Mandarin Chinese | Restaurant Review

Place: Mandarin Chinese Restaurant
Location: 9 Joel St, Northwood Hills
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner (with wifey and our lil one)
On: Saturday, 20 July 2024

We pass by Mandarin very often as it is very close to our house but never ventured in because the place looks quite fancy from the outside. Another reason is that it is usually deserted except for a couple of occupied tables at any given time. Nevertheless, braving it, we finally walked in on a Saturday evening.

As expected, the place was almost empty, with just another family seated, so we settled down in the opposite corner. Dimly lit with nice decor, the ambiance is quite good and gives the vibe of an upscale fine dining restaurant. They offered to bring us some prawn crackers the moment we sat down, but we declined, mentioning that we were vegetarians (they did not have alternatives).

To start things off, we ordered Lettuce Wrap with Minced Vegetable, a portion of vegetarian dumplings, and a Tom Yum soup.

Mandarin Lettuce Wrap with Minced Vegetable

Served on a bed of fried noodles, the vegetable mince tasted really good. Along with the tangy and sweet soy-based sauce, these wraps were delicious and definitely some of the best I’ve had in recent times.

Mandarin - Tom Yum Soup

On the contrary, the soup was not to our liking. It was too thin, and I thought it had a bit too much lemongrass, making it overly sour. I also didn’t like the choice of parboiled vegetables in it — the tomatoes tasted too raw, and so did the mushrooms.

Mandarin - Dumplings

The dumplings came next in a steam basket. While they tasted alright, I thought the portion size was really small — just four, and very small in size. I gulped them in one bite.

For mains, we ordered Battered Cauliflower with Sweet & Sour Sauce along with some Mix Veg Chowmein and Fried Rice with Mixed Vegetable.

It took a while for the food to be brought out, which was quite frustrating, especially given that they had so few patrons to attend to. Anyhow, the cauliflower arrived first, but they got our order wrong. Instead of presenting it as a main dish with sauce, they brought the starter version. We sent it back immediately.

Mandarin - Chowmein

A little while later, the noodles were served. They tasted decent and were the typical Chowmein you’d expect at a Chinese restaurant — loaded with vegetables and noodles tossed in a tangy sauce. However, I was again appalled by the portion size, as it wasn’t even enough for two servings.

Mandarin - Fried Rice

The rice arrived soon in a small bowl. This tasted better than the noodles and tbh, the best item of the dinner thus far. It had seasoning and flavour were just perfect.

Mandarin - Battered Cauliflower with Sweet & Sour Sauce

And finally, the cauliflower was served. This was supposed to be in a sweet and sour sauce but the sauce was so sweet that we couldn’t take more than a bite. I informed the waiter about this and they said it was usually sweet. I requested them to modify it if possible, adding a little more spice. Thankfully, they offered to replace the dish, and I now asked for it in Kung Pao sauce rather than the sweet and sour.

Mandarin - Battered Cauliflower with Kung Pao Sauce

This arrived in a few minutes and tasted much better. The Kung Pao had a nice flavor, but I am not sure if they used the same cauliflower, as some of the pieces still tasted sweet. We finished most of our noodles and rice by the time this arrived, so ironically, we ended up eating it more like a starter than a main dish!

Overall, it was a mediocre meal. Except for the Lettuce Wraps and Fried Rice, everything else was passable. The service was too slow, and the portion sizes were unappealing. They probably aimed for it to be a fine dining restaurant with such small portions, but neither the locale nor the food quality justifies the pricing and portions. I honestly wondered how they are still keeping the place afloat with so few diners and the restaurant being empty on most occasions. Anyway, we ended up spending quite a bit, and I wasn’t even full or satisfied with the meal. First and last meal at Mandarin!

Food: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Meal for 4: £48.00

Verdict: 6.5/10

Apna Adda | Restaurant Review

Place: Apna Adda
Location: Leicester Square
Cuisine: Indian

June 2022 July 2022

Meal: Take-away
On: Thursday, 2 June 2022

After a fruitful day of celebrating Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, we were looking for a place to quench our hunger. Felt like eating Indian (again), and decided to drop in at Saravana Bhavan at Leicester Square. There was waiting, and while we did that, I looked at their menu and realized that everything was overpriced (as we just dined at SB at East Ham a few days ago which wasn’t expensive at all). So looked for alternates in the area and found this small Indian eatery right around the corner.

Apna Adda

A couple of blocks away from Empire Cinemas (Cineworld), located right next to Bella Italia, you’d probably miss this unless you look closely. Apna Adda is a small shop with just a couple of tables. Having realized that dining in will not be possible, we decided to do a take-away, and ordered a portion of Veg. Spring Rolls, Veg. Hakka Noodles, Kaju Curry, and a couple of Naan. I was told it would take about 30 minutes for the order to be ready.

We explored the Piccadilly Circus area for a while, picked up the food, and hopped on a bus home. Our lil one was hungry, so we opened the Spring Rolls on our way. 7 small rolls were served along with some sweet chilli sauce, and they tasted alright. They probably were frozen ones you get at a supermarket, which justifies the size and more or less bland taste.

We were really excited to try the noodles and didn’t waste any time dug in the moment we reached home (without clicking any pictures). Unfortunately, they turned out bleh. With excessive soy sauce, they had a strong taste which I did not enjoy.

The Kaju Curry however was yummy. Loaded with cashew nuts (Kaju), the tomato gravy was perfect. I would have maybe preferred it a little spicier though. The Naan was decent, but the corners were a little too thick.

Overall, an okay meal. Our Indo-Chinese experience was mediocre while Indian food turned out to be good. Reasonably priced, they have quite an extensive menu. I’d definitely try this place again, hopefully soon!

Food: 7.5/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: N/A
Meal for 3: £22.46

Meal: Dinner (Take 2)
On: Thursday, 7 July 2022

Dropped in here last week for dinner before a movie, and ordered a Vegetable Biryani. I then settled at a table on the street where there were quite a few entertaining performances to keep me engaged while the food was being prepared.

Biryani

In about 10 minutes, the Biryani was served alongside some raita. This was dum-style Biryani with the curry at the bottom and rice on top, garnished with some coriander and fried onions. While the rice was perfect, I thought the curry was a bit on the spicy side, which made me sweat at the end of my meal. It may not be the best Biryani, but wasn’t bad either.

Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 1: £6.95

Verdict: 8/10

Mumbai Dosa | Restaurant Review

Place: Mumbai Dosa
Location: Anna Bazaar, High Rd, Wembley
Cuisine: Indian & Chinese
Meal: Dinner (with wifey and our lil one)
On: Thursday, 9 June 2022

While we were craving some good food, we came across this small joint at the far end of a bazaar at Wembley, and boy, we were glad to find it. It’s a small setup with about 6 tables placed close to each other and the ambience isn’t appealing at all. However, the easy-on-the-pocket food tastes great, and so, we’ve been dropping by this place almost every time we’re in Wembley.

This time around, we came in at about 7:00 PM, before heading for a movie on a weekday, and while the joint was packed, we were able to find a table in the corner. This is more of a fast-food joint, so the tables are shabby and unclean, and this was the case today as well.

It’s a self-serve restaurant, so I walked up to the counter to order a Sweet Corn Soup, Crispy Baby-corn, Veg. Manchurian Fried Rice, and a Paneer Biryani. Do note that the lady at the counter might seem rude for she’s always multi-tasking, but she’s actually very sweet.

Given that the place was packed, it took long, longer than expected for the food to come. While we’d hoped for the Soup to come first, the Fried Rice was ready after about 20 minutes.

Manchurian Fried Rice - Mumbai Dosa

I tried their Manchurian Noodles a while ago which were decent, and was looking forward to tasting the fried rice. Full of vegetables and some chopped Manchurian balls, this turned out to be delicious and better than the noodles. It was spicy enough and reminded me of the bandi fried rice you get back home in India. For £7, the quantity is abundant unlike most of the recent restaurants I’ve been to. Yum!

Paneer Biryani - Mumbai Dosa The Paneer Biryani came next and this again was equally good. Loaded not just with paneer but also vegetables, the biryani was full of flavour. Wifey preferred this over the fried rice.

Crispy Baby-corn - Mumbai Dosa

The Crispy Baby-corn tasted good. They were crispy, yes, but if not for the chaat masala sprinkled on top, were bland.

We were struggling to finish these three items and also running late for the movie, so requested for the soup to be packed. We also asked for a Fruit Salad with Ice-cream to go. While the Fruit Salad was decent, the soup was passable; it also had a lot of vegetables but was very thick and had too much soy sauce for my liking.

Overall, an excellent and sumptuous meal. The joint is badly maintained and needs an uplift, yes, but the food makes it up. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend or go to such shabby places myself, but for the tasty and bang-for-buck food, I overlooked the mediocre ambience. The taste and quantity of food are better than the Saravana Bhavan located two blocks away. Do give this place a try if you’re in the area; I’d suggest to go!

Food: 8.5/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: 4/10
Meal for 3: £20.50

Verdict: 8.5/10

Saravana Bhavan – Wembley | Restaurant Review

Update: Saravana Bhavan Wembley has now been replaced by Arya Bhavan.

Here is the review for Saravana Bhavana at Rayners Lane, Harrow.

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Place: Saravana Bhavan
Location: Ealing Rd, Wembley
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with wifey and our lil one)
On: Saturday, 4 June 2022

We dined at Saravana Bhavan at East Ham a few days ago and found the place affordable. A few days later, we wanted to check in at their Leicester Square branch, but to our surprise, everything was priced double or more. A North Indian Thali which cost us £8.95 at East Ham was about 19 bucks. Anywho, last week, we were at the Wembley branch, which was again affordable.

The place was packed at about 7:00 PM but we thankfully didn’t have to wait for a table and settled down next to the entrance. Without much delay, we ordered Channa Batura, a portion of Veg. Manchurian, Hakka Noodles, and Paneer Biryani.

Manchuria

In about 5 minutes, the Manchuria was served, and for a moment, I thought I was at the Saravana Bhavan in India which is known for its meagre quantity of food at exorbitant prices. For 7 quid, I’d expect more than 5 pieces of Manchuria. Thankfully, the taste was good, but I thought the sauce was too tomatoey.

Channa Batura

Tha Channa Batura or Chole Batura, whatever you wanna call it was served soon. It was disappointing to see the Batura served flat for our lil one wanted to pop the big poori. While the Chole was decent, the Batura was dripping in oil.

Noodles

The Noodles looked good and tasted good as well. I realized that the noodles you get here in the UK are generally thick (unlike the thin noodles you get in India). The texture is something I personally need to get used to.

Biryani

The Biryani was served last and came with a portion of raita. With loads of paneer chunks and perfect amount of masala, this was the best dish of the meal. On the downside, a few vegetables in the Biryani would have been worth it.

Overall, a mediocre meal. While the Biryani was good, no dish made a real impression, and the dismal portion sizes didn’t make things better. While the service was decent, the overall ambience was passable. I’d probably try the Thali the next time around to see if they are worth multiple visits.

Food: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 3: £28.54

Verdict: 7/10

Mamagoto | Restaurant Review

Place: Mamagoto
Location: Opp. Audi Showroom, Road No. 12, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner (with amma and wifey)

After a long hiatus, I’m back with the review of a tasting session at the newly opened Pan Asian restaurant chain in town – Mamagoto. Located on the ground floor of the same building as Zafraan Exotica, Mamagoto is a vibrant joint which boasts about its bright interiors and loud noise levels. The place was packed on Friday evening when we dropped in, and maybe because of the crowd, it all seemed too crammed. We had to wait for a few minutes before a table was arranged for us, and the on-floor Manager was kind enough to take our order while we were waiting. She helped us choose, and made sure that food was served soon after we settled down at a small table in the center of the restaurant in the ground floor.

For starters, we ordered Water Chestnut Spring Rolls and Old School Gyoza Dumplings. For drinks, I asked for a Chennai Chiller smoothie, wifey ordered a Virgin Sangria, and amma had their innovative Litchi Pop Rock.

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The Chennai Chiller was a refreshing mix of pineapple, coconut, banana and honey, blended with yogurt. I think it was the best drink of the lot. The Litchi Pop Rock turned our to be a flavoured ice-gola, and was equally good. The Orange flavoured Virgin Sangria was alright.

The Spring rolls were served along with a tangy chilli black bean jam. The rolls were crispy, and excellent. The water chestnut taste was mild, and gave it a special taste. The jam served along was amazingly yummy (wifey never let go of it till the end of our meal!)

We were expecting the Old School Gyoza aka lightly pan-fried vegetable dumplings with spicy momo sauce to be very spicy, but they were more or less mild. Nevertheless, they tasted very good with the stuffing being delicious.

We asked our waiter for suggestions on the main course, and he recommended we try the Spicy Bangkok Rice Bowl. I wanted to try the Pad Thai, but instead opted for the Chiang Mai Train Station Noodles.

Food was served in about ten minutes, but there seemed to be something fishy for I saw egg on the rice bowl. When enquired if the food served was vegetarian (as I ordered for veggie versions of everything), I was informed it was chicken. Confusion! They apologised, and took the food back.

A little while later, our food was on the table, and we ensured it was vegetarian. The Spicy Bangkok Rice Bowl turned out to be regular fried rice with garlic flavour to it. Unlike the name, there was nothing spicy about it. However, it tasted pretty good. Nothing great, just good.

The Chiang Mai Train Station Noodles looked yum, and also tasted yum. This reminded me of the amazingly awesome Kaukswe Noodles you get at Relish in Mumbai. The Coconut milk sauce with burnt onion and garlic was finger licking good. Yummilicious!

To end the meal, I asked for a Chocolate Cheese Cake and, though I’m not a big fan of caramel, picked their home-made Caramel Sponge Cake as the waiter recommended it.

Again, there was confusion, and the waiter got back to us with their home-made Chocolate Cake instead of the Sponge Cake. I asked him not to replace it as this looked tempting. The accidental Chocolate cake turned out to be delectable; good that I avoided caramel.

The Chocolate Cheese Cake was a combination of dark and white chocolate, and tasted alright. I would have preferred it to be more light, but no qualms.

Overall, a pretty good meal. All the items served made a mark, with the Chiang Mai Train Station Noodles making a big impression on my palate. The service team seemed a little offbeat, and it looked like the many waiters on floor were the cause of confusion all around. They need to hold fort before something goes haywire. On price front, the place is definitely heavy on the pocket, and the quantity of food served isn’t a plus point. Nevertheless, the ambiance and the food make it a worthy visit once in a while visit. Give it a go, and do tell me what you liked best!

And ya, don’t let the word spicy on their menu fool you 🙂

Food: 9/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Meal for 3: N/A

Verdict: 8/10

Express Meals | Restaurant Review

Place: Express Meals
Location: Nagarjuna Cirlce, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Take away

Few days ago, amma pointed out this new place near at Nagarjuna Circle, and a couple of days later, a friend of mine posted a good review on it. Wanting to check it out, decided to drive down the road and pick up some quick food. Express Meals is a small take-away joint with barely any ambiance. It’s an ideal joint for late night dwellers for its open and delivers food till 3:00 in the morning.

Though it seemed more like an Indian joint, I was in mood for some Chinese, and so ordered Hakka Noodles and Gobi-65. The latter was unavailable, so opted for Veg. Manchuria. It took about 30 minutes for the food to get ready (which was way too long especially when the name of the place is Express Meals), but a conversation with the owner kept me busy during the wait.

Express Meals Restaurant Review by Sasikanth Paturi — Veg. Hakka Noodles

Hakka Noodles, neatly packed in a plastic container, looked and smelt really good. They tasted pretty good as well, but there was a layer of oil towards the bottom of the box, which was a put off.

The Manchuria was served in a silver foil box and got a little squished by the time I reached home. I wonder why it wasn’t served in a plastic container. Anyway, it happened to be among the best Manchuria I’ve tasted in recent time. It was perfectly cooked, had the right amount of sauce and spices, and overall, tasted yum.

While the food tasted pretty good, I was unhappy with the quantity for the price paid. The Noodles was barely enough for me and amma. You expect more than that from a take away joint, especially when you pay whopping 275 bucks. Yes, they did pack the food decently and supplied the required cutlery, but that still doesn’t make up for the money. Same stuff at Chopsticks on the parallel road would cost me Rs. 140/- (with better quantity).

I’d give this place another try for their Indian offering while hoping for better value for money. Let’s hope that ain’t my last visit.

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: N/A
Meal for 2: Rs. 275/-

Verdict: 7/10

Blue Bottle Cafe | Restaurant Review

Place: Blue Bottle Cafe
Location: Next to Maharaja Chat, Madhapur
Cuisine: Chinese, Italian
Meal: Dinner

I was recently invited to try the food at Blue Bottle Cafe by the owners, and the given the fact that I wanted to try this place anyway, dropped in on a Saturday evening. The Cafe is on the third floor of the buildings which hosts Lazzio- The Pizzeria and another new Indian restaurant, Hyderabad 33. The moment I stepped out of the elevator, I was pleased with the set up and loved the look of the place. It was very casual, and looked very Mediterranean (it actually reminded me of an Mediterranean Hookah joint I visited in Nashville, USA). I met up with the owner and settled down at a corner table.

To start off, I ordered a Kit-Kat Shake, followed by Chilly Cheese Toast, Szechuan Fried Rice and Chilly Mushroom.

Blue Bottle Cafe Review by Sasikanth Paturi — Kit-Kat Shake

The shake was served soon and was well presented. The shake was thick and pretty good. I actually don’t like Kit-Kat so much for it’s too sweet for my liking, but the shake was just perfect. A good start.

The Chilly Cheese toast again looked good to look at, and I was impressed with the quantity served. The bread was perfectly baked and tasted good, but it had too much egg which was kinda bothering me. I didn’t really enjoy the fact that I was able to taste the egg more than the cheese.

I had asked for small portions of the Fried Rice and gravy, but even the smaller portion was quite a lot. The Fried Rice was made with Basmati Rice (which is unusual, for you don’t use Basmati for Indian Chinese food), and was very dry. That apart, it was very very spicy (Szechuan is supposed to be hot so no issues on that front). I believe it would have tasted way better with normal rice.

The Chilly Mushroom was again very spicy, and I was sweating profusely at one point. On taste front, it was decent and the mushrooms tasted good.

Overall, it was pretty good meal. But for my bad of ordering two spicy dishes for main course, I mostly enjoyed the meal. However, the rice could have been better. The ambiance is relaxing and the service seemed decent. The prices too aren’t really steep, and quantity of food served make up for it. Give it a shot if you haven’t yet.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Meal for 1: N/A

Verdict: 7.5/10

Chopsticks | Restaurant Review

Place: Chopsticks
Location: Srinagar Colony Main Road
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Take-away

I’ve been to Chopsticks a couple of times in the recent past but have been ordering the usual (Singapore Noodles, Veg-65/Manchuria and Shanghai Fried Rice), which taste more or less the same as they did a couple of years ago. As mentioned in my last review, quantity varies every time. Anyways, this time around, I was here to try something different. I read on Zomato that these guys serve good American Chopsuey, so decided to give it a try instead.

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American Chopsuey is supposed to be mildly sweet, but this one wasn’t. I kinda liked this for I’m not really fond of my food being sweet. Crunchy hot fried noodles were served separately and tasted yum along with the gravy. However, I could taste the oil oozing out for these noodles in every bite (Only while they were hot. Once they cooled down, they were very good).

I wouldn’t call it the best American Chopsuey, but it was close. Though the amount of fried noodles was great, I was disappointed with quantity of the gravy. For 130 bucks, it was much less in comparison to any of their other dishes. GIve it a try, and lemme know your feedback!

Food: 8/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: N/A
Meal for 1: Rs. 130/-

Verdict: 8/10

Kathmandu Momos | Restaurant Review

Place: Kathmandu Momos
Location: Yashoda Hospital Bus Stop, Opp. Saboo Motors, Somajiguda
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner

Having read quite a bit about this small stall selling Momos (another Hidden Gem on Zomato), I ventured out to give them a try. The place was quite difficult to find for it is a small stall within a bus stop, with just a banner and no lights. For anyone searching, just look for a man standing across a table at the bus stop opposite Saboo Motors/Inner Circle. Being a roadside stall, there’s no place to sit and eat; it’s more like having pani puri off a bandi.

I discovered the place a little past 9:00 PM, and the owner, Om Prakash, was in the process of packing things up. All he had were the last 10 pieces of Paneer Momos, 6 of which were reserved by someone else (on phone). So without a choice, I opted for the remaining 4 Momos. The usual options are Vegetable, Chicken and Paneer.

Three of the Momos were piping hot and really soft, while one was a little hard. On taste front, they were actually as good as the ones I had on my visit to Leh. The paneer filling had a nice flavor to it, and the Momos tasted yum along with the tangy, spicy szechuan chutney. I was left craving for more, for another night.

Priced reasonably (50 bucks for a regular plate of 6 Paneer/Chicken, and 40 for Vegetable), this place is really a hidden gem in Hyderabad. I’m going back soon to try their Vegetable Momos. Give it a shot and lemme know what you think 🙂

Food: 9/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: N/A
Meal for 1: Rs. 30/- (for 4 Momos)

Verdict: 9/10

Holy Basil | Restaurant Review

Place: Holy Basil, Radisson Blu Plaza
Location: Road No. 6, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Chinese, Thai, Japanese
Meal: Lunch

Walked into Radisson Blu Plaza for lunch last weekend. Holy Basil, one of their main restaurants across the lobby serves authentic Chinese, Thai and Japanese dishes. The place is brightly lit, and I made myself comfortable in the center of the restaurant.

Most of the food on their menu looked pretty tempting. Wanting to try a bit of everything, I ordered Veg Sushi and Kung Pao Mushroom for starters.

The Sushi was served in about 10 minutes, and looked very good. I’ve had Sushi only at Urban Asian before and was expecting similar kinda taste but these turned out to be different. These were kinda sticky, and pretty much bland. I spoke to the chef about the taste, and he told me they were supposed to taste like that. However, I liked the Urban Asia ones better.

I’ve heard people talking about Kung Pao Chicken, so was really looking forward to tasting the mushrooms. And they turned out to be awesome. A mix of button and shiitake mushrooms in spicy kung pao sauce, they were absolutely yummy. No wonder people go gaga over the chicken dish.

I also tasted a portion of Veg Tempura, which was very crunchy and had a very nice flavor to it.

For the main course, I asked the Japanese chef to recommend something special, and he suggested I try some Noodles, with Sauteed Tofu and Mushrooms. The food was cooked at the open kitchen near the table and served in a matter of minutes. The Noodles came with lots of crunchy vegetables, and was spicy and tangy, different from the regular Chinese noodles. The Tofu and Mushrooms had a nice flavor to them and tasted pretty decent.

While I lived in the US, I used to hog on Basil Fried rice at a small Thai restaurant at Plattsburgh, NY, which tasted amazingly delicious. Ever since I came back to India, I’ve been trying to find something similar. I asked the Thai chef if she could make any thing similar, and she kindly obliged. The outcome was better than the one I remember having in the US. Spicy, with nice basil flavor, it was simply delicious.

For dessert, I was tempted to try their Chilled Mango Pudding with Fresh Cream and Ice-cream., but zeroed on Chocolate Spring Roll. Two tiny spring rolls stuffed with chocolate were served with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice-cream. The combination was absolutely toothsome.

Overall, it was a delicious meal. I loved their Kung Pao Mushroom and the Basil Fried Rice. The service was pretty good as well. All the dishes are priced on the higher side, so if you can afford, go give this place a try. I’m guessing you wont be disappointed!!

Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Meal for 1: NA

Verdict: 9/10