Taj Lands End frequented by Crème de la creme and  Bollywood celebrities, and we are greeted by friendly North Eastern staff.

Adorned with carved wooden furniture and pale jade green interiors, Ming Yang gives me the feeling that China Garden gave in its first avataar at Kemps Corner. You know the feeling of being transported to China probably during the era of one of the ancient dynastys (not that I have been there in person but Kylie Kwong does a good job at transporting me with her show My China).  The sound of flowing from the waterfall at the entrance just adds to beautiful ambiance.

I open the menu and I am immediately struck by the prices! All Chicken appetizers are above Rs 500 and Seafood is twice that. Forgive me for playing Mc. Scrooge here but I believe in getting value for my money. This better be an extraordinary experience, I thought to myself and looked at my accomplices who seemed to mirror my feelings.

We get down to ordering the food. Our maitre d’, the North Eastern looking lady, let’s call her Kanchi Re (yes she reminded me of the women in that song) takes our order with just a nod no pen and paper in hand.

The soups come first – the Hot and Sour Soup is quiet the quotidian, the Lemon Chicken Coriander one with egg droplets is quite zesty & flavorsome. While we ordered only one portion of the Lemon Chicken Coriander soup we were served two. On questioning, the server gave us a confused look and took it back to the kitchen. After some time Kanchi Re came, apologised and said that we can have it and we won’t charged extra. We were beginning to like Ming Yang (yes we are a Sindhi family and a free anything doesn’t hurt). 

For the starters again we ordered for a Mixed Platter Dimsum which consists of 10 dimsums where Kanchi Re told us that we could customize it in case we didn’t want Veg dimsums. So we ordered half and half combination of Prawn and Chicken dimsums. However to our dismay we were served half chicken and half veg ones. I was about to get irritated! Get a writing pad lady! I wanted to yell but Kanchi Re walks in again with an expression that read somewhere between ‘constipation’ and ‘Shit I screwed it up again!’ and told us that she will give us additional prawns ones as well with no extra charge. You should have seen the smiles on our faces.

Continuing to the rest of the appetizers – the Chicken Chilly Mountain a fiery dish with piquant pieces of batter fried chicken, chillies and sesame seeds, was quite a delight. 

The Ming Yang Chicken - sliced chicken with cashew nuts (it seems be a popular ingredient, wonder if it’s an Indianisation or do the Chinese really have cashews in their food) however, which boasted of being the Chefs specialty lacked flavour. 

The Chicken, Prawn and free Veg dimsums - morsels of chicken, prawns & vegetables wrapped in slender wanton dough were light & delicate with no overpowering flavours just the natural juices of chicken, prawns and vegetables. Saporous I would say.

For the main course we had Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce, again nothing very distinguishing about its taste. Next the Basa Fish in Schezwan Pickled Chilli sauce - tender basa fish marinated in a mix of Chilly, garlic and lime. The fiery flavor of the pickled chilli combined with the velvety texture of the Basa fish tasted brilliant. Warning a potent dish, definitely not for the faint hearted. This we coupled with the Burnt Garlic Rice.

With some very discerning dishes like the Basa Fish & the Chicken Chilli Mountain and some quotidian ones, Ming Yang was a mixed bag. What I really like about the place is that after reading my comments in the feedback form served with the bill, Chef David, the head chef, actually came to our table to take suggestions on how it could be made better. This in my opinion is the hallmark of Taj or any other place where they truly believe that the ‘Customer is the King’. Stratospherically priced at Rs. 1000 – Rs 1500 per person

Verdict

Food: Mixed Bag

Ambience: Excellent

Service: Confused yet polite

Quicktip: If it’s your turn to treat, don’t opt for Ming Yang especially if it’s a large group. If someone else is treating, don’t miss out. If you are going Dutch call in sick!

The Co-ordinates

Ming Yang, Lobby Level 1 at The Taj Lands End, Band Stand, Bandra (W), Mumbai -400050

Timings: Lunch: 12:30 pm - 14:45 pm
Dinner: 19:30 pm - 23:45 pm

Serves Alcohol and Accepts Cards

Flavour that 'Ling' ers

Lings Pavilion

Lings Pavilion (source Burrp.Com)

There are very few places I would call home besides my own & Lings Palace is one of them. Located in the lane adjacent to Regal Cinema, Lings is now a part of the culture & heritage of South Mumbai or SOBO. Almost like a landmark of South Mumbai like you have The Gateway of India, The Taj Mahal, Regal Cinema, Lings Pavilion and now Leopold (famous due to the 26/11 attacks). Lings along with Golden Dragon (Taj) and Nanking (now shut down) formed the early Chinese restaurant culture in this part of town. 

Frequented by SOBOites (a name given to people like me- born and bought up in South Mumbai), if you see the demographics of its patrons there would typically be grandparents mostly in the age bracket of 50 – 80’s then the children in their 30’s – 50’s and then the grandchildren from new born to the one’s in their 20’s.  Hence I use the word 'patrons', Lings enjoys three generations of patronage. Typically you will see these families celebrating one of the important family days – birthdays, anniversaries or their weekly meal outside. If you see the younger generation sitting there, my bet is they have been introduced to this place by their grandparents if not atleast their parents. Lings Pavilion therefore in it’s true sense is a family affair. Again, I would call it an affair and not a restaurant because too many of us who have been going there since 'time without beginning’.It’s much more than just a restaurant.

There are three main factors that make this place so special 1) consistency – the food here tastes the same since forever. From the barbeque chicken to the friend rice – pure, delicate, appetizing in short Soulful. 2) the staff  - friendly, courteous and again have been here since really long, if not there is always Johnny, long would be an understatement to describe his tenure. He has been the maitre d’ since my grandfather frequented this place 3) the familiarity – if you’re a SOBOite (yes I am quite proud of calling myself that. If you’re not one you probably hate me by now, if you are one then you’re probably nodding your head away to this. However just bear with me I promise you this is worth it) you are bound to meet a family friend or your cousins (hence don’t get your date until its official) or a school/college acquaintance. If not there are always the fish. Right next to the entrance there is a small pond with baby sharks and other fish with a overhead bridge. These fish are my acquaintances, I have been watching them since I was 10 while I used to walk sometimes run up & down on the bridge. They still fascinate me like they used to when I was 10. Over the years the fish have become less. I wonder if that’s cause the Shark fin soup on the menu :).

I can go on and on about this place but there is one key factor or warning if you allow me to say - Don’t come here if you want to see your food while eating it! Yes you read that right.  Lings is a very dimly lit place and you can hardly see what you arer eating! I think it’s just a part of the ambience or the comfort the patrons already have with this place.

Now getting down to the food – I am a huge fan of soups so that’s what I always start with – it’ a family tradition ;). The Chicken Hot & Sour soup is great. It’s delicate & peppery, the right amount of sour and also finely chopped cucumber. Heaven. There is also the Clear Noodle Soup for the health conscious & vegetarians. It’s a kind of clear soup very light and yet delicious. Those of you who like black mushrooms can ask them to add it. They also serve khimchi which unlike the tomato sauce and cabbage one at Five Spice is delicious.

For appetizers I have the Barbeque Chicken served with grated cabbage khimchi style and peanut sauce. I used to like the barbeque chicken when they used serve it on a miniature grill. Johnny says they stoped it because people cribbed about the smoke  :(. It’s good now but earlier it was something else. The Peanut Sauce with it is simply amazing. Together it makes a great a combination. 


There is also Concurd for the vegetarians – crispy on the outside & soft on the inside served with a sweet honey like sauce. I prefer to eat it with the peanut one. The Chicken Wantons are great both fried & steamed. The steamed ones are topped with garlic & spring onions. Again both go really well with the peanut sauce. So if you’re not having the Barbeque Chicken order a peanut on the side it goes well with any starter. The prawn starter that is amazing is Prawn Chilli Garlic. Delicately spiced with garlic and chilli, it is stir fried. The perfect blend

Moving on to the main course – I have tried 4 types of rice here and all of them are great! First there is the usual Fried Rice. Besides the usual veggies it has peas. Don’t cringe am not too much of a vegetable fan too but this actually tastes great. Then you add a bit of spice to it and make it Schezwan Fried Rice, not for the faint hearted though. For a more authentic experience I would suggest trying either the Pot rice or the Bamboo shoot rice. The pot rice come in earthenware topped with mushrooms (you can skip if you don’t like that) vegetables and chicken if you would want to add. The bamboo shoot rice comes in a huge bamboo stick shaped wooden cylinder and waiter would take this fragrant rice out from the cylinder and serve it to you, steaming hot. If you love authentic Chinese sticky rice, both pot rice & bamboo shoot are great. 


For the main course,  I personally love the bland Chicken in Three Mushrooms, it’s intricately flavored with soy & the juices of the mushroom. For spice lovers there is Hong Kong Chicken, a red gravy with shallots, peppers and cashew nuts. There is also red cooked chicken again red gravy, it’s pretty spicy, with shallots and chopped chilly pieces. Note the red cooked usually comes with shredded chicken. If you’re not too much a fan of that you could ask for diced chicken instead.  Then there are the usual Hunan, Cantonese, black bean etc. 


For vegetarians there is the pure & heavenly Buddha’s Delight, a bland preparation of exotic vegetables like avocado,bamboo shoot, brocolli, peppers and water chestnuts in white sauce. Again it’s very intricately flavoured with garlic & vegetables. If you want it spicy you can also ask Johnny, he would happy suggest black bean sauce or schezwan style Buddha's Delight.

For noodles, there is the American Chopsuey, am not too fond of it usually but this one is less sweet. There is also Pan Fried Noodles, a combination of crispy noodles, soft noodle and vegetables and sprouts you could add meat to it if you may want.

On the side you could call for their Jasmin Tea. It helps keep the meal light and aids digestion.

For desert (usually I am stuffed with all the above) there is Honey Fried Noodles, or your choice of ice creams. What I suggest and what I have been doing since I was 10 is – 2 scoops of vanilla with chocolate sauce. If you not full don’t’ share it! If you are, offer it to the people around you (earned me some brownie points).

The pricing is moderate around 300 – 500 per head if you are a moderate eater.

All in all this place won’t disappoint you. If you hate the ‘Five Spice’ kind of Chinese and you’re not quite there with the authentic Royal China bit. This is the place for you.

Quick Tip: Celebrate an important family day here or take your grandparents (if they like Chinese that is) and request for Johnny to take you order (He usually does that if you arer sitting on the ground floor). Take it from me you won’t be disappointed

The Co-ordinates

·      Lings Pavilion, 19/21, Mahakavi Bhushan Marg, Behind Regal Cinema, Colaba, Mumbai

·         Phone: 22850023, 22850024, 22824533

Disclaimer: I have no personal association or partnership with anyone at Lings Pavilion. Nor am I going to get any monetary consideration of some sort after writing this review. The review is an unbiased account of my experience

(thought I should spell this out incase people thought I was being paid to write good things about this place. Let me tell you the owner of Lings Palace Mr. Baba Chang, a shrewd Chinese businessman, couldn’t care less who wrote what about his restaurant)