BENGALURU: If you feel like a light meal, keep to the starters and desserts at Yauatcha, the London-based dim sum tea house. They have a new menu to celebrate their fifth anniversary in India.
Walking into the dimly lit restaurant on the fourth floor of a mall, I am surprised by the burst of colours on the table. Two sets of bamboo baskets come to my table for starters and they open to reveal purple-glazed dim sums and bright orange dim sums adorned with caviar. The purple dim sums has chicken, coriander and chestnut fillings. The layer made of potato starch and wheat starch gets that tinge of purple from the red cabbage. The orange dim sum called Spicy Har Gau has prawns and bamboo shoots in it. The meatiness of the prawn with a faint hint of sour bamboo makes for a melt-in-the mouth dish. The purple one is a harmonious blend of Asian spices.
The restaurant that believes in modification of authentic cuisines has modified quite a few. The Crispy Prawn Cheung Fun was one such and it is now the restaurant’s specialty. Cheung Fun or the Cantonese Rice Roll is traditionally served steamed but the twist here is the crispy layer of fried tempura batter that drapes around succulent prawns and black fungus. Warm soya is poured on top of the silky texture that gives the taste buds a sweet, sour delight.
For the main course, we are served Pork and Shrimp Fried Rice and Roasted Duck Udon Noodles. The fried rice is the kind that you would have in a good Chinese restaurant, not much of a surprise, but then I am told the basmati rice has been soaked in Jasmine water. After that I get the taste of jasmine, stir-fried with pork, shrimp and prawns. The chewy Udon Noodles is rich in taste of duck and seasonings.
It is a delightful and heavy lunch and they serve Jasmine Tea, to help us with digestion. It is a good idea.
Then comes the desserts, the restaurant’s USP. “What I always tell the guests, who are not up for a heavy meal, is this have the dim sums, skip the main course and go straight for the dessert,” says Ajay, one of the staff. We are served Citrus Tart and Blueberry Pistachio Bar with Lemon Yoghurt Sorbet and Grapefruit Sorbet respectively.
The desserts look delightful with an emphasis on the presentation. The yellow, round Citrus Tart and the Brown Pistachio Bar both are signature dishes. The Pistachio Bar has tiny macaroons, the kind of cakes Yauatcha is known to make it in-house. The Pistachio Bar has four layers -- the base is with grinded almond base, topped with a layers of chocolate, pistachio, blueberry mousse and blueberry glaze. The layers are firm and the sweet taste of creamy pistachio balances out the slightly sour blueberry. . The tangy Citrus Tart is a play of bitter, sweet and sour.
The sorbet is a bonus show stealer. It is subtle, rich and creamy. The Lemon Sorbet tasted of lemon, minus the excess sourness that causes us to cringe, and replaces it with the taste of rich cream and yogurt. Same with the Grapefruit Sorbet. I must mention the Hot Toddy mocktail. If you have a bad throat, like I do, then this is what you should opt for. A good mixture of orange juice, pineapple juice and masalas. You’ll need to hold the wine glass with a napkin but once you sip on it, the flavours seem to dance.
(Approximate cost for two
people `2,100. Place: 1 M G Mall)