Bali Hai, Cross Point Mall, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.0/5]

Bali is a province and major tourist destination in Indonesia. The modern chic looking café cum restaurant that has come in cross point mall has modest offerings to show delicacies of the country. It rather focuses on Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines.

Offering variety of seating options; sofa, chairs and a Japanese style elevated space where legs can rest below the table as the floor is much lower; it is an instant hit with all age groups. In my opinion one may avoid the sofa seating which is not very comfortable due to small legroom. The interiors otherwise were pleasant, the open kitchen did not discomfort diners with its fumes, and the air-conditioning remained effective.

We had a very bad start with insipid Miso soup (180) and unfermented Korean Kimchi (65). Chef proudly mentioned that the kimchi was fresh. I became a bit skeptical of the chef’s knowledge, given that he was serving unfermented kimchi with no remorse.

The manager presented the spa menu to us that offer select dishes which are God sent for people on diet or want to detoxify their system. I was impressed with the selection, and asked for Sata Imo salad which is a wild potato available in Japan known for its natural anti-ageing properties. Alas, we were shortly conveyed neither that nor any other dish from the Spa Menu was available.

Going back to the main menu, Prawns Tempura (455) though not perfect were much better than most places in Gurgaon. Sushis were not too high on rice and fish was good too. High point was the American crunchy fried sushi (275) which has a crisp tempura batter inside. It was a marriage made in heaven between traditional sushi and crisp batter.

The scallion and ginger pork (375) was another interesting dish, only if the pork was a trifle thin. To end the meal we were strongly recommended Indonesian Muslim (massaman) Chicken Curry (375). Excellent aroma of star anise and cardamom filled the table. The curry was excellent. It would have been a brilliant dish if it used whole or boneless chicken instead of shredded one. However it is a dish with a Thai origin. Not able to understand the Indonesian connect.