BENGALURU:Reviewing Asia Kitchen of Mainland China, the pan-Asian restaurant in Koramangala 5th block, took me to the far east, indulging in an experience of a different culture altogether. The restaurant was a small world of its own, that serves Thai, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese food, enticing its customers with chopsticks and its pan-Asian interior decor and modern setup.
I was given a separate menu that comprises of its most popular dishes. I indulged in some peanut drenched in soya sauce to munch on while waiting for the real deal. Interestingly, the Thai delicacy kept me wanting for more.
The menu started off with a Thai soup, Tom Yum soup. Though the authentic one is served with shrimp, the only non-veg option that they have is of chicken due to increased demand. The mix of lemon grass, galangal (a variety of ginger), kaffir lime leaves gave a sudden hit as I took a sip realising it was the chilli pepper that caught me off-guard but eventually, the flavours died down as I further indulged in it.
To balance the hot dish with something fresh and cold, I ordered the Bali’s tropical punch which is a pineapple-cranberry mix with ice-cream and hazelnut. The flavourful drink was perfect relaxation after every heavy meal for the entire review.
For starters, Lotus stem mixed with curry leaves and black pepper was a very interesting finger-food where the ingredients immensely added to its core flavour. The lotus stem was perfectly deep fried, making it crispy and admittingly making the oriental veggie starter delicious.
The Pixing chicken was yet another enticing starter and personally being a chicken-lover, the presentation was mouth-watering and definitely needed to be wallowed in. Covered with tobanjan sauce which is imported from Thailand and sauteed with capsicum, garlic and cashew nuts, the pieces were soft and thankfully not dry-in short, it was cooked well, a huge compliment to the chef on that. The dish is however, medium-spicy but cooked in perfect balance
My personal favourite from the entire menu was the Dynamite prawns- a simple yet enticing and extremely rich in its sauce-sriracha mayonnaise with wasabi powder. The crispy, crunchy and fried dish was presented using liquid nitrogen and a personal hats-off to the chef is a must.
The japanese sushi as well as the Thai chicken dumpling was my least favourite as the outer skin was too sticky. The Japanese sushi was a creamy cheesy roll filled with asparagus, soya with pickle ginger- a tad bit to sweet and was a turn off due to its stickiness. The same goes for the dumplings-adding that it was my least favourite.
The other dishes were the prawn tempura roll followed by an orange-flavoured sorbe, which is a favoured dessert with sweetened water, to lighten up by palettes before the main-course. The Thai green curry served with jasmine rice had coconut milk as a distinct ingredient. The creamy dish was definitely filling as I struggled to finish it. The veggie-Nasi goreng with tomato, lemongrass, garlic and butter mixed with the dragon chilli fish was another unique blend as the fish gave out a char-smoky flavour.
And finally, the dessert! There is always space for dessert and the cef's special was served--Bailey's ice-cream, coffee-flavoured with vanilla and chocolate sauce. Added with crispy sticks and puffed rice, the delicacy was an unusual dish as it was tricky figuring out how the dish must be consumed. Hard on the outside, and similar to stones, each stone would cause a brain-freeze in one go.
Overall, the presentation of all the dishes were spot-on. Chef Manzeel has kept up to the restaurant’s standard and to the top-reviews that I had heard about its famous signature dishes.
Rating: 4/5
Cost for two: Rs 1,500 to 2,000 (approx.)