Vong Wong Restaurant
Permanently closed
Restaurant
in Mumbai
The spot is permanently closed.
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Chinese, Thai, Vegetarian options
Permanently closed
$$$$
Price range per person INR 1,300
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It is the best place near Nariman Point. At this restaurant, you will be served Chinese and Thai cuisines.
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Visitors' reviews on Vong Wong Restaurant
/ 19
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Chinese, Thai, Vegetarian options
Permanently closed
$$$$
Price range per person INR 1,300
© OpenStreetMaps
contributors
Address
Ramnath Goenka Marg, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, 400021
Features
Сredit cards accepted
No outdoor seating
Booking
Opening hours
| SundaySun | 12PM-3:30PM 7PM-12AM |
| MondayMon | 12PM-3:30PM 7PM-12AM |
| TuesdayTue | 12PM-3:30PM 7PM-12AM |
| WednesdayWed | 12PM-3:30PM 7PM-12AM |
| ThursdayThu | 12PM-3:30PM 7PM-12AM |
| FridayFri | 12PM-3:30PM 7PM-12AM |
| SaturdaySat | 12PM-3:30PM 7PM-12AM |
VongWong is located at the far end of South Mumbai, at Nariman Point, on the second floor of Express Towers. As we climbed up the stairs, I was hit by the nostalgia of a decade gone by, and wondered whether this place existed then.
Solid wood work, all around. The stairs, the tables, the chairs, the floors, the decor, the bar. No sooner had we entered the place, we were greeted by the charming, smiling, effusive manager, a gent who went by the name of Raj Shetty. Having done our reservations before helped, we were ushered to our table at a premium location, overlooking the quiet Sunday street. Translucent glass windows only barred by a thin sheath of white gossamer curtain.
The menu card was handed out to us, and we were impressed. Quite a daunting array of items, the food overall felt overwhelming and screamed "Premium".
The first line of order was steamed dimsums. Nine non veg varieties and seven veg ones. Which made one wonder if there would be any soul in this world who could have all at one go, and further, if at all having done so, would have the stomach for nibbling at anything else.
We expressed a non pork, non beef food, and accordingly, were offered duck and ginger dumplings (awesome), wasabi prawn dumplings (Nopes), Garlic Chive Prawns dumpling, Seafood pepperballs, Chicken SuiMai with Chilly Oil, Basa Dumpling and the best of all, Curry Basil Chicken dumpling. The last one was slightly curryish, chillied and rightly spiced, quite appealing to the Indian palate. We didnt give a second glance to the veg items.
There were two soup varieties, Tom Kha and Tom Yum.
Tom Kha, for the uninitiated, is made with coconut milk, galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, and chicken, and often contains straw, shiitake, or other mushrooms, as well as coriander leaves. The fried chilies add a smoky flavor as well as texture, color and heat, but not so much that it overwhelms the soup. The key is to get a taste balance between the spices. Which, VongWong was fairly able to. The only grouse is that it was a tad too sweet for my liking, and that it had too many of ginger (and not galangal) slices which came in the way of mushrooms and chicken tidbits, and somehow ruined the atmosphere. The trick would have been to further whittle those slices down right to granules, and to contain the quantity to 10% of the original.
Tom Yum, is a clear version of the above concoction, minus the coconut milk. Too many ginger slices here as well.
We were served mocktails alongwith the dimsums and the soups. Apple and Honey smoothie (We gave it a miss), Magical ming (a guava drink, the best of the lot), Kowloon Cooler (Kiwi crush with slices of apple - nopes), Berry Sweetheart (Strawberry crush and ice cream - approved by my little one), The Green Lantern (we gave this a miss), Strawberry freeze (Miss), Virgin Pinacolada (Miss), Virgin Mary (Miss). What we opted for was something not available on the menu card - a Blue Lagoon (a sea blue drink with aerated water) and a Pomegranate drink (awesome again).
There was also an expansive display of salads and sushis and breads for cherry picking. Unique amongst them were prawns wafers and prawns cocktail... (???) And also shreds of crispy fried duck. Soft tender pieces which melted in the mouth.
There was a live counter of pasta - three varieties, spaghetti, penne and fusilli with two sauces, red and white.
By this time we were already getting apprehensive, as we were already feeling full, and we still had barely started. A worse woe was that unlike everywhere else, VongWong does not believe in displaying its starters and main courses. They are not spread out for inspection and shortlisting. Rather they are simply listed on the menu card and you have to pick and choose some or all of them. A silly policy I reckon, as this would be leading to a lot of food wastage. Most of the times its the visually and the olfactory appealing food that gets the most votes, and here, minus both of them, it was akin to a blind date.
The menu boasted of an impressive spread, and we begged a very very small portion of each.
Gai Har Boi Toey - a Thai native recipe where Pandan, the aromatic leaves of a perennial grass, are wrapped around chunks of coconut-milk-marinated chicken, steamed, and finally deep-fried. Steaming the chicken in pandan leaves imparts a floral fragrance, while deep-frying caramelizes the sugary marinade and browns the leaves, imbuing the meat with a nutty flavor. This, is a must have here, if not for the taste, just for the experience.
Satay Gai (Marinated in whole dried spices meat, skewered, and charcoal-grilled, and served with peanut sauce). We gave this a miss.
Goong Phla (Spicy Prawn Salad with lemongrass), Thai Steak Salad, Salt and Pepper Seafood, Wasabi Prawns, Chicken Lettuce Wraps - we all gave them a miss.
And the last item was Tord Mun Phla. This was fresh salmon blended with herbs, sweet basil, lemon grass, coriander, chillies, and lime leaves. Deep-fried and served with a spicy lime, peanut and sweet chilli sauce, it warmed the cockles of our hearts.
The Main Course again had twelve items listed, and we groaned. We simply called for a very small portion of chicken fried rice and Sichuan Chicken. The former had omelette crumbs and carrot bits and minced scallion and wonder of wonders, sweet corn. The latter was fiery red and loaded with burnt chilly. Purrfect.
Finally lets talk about desserts.
Chocolate balls lollypops. Coconut pudding. Vanilla Panna Cotta. Caramel Short Bread. Lemon Tart. Black Forest Chocolate Cake. Chocolate Pastry. Cronuts. Fresh cut fruits (Kiwi, Green Apple, Red Apple, Orange, Watermelon, Cranberry), Tub Tim Krob, Apple Pie. No ice creams though. (One of the firsts again.)
The Apple Pie was out of this world. Though I had my stomach bursting out of its seams, this piece was extremely unresistable. And if that wasn't enough, Raj, the friend in need, coerced to try out cronuts too. And as it turned out, it was a well placed advice. Again, every bit heavenly. The chocolate pastry was highly approved by the wife, on the other hand. Premium with a capital P.
Which brings us to the end of this story. The child was charged half the price (with an Ex Gratia Charge of 10 %). We quickly paid and with extreme efforts, dragged out.
Special mention to the patient and highly accomodating server, a lad called Prem. And my heart felt compliments to the chief chef, Mr Shehzad Malolia.
The ratings, they go like this:
The Food Quotient : Food Quality 4.5 / 5, Food Choices 4.5 / 5, Food Portion ---
The Other Determinants : Location 3.5 / 5, Cleanliness 4.5 / 5, Service 4.5 / 5
The Hygiene Factors : Ambiance 3.5 / 5, Space quotient 3.5 / 5, Delivery time 3 / 5
The Conclusives : Food Price 3.5 / 5, Honesty 3 / 5, Overall Experience 4.5 / 5, Will I Visit again 4.5 / 5
For more details visit www.sanjaynpunjabi.wix.com/gluttony
Bouquets and brickbats can be mailed at [email protected]
VongWong stands out as a glaring exception amongst the myriad of eateries that typify the Mumbai's wave of Chinese / Italian / Thai restaurants, with their pseudo oriental decor, standard menu of wantons and manchows and manchurians, and impersonal service. It is a refreshing change from the assembly line joints which dot the city's landscape.
VongWong is located at the far end of South Mumbai, at Nariman Point, on the second floor of Express Towers. As we climbed up the stairs, I was hit by the nostalgia of a decade gone by, and wondered whether this place existed then.
Solid wood work, all around. The stairs, the tables, the chairs, the floors, the decor, the bar. No sooner had we entered the place, we were greeted by the charming, smiling, effusive manager, a gent who went by the name of Raj Shetty. Having done our reservations before helped, we were ushered to our table at a premium location, overlooking the quiet Sunday street. Translucent glass windows...
Vong Wong is a Chinese/Thai speciality restaurant which predominantly caters to lunch and brunch service to its patrons. The FSI has been generously used, as the place looks huge and the large windows just add in a bit more depth to the entire ambiance. The bar is not hidden from the patrons and one can see the bartenders in full swing with making a good round of drinks. Salads, Khow-suey and desserts are spread in the center; starters and mains are served at the table.
They are quite generous with their salad spread, but there was nothing that I could point out that stood out for me. However, the Prawns cocktail and the prawn crackers was something really new for my palate. Both of them really made an impact and made me go to the center table more often than I would have. The crackers were light and gave a great taste of prawns in every bite. Aromatic duck was another dish that I tried for the first time, or for that matter of fact duck itself. Even though the protein was a bit dry, but the finely juliened cucumber, spring onions and dark plum sauce made up the entire dish one blockbuster. But, the show stopper of our lunch had to be the Wasabi Prawns. Amazingly light, crisp and subtle flavour of Wasabi made the dish impeccable.
Just before heading towards the mains, we thought of adding some liquid in the meal and called for a Tom Yum soup. I wont say it was the best I had, but it was definitely yum. The service right upto this point was to the mark, but plummeted sharply post that. It took a good 30 minutes before the mains; Thai style Black Pepper Prawns and Chicken Fried Rice reached our tables. The fried rice was really simple, but imparted great flavours of the spices and chicken. The Prawns were kind of average, but gelled well with the rice in the end. What was really disappointing the entire dessert section. Even though it had some tantalizing options, nothing came close to even being good.
The price of the entire brunch (Rs.1400 + tax), even though I didn't pay for it was quite steep for what was on offer. In all honesty, Mainland China really makes the cut in terms of taste, spread and also the sharp pricing for the same. Vong Wong is a decent place, worth a try, but not the entire amount of money.