Asia Kitchen by Mainland China is all set to invite diners with its newest edition of Seafood festival till 19 December. The festival aims to please Chennaiites with its plethora of seafood delights.
We started our dinner with a blue mint appetizer which chilled our throats thanks to its soda kick. For starters, we began by diving into steamed prawn dumplings sichuan style. They are minced prawns, poached in a spicy sichuan broth. The dumplings were slightly hard and prawn inside were soggy. Later, we had grilled fish cakes with lime and coconut. The fish minced cakes resembled a cutlet and its taste intensified with coconut, lime and coriander. Along with a sweet chilli sauce, the fish cakes tasted tangy as each bite flowed in our tongues.
Crispy fried crab claw with sambal salsa were crumb fried. They were oval, bulky and crispy placed inside a tiny cup flooded by sweet chilli sauce in the bottom. The crab meat was tender and soft. Likewise, crispy Bombay duck with sriracha were long and crispy served hot with sauce. Later we had, crispy squid rings were fried in butter. The rings were soft yet at the same time we could feel the mild crispiness in each bite.
For the main course, we started with fish made along with orange and black beans. The fish was super soft and doused in orange made the combination unique. Similarly, prawns with lemongrass and basil was a dish quite popular in Malaysia. The tiny prawns were served hot after being simmered in mild spicy coconut broth.
Fukien crabmeat fried rice gave us the kicks with its yummy hot flavour. The best dish of the main course was the Shanghai seafood noodles in xo sauce. They are super soft noodles topped with soggy pieces of fish, squid, crabmeat and prawns all soaked in xo sauce. It will make you slurp. Eating them along with sliced fish mandarin style pleased our tongues as the gravy mixed with ginger, carrot, onions and capsicum doused the fish with multiple tastes.
( The Seafood festival is on till 19 December. Asia Kitchen by Mainland China is located The spring, Ground floor, No 11, Kodambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam)