Mainland China - Who loves Shitake?

Mainland China
Burrp page:
Andheri West - http://mumbai.burrp.com/listing/mainland-china_andheri-w_mumbai_restaurants/17542534;
Sakinaka - http://mumbai.burrp.com/listing/mainland-china_sakinaka_mumbai_restaurants-bars-pubs/120127089;
Powai - http://mumbai.burrp.com/listing/mainland-china_powai_mumbai_restaurants/1281234881;
Bandra - http://mumbai.burrp.com/listing/mainland-china_linking-road_mumbai_restaurants/1114527198;
Tardeo - http://mumbai.burrp.com/listing/mainland-china_tardeo_mumbai_restaurants/1364952673

Place: This time, I went to the one at Andheri West, opposite Infinity Mall.

Food:  - 10/10

Menu variety:   - 7/10

Service:  - 6/10

Ambience:   - 8/10

VFM:   - 5/10

I am a Speciality Preferred member, which basically means that I flaunt my food habits (that's a nice way of saying I make it very obvious that I hog!). Speciality Preferred restaurants include Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta, Sigree, Haka, Machaan, Sweet Bengal, Just Biryani, Mostly Kabab and Flame & Grill. Being a member means that you make points whenever you eat there and can redeem points against your bill as well. Exactly like shopping points or air miles. So I had some 470 odd rupees that I had to redeem or I would forfeit them. So this time when I came to Mumbai for two days, I decided to go to Mainland China for the Food Mission.

Food
I personally believe that Mainland China has the best Chinese food in India. If someone disagrees, please introduce me to the restaurant you'd rate the best for Chinese food, and I'd love to try it! Ranging from the the mouth watering soups, to the dimsums, to the appetizers stir-fried and tossed in woks, to the main course cooked in clay pots...it's Chinese taste to the core. Don't expect very spicy stuff, coz the Chinese food here is not Indianized in the way it is in most places. And if you like shitake mushrooms like I do, ask for any dish and ask them to add some shitake to it :D

Menu Variety
I think Mainland China could do better with their menu. When I go out to eat, I usually have a craving for a certain taste in my mouth. And I always order accordingly, based on the description in the menu matching that taste in my mouth. Somehow, I've never been able to do that in Mainland China. I've always had to ask the waiter for a suggestion, then try to tweak it around, and of course, ask him to add shitake to it!

Service
I have a huge problem with Mainland China's service. The fact is, this place is expensive, and so I would like the waiters to have good knowledge about what goes with what. We ordered for a whiskey and were asking the waiter for suggestions on starters. He suggested some Chicken in Green Chilly and Spring Onion that sounded good, but after asking him more about it, we found out it was in white sauce. I told the waiter that we needed something that will go with whiskey. He had no clue about what I meant. He just said, "Yes yes, whiskey we have Antiquity, RC....". I just decided something off the menu that was in red sauce (safe) and asked him to get it. The friend I was with thought I was expecting too much out of the staff. But really? Was I? If each dish costs Rs. 300, you bloody well be able to tell me if it goes with whiskey!
One more thing was the constant interruption by the staff. In good faith, they always come to the table to ask:

• how the food was
• if we wanted more drinks
• if we wanted to be served, when any one's plate was empty
• if we wanted anything else to eat.

And this would happen even when we were in the middle of a totally animated discussion about morality and how men and women perceive things differently!

Here's an excerpt:
Alpana is telling a story about a man making a pass at a woman and the woman walking off.
Friend: But why did she walk off?
Alpana: What do you mean why did she walk off?
Friend: Well the man and the woman had a very comfortable equation. He just asked. Why did she have to walk off?
Alpana: Why is it that you question what she did and not what the man did? You have a bias.
Friend: I don't have a bias, I'm just getting more information from the story.
Alpana: Well but the question you asked was oriented towards asking the woman to justify, not the man. Do you know how difficult it is for a woman to be herself in this country? People like you don't make it any easier......(and I continue yapping)
Waiter: Madam, more chicken?
Alpana: (thinking wtf!) No thanks!

And this happened more than 4-5 times. And not only when I was yapping, but when my friend was yapping about me being too sensitive on these gender issues as well. It's like the waiter was trying to tell us that we needed to have a less intensive conversation in a restaurant like this!

Ambience
Great decor at the Andheri West restaurant. Much, much better than the ones at Sakinaka and Powai. Nice Chinese statues and other metal sculptures. The restaurant was full on a Sunday evening and I generally don't like full restaurants - it gets too noisy with all those people - but you can't blame them for being popular.

VFM
It's an expensive place. And most people like Indianized Chinese better. So you have to take a call here. The food is superb, but over priced. For a meal for two with 2 pegs of whiskey each, one chicken starter, one lamb main course and one beautiful garlic rice, the bill came to about Rs. 2600. Of which I got a discount, thanks to the Speciality Preferred membership ;)

And in conclusion...
Strictly for people who are interested in real Chinese. Otherwise, you will end up spending crazy money for something that is not as per your palate.