Asian Street Kitchen

Rest : Asian Street Kitchen

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Chowpatty

A serious hankering for noodles hit last week and we decided to go check out Burma Bumra, however being the new kind on the block, they refuse to keep tables for walk-in's and we were told not to bother coming.Next option was our club and on our way we got massively and quite oddly traffucked. 

Spotted the sign for Asian Street Kitchen and decided to hop in rather than spend another 20 mins trying to get through. 

anyway, the menu is Asian as you probably guessed, its the new fad, being the 5th or 6th Asian restaurant in the last 12 months. Italian was du jour the year before. 

the menu does not waver far from the usual suspects, familiar soups, appetizers etc. they also serve Pho, Laksa et al, so its like a greatest hits of asian cuisine and leads to a please everyone menu (which is fine) However its yet another place that misses out on Malaysian dishes, so no Roti Canai or Coconut Rice in the style. 

the space is tight but comfortable and split across two levels, not a fan of the weirdo lighting though, feels quite odd. 

horrible table sauces, just horrible.

mushroom skewers were just awesome, gobbled them down very very quick. the teriyaki was sweetish but the mushrooms held up well. 

no drinks, so this is what you get.

the steamed garlic wontons were also very good, tasted brilliant, thoroughly enjoyable. 

the khau suey was massive (this was an individual portion) 

but it was actually not very good. lacked any serious flavour, pretty weak.

usually avoid getting the regular Thai curries as am very partial to the Green at Koh & the Red at Thai Pavilion. Went for the Sri Lankan curry which looked interesting. unfortunately it came with Paneer :( and looked and tasted like a not so good, garden variety green curry. 

Overall, i didn't have high hopes for the space in all honesty, considering location i figured it would be going after the lowest common denominator in terms of flavor. Very pleasantly surprised by the appetizers which i would return for anyday but the mains are where the wheels totally came off. 

Food : 6/10
Service : 7/10

Damage : 1300 for two 

Mekong

Mekong is the new Pan Asian restaurant atop the Palladium Hotel, in Lower Parel   The place is spectacular, very Asian in design, part zen, part junky, the impossibly good views of Bombay certainly make it feel like Hong Kong. While its stunning in dim light for dinner, it will be equally interesting during the day for sure. Since it was my birthday weekend and the sister in law surprised with a visit, i thought id take her some place with a view. I was saving mekong for a family wedding dinner later but we decided to go ahead and give it a go. 

The menu is  Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. It would be good to get some Malaysian in there, no one really does Malay cuisine.  They interestingly also have a selection of cold appetizers, usually find cold apps in Mezze & Japanese cooking. 

The coconut milk with mushrooms didn't come together flavour wise, no finish, disappointing 

they insisted on replacing the soup and got me this pumpkin soup which i couldnt find on the menu, this one was terrific. i am not a pumpkin fan but i enjoyed this immensely, creamy, reminded me of a terrific pumpkin bisque i had ages ago at a new york wedding. 

this was the mixed fungus dim sum we got, just terrific, was blown away by it one of the best ive had ever. Also went terrifically well with their vinegar which i have officially fallen in love with.  

The Enoke mushrooms was the cold appetizer, while i enjoyed this personally, it was not a hit for the table. However i think its an interesting idea and works well.

 The Crispy wok fried noodles were perfectly good, came with a huge helping of veggies as well.

The tossed veggies in chilli bean paste, these were good, i am a Kung Pao fan though, was too engrossed in the conversation to pay attention to the menu. i like these though, no problem. 

The dessert was a mango sorbet the kind that can make your knees go a little weak. the mango pudding was okay i preferred attacking the sorbet 

Overall, i love the ambiance of the place, the restaurant is connected to Li Bai the bar, which i did not get a chance to check out however it too has a great view im assuming. They have another two restaurants, a bar and a nightclub coming all on that top floor. The place could be heaving with people in a few months.

The food is good, i wish they tried a few more interesting things like cold appetizers, maybe give Malay cuisine a look simply coz no one else does it. Id like to go back for a working lunch with dim sum and soup and the view one of these days.

Prices are what you would expect from a five star but certainly cheaper than say an ITC.

Food : 8/10

Service : 7/10
Damage : 4000 for two without drinks.

Koh - Sriracha Festival

I first came across Sriracha back in college, when a Thai floor mate brought bottles from home, we used to use it as a dipping sauce for most things and called it chonburri sauce. Once i returned to India, the flavours were kind of forgotten.

                                                   

So when i heard that Koh at the Intercontinental was doing a whole menu around this fairly spicy concoction, i was quite intrigued and happy to accept the invite. Koh is an anomaly when it comes to Thai cuisine in India. They do seem stuff which is traditional and some which is just totally out there. I don't end up there nearly as often as id like much to my regret. 

just for the record i would like to offer this little bowl of pure lava, the hottest thing i have ever tasted. Not Sriracha but their regular hot sauce and boy is it hot.

their regular little amuse bouche is delightfully trick to consume. 

the Sriracha Mary was awesome. id have had another one but it was a smart move not to as it was about to get very very spicy.

a shot of soup, hot, fiery and the corn was much appreciated. a bowlful of this would be much fun. Not the most Thai of things but then again, this isnt your traditional menu. 

steamed dumplings in sriracha sauce. very well done. they fell apart but they were delicious. any light flavorued dumpling can only get taste awesome when bathed in a hot sauce like this. 

the cream cheese wantons were possibly the best thing on the menu. absolutely loved em, wish i gotten some more. 

The tofu was alright, a lot of people dont like tofu but i dont mind it. works well with the sauce. 

the rice went well with the saucy tofu. very well done and fortunately not too dry. 

There was asparagus, mushrooms in sriracha which was excellent. The best main on the menu by far. 

the guava crumble i have had a few times at Koh and i believe its their signature dessert. Although personally i am a little bored with it now. 

the little honey pops were a complete misfire. didnt enjoy them at all. 

Overall, the food was excellent, the restaurant has come a long, long way from my first meal which was a disappointment. The Srircha festival too is a great idea and is well imagined. A lot of the dishes are built around the spice and at times it just serves as the dipping sauce.

The drawback being of building a menu across a super hot sauce is that its not for the meek at heart. The desserts were weak and i was surprised they didnt try and incorporate sriracha in the desserts, that would have been interesting. 

Sing Kong

Rest : Sing Kong

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Bandra/Khar

Sing Kong is the brand spanking new Pan Asianish eatery in Bandra located above Sancho, the iffy Mexican joint. The invitation came in and since i was in the suburbs already and the fact that they were having some of my fav food bloggers on the table, was all together too great a temptation.

The place has gray colored walls, large glass windows and a bar covered in turf (which i think is super cool) it apparently used to be a place called Tasty Tangles (unfortunate name for a restaurant) and the menu covers Sushi, Dim Sum & related mains.

Started off with a caiprioshka which was very mandarin heavy but it worked, was not difficult to sip on this considering the heat that has prevailed in the city of late. delicious.

the virgin mary (i was driving) was delicious as well, not like the horrible ones i was served at Land's End a week or two ago. 

                    

This was the very interesting potato nest on a sugar cane stick, looked very cool and didnt taste too bad either. 

the cottage cheese was a tad dry but tasted allright. the wrapping was disgusting though. 

the cucumber and cream cheese was okay, not too bad but just too experimental. 

i did enjoy the asparagus, avocado and cucumber. nicely done. 

these were the other cottage cheese cakes and while they were enjoyable they were just too spicy to go in for seconds.

                         

the may spiced corn fritters, very nice cream corn kind of flavours, pretty good. 

the spinach and vegetable dumpling was decent, but my take on dumplings is they are more about the dipping sauce then they are about the dumpling itself. atleast for vegetarians. 

                

This was the Frozen Margarita ordered by Nikhil Merchant but it was pretty much plundered by all of us to the point where he got another one with similar results.

the stir fried oriental greens were by far the weakest thing on offer unfortunately, the taste just did not sit right. 

The black pepper paneer too was strictly okay. 

the noodles were crispy and my guess is wok fried. delicious. 

Overall, the space is well laid out and the ambiance is pretty upmarket.

The food has promise, the appetizers are spot on, the Dim Sum & Sushi are good, the mains that i had need more work. However they have quite a large menu and we didn't try everything but there is something for everyone.

The pricing is aggressive and they should make a solid dent in the Five Spice space.

Koh - Second time around.. a chance worth taking

Rest : Koh by Ian Kittachai
Meal : Dinner
Loc : Intercontinental at Marine Drive

My last visit to Koh (here) had left me convinced that Koh was a bad idea, it only furthered my belief that not only is Thai Pavilion the best Thai restaurant in the city but pretty much one of the best restaurants in the country.

I was pretty sure that everytime i go out for a Thai meal there really would be no contest until recently i caught fellow food blogger, bon vivant, BILLIONIARE  Nikhil Merchant raving about the food. I decided to set aside my prejudice and give them a shot. So here we go. 

Koh is fancy, the tables are laid out lengthwise with loads of tables. Like most restaurants in Bombay it channels North American glitz. Since the menu is actually non traditional, the decor, the music & the ambiance has its own twist too. While i could do with a little more privacy, it works nice, you would not be surprised to find a place like this in Singapore or Hong Kong.

We were greeted with Lemon glass coolers, usually i am wary  but this one was really good, Mrs Jain rarely ever raves about drinks, really enjoyed it. Good Stuff. 

they have a separate bar area which precedes the dining room. I started with a Bloody Mary which had a distinctly Asian flavour but was tremendously spicy. Although it was immensely enjoyable, it was not such a good idea before dinner.

The Sirocco, which is supposed to be a dry desert wind, was quite the opposite, could return just for this alone.

The White Tom Kha, was interesting, with bits of corn, it seemed different from the traditional tom kha, good stuff. . 

The corn cakes, i had this before as well, during my previous visit, wasn't impressed then, am not impressed now. 

The amuse-bouce was interesting, very asian yet, at its heart it tasted like a bhel. possibly an Indian twist?

The mushroom puff was another twisted little dish, both the appetizers were quite hot, a cold appetizer would have been a better idea.

A medley of mushrooms (shitake, straw, hon-shemeji) with bak choy. Not bad, did not in all honesty feel very Thai but it was good so no complaints.



The Green Curry, was on the money, i was going to go for the Red so i could compare it with Thai Pavilion but the Green was recommended and no complaints. Even the way its served in the white paper, kinda cool.



The Pad Thai was very good, the garlic rice was actually prepared at the table, so there was a little bit of a show, however, it was strictly okay. I ordered it erroneously anyway, forgetting i was getting curry, so i had to order a small portion of white rice too.

The Guava crumble was weird, it felt like a apple crumble only weirder.

The de-constructed cheesecake, a fun little way of ending the meal. No problems at all with this one.

Overall, I certainly do think that the new menu does make as difference, the restaurant is a far cry from the last time I dined. They prepare/finish of a few dishes/desserts on the table which means its a little about form but also that they go through a little more work. Interesting, does not happen a lot in Bombay yet.

They a much stronger offering now, Its not traditional Thai cooking but a  modern/eclectic Asian twist to a lot of dishes, bear that in mind and you will be okay. The appetizers are the weakest link, a little more tweaking here, some more flavours would really elevate the experience. The main's are on the money, no trouble there.

The cocktails were fantastic, good thing i went with the recommendations. Would love to come back and try them again except the fucking pricing is out of this world (1200+ taxes a cocktail) so they will need to come up with a Happy hour ! 

The service was prompt & friendly and spot on with recommendations.

i stand corrected, Koh is worth a go now but not for the faint walleted. 

Food : 7/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 3000 pp w Cocktails.