New Town was in a dire need of a proper Chinese restaurant. Chufang’s kitchen came like a breath of fresh air where so many eateries are cropping up on every second day. PanchPhoron team was invited to check out their newly launched menu.
We were welcomed with refreshing mocktails to help us settle down.
(L-R) Spicy Mango, Green Apple Mojito and Fruit Punch
Nothing better than starting our oriental cuisine journey with soups. Noodle Soup is prepared as per Thai delicacy Tom Kha Gai, which is combination of coconut milk, broth, ginger and lemongrass to give it a thick creay texture and bring to boil over high heat with flat Thai noodles. Its one itself a filling dish served in a huge bowl, tasted awesome and refreshing. If you are Thai cuisine lover will surely will get addicted to it. On the contrary, Seafood Lung Fung Soup is a translucent thin soup prepared with sea food and mixed with lemon, chili peppers and vegetables. The soup is finished with fluffy egg white poach with drizzle of chili oil. Such an interesting concept of garnishing.
Among so many delicacies in appetizers we started with Lime Leaf Chicken and Chicken Wrap Prawn.
Lime Leaf Chicken is a spicy and tangy stir fried dish. Kaffir lime leaves make the curry very aromatic. The crispy texture of chicken and the citrusy notes from the lime leaves work well with the smokiness of garlic lifting the flavors of the stir fried chicken. Chicken Wrap Prawn is a delicate creation where succulent prawns wrapped in boneless chicken strips, dipped in spicy cornstarch batter, deep-fried and further cooked in a spicy sauce.
Continuing in appetizers, Pan Fried Chili Oyster Fish is a platter of crispy pan fried basa fillets tossed in oyster sauce had the perfect crunchiness with balance of sweet, salty, and earthy flavor of oyster sauce. Basket Chili Chicken is a standard chili chicken we get anywhere but the uniqueness is in its pattering, which served inside deep fried wanton bowl. Chicken Bao has filling of crunchy, crispy and saucy chicken nuggets with veggies and mayonnaise. The bao itself is so light fluffy and tasty makes the dish to stand apart from the crowd!
In the main course got Hoisin Chicken and Chili Oyster Fish accompanied with Spicy Coriander Fried Rice and Pan Fried Noodles.
Hoisin Chicken is a great pairing of hoisin sauce and chicken. Add in a few other pantry staples like honey, soy sauce, and a big pinch of black pepper and you end up with tender chicken infused with that irresistible flavor. The sauce I found bit salty to may taste. Chili Oyster Fish is a marinated basa fish chunks stir fried with chilies and oyster sauce gives it a delectable flavor. The best part of the dish is the freshness of the fish.
Spicy Coriander Fried Rice is a delightfully oriental staple food. With pungent hints of soya sauce and garlic, fresh tints of coriander and fiery shades of green chilies, this one will send a tingle down your taste buds. The vibrant green coriander leaves not only makes this rice a treat for the eyes but also for the palate, a must try. Pan Fried Noodles is comprised of a crispy bed of golden brown noodles that’s covered with velvety gravy, egg noodles pan-fried until they form a crunchy-on-the-outside, tender-in-the-middle cake is a classic Cantonese Style dish. A nest of egg noodles are fried in a wok until golden brown and topped with a combination of stir-fried meat, seafood, vegetables and egg poach.
Our journey in entree continued with few more creations from their kitchen along with few staple.
Butter Garlic Prawn as the name suggests seems like a continental cuisine. But here one can find the Chinese cuisine version of the dish. Garlic and butter, the two greatest flavors in a platter prepared with light white gravy and seasonal diced vegetables enhances the freshness of prawns. Its a mouthful of flavor. Chili Basil Fish is a fuss-free dish where basa fish cubes deep fried and cooked with fresh red chilies and fried basil leaves to release the oil. Twist in the tale was dish was finished with orange zest made it such an interesting dish to try. Thai Red Curry Chicken Diced has a great depth of flavor. The sauce flavor is complex, it has many layers from all the ingredients in the paste that is then simmered with broth and coconut milk. It’s sweet and savory, and it is quite rich. The use of shrimp paste and fish sauce provides the saltiness as well as the umami. Chicken cubes are added to it to take the preparation to next level. If you are a lover of Thai Food, you will be a lover of this warm, comforting, multi-dimensional dish.
Meefoon is a thin rice noodles here served with chicken and vegetables. To my taste preference I found this bland and dry. Burnt Garlic Butter Fried Rice has the garlic stir fried in butter till its slightly burnt and then mixed with rice. Sauteing the garlic till brown gives this rice preparation its unique flavor. Together with green chilies, crunchy vegetables, chicken and soya sauce, burnt garlic lends an exciting touch to perfectly cooked Chinese rice. This was so tasty that I cleaned the bowl of rice without any side dish.
The whole experience will be incomplete without digging into desserts.
In desserts had Orange Darsaan, made with crispy fried wanton noodles drizzled with honey and sesame seeds and finished with orange zest. The dish topped with orange cubes seems very unique.
A complete family restaurant with homely ambiance and reasonably priced makes it a great family joint. An extremely courteous management visits each table to get real time feedback from their patrons. At last, now we have a Chinatown in New Town!
Recommendation: Noodle Soup, Chicken Bao, Lime Leaf Chicken, Butter Garlic Prawn, Thai Red Curry, Chili Basil Fish, Burnt Garlic Butter Fried Rice and Spicy Coriander Fried Rice