Known for their Asian starters like dumplings and cheung fun (rice noodle rolls), China Bistro in Jubilee Hills has launched a new menu comprising baos and dim sums that will be available till the end of this month. As their sampling menu sounded exciting, we dropped by. We remember looking at the menu while sipping on freshly brewed Jasmine Tea. If you are visiting this outlet, we recommend that you try this comforting beverage. Also, what made us even happier was that the staff started getting in the dishes sooner than we expected. We took a bite of the Chicken Pok Choi Sui Mai — our first starter made of minced meat wrapped in the leafy cabbage variant.
The last time when we visited, we remember walking away with a clear favourite — the Edamame Dim Sum. Our expectations from this place were rather lofty, we might add. While we wouldn’t say that the Sui Mai came close to its edamame counterpart, it was certainly tasty with a peppery flavour from the pok choi. The sauce, which had a rather soupy texture, enhanced the taste of this starter and we savoured it till the last bite. The Spicy Soya Basil Dim Sum — steamed dumpling with soya and basil wrapped in spinach tapioca dough — was definitely appetising. The spinach and basil blended subtly without any strong aftertaste, which we usually prefer. It goes best with the mocktail called Litchi and Lime — a fizzy and sweet drink that reminds you of summer.
The dish that came up next was an absolute winner and wouldn’t be too far of the mark to say the star of the new menu — Sriracha Tofu Bao, a sweet bao stuffed with crispy chunks of tofu and grated veggies. The softness of the bao and fried tofu come together to make this the perfect snack. We did go on to taste the Roasted Duck Bao — grilled duck filling cooked in chilli basil oil. However, it didn’t floor us like its tofu counterpart. Feeling surprised that we liked tofu as much as we did, we sipped on our last drink of the day — Apple Basil Martini. The tangy hint of green apple and refreshing taste of basil stayed with us as we quickly made a mental note of what we should order if we were to come back for another visit to the festive fiesta. The Siracha Tofu Bao would be on that list, we assure you!
Price for two: Rs 1,700.
Pictures: Sathya Keerthi