New Asian fast food eatery Sillichilli offers run-of-the-mill dishes, which fail to tease our palate
At Lokhandwala market in Andheri, everything is fast, except the traffic. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the weekend or a weekday, there are always throngs of shoppers, looking for something to indulge in — clothes, accessories or food. In such a scenario, it’s quite natural that a number of fast food joints have opened up in the past few months. The latest to join the bandwagon is Sillichilli, which serves Asian fast food.
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The Chicken Kung Pao Panda was garnished with cashewnuts, spring onion and garlic. Pic/Deepali Dhingra
A day after it set shop, we stepped inside the bright eatery, to be greeted by the enthusiastic staff. The owners had arranged for a free tasting of some of the items, which we thought was a smart idea for a new place. There were two plates kept on the counter, one filled with Crunchy Saiwoo Chicken (Rs 190), and the other, with Crispy Tempura Veggies (Rs 150). While the former was slightly sweet but delicious, the latter was a disappointment, as it was too oily. The batter had lost some of the crispiness, which we expected from the dish.
Nevertheless, we decided to place an order and take it home, as the small sitting area had already filled up with shoppers. Once home, we eagerly unpacked the cardboard boxes. The Veg Dragon Spring Roll (Rs 150) had a crunchy exterior, but didn’t offer much tastewise as the veggies were over-cooked and bland. Since there was no dip provided, we had to get out the tomato ketchup. The Chicken Kung Pao Panda (Rs 190) on the other hand, was a mouthful, with soft pieces of chicken in Kung Pao sauce, garnished with spring onion, garlic and cashewnuts.
The Bad Boy Chopper Rice (Rs 190) followed, with its abundance of egg, chicken and fried noodles heaped on rice.
Sweet and sour in equal proportions, it didn’t taste very different from the numerous fried rice dishes we’ve had from street side vendors. The eatery also had a make-your-own noodles section, and we decided to go with Chicken (Rs 160), Hakka noodles and Black Bean and Soy sauce. The chicken was cooked well, and the black bean sauce tasted good with it. However, there was nothing we would go back for.
In a market bustling with various options for fast food, Sillichilli may add another variant for shoppers on-the-go.
However, for people looking for something out of the box, this isn’t the place to be.