Chinese New Year Menu @ Chopsticks, Delhi

[Rated: 3.5/5]

Chinese New Year is one of the most important of the Chinese traditional holidays and celebrations can last for over 15 days. Going with the theme, CHOPSTICKS, has launched a new menu to celebrate the New Year which falls on 10^th Feb and the festive menu will be available till 3^rd March.

Sadly, the décor hasn’t kept pace with the theme. Unless one is told about the festivities and the special menu, it is easy to miss – barring the small menu tent card on the table. Luckily Chopsticks has made efforts to incorporate many new dishes in the menu; Traditional Chinese New Year dishes or not is another discussion.

We started with a variety of Dimsum’s on offer. Crispy Spinach and Cheese Wonton are nice but could be better if the filling is in better proportion to the wrapper. Wasabi Mushrooms are insipid and the wasabi is mellowed down to that extent that one had to check if it was even used. Things looked up from here. Broccoli and Almond Dimsum were crisp and nice with generous bites of almond. Crystal Chicken and Prawn Rainbow were delicately spiced and retained the texture making it a treat. Equally good or perhaps better was the Pork Spare Ribs; it retained enough bite to melt in the mouth. Grilled Scallop topped with Sichuan sauce was cooked just the right time not to make it rubbery.

Meanwhile we decided to check three special drinks on the menu of which Osri deserves a special mention. Oranges are most popular and abundantly available fruit during Chinese New Year. Bar Manager Pankaj Badola has used the caramalised orange peels with parsley, Vodka and lemon grass in Osri to make this very refreshing. Other drinks are also nice but do not go too well with the heavy starters we ordered.

On the main course we tried many options like Grilled Salmon, Three Mushroom Chili Oyster sauce, Silken Tofu & Vegetable, and Twice cooked five spice lamb. Each of these dishes is good and there is nothing technically wrong, still last few starters built higher expectation and a little twist to the dishes will surely make it exemplary.

Ending on a sweet note of Orange and Cinnamon infused ice cream, it was clear that the focus of Chopsticks has been to offer the new menu and not as much on the traditional Chinese New Year dishes; Nian Gow (Sticky cake), Steamed whole fish, Peking Duck, Sweet and Sour Pork, Jau Gok( glutinous rice dough dumpling) which are amongst the most popular for celebrations. However is Chopsticks still worth a visit? In my opinion, Yes!

Ratings out of 5                                                                             

Food: 3.5 | Ambiance: 3.5 | Service: 3.5 | Overall: 3.5

Meal for Two: Rs 2000 |Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes |Timings: 12:30 AM -3:30PM; 7:30PM – 11.30PM (Festive Menu available for dinner only, Chinese New Year Menu available from 10 Feb’13 to 3 Mar’13)

Address: Chopsticks, The Village Restaurant Complex, Near Sirifort Auditorium, Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi | Phone: 011-26492890