Reviews Posted by: Mayuri |
| 20 Reviews |
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| "Walk inside this gate" |
26 Sep 2008 |
| China Gate
Link square Mall, 3rd Floor, Linking Road, Bandra (W).Tel: 2646 9003 / 2646 9004
Special Introductory offer till the 4th of October '08
Mon-Fri Dinner 800 per person (ladies 450 per person)
Service charge 5%, VAT 12.5%
Cuisine: Largely Chinese, with additions of Japanese, Thai and Korean.
Open for: Open for Lunch and Dinner. The restaurant can get awfully crowded during lunch on certain days of the week as it is very popular with the ‘kitty-party’ crowd.
Serve Alcohol: Yes
Parking: Valet available
Ambience:
The first thing that is sure to strike you when you enter this restaurant is how spacious it is. Though they have, the prerequisite for any Chinese Restaurant, usual faux ponds with koi fish swimming in it, toads sprouting water, dragons greeting you at the door and Chinese silk paintings dominating a wall, this restaurant is done up extremely stylishly. Soft lighting lends warmth and comfortable rosewood tables and chairs are spaced widely enough to offer adequate privacy to each table.
The spacious floor space has been tastefully divided into areas which hold tables to seat large groups/families and those for couples and groups of four.
Staff;
Attentive, quick and courteous, though language was a slight problem with some. The manager was very attentive too, doing the rounds of the tables and guiding, chiding and keeping an eagle eye on the staff.
What we ate;
The buffet includes;
Soft drinks and fresh fruit juices
4 types of soup (2 veg and 2 non-veg)
(I had the chicken manchow soup, which with delicious)
A mind boggling array of starters with non-vegetarian choices far out favoring the vegetarian ones in number. The starters are mostly fried and steamed. 4 different types of sauces are the accompaniments.
(Do try the dumplings and the sticky rice starters)
A sushi counter
Vegetarian (mango sushi!) and non-vegetarian sushi which were strictly a-okay. The sushi wasn’t rolled very expertly, nor did it seem very fresh. Though the pickled ginger slices were good, the wasabi paste was extremely dry, the consistency of clay!
Main course
Steamed rice, fried rice and noodles. 4-5 varieties of vegetables/curries.
Once again, very little choice for vegetarians, with just 2 veg dishes. I had steamed rice with red Thai curry, the curry was really nice.
Dessert
The dessert counter showcased diamond-shaped Chinese desserts like chocolate, blackcurrant and lemon jellies (please avoid!) along with squares of tiramisu, cheesecake, gateau’s and torte’s (really, really good!) and wedges of tea cakes like butter cake, walnut cake etc (very dry!)
Do try the tiny cookies though, they were super-yum!
They also have a Baskin-Robbins ice cream counter with a dozen flavors to choose from.
I think you should know;
The staff do not inform you of what all the buffet compromises of.
The main course and dessert are served in the inside dining room, as a result of which most people unknowingly skip those or find out about only much later.
The buffet has limited choices for vegetarians.
The strong smell of the non-veg food being fried, on an open counter, could be off putting for vegetarians.
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| "Give it a miss!" |
26 Jan 2009 |
| Ambience:
Using a rustic décor as a theme has allowed the people at Del Italia an excuse to use faded upholstery, badly laid wood flooring and barely a lick of pain on the walls. The seating is uncomfortable, to say the least. The lighting was a tad too dim as well.
What appalled me the most was that the glass fronted side of the restaurant, that hugs the corner and faces Juhu Beach, wasn’t sound-proofed at all, as I had assumed it would be! The result; blaring traffic noises and pedestrians looking in at you like you are a species in a zoo. A very distracting, and unpleasant experience. If that wasn’t enough, some crazy, tuneless music began blaring out of the speakers, suddenly in the middle of the meal, startling us.
Service:
The waiter attending our table looked spaced out. To top it he had a heavy vernacular accent which made it very difficult to understand what he spoke and the Sunday traffic cacophony outside added to the confusion. After much hand gesturing, pointing to the menu, straining our ears and trying to read lips we managed to place our order and hoped that’s what we would get on our table.
The staff is slow and seemed rather unenthusiastic, untrained and ill-informed.
And we were the 2nd of the only two tables that were occupied in the entire restaurant, on a Sunday night. The service was S.L.O.W.
What we ate;
Tetrazzini (Rs 310) The sauce was unnecessarily rich and heavy.
Sautéed Mushrooms (Rs 250) The caramelized mushrooms were delicious!
Woodfried Chicken (Rs 210) The chicken was dry, almost leathery and the sauce was insipid.
Pesto Gnocchi (Rs 310) Once again, the sauce was unnecessarily rich and heavy. The dish could pass off for a new fangled version of palak-paneer.
Mushroom and Onion Rotolo (Rs 280) Strictly okay! The pasta was overdone and dry.
For an Italian themed eatery, and the prices charged, their serving sizes are surprisingly small.
Dessert was;
Pannacotta with warm wild berries (Rs 150) Airy, creamy and just perfect! Btw there were exactly 4 ‘wild berries’
Mascarpone Torte ( Rs 150) Really good!
Chocolate and Grappa Torte (Rs 180) The best dessert! Gooey chocolate layers with a hint of coconut laced with a generous amount of grappa.
The desserts were the best part, and the saving grace, of this disastrous and overpriced meal.
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| "Plush, spacious, comfortable..." |
09 Apr 2009 |
| Serve Alcohol: Yes
Parking: Valet available
Ambience: Plush, spacious and comfortable. Beige and red are the basic colors used with a dash of purple adding some more color. The restaurant is warmly lit which adds to the decor. Comfortable furniture is spaced apart well, through the two levels of this restaurant.
Service:
Quick, efficient, intelligent and courteous. While placing the order my friend mentioned she was allergic to seafood and would prefer vegetarian, to us. The Maitre de taking our order made it a point to specify if seafood or eggs were a part of any of the dishes we were considering ordering. ‘The Mud pie contains egg, Ma’am, I think you should know’ made us smile.
What we ate and drank:
Creamy Sweet Corn Soup (Rs 275) (Nice)
Thai Veg Tung Yum Soup (Rs 215) (Nicer)
Chicken with Vegetable Clear Soup (Rs 225) (Nicest, and very filling)
Starters were;
Stir-Fried Chicken with Chilli (Rs 375) (Finger licking good!)
Dim-Sum: Chicken Cheung Fun (Rs 285. 3 pieces) (Good)
Main course was;
Sauteed Chicken with Chilli (Rs 395) (Very nice, but tasted a lot like the stir-fried chicken starter)
Greens with Black Mushroom (Rs 400) (Really nice, if you love your mushrooms)
Chicken Fried Rice (Rs 350) (Delish)
Dessert of the day:
Mudpie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (Rs175) (Y.U.M.M.Y)
Caramel Custard (Rs 175) (A wee bit eggy, felt some)
Coke (Rs 60)
Total: Rs 3,106 (including a 6%(Rs 176) service charge) for 4 people
The delicious aromas that emanated from the food whetted our appetites even as we were being served. The dishes were garnished and presented well and the portion sizes were good. They are known for their dim-sums and though the dim sum was good, I’ve had better.
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| "A small and cozy little..." |
12 Apr 2009 |
| Cuisine: Mexican and Continental.
Serve Alcohol: Yes
Valet Parking: No
Ambience:
A small and cozy little restaurant, with two levels on the inside and the option of open air seating on the outside. They play good music which, when coupled with all the talk around, does get a tad noisy when the restaurant fills up. A strategically placed flat screen TV, which played the IPL match while we were there, had most eyes glued to the television and most mouths glued to their beer bottles/glasses. Seating is really close but comfortable.
Service:
The service was great. The slim slat-like menu is descriptive. (Going through the menu was like reading a very interesting book ? The waiters, dressed in cowboy hats, are prompt and polite. The Maitre de was conversant and we loved his recommendations. The owner, Samrat Kapoor, is a lively presence as when he wasn’t stopping by every table to exchange a few words, he was whizzing around the restaurant busily checking the orders or placing them. Our desserts took a while to arrive and the waiting time was studded with profuse apologies from the Maitre De and the owner.
What we ate and drank:
Starters;
Nachos Chico’s (Rs 120) Cheese nachos and chilli and with sour cream and salsa dip on the side (The crispest, most delectable Nachos I’ve had in a while)
Charmulla (Rs 180. 6 skewers) Chicken slices coated in thick coriander sauce, served on individual skewers (The distinctive sauce made this dish really outstanding)
Main Course:
Rick Onion Chicken (Rs 230) Chicken slices suffused in Onion sauce with boiled potato disks smothered in sour cream and onion sauce on the side (HEAVEN!)
Mama’s Enchilada (Rs 190) Chicken and beans with sour cream and salsa dip on the side (This was okaish. Found it to be a wee bit dry)
Ranchado Chicken (Rs 220) Chicken bathed in tangy dressing with Mexican rice, with just the perfect hint of sweetness, on the side. (Unusual and delish!)
Mama Sita Chica (Rs 240) Chicken with mushrooms covered with a medium spicy sauce on a bed of Mexican rice and mashed potatoes in sour cream and onion sauce on the side. (Really good)
Desserts:
Mud pie with ice cream (Rs 130) Piping-hot scrambled mud pie served in a martini glass with a table spoon sized scoop of vanilla ice cream (Delightful! Though a regular sized scoop of vanilla would have worked better)
Belgian Delight (Rs 130) A layer of brownie sandwiched between two pancakes and generously drizzled with chocolate sauce (Loved the unusual dessert!)
Virgin Kiwi Margarita (Rs 130) (Really good)
Pepsi (Rs 30)
Total Bill for 4: Rs 1800 (including the VAT charge of Rs 200 @12.5%)
All the dishes were beautifully presented. The portion sizes were really good. The chicken used in all the dishes was succulent and the cheese they used was simply delicious.
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| "Coffee, Conversations and much more." |
28 Apr 2009 |
| The former Mocha Bandra has recently reopened with a new name ‘Mochamojo’ . The Café has been given a makeover, and how! Retro is the flavor used with, bright psychedelic colors and print adorning one wall and Warhol type cartoon strips adorning another. The rear of an ambassador car has been converted into a sofa even as a cozy red fur lined cubicle is tucked away into a corner. The seating outside is eclectic as well, with a swing set and some pretty eye catching furniture spread around.
The descriptive and colorful Menu, which has a vinyl record for the cover, is a delight to go through. The food and drinks have only got better. I had a Bailey’s Irish Cream shake (Rs 135) and a Multigrain Bread Chicken Panini (Rs 165) both of which were super-yum!
They serve their smoothies and juices in jam jars which we thought was a cute touch. Their unusual custom made cutlery was another thing we noticed, and found delightful.
Regular water is served in a bottle with a sprig of basil in it.
Service was good; with attentive waiters who guided us through the vast menu and helped us choose the right dishes.
Mochamojo is vibrant explosion of color that delights you with every discovery you make.
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