I have patiently been waiting for a casual trendy Asian restaurant to open in Bandra, and my wait is finally over. Mamagoto has opened on hill road next to C’est la vie, in place of the former Natures Basket. They have done an amazing job recreating the space into a fun funky atmosphere. It almost feels as though you are eating in an Asian modern art gallery. It was hard to imagine that where we were sitting had once been a cheese counter!
We started our evening with some refreshing Watermelon Beach cocktails and chilled beers, perfect for this summer heat! Mamagoto has a large extensive menu with a fun key used to decipher in which category each dish fits (vegetarian, spicy, healthy, old favorites, and mama recommends).
For appetizers, we ordered a mix of veg and non-veg dishes. The Som Tam Salad and Snow Peas & Green Bean Salad came first. The Som Tam salad was a bit too heavy on the lime for me, but if you enjoy a strong tangy dressing, this is for you. The Snow Peas salad was one of my favorite dishes of the evening. The crisp Snow peas went really well with the creamy peanut dressing and the crunchy onion topping.
We then received the Chicken and Veg Basil cups. These both were served in “cups” of iceberg lettuce. The strong Thai basil, chili and garlic flavors paired nicely with the light fresh lettuce. I will definitely be going back for this dish. While the Water Chestnut Spring Rolls were a recommended dish, I found them to be overly sweet and lacking flavor. The Spicy Fried Calamari were interestingly presented, yet quite average.
From the Grills menu, we had ordered the Java Grilled Fish in Red Hot sambal “salsa,” Grilled fish in South East Asian Dressing, Prawns Wrapped in Bacon, Pork Spare ribs, and Lamb Chops. While we enjoyed the flavor of the sambal in the Java Grilled Fish, the fish seemed to be more steamed than grilled and was a bit fishy. The other fish dish was much better and paired well with the lime, chili and coriander sauce.
Of the rest of the meats, the Ribs and Lamb Chops were the table favorites. The ribs had a beautiful BBQ glaze and the Lamb Chops were perfectly cooked and tender. The bacon on the Prawns also tasted fantastic and provided a wonderful crispy contrast.
It was then time to sample from their Signature menu. We selected the Veg Chiang Mai Train Station Noodles, Veg Soggy Thai Basil Fried Rice, and the Schezwan Pepper Chicken Rice. We really enjoyed all of these. The Chiang Mai Noodles are basically a Burmese Khausway dish, though it was lacking a crunch. This was also the case for the Soggy Fried Rice, though we should have guessed from the title of the dish. The Thai Basil and garlic flavor was very nice, but it seemed to be the exact same filling used in the Veg Basil cups. Thus, I recommend avoiding ordering both dishes in the same sitting. The Schezwan Pepper Chicken Rice was a nice clean hearty dish, highlighting the simple flavors of the Pak Choy and Chicken.
Finally, we tasted the Stir Fried Greens Thai Style from the Vegetables Menu. This was a nice light and fresh dish, showcasing the crisp green veggies. There were so many other things we wanted to try from the other parts of the menu, but we were just too full! Though this doesn’t mean I didn’t have room for dessert. 🙂
For dessert we decided to try the Chocolate Mud cake, the Caramel Sponge Cake and the Mocha Cheese Cake. The Caramel Sponge cake was by far my favorite. The soft Sponge cake had been topped with caramel and served with a side of Toffee sauce. I could pour this sauce on everything and be very happy. The sweet and salty combination was heavenly. We also liked the other desserts, though the Cheese Cake was more of a Mousse. The only downside to the desserts was the accompanied ice cream, or lack there of. The ice cream tasted like frozen whipped cream, rather than an actual vanilla ice cream. But it was nothing a bit of toffee sauce couldn’t fix. 😉
Getting There:
Gazebo House, Ground Floor
133 Hill Road
Bandra West
Phone: 022 2655 2600