ChaoBella

Critic´s Review

• Food: 4 / 5
• Service: 3.5 / 5
• Decor: 3.5 / 5

-By Marryam H Reshii

One of the only dedicated Chinese noodle-makers in the city

The most original Chinese eatery in the NCR has lounge seating, an open kitchen, two Chinese chefs and some of the best Chinese food in the city.

Atmospherics
It must be a record of sorts: ChaoBella, less than three years old, has been given a makeover. Gone are the overpowering chandeliers. There are comfortable sofas in the middle of the restaurant, and enough partially secluded nooks to have a cosy dinner with the illusion of privacy. The open kitchen with two chefs cooking Chinese food: Sam Wong from Singapore has been in India long enough to know local tastes (though his food is spot-on authentic) and Fu Gui who is from Gansu Province of China and speaks hardly a word of English.

Table Talk
What's Hot re-visited ChaoBella only for the purpose of tasting the noodles. After all, dimsum chefs from China are reasonably common but a chef who has been hired expressly to pull noodles is a complete rarity.

There are eight types of noodles, at least some of which are likely to be hand-crafted in front of you. They range from the slimmest to flat to the thickest, with the rough cut "shaved" noodles being the most unusual. You choose the noodles you want along with the choice of sauce. The sauce is made by Chef Wong, so it is an unbeatable combination at a low price. Portions are so large that it is possible to only have a single dish and feel quite full!

I chose tenderloin in black bean sauce with shaved noodles (Rs 675). The sliced tenderloin was melt in the mouth, the smokey hint of black bean was a whisper in the background while the noodles were in fact flat and paper thin. The wonder of it was that I watched while the chef kneaded a ball of dough and sent razor thin slices flying into the stock pot. My companion chose hand-kneaded noodles with seafood gravy that was turned into a flavourful soup (Rs 825). Much as we wanted to try a main course, this was too filling for either of us.

Plus and minus
A suggestion to ChaoBella: do have half and full portions of noodles for those who would like to try a main course as well.

Must Try
Spicy dandan noodles Sichuan style; Shandong style noodles with orange peel in oyster sauce; hand-pulled super fine noodles with shrimps.