So, this was cooking in Bandra - Singkong Review

Months after the quiet exit of The Tasty Tangles, a new restaurant Singkong has settled itself at the same place. Owned by Dish Hospitality (they also own Aurus and Sancho’s) Singkong serves Pan Asian cuisine and has a wide range of dimsum and sushis on the menu followed by soups and mains. A small fleet of stairs took me to the restaurant with glass wall to the left and an open kitchen to the right. There’s a small sushi bar too on the right as soon as you enter. The decor is casual with mostly browns, greys and a bit of red thrown in.

I plopped my hungry self at the table reserved for media and bloggers. Our meal at Singkong started with a mix of dimsum, sushis, starters and a Thai basil martini (Rs 375), highly recommended by the staff, to go with it. If you love a dash of coconut in your drink, this one is a must try; a concoction of vodka, fresh basil leaves, coconut syrup and pineapple juice. For starters we were served Oriental shrimp nest (Rs 395), Wasabi prawns (Rs 395), Grilled lemon grass chilli basa (Rs 345), Pandan leaf wrapped spiced cottage cheese (Rs 275), and Rock corn (Rs 225). The shrimp nest was crispy deep fried prawn skewered on a sugarcane stick served in a shot glass with ginger soy sauce and chilli dipping sauce, I don’t know if it was the presentation or the taste that impressed me more but I loved the preparation. The second favourite was the wasabi prawn – deep fried prawns coated with wasabi mayo and topped with a sweet and spicy mango salsa, while the description said strong wasabi mayo it was actually pretty mild but whi is complaining? The vegetarians should definitely try the melt-in-mouth cottage cheese cooked in chilli soy and coriander and wrapped in pandan leaf. We also tried the Steamed bun with honey Hunan roasted pork slice (Rs 225). The dish had a strange presentation; it came on a heavy stone platter with two buns resting on a huge black stone which somehow reminded us of a Shivling, a flat Shivling. The sweet buns and sweeter sauce didn’t impress me much.

A round of dimsum and sushi platter called for another drink and we ordered the Singkong signature martini (Rs 375) – Old Monk, espresso vodka and a dash of cream dusted with cinnamon powder. If you can tell your prawns from the cottage cheese after this drink, well hats off to you. From the sushi section I recommend the California uramaki (Rs 445) – crabstick, avocado and sesame seed sushi coated with Tobiko or fish roe and Crispy Philadelphia uramaki (Rs 445) – smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado & cucumber. Frankly I would prefer the sushis at Aoi over the ones at Singkong especially the tomato-cheese and beef one. 

The dimsum lovers might be a little disappointed because despite the variety I couldn’t put my money on a single one except for the Steamed prawns which came wrapped in a fresh looking spinach roll (Rs 245). The edamame and water chestnut dimsum was too sticky and without any flavour, avoid.

Within an hour of our entering the restaurant it was packed to the brim with a mix of couples, young group and families walking in to dine. Good news for the families is that the restaurant is kid friendly and has high chairs for the little ones.

If you manage to get past the starters, dimsum and sushi and manage to order the mains (because you will be full by that time) then go for the Chilli beef with red onion (Rs 395) – tender chunks of beef cooked in dark soy and Stir fry king prawns in Sambal Oelek (Rs 495) – prawns cooked in a sauce made with bird eye chillies with Celery and garlic rice (Rs 225). The main course preparations were a bit too salty for some reason so if you like your food less salty you might need to tell the Chef in advance.

I didn't wait till the dessert arrived but have heard that they have pretty good Carrot cake so please try and let me know how it was. Will I go back to Singkong? Yes, for the starters and martinis if nothing else.

Must Try: Singkong martini, Oriental shrimp nest

Price: Rs 2500 + taxes (with alcohol)

Address:
Pinnacle House, 1st Floor, 
PD Hinduja Junction & 15th Road, 
Khar West, Mumbai
Landmark - Above Sancho's
Phone: 
022 6709 4455

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Singkong.Restaurant
Twitter: @SingkongMumbai