Must-try Handpicked Asian Delights at “By The Mekong”, The St. Regis Hotel, Mumbai

Asian cuisine has been with us for a long time now but its popularity these days have increased dramatically. Around Mumbai, Asian restaurants have sprouted like mushrooms, from the street food vendors to the most expensive eateries. Perhaps, it’s because of the Orient’s exotic flavors and spices that connoisseurs have been drawn to patronizing delicacies at premium restaurants which awaken and stimulate their taste buds.

WHAT’S HOT IN MUMBAI strongly recommends ‘BY THE MEKONG” at St. Regis Hotel, Mumbai – for their amazingly sensational Asian menu which features specialties reflecting the cuisines from regions that dot the course of the Mekong river.

This award-winning Oriental dining venue nestled on Level 37 at The Penthouse at The St. Regis Mumbai has a perfect palatial ambience that reeks of pure luxury. The spaced-out atmosphere is welcoming, inviting and surely mesmerizing when you check the outstanding panoramic view of the beautiful city skyline by night.

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First impressions go further with renewed vigour when the pleasing and superfluous service bowls you over too. Their menu is elaborate and the cooking style is more contemporary. You will be zapped with the mild explosion of flavours that are a blend of robust yet soothing. The homemade sauces, the aromatic fragrant spices add the zing to the entire fine dining experience.

So, if you are looking for a refined, tasteful treat with honoured, exemplary classics – BY THE MEKONG is the perfect place to party and host your friends and family.

A brief about the Chef:

Chef Raymond Wong, Master Chef (Asian)at By The Mekong brings with him over 28 years of rich culinary experience. With his South East Asian roots, Chef Raymond trained in Asian cuisine, specializing in Asian, a cuisine that is a favorite in India. His role model has been his mother who cooked delicious and authentic meals for him.

On the personal front, Chef Raymond goes the extra mile of interacting with his guests and highlighting the fine nuances of his signature dishes. His cooking style has the perfect pitch of superfluous flavours bordering closely on those tinge-worthy notes that make the dish an ‘exceptional and memorable’ one.

The flavours of all his dishes will linger in your mind for a long time!

Here’s a lowdown on what we tried and tasted:

Radish cake

Ingredients - Spring onions, burnt garlic, five spice, preserved Chilli bean

Review – The radish cake is a must-have for the Chinese New Year celebrations. This appetizer was surely extraordinarily delicious. Thick and browned slices, with a subtle crisp outer layer perfectly and blissfully contrasted the smooth, voluptuous interior. Add some sizzle to it with the amazing dips on the platter.

Lemongrass chicken skewers

Ingredients - Garlic, leeks and Thai red Chilli

Review – Served on an exotic and ethnic Oriental platter which oozes out some sizzling smoke, this dish would surely enthrall you. The flavoring is perfect, the chicken softly cooked to perfection. These chicken skewers are fragrant, mildly spicy, and all around delicious. Using lemongrass stalks as skewers infuses the meat with a delicate, lemony aroma. A must order.

Crispy noodles in black bean sauce

Review – A new addition to the menu which is surely a visual treat and high on taste. The formation of the dish is almost like a tilted bamboo stick-like structure, with noodles hanging from it.

A succulent bed of colorful veggies (with some simmered sauce and noodles hidden deep under the vegetables) add the glam to the dish. Chef Raymond personally arrives and dowses a generous helping of piping hot black bean sauce which adds that extra zing to the dish. The noodles on the lower bed are crispy and the juicy trail adds the flavorful dimensions to the veggies too.

Crispy prawns

Ingredients - Long bean, edamame in toban Chilli

Review – Juicy, succulent and soft prawns matched with the perfect flavorful coating. A worthy treat.

Green curry and rice

Review – The green Thai curry was creamy, rich and slurpy. A perfect meal.

Desserts:

Thap tim krob coconut dessert

Ingredients - Milk, water chestnuts, jackfruit, tender coconut ice cream

Review – One of most well-known, traditional and refreshing Thai desserts, this one was an absolute delight. Refreshing, cooling and laced with multiple textures, you will love the rich, creamy delight while you feast on the water chestnuts.

Cacao64

Ingredients - Custard apple, 64% chocolate ice cream, Madagascar vanilla

Review – Cacao is the perfect choice for chocolate lovers who hate the calories. A perfect clashing combination of the raspberry ice cream with the subtle chocolate blend. Not too sugary and well-balanced. Loved the sorbet effect.

Cocktails:

Golden triangle

Ingredients - Vodka, grapes, passion fruit, cranberry, ginger, vanilla

Review – A perfect cocktail is one which blends magically with the fruity flavour and doesn’t overpower the alcohol notes. This one was juicier and fruitier ( like a mocktail) and missed the ‘wow’ factor. Need some improvement on this one.