What better way to spend a leisurely Saturday but to go shopping, catch a movie and then settle in for a nice ‘unlimited’ buffet with a glass of the choicest wine!!! This is my dream Saturday and this is what we did last week. And in the search of food, we ended up in Noodle Bar. Few of our closest friends are dead against this Chinese bar. They don’t like the food, the alcohol or the ambiance. But I beg to differ. May be I went with so less of an expectation that nothing could have made it worse!!! All in all, I found the food quite good and conveniently priced (700 INR for a couple).
Noodle Bar hosts a buffet lunch every day from Monday to Sunday. Though I am not very sure of the timing but I went in pretty late, say around 2:30 pm and still a lot more people came in after us. The food as always was divided in starters, main course and dessert. By policy, the starters are served on the table by the waiters and once u settle in; a waiter welcomes you with a batch of freshly steamed momos in hand. I have to confess that the veg momos here, were mind blowing. It was even better than the chicken ones. Apart from the momos, they had chilly paneer (cottage cheese), stir fried vegetables, and chicken in black bean sauce and mutton in Hunao sauce (I am sure I got the spelling wrong!). Though the service was not very impressive, yet once when the hot, fresh out of the wok food landed on the plate, I didn’t care for it so much. The portions were generous and the servers served with a smile.
After the amazing starters, the main course or the soup and salads didn’t look so very tempting. There were separate tables for vegetarian and non- vegetarian food. In the non veg spread, there was every kind of meat available in different sauces. You had a choice between chicken Hakka noodles or veg fried rice. It tasted nice but the starters were nicer!!
In the dessert counter, there was the great Chinese Crispy Fried Noodles with vanilla ice-cream along with mango soufflé, pineapple pastries and cut fruits. Crispy fried noodles were very cold. I wish they could just keep it in a way that it keeps them warm and not hot or cold. The mango soufflé was amazing and pastries weren’t bad either. As a fruit lover, I hate to say this but the cut fruits were completely unnecessary. They looked stale and definitely not appetizing.
As my over all verdict, I say that one should only go to the buffet for the starters. You should just settle in your seat and enjoy unlimited portions of starters with your favourite drink. We ordered for a bottle of Chenin Blanc and trust me when I say; white wine goes great with Chinese food. Try it!!
Photograph Courtesy: mumbai.burrp.com/.../11345396_noodle-bar
