Terracotta warriors greet you, impassive, serene, as you enter this new space in town which opened its doors in December. If the original Terracotta army was for those who have passed on, this one is for the living to relish the Orient — a menu curated with Korean, Thai, Indonesian, Japanese and Chinese. And how ever much we might crib, Chinese and Pan Asian food is always a welcome cuisine.
So when Foodlink Services Private Limited, helmed by Sanjay Vazirani, the CEO & MD started the chain of China Bistro in Indiranagar in Bengaluru, it had to be 12th Main... right next to a few other good Pan Asian restaurants. It also had to be competitive, and create a niche. Or get lost in the din. With a menu that interested the foodie, who is spoilt for choice. That said, this new restaurant takes the place of Glocal Junction (from the same company), which ran into issues.
Simplistic and casual dining, it has a large rectangular bar in the middle and live counters steaming with dimsums and sushis. They also launched a lounge on top recently which makes it a two in one, so you can grub and guzzle together, to make it more feasible in a scenario where government taxes are peaking and restauranteurs are not a very happy lot. A nice enough ambience for a quick bite, or a long tipple, we were a bit disappointed with the menu which is pretty regular. For a standalone that is flanked by Pan Asian eateries, it could have been more innovative. The sauces on the table were a nice and robust chilli one that we heaped, a delicious and subtle blackbean and a mustard chilli... all yummy. We started with dimsums and sushi from their live counter, which were tasty, with delectable fillings, a sureshot for hungry hogs, though they take their time in coming.
Their dimsums are good, parcelled beautifully, though a bit crumbly... We had the Ginger chicken jiaozi, three ling har gow and chicken basil dumplings (lovely, complementing the mince with basil), — with just the right stuffing, and flavoured subtly. In vegetarian, we had vegetable basil dumplings - good - crystal veg dumpling and corn and water chestnut which were interesting, parcelled in light pouches. We dunked them into a chilli sauce and black bean one, and chomped away happily.
Their sushi is alright, we had the prawn tempura roll which was okay, a bit too dry, and the California vegetarian and non vegetarian roll which was a biteful with wasabi and soy. We liked that the wasabi was punchy... their live counters are a good chomp high for those who love their dimsums and sushis... do try them.
We were a bit disappointed with the portion size, as it seemed too little given the cuisine in question is among the most economical to plate in a kitchen.
We started the mains with a hakka noodles (a bit dry) and Peking fried rice (was alright) with a nice spicy and flavourful Moo Sho vegetable that was crunchy with the right tang and spice, spicy and went well with noodles and rice. The hot Hunan chicken was alright, nice soya-based gravy, with cube-sized bites though we would have preferred more robust chunks to chew on. We also ordered a wok tossed Asian greens which had more regular vegetables like zucchini, carrots and mushrooms than a flurry of pok choys and others we were expecting. It was crunchy, cooked perfectly.
We are khaosuey fans. Totally. So seeing it on the menu which also has laksa, we had to have it. It was very dissapointing. Even though it came packed with a chai-glass medley of toppings. Too thick, too coconutty, too green curry-like, and less khao suey notes. No tang or flavour too. It was very basic and bland. We also had Singapore prawns that came glazed in batter with bird’s eye chilli which was average.
While the service staff is helpful, it seemed that the food took a long time coming even though they have enough staff milling around. We kept waiting, even for the dessert, that didn’t make it in the end. For a chain to enter the Bengaluru market, some aspects need to be rock solid —food, taste and menu... given the many options that foodies have. Changing venues is easy, but the menu and taste must be more than average. The thing we most liked were the live counters... for the others, a rethink would be most apt to stay relevant in the mercurial hospitality environment.
A spokesperson elaborated about the price point being economical (dishes at Rs 300 onwards), with an idea to celebrate age-old recipes. Hopefully, it’ll be reworked to give the foodie something great to taste and relish. The location is great. The food and menu could be too, with a bit of attention to detail.
China bistro, Ashwini Complex, 2986, 12th Main Rd, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru
Call 9036364999
Meal for two: Rs 1,400
Must-haves: The dimsum and sushi from the live counter
They also have a Chinese New Year menu that has some interesting options. And a bar that serves up some mean cocktails.
