Mumbai Chopstix

Awhile back I bought a coupon for Mumbai Chopstix, but it was one of the few that had a later expiration date.  Suddenly the end of August was approaching, so we headed out on a Friday night to see what Indian-Chinese cuisine was all about.  When we arrived, we were seated straight away, even without a reservation.  The restaurant is a bit narrow but they are able to fit a number of tables into the space, which is vibrantly decorated with Asian and Indian influences.

Right after we sat down we were brought a small Asian noodle salad with a variety of sauces for the meal.  The sauces included a sweet and sour, a soy sauce, and a spicy chili sauce.  The noodles were a nice little start to the meal, especially considering I was pretty hungry!

Starter

When I checked in on Four Square I saw that several tips said that the mango sangria was delicious, so I decided to go with that.  However, for me the drink was just a bit too sweet and not as complex as I normally like my sangria to be.  Also, for checking in on Four Square you were supposed to be given a free lassie drink, which Nick ordered.  However, they were out of the yogurt needed to make the drink, so that was a no go. 

Mango Sangria

After having some delicious momohs at the Whim dinner, we decided to try the steamed momohs which were filled with steamed veggies and had a side of Tangra chili sauce.  These were a lot lighter than the other momohs we had, offering a much different flavor and consistency - much more like steamed dumplings we had had before.  They were light and fresh with a nice flavor. 

Momohs

I originally wanted to order the Tum Yum dish, but it turned out it was a soup, which I was not in the mood for.  Instead, we asked the server for a suggestion and he immediately said to try the Drums of Heaven, which are chicken wings marinated with fresh herbs and spices served with Mumbai salsa.  This was the best dish we had - the outside of the chicken was a perfect crispness and the inside was tender.  The combination of herbs and spices were delicious.  I almost wished I ordered another portion of them - they were that amazing.  This dish actually made us excited for the rest of the meal.

Drums of Heaven

Decor

When Nick was unable to get his Lassie drink he decided to get a beer.  While he ordered a certain variety of beer, the server came out with the Taj Mahal - not what he ordered.  When asked about it he felt badly and ultimately did not charge us for the drink, but in the beginning he kept saying that this one was actually better in his opinion than the other type and kept asking us about it during the meal.  I don't mind being checked up on, but this was a bit excessive. 

Taj Mahal

For my second drink I also went with an Indian beer and got the King Fisher.  Both beers were good, but did not have much of a finish - all of the taste was in the first part of the drink.

Kingfisher

For the main courses there were a lot of good choices, but the price point for most seemed a bit high if we were to get a couple to share, so we just order one dish a piece.  I went with a Szechuan style mushroom fried rice that was a mixture of really spicy mixed meat, fried rice, cilantro and mushrooms, a combination that sounded delicious to me.  However, when a restaurant like this says the dish is "really spicy" I was expecting it to be almost hard-to-eat spicy.  This, however, was not spicy at all.  There were a few chilies scattered throughout the dish, though they didn't seem to be giving off too much heat.  Without the kick, the dish was a little underwhelming. 

"Really Spicy" fried rice

Based upon the servers suggestion, Nick ordered the Hoisin Shrimp, which was an Indian version of the Chinese classic.  The dish was tasty but considering it did not come with any sides of rice etc, the $19.95 price tag was definitely more than a bit steep for this portion.

Hoisin Shrimp

Overall I was left a bit wanting in my meal at Mumbai Chopstix.  The prices were expensive and the service was a bit all over the place.  The Drums of Heaven were delicious and a must-order for any future trips, but the rest of meal did not have that same sort of flavor.  With such a great start in cuisine with the Chinese and Indian, I was hoping for a bit more.