Prancing tastes — as we gallop towards fine dine Chinese

There are very few places for good Oriental food in the city, and the Golden Dragon at Taj Coromandel is surely one of the best. Authentic flavours are the forte of this dining space, so our expectations always run high. When we were invited to sample the new Chinese New Year menu, our tastebuds were salivating in anticipation.

We started off with a soup, the double boiled monkey head mushroom broth. The mushroom was soft and chewy, accompanied by a light broth of cilantro and carrots with a drizzle of sesame oil. Not spicy at all, and excellent to get your afternoon going. We tried a bit of the Shi Hu lamb soup as well, which had minced lamb, tomatoes and egg drop – slightly spicier than the vegetarian version, but quite tasty nonetheless. Next to come were the unique water poached dumplings. The outer cover was soft, being in a bed of water while the chicken inside cooked without many spices tasted fine. We are not big fans of these dumplings, but nevertheless they are worthy of being mentioned here. The pulled duck spring rolls did not disappoint, and given our fetish for fried food, we did not duck out on this.

Tiger prawns are always on the top of our list, and cooked with dry scallop sauce and wine was a treat in itself. Soft, chewy and with that distinct sweet flavour, this one resonated well with us and comes highly recommended. It was time to get a little meatier now and we would suggest the Hang Zhou tenderloin. Made with a delicate balance of soy and traditional spices, it was interestingly cooked Okhra and green chillies – the crunch of the braised Okra gave a neutral bite to the slightly sweet tenderloin, a delicate explosion of flavours. The stir fried chicken also has a taste of its own, being flash fried with Shaoxing rice wine.

While not a very big fan of vegetarian fare, we were persuaded to try the Kong Cin Chai – Morning glory cooked with garlic and dry red chillies, and this one also hit the spot right away. Crunchy and with a distinct sweet and sour taste, we were happy that we at least tried this one! Similarly, the Moon Fan came highly recommended – it was just jasmine rice, with an egg drop and five Chinese spices – this was so good that we had it on its own without mixing anything else in it. A perfect accompaniment, or even a standalone dish. The steamed longevity noodles come with scallions, garlic and soy, giving it a slightly sweeter taste.

The dessert was not very Chinese, we ordered a chocolate and banana cremeux – made by thickening crème anglaise (milk/cream, sugar, egg yolks) with chocolate and covered with a banana sauce and a topping of candied walnuts – sinful to the core, but with that satisfying taste and feel that desserts should impart. Overall a very joyful meal, and with plenty of options for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian eaters. A place to visit with your family or even for special occasions.

Meal for 2: ₹3,500++ (without alcohol)

Till february 27th, 12.30 – 2.45 pm (lunch), 7 – 11.45 pm (dinner)

At Golden Dragon, Taj Coromandel, Nungambakkam.

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