Chaobella - of Risotto and shredded lamb

Till a few years ago Chinese food had been the favourite of my taste buds. I used to jump at the idea of prawn and chicken fried rice with shredded lamb and the chilly sauce in oil. I could have eaten it for days without having looked back at the typical Indian food. Then, suddenly one fine day, I lost taste for Chinese food. That was the time when I was traveling through China. For two days I was forced to fast. Though my escort took me to best restaurants and ordered delicacies, I could not eat – the food was too bland and had a distinct 'stink'. That was the time I lost taste for Chinese food, almost never to have it again.

The other day when the newly opened Crowne Plaza in Delhi's industrial belt of Okhla invited me over to their Chinese restaurant “Chaobella”, I was not too excited. However, I made up my mind to give the Chinese food a try again after a gap of several years. Interestingly, “Chaobella” serves Chinese and Italian together, the first of its kind in the city, they claimed. Chef de Cuisine, Sam Wong was ready with his special menu – a mix of Chinese and Italian dishes. It looked interesting. Once again the desire to have Chinese was overpowering my past experience in China. The choice of soups was between Asparagus and fennel or shredded duck in barley and cabbage broth. Duck has always been my favourite and shredded duck would have been ideal unlike the routine chicken. The duck soup turned out to be the right kind of appetizer and even as I looked forward to a number of starters, the Captain had up with some German Riesling and an Italian favourite. With Italian food, I must have the Italian, I thought to myself. It was a smooth red wine, as I sipped it, the Chef came up with four different starters – steamed chicken in rice dumplings, wafer with banana and prawns, marinated vegetables and dumplings with garlic, chive and mushrooms. The 'wafer paper banana prawn roll' topped my chart – though the combination of banana and prawns may sound strange, but the taste was good. The 'steamed chicken glutinous rice dumplings' were equally appetizing. Pizzas were not far behind as the chef served out a 'smoked chicken and sausage' and 'margarita with lettuce.' Not being a lover of thin crust pizzas, I still had a cut from the chicken and sausage topper.

A good cheese makes a good pizza, and of course a lot of it. Well, if you are fat conscious, then a thin crust could be your choice. For me a thick, fat pan pizza beats everything hollow. Chef Wong's main course turned out to be more interesting than what I had anticipated – the shredded lamb with holsin sauce Sichuan oil put me back in the crowd of Chinese food lovers. I think this was the best of all shredded lamb preparations I have had long time ago, seemed primarily the sauce was responsible for the spicy taste. The next to hit my plate and palate was “pork chops with sage and prunes”. Many may not come for this preparation as it is pork, but for those who have no inhibitions about “what meat”, I suggest, try it, it is better than a skinny mutton chop. Another hit, on my taste chart, was Porcini Risotto --- a combination of chicken and glutinous rice, this may not be the 'basmati', but it brings up a great taste. The shredded lamb, pork chops and the risotto made me greedy to eat more with each gulp of the fine Italian wine. My greed for good food has deformed my appearance with that overgrown paunch and I looked at anyone and everyone with envy who did not have one, but I was enjoying Chef Wong's preparations. It seemed, as if the Chef was bent upon adding inches to my overgrown waistline – there were these small little desserts being served. I could not hold myself back -- Cassata Siciliana, chilled red been pudding and glutinous sesame balls were already on my table. No holding back, I muttered and ended up admiring the sesame balls which turned to be a warm dessert.

Moral of this story – even if you are not a fan of Chinese food, order something from Chef Sam Wong's treasury, and all chances that you will come back to Chaobella. Don't forget the Porcini Risotto, Pork Chops, shredded lamb, and ………..let it be. Hold your waistline!

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