Royal China, Bandra, Mumbai

Royal China prides itself on serving authentic cantonese cuisine in a fine dining setting. The outlet is also one of the best places for celebrity spotting in Mumbai and one hears that the restaurant is also one of Sachin Tendulkar's favourite restaurants.

The decor at Royal China is spacious and exudes a certain class. The colours are dark and sober and one gets the feeling of dining in a comfortable high end establishment. The service as expected is prompt and polite. The waiters are well spoken and at ease with the dishes on the menu. They are more than willing to add their suggestions and recommend specials for the customer to taste.

The menu at Royal China has a dim sum and a regular section for patrons to choose from. We ordered three dumplings the last time we were there, the prawn and chives dumpling, the seafood dumpling with ginger and chilli and the chicken sui mai. The dumplings were all tasty and with a lot of flavour but my favorite would have to be the seafood dumpling, which was a touch spicy but left ones taste buds yearning for more. The dumplings at Royal China are served in small quantities of 2 to 4 dumplings a serving allowing the customer to sample different varieties. We had heard that Royal China also has a dimsum lunch option, but were informed that the same is only for customers who dine there atleast four times a month. A slightly tough criteria given the food options available in Mumbai!

For main course we ordered egg fried rice, roast duck cantonese and flaming chicken in superior sauce. Mainland China is my usual benchmark when it comes to fried rice quality and Royal China meets the benchmark in texture and flavour of the rice. Tasty, but not too overpowering so as to not detract from the flavour of the side dishes. Royal China prides itself on roast duck, but I found it a bit too bland for my liking, this, in spite of being a fan of Singapore chicken rice and being usually appreciative of blandish food. The part i really liked about the duck was the crackling on the skin, but i thought that it could do with a bit more flavour.

The flaming chicken in superior sauce was fantastic and greatly elevated by the way it was presented. It is served in a mini counter which is set alight in front of you. The visual appeal definitely added to the mildly spicy and very tasty chicken preparation.

We capped off our meal at Royal China with an order of lychee with ice cream and a helping of apple toffee with ice cream. Here I wish to remind you that we were surprised by the quantities and could not get through the servings. The lychee with ice cream were nice, but we were not really impressed with the apple toffee. To my mind, the apple toffee did not work. Overall though Royal China is definitely a visit for people who like Chinese food and specially for those with a soft corner for dim sums. Do go there and freak out!

A meal for two at Royal China, without drinks, will cost you approximately Rs 2500/-

How to get there: Royal China is on Turner Road, Bandra West. It does not have a great facade and there are chances that you may miss it if not looking out. It will fall to your right, If you are driving from Moti Mahal towards Carter Road.