Royal China, Mundhwa

As with all my other food discoveries, this one was not only by chance but in fact was the cause of a tiff between my husband and me. My husband, who believes in zomato blindly (apparently correctly so!!) said we must try this Chinese place, while I said I wanted to have something light and satiating and Chinese would just be too oily and heavy with the sauces. Finally, pretending to be a loving partner while holding a grudge for the future 😉  I sacrificed and gave in to his dictum and ever since, I haven’t stopped hearing of the amazing choices he always makes. And in this case I actually have no arguments, because it turned out to be the Best Chinese I have ever had!

And now for the food. This is the most authentic Chinese I have ever had. Everything isn’t tossed in extra oil and double extra soy sauce to match the Indian tastes. And yet, in no way is anything bland. The flavors are delicate and mild and every single ingredient in a dish makes its presence felt. We tried loads of things and after each one, our hearts screamed for more and surprisingly, our stomachs agreed! And the best part was the offer they have on Mondays and Thursdays….for 1095+Taxes, we could order ALL we wanted from the ala-carte and dimsum menu, no limits on the number of dishes, nothing. What’s the catch then, we asked? Well, honestly no catch at all! The secret is in the portions. They give you a reduced portion of any dish you order, which is still more than enough for 2 people, and you get to try all the variety your heart craves for!!! For people like me who have got tiny stomachs but insatiable palates, this was an amazing deal!

To start with, we chose Creamy Sweet Corn Soup & Chicken Coriander Soup from the elaborate menu. The sweet corn was truly creamy with a good amount of corn and very fresh in taste. The coriander soup was light and very refreshing. This was the first time I had soups which were actually appetizing rather than filling.

There was no way we were going to give the Dimsums  a miss. We chose Vegetable Crystal Dumpling, Roast Pork Cheung Fun, Chicken Shanghai Dumpling & Sesame Paper Prawn Roll. They were Out of the World Delicious! The dumpling covers were transparent, thin and really soft and could be seen oozing with the stuffing. Served with them was a chilly soy sauce which was mind blowing. I can literally eat ANYTHING after dipping it in this sauce. I had to ask for it thrice during our meal and I still wish I had brought back some (Yes, it was just a soy sauce, I know I sound mad)!

For more starters, we tried the Smoked Shredded Chicken and we just couldn’t get enough of the amazing smoky flavor. We also had the Cambodian Basa in Chilli Oil & Spring Onion. The fish was cooked to perfection and the dish was heavenly!

For main course we had the Vegetarian Royal China Lotus Leaf Rice with Mixed Vegetables in Yellow Bean Sauce. After eating Chinese for all these years, I never knew a simple yellow bean gravy would drive me crazy, but it did, and I don’t think I can just feel the same for black bean sauce again!! We also had the Pork in black pepper sauce, but were unfortunately disappointed with the way the pork was cooked. This was probably the only so-so dish among all the ones we tried.

Finally, it was time for desserts. We went for the Banana in Toffee Syrup, Chilled Mango Pudding, Steamed Chocolate Buns and the Mud Cake. While all 4 were good, I loved the Banana in Toffee Syrup best!

All in all, we indeed had a Royal Dining Experience! The grandeur of the interiors only enhanced it further. This restaurant is in fact in the same complex as Hotel Westin. And yes, for those who think, same compound, must be similar price range, you are right. This place is not for a pocket friendly meal. I went there twice, once with just my husband and that cost us around Rs.4000 and the second time we were a group of 4 and that cost us around Rs.7500 inclusive of all taxes. But we tried an enormous amount of dishes (yes, there were many more to my pics above, I just got tired of clicking pictures and decided to dig in!!) thanks to their Eat All You Can Offer and by the end of the meal, we felt every penny was truly worth it! And although most dishes I have mentioned above are non vegetarian, there are LOADS of vegetarian options as well. I just happened to go with a group who preferred non-veg. The menu is as extensive as it can get and I really wouldn’t mind going back a third time to try more.

If you love Chinese food, or even if you don’t, you MUST visit here for an “Ahh La-Dolce-Vita” experience!!! 🙂

My Ratings for the place would be :

Ambience : 3.5/5 ; Service      : 3/5 ; Food          : 5/5 ; Pocket Friendly : 2/5 (About 4000 for two, no alcohol) ; Presentation : 3/5