bpb Review: Asia 7

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“If we have goofed up, please do let us know, thus getting it out of your system” Asia 7, Phoenix Mills’ newest restaurant, endearingly requests in its menu introduction along with the promise that “we will surely get it out of ours.” And the “goof ups” are several: no liquor license, no credit card acceptance, corn and water chestnut dumplings that seem bound together by a mysterious, gummy substance, Schezuan sauce that tastes like ketchup. But there are also pleasures, making this a good, solid lunch option.

Come One, Come Mall
With a couple of outposts in Delhi, Asia 7 is India’s own P.F. Chang’s, the quintessential upscale mall Chinese restaurant, complete with clichéd bamboo paneling, over-bright red lamps, oriental upholstery and South Asian pop music. The food, however, is surprisingly more adventurous. Asia 7 serves cuisines from seven countries across the continent, including China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia and Vietnam. Our meal began with soothing green tea, followed by the above-mentioned dumplings and a much better Chicken Satay. Miso soup was pleasantly soothing, piquant with flavor and silky strands of tofu.

The stand-out of our meal was the vegetable Bibimbap, a Korean medley of intensely flavored mushrooms, sprouts, peppers, onions and zucchini heaped on a bed of sticky rice. Alternating between crunchy and soft, peppery and mild, it kept us engaged for a good long time. Also fun was the Japanese Ebi Tempura - prawns dunked in batter, deep fried, and served with their tails intact.

Sugar Mamas
The dessert menu was short, unappealing enough to skip entirely. Feeling righteous about resisting the calories we almost invariably pile on at the end of our meals (reader, chocolate is our kryptonite), we walked out with a light step into the burgeoning shops at Palladium, convinced that our restraint at the lunch table deserved an extra hour of retail therapy.

Getting there: Asia 7, Palladium Mall, Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel, call 43473901, approximately Rs 1,000 for a meal for two.