Forrest Gump’s mama might have told him that life is like a box of chocolates, and you’d never know what you’re gonna get. Much to our surprise, when we signed up for a taste of Mamagoto’s bento boxes (a brand new addition to their menu), it was something like that. Stepping into the cool interiors of their Phoenix MarketCity on a sweltering summer afternoon, their tender coconut infusion (we opted for the pineapple one) that comes highly recommended by the manager Mahesh Raja, promptly turns things up a notch.
Sufficiently cooled, we set out to explore their menu for the bento boxes. Says Mahesh, “We wanted to take the concept of the bento boxes to a different level, and offer our diners a little taste of diverse Asian flavours. So we have a mix of different dishes, right from Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian and Malaysian dishes, all in a single plate.” With a set menu for all five days of the week, we started with the non-vegetarian option of the Monday bento meal. The peanut sauce slathered chicken satays are easy to eat, served in skewers. After a couple of futile attempts poking at our salads with the chopsticks, we ditched them altogether and forked up some delicious som tam salad. The accompaniments include banana chips, which are crunchy and best had with the sambal java chilli dip. The mains are basic – there’s the flavoursome stir fry of veggies (beans, cucumber and yellow squash) with burnt garlic, the fragrant Thai green curry, a heady mix of coconut with the slightest hint of lemongrass.
Tuesday’s bento begins with dim sum on a stick, available in both veg and non-veg options, followed by a healthy green salad of snow peas and green beans. But what really stands out is the pakchoi and water chestnut stir fry – crunchy and packed with flavour. Last but not the least, we sampled the slim somu salad and the fish in black pepper sauce from Wednesday’s set meal. While the salad is sweet and watery fresh, tasting almost like a rainforest, the fish was mildly spiced and perfectly cooked.
At Mamagoto Phoenix MarketCity, coming soon to Nungambakkam. A veg bento box costs Rs 499, while a non-veg bento box costs Rs 599. Details: 33011773