CaLDRON February 2014 - Valentine's Day Special | Page 18

REVIEWS - MUMBAI

Chi De Kãixin…
… that is ‘Happy Eating’ in Chinese. And that is precisely what guests at the
Emperor’s Court at Renaissance Mumbai Convention Center Hotel did to herald the Chinese New Year in January.

T

of three diverse dishes – a ‘Radish
Cake’, ‘Cottage Cheese and Spinach
he year of the horse pranced
Dumpling’ and a ‘Mixed Vegetable
into 2014 with fanfare at
Bao’. The bao was ordinary, but the
Renaissance Mumbai Convention
radish cake attracted our curiosity
Center Hotel. Dim-lit lanterns
while the dumplings got our undecorated the spacious Emperor's
divided attention! The flavors of
Court restaurant, while traditional
spinach and cheese filling in the
Chinese folk melodies lent a Candumpling balanced to tasty perfectonese feel. The set menu created
tion, making it rather creamy with a
to celebrate the week-long Chinese
melt-in-your-mouth consistency.
New Year comprised a soup, three
appetizers, four main courses and
The non-vegetarian entrées included
three desserts. Though these dishes
‘Chicken Jiaozi’, ‘Prawn and Crabwere included in the à la carte menu
meat Sui Mai’ and ‘Spicy Pork Sautoo, the set menu takes care of the
sage’. The Sichuan-style pork sausage
decision-making out of your hand,
was a knockout dish. The juicy sauwhich is welcome.
sages were tossed in a sharp sauce
that was spicy with the right hint of
After a warm personal welcome
tartness. The wonton wrapping on
by Chef Sandeep Pande, we bethe Jiaozi was a little thick making it
gan our Chinese expedition with
a tad chewy, but its unostentatious
the ‘MockingBird’, a slightly tangy
filling was a simple pureed mix of
orangey-lemony mocktail. Now this
chicken with greens. Dip it into
is one snappy and refreshing mocksome dark rice wine vinegar and it
ingbird that we would go to lengths
transform into a great snack. Simito protect! Our meal parade flagged
larly, if you want some sock-knockoff with an interesting appetizer tray
18

ing experience with the Sui Mai, try
it with a liberal amount of the red
chilli sauce served alongside.
Soupy Wonder
While we give full points to the
generous serving of noodles, greens
and shiitake mushrooms in the ‘Flat
Noodle Soup’, the onslaught of the
same noodles and mushrooms overshadowed the broth’s buttery flavor.
The ‘Lemon Coriander Chicken
Soup’, however, has to be the stuff
that inspired the famous 'Chicken
Soup for the Soul' book series. It is
what you hanker for when you are
unwell, hungry and just want a simple meal sans fanfare.
While the soups and entrées hit a
high note, the mains could do with
some hard-hitting, spice-infused
notes. Chef Sandeep mentioned that
the menu was inspired by Cantonese (read, tangy) and Sichuan (read,
spicy) cuisines, but the vegetarian
preparations seemed to
CaLDRON February 2014