BENGALURU: Fresh salads, steaming hot dumplings, crispy wontons and flavourful baos make their way onto Mamagoto’s limited-period menu – Asian Blockbusters. From Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand, these dishes struck all the right notes in this rainy, chilly weather.
Overall, despite being meat-lovers, we found the vegetarian options on the menu better than the non-vegetarian ones. The Imperial Treasure Veg Dumplings and the Japanese Hiker Salad were brought to us first, and were both fresh, had crunchy vegetables and were mildly spiced.
One dish that we were apprehensive to try but ended up loving was the Turnip Cake. We loved these little fried cakes, which were served with a sweet-tangy sauce. Hot and crispy wontons were served next – Kohima Street Wontons in veg and chicken options – and we liked how light and non-greasy these were.
Among the non-veg options, we enjoyed the Kowloon Spicy Chicken Dumplings and the Spicy Prawn Dumplings. Both dishes had a distinct flavour of lemongrass and basil, and though both claim to be spicy, we didn’t feel the heat too much. The two bao options were both good – Lamb Bulgogi Bao and Crispy Mushroom Bao. The mushroom bao, with pieces of fried mushroom, was served with pieces of green apple, which paired well together and gave the dish a juicy feel, but we were partial towards the rich flavours of the lamb bulgogi.
We paired the dishes with some of their signature cocktails, and absolutely loved the Guavagoto and the With Love From Mama. The first was a mild and refreshing drink with vodka, fresh guava juice and guava chunks, and the second had dark rum, honey and plenty of ginger.
With some room left for dessert, we dug into Mamagoto’s all-time favourite – the American-Style Chunky Caramel Sponge Cake. Served with caramel sauce and a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, this sweet dish didn’t fails to hit the spot. We also tried the Home-made Coconut and Palm Sugar Ice Cream, and we loved it. The creamy, rich ice-cream had a strong coconut flavour, and reminded us of the chocolate bounty.
The menu is available till September 23. Cost for two: Rs 1,600.