Ming Yang at the Taj Lands End comes back in a perky avatar…

Mumbai, India

Carpeted flooring, Chinese screens, white table cloths have given  way to a more eclectic and contemporary décor at the Ming Yang , a destination Chinese restaurant in the Mumbai suburbs which opened its doors after a five month hiatus on 10^th September 2015.  The date coincides or may have been purposely chosen to commemorate the day when the Indian Hotel Company Limited; the parent company of Taj Hotels took over operation of the erstwhile Regent hotel way back in 2002

The new avatar of the Ming Yang designed by Ed Poole from Singapore sees a modern design albeit with the essence of Chinese culture in every aspect. The lions carved out of granite guarding the entrance, the star anise shaped pendant lamps, the use of teak and rose wood for the furniture, the gray and white walls inspired from Chinese utensils etc symbolize the Chinese element in the design. The attributes carried over from the last edition of Ming Yang are Chef David, the Mumbai Sea View and around 50% of the menu items. Chef David and his food is what had kept their regulars to be hooked on to the 13 year old place and we hear the popularity is such that the restaurant has been opened on many occasions in the wee hours of the morning to satiate the Chinese cravings of powerful personalities in the neighborhood.

I was privee to a lunch on the 8^th September which got me a bird’s eye view of the new gastronomic angle to Ming Yang. To begin with beverages a tea menu serving 19 myriad teas including Seventh Heaven akin to a fruity Tisane and the Pu-erh tea for the seasoned  tea enthusiasts. The cocktail menu brings in a lot of Asian maceration and spice along with smoked nuances and a special focus on fruit, flower and herb ice cubes to dress up the cocktails well. With food I relished the butter nut squash dumpling and devoured the pungent radish and carrot roll, the crust here was shortcrust and flaky, beautiful! I would have to go back to explore their entire menu but for now their vanilla icecream served alongside the date pancakes is still playing on my mind!