Asian on our mind

Spicy Vietnamese tenderloin salad

You realise that an immediate, remedial course of action is required when the soft copy of the menu card you are perusing is giving you a serious case of FOMO. Not just for the glut of all things deliciously Pan-Asian it is laden with, but also for the actual travel to the places of whose cuisines it seeks to tempt you with.

Serving as a portent to the (hopeful) resumption of our much-missed South East Asian backpacking jaunts, the Dadar East-based delivery-only Ginkgo - Pan Asian Kitchen that's housed in the iconic Hotel Midtown Pritam gives us aspiration. Even its name is derived from the ubiquitous ginkgo nut that finds itself in a whole host of Asian dishes. Case in point being a classic Cantonese stir fry.

Dan dan noodles (pork)

Taking advantage of the cloud kitchen's late night delivery service (till 1.30 am), we start our almost midnight culinary sojourn a little south of China's Canton Province; in Vietnam to be more precise. This, as we tuck into a spicy tenderloin salad (Rs 350) that we're advised is best eaten cold. Bursting with the freshness of herbs like coriander and mint, along with a zesty lime kick, the melt-in-the mouth slices of beef are a treat.

We chase this with a mouthful of the risotto-like, mildly spiced Thai coconut rice with prawns (Rs 350). Still in Thailand, our sole vegan order for the night is a minced soy and mushroom rendition of a classic Thai pad krapow (Rs 360) that never makes us miss the original pork version, even once.

Riding the crest of the Korean hallyu wave brought on by our countless hours of watching K-Dramas, we gourmandise the flavourful bacon kimchi fried rice (Rs 350) with manic gusto. The still runny fried egg sitting atop it makes for the perfect umami foil to the smoky-n-spicy gochujang paste.

Our order of the sliced Mongolian lamb (Rs 495) is another umami bomb of taste. As are the teppanyaki prawns (Rs 525) from the Japanese selection that makes us miss the theatrics of a live teppan cook even more.

Kimchi fried rice (bacon)

Making for a textural overload of crunchy water chestnut bits and crispy fried lotus root slices, the Sichuan-style honey-chilli vegetarian stir fry (Rs 350) revels in its expected sweetness. One that pairs well with the dish's other spicy and garlic-ey notes.

What's not expected, however, is the cloyingly, sugary taste of the pork dan dan noodles (Rs 395). This clashes with the criminally spicy, oily minced pork that sits atop gloopy, overcooked noodles that have clumped up together. All this, makes for a dish that's low on both flavour and visual appeal. The only wrong turn in an otherwise pleasure-enhanced Asian adventure of taste.

Time: 11.30 am to 1.30 am
Delivery: In-house agents, Zomato
Log on to: @ginkgomumbai
Call: 8591419470