Review: Mamagoto, fun asian eating, Delhi (Chinese-Thai-Japanese)
305-06, 2nd Floor, DLF Promenade Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. Ph# +91-11-41009060
Mamagoto, the pan Asian restaurant isn’t a new name in the Delhi’s food circuit but perhps quite established already, its almost four years since they first opened shop in 2010 at Khan market i recall. The fancy, quirky, loud and lively décor had attracted me two-three times in their initial years and once again as I stepped inside their Vasant Kunj outlet after a long time today, I couldn’t help admiring how bright and alive their restaurants are.
The term ‘Mamagoto’ is such a well chosen name for it translates to ‘to play with food’ and that is exactly what this place does, playing with the flavours from across Asia, predominantly Chinese, Thai and Japanese.
A lot seems to have changed over the years and that they have done pretty good is something one can tell by looking at the decent amount of crowd in the restaurant on a weekday afternoon. The most important change i felt is that the quality of food has definetly stepped up and how, read on to find my fun Asian lunch experience unfolded.
Ambiance:
I have already talked about how infectiously bright and uplifting the ambiance is, the fun theme is loudly outlined in the way their restaurant is designed. The funky colourful murals on the walls, bright roof, lights, and even the cool menu card design has a funky charm . The little outdoor seating on the terrace at the Vasant Kunj outlet is an added charm that can get you some fresh air while you eat, well that is if you can manage those flies that keep looking for their share on your plate.
Service:
All our food was served with a smile; they were served hot and without keeping us waiting for long between the courses. Need I say more, so the service was pretty good, period. The attendant was attentive and willingly packed us a portion of the Hunan style sauce (you’ll read about it later) as a take away.
The Food:
There is a special winter menu on offer says the huge flex at the entrance but we decided to stick with the basics. So we started off with a serve of soup each, a tom yum chicken and Chinese sour and pepper chicken (that’s essentially the hot and sour soup) and a Raw Papaya salad followed by a portion of Prawn Tempura. The soups were good, balance of true flavours and the best part being that there was no MSG added to any of the recipes (their menu reads that in bold everywhere). The Raw Papaya Salad was the star, super awesome balance of flavour, perfect fine shreds of the papaya and that delicious sauce was such a treat to the palate. My friend remarked ‘I can just go on that salad for an entire day ’, so it’s highly recommended and a must try. The tempura was regular, nice crispy batter fried prawns with no excess oil dripping-off, served with schezwan dipping sauce and a signature mamagoto dipping sauce, but there’s nothing great one can do about a ‘Tempura’ anyway.
The mains were two portions of the same recipe, as weird as that may sound but that’s how it went for we both felt equally fixated with that ‘hunan grilled fish’ on the list. Its was a red chilli, Chinese wine and soy marinated basa over a bed of sticky rice served with a side of spinach-sesame salad, a cucumber salad and some extra hunan style sauce for topping. It was a wholesome, filling yet light and lip smacking grill to order that I felt no guilt in licking off the decent portion in no time. The sauce took our fancies and so did the delicious grilled fish, yet another recipe from the menu that I’d place high on my recommendations for this place.
The Verdict:
A nice vibrant place to drop in for a casual lunch or dinner , and a must try are the ‘Raw Papaya salad’ and ‘Hunana style Grilled Fish’. All that without burning a hole in the pocket for we were billed at Rs 2500 in total, including a bottle of mineral water is all the more reason why I’d drop in more often and try something new from this fun food place, that is ‘playing’ it just right with the food they offer.
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