Tao - Tunga Regale, Andheri East
Tunga, MIDC, Central Road, Andheri East, Mumbai. Phone No 022 6672 6668 / 6672
1400 hours, 17th August 2014, Sunday
The Tunga Hotels, in their own words, "have been creating a legacy of their own in the world of Hospitality for last three decades" and is helmed by their Chairman, Mr. Sudhakar Hegde. Tao is the speciality Far East cuisine fine dine restaurant of one of their many hotels, Hotel Tunga Regale.
The imposing glass facade tower is located on the buzzing MIDC Central Road in Andheri East and is difficult to miss.
The Tunga Hotels, in their own words, "have been creating a legacy of their own in the world of Hospitality for last three decades" and is helmed by their Chairman, Mr. Sudhakar Hegde. Tao is the speciality Far East cuisine fine dine restaurant of one of their many hotels, Hotel Tunga Regale.
The imposing glass facade tower is located on the buzzing MIDC Central Road in Andheri East and is difficult to miss.
We enter the restaurant. A fairly medium sized boxed in air-conditioned area done up in a casual relaxed style. Glass work. Chandeliers on the roof. Artistic decor. Oriental theme paintings on the wall. Solid woodwork, well laid out tables and chairs. The F and B Manager, Mr Anil Mandon welcomes us, and also offers us a tour of the restaurant. A private dining room which can accommodate about sixteen people and a glass covered semi private celebration room. A buffet spread awaits us right in front in a longish area.
We are shown to our table.
Soups are served to us, a choice of Wonton (Chicken dumpling in clear soup) and Hot and Sour. We choose the former, gulp it down quickly and wait for the fireworks to begin.
Dimsums and puffs follow next - Veg and Chicken.
Then the starters, Pepper Chicken, Prawns Chiang-mai (Chiang Mai is the largest city in Northern Thailandand Basa Fish in yellow bean sauce. We wolf them down ravenously, ignoring the Veg starters (Mushroom salt and pepper, Potato wedges in Chilly scallion, Sauteed exotic veggies and pan fried corn kernel).
The Main course included Chicken with Tofu Sauce, Basa Fish in To-ban sauce and lamb in black pepper sauce.The veg items were Diced Veg in Hot and Tangy sauce, Cottage Cheese in Green sauce and Kung Pow vegetable.
The rice varieties were BBQ Fried rice, Guey Teaw Radna (Thai Rice Noodles with seafood and Vegetables) , steamed noodles and steamed white rice.
Finally there were desserts.
Fresh cut fruits (Watermelon and Pear), Malai Kulfi, Vanilla Ice cream, pineapple nutty pan cake, Chocolate cake, black forest pastries, apple tart, kiwi mousse, golden honeyed fried noodles and date wafers.
Mr Mandon also threw in a glass of Blue Lagoon mocktail for us, on the house.
While we were almost done, the chef paid us a special visit. Kesar Thapa, or KT as he is known as, enquired of us if we were happy with our meal. And Mr Mandon very graciously escorted us out and bid us bye. Special mention also to Amith, the lad who served us courteously all throughout.
The Positives: Extraordinary food. The dishes had a novelty factor attached to them and they did offer a peep to the true blue Oriental cuisine. The prawns were buttery soft and out of this world. Same goes for Basa, it actually melted in the mouth. The lamb was a bit hard to chew though, but I guess its the texture which is to blame. The chicken carried a lot of variety and was highly satisfying. I am not a noodles person but the BBQ fried rice did an excellent job.
The negatives: Only desserts. Nothing premium. Zilch. Vanilla ice cream??? Malai kulfi??? After an excquisite Chinese buffet fine dining? That's like malai lassi served in champagne glasses. An almost disappointing anti climax to a heightened crescendo. Sad.
The ratings, they go like this:
The Food Quotient : Food Quality 4 / 5, Food Choices 3 / 5, Food Portion ---, Food Presentation 4 / 5
The Other Determinants : Location 3.5 / 5, Cleanliness 4 / 5, Service 4 / 5
The Hygiene Factors : Ambiance 3.5 / 5, Space quotient 3.5 / 5, Delivery time 3.5 / 5
The Conclusives : Food Price 3.5 / 5, Honesty 5 / 5, Overall Experience 4.5 / 5, Will I Visit again 4.5 / 5
PS: Bouquets / brickbats on the review can be addressed to [email protected] or submitted below.
The negatives: Only desserts. Nothing premium. Zilch. Vanilla ice cream??? Malai kulfi??? After an excquisite Chinese buffet fine dining? That's like malai lassi served in champagne glasses. An almost disappointing anti climax to a heightened crescendo. Sad.
The ratings, they go like this:
The Food Quotient : Food Quality 4 / 5, Food Choices 3 / 5, Food Portion ---, Food Presentation 4 / 5
The Other Determinants : Location 3.5 / 5, Cleanliness 4 / 5, Service 4 / 5
The Hygiene Factors : Ambiance 3.5 / 5, Space quotient 3.5 / 5, Delivery time 3.5 / 5
The Conclusives : Food Price 3.5 / 5, Honesty 5 / 5, Overall Experience 4.5 / 5, Will I Visit again 4.5 / 5
PS: Bouquets / brickbats on the review can be addressed to [email protected] or submitted below.
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