Share
RECENTLY, I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole and found myself watching in petrified horror — some snippets of a web series called Surrounded, produced by the political channel Jubilee Media. In the series’ format, an individual with a strong, singular belief debates with 20-odd people who have the exact opposite strong, singular belief. Think: “20 Trump Supporters Take on 1 Progressive” or “Jordan Peterson vs 20 atheists” and so on. This series is terrifying evidence that we’ve moved very, very, very far away from each other; we’re simply satisfied with quibbling over the silliest things. I found myself channelling my inner grandmother and saying: One good meal will sort all of this out.
Enter: Royal China, the new gūniang on the city’s restaurant scene from its storied, celebrity-packed Mumbai home. Our pro-tip: Bring your family, friends and even solo strangers from the neighbouring tables, everyone will be satiated to their gills and waddle out of this restaurant. And the only strong, singular belief at the end of this meal will be: good things must be shared with everyone because of their humanity. And trivialities like reposts, opinions and retweets on social media aren’t real at all. To riff on the Zen koan from The Matrix, there is a spoon; here, you must use it to eat everything.
A Wonton Affair
They’ve got a whole separate menu of dim sum options; we navigated through its deliriously colourful options to arrive at the Har Gow dumplings, Prawn wontons, Peking Duck dumplings and the Spicy Vegetable Cheung Fun. Each one of these steamed little parcels packed its own yummy flavours; the juicy prawns in the Har Gow and wontons delivered on freshness and sweetness, dunked into their in-house crispy chilli sauce, it was delicious. The duck option brought an added layer of sweetness from the plum sauce and the caramelly exterior of the roasted duck filling. The cheung fun was a little jig between taste and texture; slick, steamed rice paper skin meets spicy diced veggies. We were just two at the table, and would’ve loved to have had our table groaning with more bamboo steamers.
Our little oasis between our spicy bites of dim sum is provided from the bar: a super dry martini that mixes it up with its ice-cold kick, and a refreshing Mandarin Mule, a citrusy, fizzy take on the Moscow Mule, a classic cocktail.
More the Merrier
Again, the main menu was as thick as a novella; we were looking around for our accompanying army. We didn’t hold back, though; our table overflowed with sweet-sticky-spicy chilli plum prawns; the moreish strips of grilled tenderloin in chilli and black bean sauce; and the weave of silken tofu, crunchy asparagus spiked with rich soya and chilli sauce. Our base: a serving of Fukien Fried Rice – an interesting version of this staple that draws its powers from the thick, savoury gravy poured over rice and Hong Kong street-style noodles that have that extra bite because of the egg noodles being pan-fried.
We mixed and matched: we scooped a little bit of juicy sweetness, nudges of red chillies, spikes of savoury delight, and an interplay of textures. A Chinese dinner will forever be a treat in our hearts; it spans our nostalgic celebrations to the ones in our now – and this dinner was another exciting chorus of delectables on this long, ever-growing list. One of us reached for the tropical brightness of a Singapore Sling to pepper between each bite. Did we get dessert? Yes, these two beached whales went on to eat the chocolate dome and a Chinese mango pudding. The chocolate dome did deliver beyond the drama of drizzling molten chocolate sauce onto a shell to reveal more chocolate.
We can declare that Royal China can now be added to your list of restaurants for reunions of family and friends. Everyone will leave smiling like the Buddha.
Royal China is at Level 2, UB City, 24 Vittal Mallya Road, Bengaluru. Call 7420805463 for reservations. Monday-Sunday, Noon-3:30 pm & 7-11:30 pm.
