Ching Wah (Delhi)

Lost in Translation

This restaurant is billed as one which serves up Chinese and Japanese cuisines, which appears quite fallacious to the trained palate. The restaurant has a warm inherent ambience – diffused lights, oriental wall decorations and soft music by Daughtry, Train and Maroon 5 among others. So you feel quite good sitting at your table and you’re eager to look at the menu. That eagerness turns to disappointment quite soon. The menu comprises dishes cooked the same way (with honey, black bean sauce, etc.), with just the proteins being substituted. The bar menu ends before you know it. What is more, presentation takes a hit when beer is served in brandy glasses. Strangely enough, the starters cost almost double what the main course dishes do, and are not even good enough to justify the disparity in prices. The Pepper Chicken for instance, is a disjointed amalgamation of (you guessed it!) pepper and chicken. Skip to the main course and the seemingly unattractive food actually tastes quite good. The Hunan Chicken is top drawer and the Pan-fried Noodles are perfectly cooked. However, that is where Ching Wah runs out of its pluses, as the Japanese menu consists of four dishes, two of which sound insipid. The Chicken Yakitori is definitely not what it should be, which is chicken shish overloaded and unbalanced with soy sauce and vinegar. There are no traces whatsoever of mirin or sake – two of the key ingredients of a good yakitori. Overall, it makes for a nice place to have a meal or a drink with friends, but given the variety of street food available in Lajpat Nagar, you might want to give Ching Wah a miss.


Ambience                ★★★★
Service                    ★★★
Presentation            ★
Taste                      ★★


http://delhi.burrp.com/listing/ching-wah_lajpat-nagar-ii_delhi_bars-pubs-restaurants/143624366


(Reviewed by Anubhab Dasgupta)