08 March,2010 10:34 AM IST | | Antoine Lewis
Tasty food at reasonable prices at Kurla's new dimly lit sheesha bar. What we want to tell management: Let there be light!
The dimly lit interiors were the first warning. Then we noticed the low seating, suitable for sprawling, not sitting. Finally, there was the smell, the sickeningly sweet aroma of fruit-flavoured smoke.
iBistro, more a sheesha bar and less a restaurant, is a place where teenagers flop down and chill with buddies, inhaling their recommended daily intake of fruits. And like most sheesha bars, where the idea is to hang out, iBistro is not a serious dining place.
This became most apparent when we were handed the thick dossier-like menu. In a room with low lights, the sky blue print on a black menu was impossible to read without a torch.
Once we managed to decipher the text, we realised that the menu was divided into Chinese (which includes a sprinkling of Tibetan and Thai), and Continental fare (salads, steaks, sizzlers).
Since the Oriental section seemed to be their strength, and because we were informed by Tony, who we presume was the manager, that the staff was ex-China Gate, we decided to go along with Chinese.
As it turned out, the food was pretty good. The Thupka Soup (Rs 145), a Tibetan specialty, was a bit oily but thick with noodles and lightly spiced, while the Spicy Crab Meat Soup (Rs 115) was peppery and hot with plenty of shredded crabmeat. The Thotting Nyasha (Rs 215), which we ordered as a starter, wasn't quite Tibetan, but the stir-fried prawns with red and yellow peppers and a few kafir lime leaves was tasty.
From the main course, Tony, the only person in the restaurant who actually knew how the dishes on the menu were prepared, suggested the Pan Fried Noodles in Shanghai Sauce (Rs 135), Kong Pau Chicken (Rs 145) and Crispy Lamb Chilli in Spring Onion (Rs 165).
Nothing was exceptional, but much of it was tasty; most of it was predictably crispy, and spicy, which at these prices you'd expect. The only big letdown was a dry, hard, somewhat stale brownie that no amount of chocolate sauce could resuscitate.
iBistro offers home delivery. We suggest you order in rather than squat-and-squint.
At: A Wing, Aeroview Society, 1st floor, behind Domestic Airport, LBS Marg, Kurla (W), behind Fauziya Hospital. Call: 25032130 / 31 / 32
iBistro didn't know we were there. THE GUIDE reviews anonymously and pays for meals
