EXPLORING THE ORIENT, ONE BITE AT A TIME – AT CHINA INC, TAJ SANTACRUZ, Mumbai

The Taj Santacuz, Mumbai, sprang up without attracting too much attention; one fine day it was up in all its regal glory! Indeed a happy sight. The array of chandeliers on the ceiling just as one enters the hotel makes one say a "wow!" The wow factor becomes a bigger WOW the moment one enters China INC, the new restaurant at The Taj Santacruz which serves its guests a diverse array of Schezwan cuisine. The WOW is a reflex action at the sight of the glass dragon that was suspended from the ceiling. If one can visually be transported to the Land of the Middle Empire, right in the heart of Mumbai, this was it! Transparent hand blown glass in varied hues dominated by golden yellow was hard to look away from. In terms of décor, China INC takes in to an altogether new level!
China INC brings contemporary flavours to the table alongside all-time favourites. On offer are a range of 11 speciality teas. The tea chosen for the tasting was the wonderfully subtle Jasmine tea, which went well with all the delicacies served through the evening.

Now on to food - the Khimchi, Pickled Kabucha, Five Spice Tofu, Sichuan Chicken were a great way to start the tasting. The Corn and Asparagus Pearlswere absolutely delicious!! My pick was the Skewered Chilli Butter Garlic Prawns with Sweet Chilli Relish..the prawns were cooked perfectly and spiced just right with quite a bit of favoured butter and garlic; if my tastebuds could sing, they would have when I bit into the first prawn!

Being rather fond of dimsums, that's a segment of tasting I was particularly looking forward to -the Spiced Chicken Dumplings, the beautifully creamy Steamed Edamame with Truffle Dumplings, the Spicy Coriander and Vegetable Bao - each one was delightfully delicious. The Chilean Sea Bass Dumplings stole my heart and would have gladly had a few more and stopped the tasting there itself!
The Crispy Fried Prawn, Oat and Curry Leaves - now that's a dish that took me aback as I have never associated curry leaves with anything Chinese. Be it the sheer unfamiliarity of the palate to this combination, if there was a dish I would give a miss to, this was it. The Crispy Calamari with Golden Roasted Garlic more than made up for it with its very pleasant juxtapositioning of flavours and texture. The Stir-fry Shimeji Mushroom with Dry Red Chilli and Green Beans surprised me with the sheer array of delightful textures made a merry dance in my mouth - loved the freshness and crunch! The could-have-been-humble Crunchy Vegetable Pepper Salt had been cooked with due respect being paid to the ingredients, thus it stood it in its simplicity.
The Spicy Lemon Coriander Soup was the best soup I have tasted in a while - it was light and had bites of white and black fungus, Goji berries and Edamame beans - very flavourful indeed!

The mains had Sichuan Poached Chicken, Chinese Cabbage and Shitake Mushrooms - a touch spicy and well suited to the Indian palate. The Chilean Steamed Sea Bass was my pick of the mains. The fish was amazingly fresh and each bite brought forth a wave of delight to the tastebuds with flavours of ginger, chilli and spring onions added in. If there is a heaven for just the tastebuds, mine reached that paradise with the Sea Bass. The Stir-Fried Slice Lamb "Yunnan" Style with Red Chilli and Chinese Celery was abundantly succulent and tasted great with its spicy notes. Seasonal Vegetables with Black Pepper Sauce and Stir-Fried Kai-Lan with Sliced Garlic & Thai chilli were visually very appealing as they retained their green colour and I loved the fact that they had not been overcooked even in the slightest. The Stewed Beancurd "Ma Po" Style is an option vegetarians can explore.

Gave the Home-Style Udon Noodles a miss and went for the Clay Pot Rice, I was delighted to find dry morels in the rice lending its very distinct touch.

After all of this, I mentally decided not to go for desserts - the decision lasted till I saw the beautiful platter of Batter-Fried Milk Cake with Chilled Rambutan. What I liked a lot was that the deep-fried milk cake didn't have any extra oil seeping out of it; served with condensed milk and chilled rambutan, it was perfectly balanced in its sweetness and freshness - it's just my kind of dessert!

China INC has 3 signature cocktails on its menu - Szechuan Smash, Golden Spice Apple Pie and Sanlituntini. Wine flowed through the evening starting with fine Italian Spumante, made with Moscato Bianco grapes and continued with Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz and German Riesling, each one well paired with the dishes served.
The menu at China INC is tailored to incorporate flavours from the Sichuan region, the Canton region and showcase specialties from the Xiao Long Bao region of Shanghai. True to the cuisine of the region, the menu has plenty for the discerning palate. Given its prime location, sheer elegance in décor, superb food and drink menu, and the legendary Taj hospitality, China INC is a winner all the way and is here to stay.

Cheers!!

Ratings out of 5
Food: 4 | Ambiance: 4.5 | Service: 4.5 | Overall: 4.5
Meal for Two without Alcohol: Rs.3500 Approximately plus taxes| Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes|
Timing: 12.30 pm - 02.45 pm & 7.00 pm - 11.45 pm| Wheelchair access : Yes
Address: Taj Santacruz, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport,
Off Western Express Highway, Santacruz East, Mumbai
Telephone : +91 22 62115211 Disclaimer: This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgement and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review, but readers need to consider this review keeping this fact in mind.