Mainland China, Powai

Mainland China has been a revered fine dining option for Chinese food for quite some time now. The chain opened its first restaurant in Mumbai in 1995 and has since opened stores in all of the major Indian cities. Mainland China is famous for its buffet; but I particularly love the a-la-carte menu. The last time we visited the relatively recent Powai outlet of the chain, we were treated to a delicious Chinese lunch.

Mainland China, Powai is very well done up, the decor is distinctly Chinese - lots of red, lots of dark wood - very Mainland China in fact. The Powai branch decor scores over the other branches of the chain I have visited on two counts, firstly it has some very nice Chinese statues and artifacts which add to the Chinese feel, secondly the restaurant has its seating together without smallish rooms and divisions and gives the impression of an open, friendly dining space.

The food as is the trademark of the chain was of the highest quality, the last time I was there we ordered for the Lemon Coriander Chicken soup, Jiangs Chicken, Burnt Garlic Fried Rice and Prawns in Oyster sauce.

Of the dishes mentioned, prawns in oyster sauce is an old favorite and I absolutely love the preparation created by the Mainland China chefs. The flavour seeps through the prawns delectably and the taste is replicated every time I order the preparation. The lemon coriander chicken soup was ordered due to a slightly sore throat and proved to be the perfect antidote. Spicy and with a strong kick of lemon and coriander flavour, the soup completely got rid of the soreness of the throat and set the rest of the meal up perfectly. The burnt Garlic fried rice was also very nice, but so are most of the a-la-carte rice preparations in Mainland China. The highlight of the lunch however was the Jiang's chicken. The chicken cooked with chilli and ginger as the lead spice; it was seriously delicious and seriously spicy!. The dish is a definite must have if you are visiting the chain anytime in the future. Mainland China seems to have a thing with these dishes named after Chinese chefs/ leaders, General Tao's chicken is also an old favorite though I did not see the dish in the menu the last time I was there. The only downer in the meal that we had was the noodles, which was just about okay, maybe it was the wrong order, but unless any of you can recommend a seriously good preparation of noodles, my advice if you are planning to dine at Mainland China would be "Stick to the Rice!".

A meal for two at Mainland China without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 2000/-

How to get there: Mainland China is located at Hiranandani Gardens, Powai. The chain is on the second floor of the building also housing Yellow Chilli. There is a large signage on the road indicating the location. If you are driving from Haiko towards DMart, you have to cross the DMart circle and continue to drive straight. Mainland China will be at the left on the next crossing just before the market.