Restaurants with unique quirks are always a treat, and Kuai Kitchen is the newest venture by Mr. Neville Vazifdar who is also the owner of Royal China and Jia – The Oriental Kitchen. The new oriental restaurant in downtown Colaba is an absolute joy from the moment you set foot inside. This quick service restaurant (QSR) has an open kitchen and just about enough space to seat 12 inside. The décor is, frankly, adorable, flanked with baby pandas taking centre stage in the overall theme. The ambience is great for a hearty Chinese meal, and the attentive staff ensure that you get exactly what you want!
This is very different from the semi-fine dining experience that All Stir Fry (ASF) , one of Colaba’s well-established oriental restaurants, offer. While ASF retains a somewhat suave outlook, Kuai Kitchen keeps things informal, and is more of a place that you’d love to lounge at and not be urged to suit up for a posh Friday night dinner.
Soup:
Moving on to the food itself (that’s what we went there for, after all), our reveries began with the grand old favourite – sweet corn soup (of course)! Not too sweet on the palate and ably supplemented by chunky vegetables, the flavour will please sticklers for the ‘Indianised’ Chinese cuisine that we’re all used to. Lovers of spicy food should add a dollop of chilli sauce to make things hot!
Appetisers:
The Edamame dim sums are steamed, beautifully prepared, are crystal clear and light, and offer excellent flavour. We paired all of this with dragon daiquiri – an eclectic sweet and sour mixed berry mocktail!
Alternatively, you can also choose to opt for water chestnut dumplings, which retain the crunch of water chestnuts and corn. Both go really well to prepare for a filling main course.
Other potentially good starter options include lightly fried and soft tofu, or crisp and well-flavoured corn wontons.
Main Course:
The pliant oriental main course included burnt garlic fried rice, Hakka noodles and mixed vegetables in black bean sauce. Adding to this is Thai Pak Bong – blanched spinach garnished in garlic, a healthy dish that also tasted heavily flavoured. Strong flavours lead the way here, and make for a thoroughly enjoyable Oriental experience.
Dessert:
The incredibly adorable dessert, the Kuai panda pie goes in line with the décor of the place. The steamed chocolate panda (with the cuteness overload!) is equally tasty, and leaves you feeling very content after the entire meal.
Verdict:
Kuai Kitchen, to sum up, is a must-visit Oriental restaurant for those who love the Chinese cuisine. Not only is it almost adorable, but excels at making excellent food as well!
Cost for two: Rs 1300 approx.
Restaurant Timings: 12:00 noon to 11:30 pm
Location: 16/A, Cusrow Baug, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Colaba, Mumbai – 400001
This place is very attractive & seems to be serving authentic Asian cuisine. Would like to try it this weekend 🙂