So as you must have figured out by now I’m not much of a foodie, however my boyfriend is which is why we have been traipsing all over town eating all kinds of delicious food! I can’t complain, it’s a pretty yummy job and I focus on finding the best cocktail on the menu while he takes notes on his iPhone between bites 🙂
Psst! I am attempting to cook these days and am putting to use all the electronic goodies we loaded up on at Chroma one afternoon. I remain the domestically challenged desi girl but I’m hoping to mega-impress my boy by the time Valentine’s Day rolls around with a little help from Jamie Oliver’s podcast. Wish me luck!
Red Zen, Food Guide by Nowshad Rizwanullah
Multi-cuisine restaurants are always a tricky proposition. Too grand in their ambitions, they generally over promise and under deliver. So it is with some trepidation that I looked over the menu at Red Zen, a Pan-Asian restaurant at the Courtyard Marriott hotel that promises to deliver on flavors from no less than seven countries (China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). To give the restaurant a fair shake, we tried a mix of cuisines, through dishes both familiar and new.
Our first two appetizers, the Thai Som Tam Goong (green papaya salad) and Vietnamese Style Pomello Salad didn’t do much to dispel my concerns. The Som Tam was sugary sweet and eye-wateringly spicy, while the Pomello Salad was so overwhelmingly sour that I almost forgot there was crab meat in the mix.
Just in time, however, our waiter brought out the Soto Ayam, an Indonesian chicken soup, and the Rojak, a Malaysian fruit salad tossed in a dry spice rub. The soup was delightful – a wholesome mix of chicken and carrots in a fragrant broth infused with cardamom, cinnamon and star anise (tip: add a squeeze of lemon to kick it up a notch). The fruit salad was the clear winner amongst the appetizers – a delicious combination of pineapples, pears, apples, kiwis and cashew nuts tossed in chili powder, salt and other spices – a perfect balance of flavors that refreshed the palate with every bite.
This pattern of disappointments and pleasant surprises continued through entrees. The Phad Thai Goong was mushy and bland, but the Chinese Beef with Black Bean Sauce (“Hong Kong style”) was a tasty combination of tender beef slices (itself a major accomplishment) and chunks of green pepper and onion cooked in a light gravy with distinct overtones of ginger and fermented black bean.
The Thai Pla Neung Ma Nao (steamed Bassa with lime juice) was well cooked but drowned in a mouth-puckering lime marinade, whereas the Thai Goong Phad Kra Prao (stir fried prawns with hot basil) was a savory dish of large prawns tossed with just the right amount of basil and crushed peanuts.
The Phad Pak Ruam – or stir fried vegetables – was a well proportioned mix of leafy greens and other crisp veggies but nothing remarkable, whereas the Malaysian Nasi Lemak was a beautifully combined plate of luscious lamb rendang (cooked in a rich coconut based curry), boiled egg, peanuts and steamed rice – our favorite entree of the night.
Although we were stuffed, we couldn’t leave without sampling from the live dim-sum counter – surprisingly, a strong suit for the restaurant. The Prawn Hakkau and Char Sieu Bao (steamed barbecued pork buns) were expertly wrapped, flavorful and delivered perfectly steamed.
Overall, I cannot advise you to rush to Andheri East to try Red Zen – the food is unfortunately too inconsistent. However, if you happen to be in the neighborhood (
and have no interest in eating at one of the three momo restaurants in the hotel’s lobby – I kid you not*
) then give it a whirl. The restaurant has private, semi-private, or open floor tables and is tastefully decorated with modern East Asian motifs. The staff is friendly and the modest bar serves up a creative mix of drinks. And while not all dishes are perfectly executed, there are surely some you will find rewarding enough to give you your moment of Zen.
*Correction: It has been brought to our attention that there are not, in fact, three momo restaurants at the Courtyard by Marriott, but three outlets that share the momo moniker: a restaurant (Momo Cafe), a quickserve eatery (Momo 2 Go), and a convenience store (Momo Mart). It turns out “Momo” does not refer to delicious Tibetan dumplings – rather, it’s short for “Modern Living, Modern Eating.”
Red Zen Restaurant
Courtyard Hotel, C T S No 215, 1st Floor
Opposite Sangam Cinema, Andheri Kurla Road
Andheri East, Mumbai – 400072
+ (91)-(22)-61369999