An email comes in, inviting me for a sponsored lunch at the newly opened place on Rd 12, Banjara Hills - Mamagoto. Hesitant initially with the date, I had requested a different date if that was possible and the PR company had obliged. I was informed that my lunch was set up and I need to meet the floor manager present there. On the said day, I walked in with my wife(yes, this is the first time she came with me) and another food blogger friend. It seemed the manager was unaware of our impending visit, though he was courteous enough to get us a table and set the wheels in motion. Had expected a more proactive coordination between the PR company and the restaurant.
The ambiance is definitely quirky and colorful, inside and out. A sense of geometry prevails, with all those curves and squares on the paintings/drawings adorning the walls. The cutlery gleams under the accent lighting, and the chandeliers in the PDR are definitely the most colorful things according to me. The moment you enter, you will find the bar on your left and a pretty sizable one too. The decor is eye-catching, but I wasn't able to relate the "fun" part in its name to the ambiance or food or service.
It took a bit of time for us to go through the menu. Once done, the first things we asked for were the mocktails - A Wasabi Mary, Disco and Fresh Coconut Water Infusions(pineapple flavor). The Wasabi Mary was for my friend and he wasn't quite happy with it, the look on his face told me. The Disco was supposed to be a mix of papaya, honeydew melon and lime, but it tasted a lot like just chilled papaya juice. The Coconut Water infusion was great either. But the blend of coconut water and pineapple juice had a balance of both the flavors and scored better than the other two mocktails. Initially they got us the coconut water infusion in a glass, and I remembered people had posted pics of having it in a real tender coconut. And so, after a request they got it back in the way they had "advertised" it. Now, an establishment shouldn't be showcasing pictures of something and serving the same thing in a different way. It does not go down well when the customer actually was looking forward to a specific dish/style and is served with a different style.
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| Wasabi Mary and Disco |
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| Fresh Coconut Water Infused with pineapple juice |
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| Cucumber mint mix |
While at the menu, we had wanted to make a good selection of things that we could try and not the usual stuffs. We zeroed in on Hot Basil Chicken Cups, Spicy Fried Calamari, Traditional Peking Dumpling, Traditional Crispy Lamb, Thai Green Curry and sticky rice. Though we wanted to go for a dish with lotus stems but we were told that it was not in stock that day.
After a short time, our dishes made a bee line for our table. The first one to reach was the basil chicken cups. Bite-sized cups made of lettuce with a spoonful of minced chicken in it. The bird's eye chilli spiced it up in a good way. It was accompanied with a sauce, but I tend to forget what it exactly was made of. The basil flavor wasn't quite exactly there, just a hint of it in a few cups.
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| Hot Basil Chicken Cups |
The calamari were definitely one of the best ones I have had! Superb frying and the calamari was as soft as it could get. The whole combination of the fried calamari sprinkled with chillies and a dash of lemon was a savory treat.
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| Spicy Fried Calamari |
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| Traditional Peking Dumplings |
I seldom like any mutton preparation outside for two reasons, either it smells meaty, or its chewy. And so, the crisp fried lamb sprang a surprise on me with its taste. Shredded lamb coated in flour and deep fried, a bit chewy(which I can understand is due to the deep frying) and sauteed with bell pepper looked good and tasted even better! Very crisp, a bit on the sweeter side(yes, Asian cuisine does use sweetness to its advantage) and absolutely yum in taste.
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| Traditional Crisp Lamb |
It was time to get down to the main course. As anticipated, we were quite full with starters and a main course with plain sticky rice and a thai green curry was more than what we could ask for. The sticky rice had a nice subtle jasmine fragrance. One would like it more when its piping hot. When cold it kind of loses its fragrance significantly and becomes more sticky. The Thai green curry(chicken) was a good companion to the sticky rice. Perfect combination of typical Thai herbs like galangal and lemongrass and with a decent amount of veggies like eggplant apart from chicken, the curry was absolutely on mark for me and if ever I come back then this is going to be on my list for a very long time. The serving is good enough for 2 and probably 3 can also squeeze in a bit! Hopefully they maintain consistency!
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| Thai Green Curry - chicken |
The sponge cake was average for me and the caramel sauce or the "toffee" sauce didn't really add up to the whole combo - including that scoop of vanilla. So this is a one time try for me. The cheese cake was decent enough but again I felt the cake was not comparable to some great cheesecakes available elsewhere in Hyderabad.
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| 'American Style' Chunky Sponge cake with Toffee sauce and vanilla ice-cream |
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| Blueberry cheesecake |
If I would sum up my visit, I would say the ambiance is quirky and the place serves decent food. The service was mediocre to average. I can understand that they had a full house and were trying to sync up everything. The place is comparatively small and hence it might feel congested at times. They do have PDR upstairs.
There are quite a few hits and misses which they need to take care of. Availability of a dish mentioned in the menu is something they need to take care - especially when you have recently opened up for the public. If you want to go here for mocktails, then I can suggest much better places. Mocktails is a section where they need to pull up their mojo absolutely. Food is quite good enough (for the choices we made - possibly others experiences may or may not be the same) and I am sure it can be fine-tuned after initial feedback from diners. Desserts could include some authentic Asian stuff(just my opinion).
- By Invite (Eleve Media)
#mamagoto #thai #asian #aisancuisine #dumplings #thaigreencurry
