Mamagoto - The awesome new pan Asian eatery !

Rest : Mamagoto

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Gazebo House, Hill Road, Bandra.


So, Bandra gets a new Aisan eatery, after Sing Kong comes Mamagoto and this was on invitation i was glad to accept, as the restaurant was yet to open and  i could spend more time chatting up the folks behind the business.

Originally from Delhi where they have multiple outlets, this is their second in the city and they seem to be out to change the rules of the game a tad.

The look and feel and menu reminds me of Wagamama, the Brit Asian chain which is also supposed to be opening shop (no one knows when) However as someone on my twitter time line said, they are  Wagamama meets Manga. They have a decor and ambiance in the Japanese Grunge motif. The space is casual, well laid out and skews young. 

The menu is pan Asian but with an interesting accent on street food and playing with ingredients, not the usual wonton, dim sum here. My only complaint is that the menu is very long, so they have a lot going on, which is not a bad thing but i hate having too many things to choose from ! 

i tried the Wasabi Mary with some trepidation but was pleasantly surprised by a very clean, delicious taste. 

Water chestnut spring roll with a chilli black bean jam, the only reason i chose these was because the jam was intriguing.. and rightly so. pretty nifty, not overtly chindian in taste despite how it looks.

the little lettuce cup cam with shredded veggies, mushrooms and a slightly hot dipping sauce. they were okay by themselves but went great with the sauce. 

the corn fritters were not my choice, pretty good, went very well with the black bean chilli jam which was sitting on the table from the spring rolls. there is lot of interesting stuff on the menu, so i wouldn't necessarily try this one again.

The snow peas and green bean salad, very interesting this one, sweetish, apparently made with a coconut milk reduction, fried onions and peanuts. what is not to like, however it was on the sweeter side. 

Asparagus in a sweet soya sauce, almost like a balsamic reduction, freaking brilliant, i wolfed this down and would do so again in a heart beat. All of it worked together brilliantly, i personally would have liked the asparagus colder but thats just me. 

The Chiang Mi Noodles deserve to be first among equals. Absolutely stunningly delicious, the noodles, the coconut broth, the fried onions and peanuts, come together like a flavour party. Not very different from a khow suey, this. The portion was huge and the dish itself is fairly heavy and really not meant for one  person, do keep that in mind when ordering. 

A caramel sponge cake this one, with a toffee sauce and some vanilla ice cream. mrs J loved it, not often you see a sponge cake show up on dessert menus. well done, the combination worked well. 

Overall, the food was pretty good, i enjoyed every dish and that rarely happens, nowadays. We have plenty of Asian eateries in the city and we certainly have come a long way from the days of China Garden & Five Spice (who have their own space and charm of course)

Its good to see a restaurant go Pan Asian which is quite easy to do nowadays and be able to find a yet untouched niche. Their approach is a lot like Busago who offer street food but in terms of execution and complexity Mamagoto is far ahead.

Possibly one of the more impressive entrants and this review sounds a little ga ga but that is because it is. Pity its in Bandra which means i cant go visit on a lark.

 A meal for two without drinks would be 1500-2000 & i was invited to dine.