Nobody seems to be missing Mainland China in Koramangala. Its new avatar, Asia Kitchen, which has been around for some months now, is drawing a much larger crowd, especially during weekends.
The reason is obvious—it is more affordable. The menu goes beyond Chinese cuisine to flavours that somewhat represent the street food of South Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Korea and Myanmar.
The restaurant makes a departure from the uber classy décor of Mainland China, Asia Kitchen’s interiors are sleek, yet understated with food theatre stations like Korean BBQ, Japanese Teriyaki Grill, Sushi bar, Mongolian Grill.
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After being suitably refreshed with Malayan spicy melon, a mocktail of fresh watermelon juice with mango ginger, we begin our meal. We our first served Thai green papaya salad, which is tangy and crunchy with its mix of raw papaya, Thai chilli sauce, crushed peanuts, beans and cherry tomatoes. The tom kha chicken soup has a coconut base, flavoured with galangal, which looks a lot like ginger, but isn’t, and is spicier, kaffir lime, which has a sharp aroma, and lemon grass, which is used to often flavour Thai soups and curries.
The thick, smooth coconut milk base gives the soup character and the other ingredients come together to even out the coconut milk. The dynamite prawns, served on a bed of lettuce, are crispy. Somehow prawns can never go wrong. They just make every pan Asian meal just right.
The baked California roll, sushi of crab sticks and cucumber baked with mozzarella cheese which when dipped in wasabi and pickle ginger adds a zing to it. For the main course we opt for the poached fish with Thai herbs, prepared in a sauce of lemongrass, galangal and roasted chilli paste, which is a play of flavours of sweet, tangy and mildly spicy, that we savour with jasmine rice. The icing on the cake, though, is the rambutan with ice cream. Rambutan is a tropical fruit that is similar to lychee. The fruit is served with vanilla ice cream.
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But is the way it is served in a glass bowl with dry ice that makes it the most attractive dish of the meal.
Asia Kitchen is located at 136, 1st Cross, 5th Block Koramangala.
Food for thought
Ambience: Semi-casual
Wallet Factor: Rs. 2,000 for a meal for two
Speciality: Poached fish with Thai herbs
Call: 49652163