Ling’s Pavillion, Mumbai

Mahakavi Bhushan Marg, Colaba, Behind Regal Cinema, Mumbai 400039

Telephone:22850023

It’s been a while since I visited this constant of Chinese food in south Bombay. My wife and I were aimlessly figuring out what to eat on a Sunday afternoon and decided to go back to it. The decor is not really different from what it was 10 years ago except for possibly a new paint job and the ambience is not much to get too excited about. The staff seems to have the comfort of one that has been around for a while and knows what it is doing. There is something to be said about the efficiency of a long running establishment. Orders are taken crisply and suggestions are quick to come by. You are quite clearly warned if your server feels you are over ordering. The surounding Asian clientele confirms it’s popularity amongst the faithful.

We weren’t too hungry and so decided to stay with something light. We figured soup and a couple of starters would be fine. Since I had just had a tooth pulled, none of us was really in the mood for a drink.

My wife ordered the Ling’s Pavillion Hot and Sour, which was a bland clear soup with a tangy tomato base and noodles (she seemed to enjoy it). I stuck with the hot and sour which met all expectations. For starters, we ordered the steamed vegetable pao, which came in a hot pot and had a delicious stuffing which included some spicy mushrooms. It wet down quite nicely with the mustard, chilli sauce and thanks to one of our servers, a lime, garlic and chilli sauce. We also ordered the vegetable pancakes. The pancakes were kept warm in a hot pot and the stuffing was a genly flavoured radish mushroom saute, thinly sliced cucumber and roated/fried garlic pods served with a hoisin sauce. Once this was wrapped in the pancake and sauced up with the hoisin sauce as well as some of the other sauces on the table, it tasted great.

We were stuffed by the end of this and skipped the main course and dessert. We had just had a nice “non fried” vegetarian Chinese meal in Mumbai and it was great. This light afternoon meal set us back Rs. 710/-.

Just to make sure the calorie count averages for a Sunday meal were maintained, we went to Samrat (Prem Court 119, J. Tata Road, Chruchgate. Tel 22820022, 22820942)  to get ourselves a piece of caramel cheesecake (Rs. 40/slice, not too great….go for the Philadelphia cream cheese cake at Rs. 100/ slice; much much nicer).

Ambience: ***

Price: ****

Food: ****

Overall: ***1/2