Wok n Roll

Critic´s Review

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

-By Odette Mascarenhas

Is this restaurant named after the fact that you 'walk' right in and 'roll' back out? Or could it be the fact that the 'wok' cooking and the various 'rolls' listed on the menu can just 'stir fry' your senses? Whatever the reason Alwyn Mascarenhas, Asheen Lobo and Joe Dias (AAJ) has conceptualized a dream in which you would want to spend more time that you had bargained for.

Decor/Ambience: 3.5
Start with the venue...God's gift to us humans on this planet. The lush greenery, the lapping water of the Nerul creek, and the stillness of the chirp or buzz of the birds and the bees. If one waxes poetic, just keep in mind that this 'stage perfected' beauty is what AAJ has packaged for you. Enter into a warm cozy place steeped in history…an underground spring where legends abound, and a décor warm and elegant with cushioned cane chairs, a bar well stocked with Joe's trendiest mixes and an open kitchen where chef's silently go about 'stir frying' your senses. No pun on the word, the sheer beauty...even at night the mystical glow of the Candolim church way out in the distance will create its very own magic.

Food: 3.5
The Dream continues... it starts with the menu. Order your drink as you browse into the variety of 'authentic' as well as 'popular' preparations. Want to try the real fizz? Then order the Asahi beer...it is a Japanese beer which has been existence since 1889. AAJ has made note of the fact that the Ancient Babylonians were the first to brew beer, and if the beer was bad they were drowned in it. Here the simple elegance can drown you in its beauty.

But this is not a place for a 'shot' in the dark - talking about the bar 'shot.' It is a place for food. It is also called the 'cooks' paradise...trained by none other than Yu hing. The waiter places a complimentary 'Amuse Bouche' in front of you. Well it looks as though you have to make your own 'paan'. A platter consisting of leaves, fried peanuts, onions, bird's eye chilies, crispy onions, tamarind juice, shaved coconut and lime...not to forget the crunch feel of raw onions. What a bite! And then you are asked to guess the 'leaf'... definitely not 'fig'. keep guessing.

The starters...would rate Honey glazed pot roast pork ribs (Thai) with its ginger plum sauce as first on the list. It is closely followed by the Thai garlic-peppered prawns-deep fried prawns tossed in garlic, black pepper and colorful bell peppers. The other popular favorites are the Vietnamese summer roll (crunchy juliennes of cucumber, carrots, silken tofu and glass noodles served with noac cham sauce. Perhaps the Beef or pork satay – Indonesian style...

For mains one has a choice of curries or stir fry. A 'gung-ho' recommendation would be the Redang curry with beef (Malaysian). That dark brown curry when mixed with rice...a definite Oomph. Although I am more familiar with the Burmese khow suey, the Northern Thailand Khao Soi served here is quite a 'taste tickler' the curried noodles with green chilies served with the assortment of crispy wheat noodles, chilies, garlic flakes, fried fresh onions, lime, sweet soya sauce...thicker than the Burmese variety and quite pleasant to the palate.

Popular favorites like the Sumatra fish curry and the Ceylon spicy red curry also feature on the menu as are the popular Bamee Goreng(Indonesian), and the Char Kway Tiao from Malaysia-the hawker stall favorite flat noodles with seafood.

Plus and Minus
Menu balance is perfect, preparations tasty and well presented with right ‘service’ standards. Although I am not very fond of Far Eastern desserts, the stewed peach with coconut sticky rice (the flavor of anise and cinnamon) a delight to the preparation. The fried ice cream with its caramel topping is another recommendation although they could perhaps tome down the overpowering crumbing of fresh breadcrumbs and increase the cornflake quotient. This place is a vegetarian's delight as AAJ confirms that all curries can be tossed with exotic vegetables too. Again on the minus perhaps attention to small details like the monsoon weather which can play havoc with the crispy wheat noodles in the Thai Khao Soi tends to make them soggy. But try as one might it is very difficult to fault their 'dream.' .Not even fifteen days old Allwyn, Asheen and Joe (AAJ) have got their act together...hope this dream run continues for the years to come.