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Tuesday 10 October 2017

Gong : Wonderfully Asian – Wonderfully Modern!


Bright interiors done up with a unique lattice of wood work, tables set with crisp monogrammed napkins and cutlery that included chopsticks; my attention was drawn to all these as soon as I walked into Gong, a modern Asian restaurant at Balewadi High Street. 


I had been reading about this restaurant for a while but as it is situated at the other end of town (a side I rarely venture to), it remained on my ‘to-visit’ list… until now. 


At the onset of the meal, a refreshingly delicious cranberry sphere was served as amuse bouche. 


Our first course was a Green Papaya Salad which I did not eat as I am “allergic” to salads but everyone at the table found the salad to be fresh, albeit a tad spicy. 


For the second course we were served Asparagus Tempura and Ebi Tempura Roll (Prawn), both of which were absolutely gorgeous in flavour and texture. 


I am a very big fan of Cheung Fan and I was ecstatic when I saw it on the tasting menu. 


They served us two varieties: Crisp Vegetable Cheung Fan and Crispy Prawn Cheung Fan. As these were the Zhaliang (also written as Zha Leung) variety of Cheung Fan it had a light and crisp inner layer with a silken outer covering; they were perfect and a delight to bite into!


Next, we were served Edamame & Truffle Dumplings. These were steamed to perfection and the dumpling wrapper was beautifully thin. The filling of Edamame & Truffle was smooth and lush on the palate without being pasty. We all loved it!


The Asian Cottage Cheese Ravioli and the Asian Crab Ravioli were served in a very unique way; in stem glasses. Both the raviolis were lovely but of course the carnivore in me preferred the one filled with crab. 


I’m not a big fan of lotus stem but my palate declared the Crisp Lotus Stem to be a winner among the vegetarian items served. Crisp, sweet and spicy; the chefs had turned a humble vegetable into a delicious preparation. 


The Vietnamese Fish Parma Fingers were also nicely done. The fish was batter fried to a lovely crunch and served with crisp lettuce, sauces, kimchi and grated Parmesan.


For the next course we were supposed to be served a Mushroom Cappuccino and a Chicken-Asparagus & Lebanese Cucumber soup but that never made its way to our table. As this was a tasting invite, we decided not to question our host about the same.


For the mains there were two vegetarian dishes which I avoided as tofu and greens are not things I relish. I thought it would be unfair to review something my taste buds cannot handle. As for the non-vegetarian mains, the lamb shanks were delish but they would’ve been better had they had more meat on them. 


The Burnt Garlic Fried Rice and the Soba Yaki Noodles were an excellent accompaniment to the flavourful Chicken Pixian which was cooked in special Chinkiang vinegar. The crisp tuile served with the chicken gave a dish a very classy look.

 

The first dessert they served was the Chocolate Dome and the only thing I can say about it is, ‘wow-wow-wow!’. (Do check out the uploaded video)


The chocolate log filled with mousse was also quite nice. The only drawback was the chocolate log had a very thick covering of chocolate which made the dish a bit clumsy. A thinner, more delicate covering of chocolate would’ve worked better. 


The mango pudding wasn’t enjoyable. It was made of canned mango pulp which lent an unappealing aftertaste to the palate; I’d give this a miss and exchange it for that decadent Chocolate Dome on any given day. ;)


All in all, the chefs at Gong Modern Asian sure know their food and that knowledge clearly reflects in the flavours and textures they serve their patrons. I will definitely go back and try some more non-vegetarian dishes from their menu as the ones they served were very good.

This was a food tasting invite via team #FoodProwl who also happened to be celebrating their 100th food tasting event that day. *a loud happy shout out to the entire team for being as awesome as it is*

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this review are solely my own based on the food served and they are also based on how my palate handled the food. Your views of the place and the food may differ depending on your experience and I will respect them; please respect mine!

Link to.... Chocolate Dome Video