Aromas of China

Crystal Paradise – The Mall, Off Veera Desai Road, New Link Road, Andheri (West) Mumbai. Phone: 67254444/67253691

Open from: Open for Lunch and Dinner

Parking: Valet available

I have been hearing extreme views about this restaurant for a while now. On one hand people swear by it, while on the other hand people swear off it after their very first visit.

Ambience;
The serene countenance of Buddha greets you as soon as you enter. The walkway is made of large wood squares with channels of water running all around them, pretty but not very practical. Esp if you have children accompanying you. Watch your step, nonetheless. Another water feature runs along one of the walls and giant gold Buddha’s stand guard on either side of the dining area.
The refined interiors are done up in shades of old rose, beige and dark wood. Wooden mesh serve as partitions, dividing the spacious restaurant into three distinct areas; a small area that has tables for two, the bigger area with table for 4 and more in the middle, and the third being what I assumed to be a family area, with large tables to accommodate families and big groups. The tables were spacious and the seating comfortable.
Papier-machie cylinders suspended from the ceiling light up the restaurant giving it a warm glow.

Staff;
The staff moved at the speed of light. We were told that the food would be at our table in 5 minutes, and it was. My only quibble being; the staff didn’t seem to be very well trained and well informed. They kept bumping into each other as they served us and passed dishes over our plates. Also, they seemed to be in a tearing hurry for us to leave. The moment I put down my fork on my empty plate, the waiter materialized to ask if he could clear it. Even though it wasn’t very crowded nor was there a queue of people waiting to be seated outside.


What we ate;
A tray that held bowls of Kimchi, a sweet and sour seasoned cabbage and cucumber slivers seasoned with vinegar salt and sugar was placed before us as soon as we were seated. Both were delicious.
* Steamed Chicken Dumplings (Rs 150.6 Pieces) that were lukewarm, bland and rubbery textured. They tasted like they were insufficiently heated up in the microwave and then placed in the bamboo steamer. Thumbs down for this one!
* Chicken Clay Pot Rice (Rs 255) Regular rice, with bits of chicken steamed in a clay pot. Thankfully good.
* Five Treasure Vegetables in Spicy Sauce (Rs 215) As the name suggests, five vegetables, of which I only remember the crunch of water chestnuts, the sponginess of black mushrooms and the baby corn in a brown sauce. This one was the best dish of the lot.
* Braised chicken and black mushroom in clay pot (Rs285) The black mushrooms were limp and the chicken wasn’t fresh either. The brown soy based sauce wasn’t memorable. Ho-hum!

Fortune cookies rounded up the meal.

We skipped dessert.

Though their servings are very generous, none of the food seemed fresh. And surprisingly, none of the dishes came to the table steaming. In fact, they bordered on lukewarm, and I mentioned this on their comment card as well.

I loved the ambience, thought the service could be spruced up a bit and I can’t make up my mind whether the food was the way it was only on that particular day. So it would be safe to say that I am on the fence, regarding my personal opinion about Aromas of China.