Asian tapas at Foo Mumbai – Fee fi FOO YUM!

Asian tapas – Small plates haven

Haven’t you sampled so many starters at a meal that you landed straight on desserts, skipping the mains entirely? Foo Mumbai, the latest endeavour from the Tham brothers strikes the right cord with its Asian tapas offerings. The Tham family have a deep connect to all things Asian, with the erstwhile Henry Tham, Mandarin, Kamling and the more recent Koko, buzzing in Kamala mills.

Tham advantage – best of both worlds

Foo Mumbai, even though located within a 2 km radius of Koko, is able to leverage the high mall-based thoroughfare at Phoenix mills, probably the reason why tables are so difficult to get here! No marketing led start-up gimmick of empty tables within but a full-up sign without – this place is genuinely packed all the time. The décor has been cleverly designed to overcome the disadvantage of having practically zero access to natural light. Clever lighting gives Foo a mellow lounge feel aided by the wine, cream and gray color scheme with natural wood accents. The Tham advantage of creating just the right balance between Food and Drinks is brought to bear here as well, with a large well stocked bar being the center of attraction.

Soup over salad

Asian tapas means you are spoilt for choice as far as starters go with limited options for mains (or big plates as Foo terms them). We  started the ball rolling right away with the slow cooked lamb soup and the pomelo duck salad. The soup had a depth of flavour replete with bone broth goodness but the salad did not make the cut. The citrus hit was missing due to the miserly scattering of pomelo in the salad. The duck dominated the salad making it a single trick pony (duck).

Dumplings of all shapes and sizes (and flavours)!

Next up were the wasabi truffle edamame dumplings. Texturally all there but a bit of a war going on between 2 dominating flavours. Ghoda-chattur, Ghoda-chattur if you get the Padosan reference. I prefer the Yauatcha version, not being that much of a wasabi lover (my shameful secret is out). The truffle chicken and prawn sui mai more than made amends for the earlier minor transgression. Steaming hot, thin-skinned with spot-on flavours. Ditto and likewise for the prawn hargau.

Nikkei food – experience it here!

Foo Mumbai gives diners a chance to sample Nikkei food – a novel fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine. Fresh seafood is at the heart of both – ceviche and sashimi, with citrus elements from lime or ponzu. The Peruvian version brings in a chilly hit which is better suited to the Indian palate. The Yellow tail sashimi was incredible with a hint of orange ponzu and jalapeno salsa – possibly one of the star dishes on the menu. The lobster tempura sushi and the salmon uramaki are so good! The thought of having found a good sushi place close-by puts me in a state of bliss. And I float gently though the rest of the meal secure in the thought of the sushi (and sashimi) goodness on tap.

My ‘go-to’ dish

Next up, the show-stealer for the night – the wafu corn on the cob in lime butter. Such a simple dish! I couldn’t get enough of the tender corn drowned in butter, with a hint of lime. My go-to dish here which I will order every single time.

Meaty matters

Asian tapas philosophy is about trying many things in small portions. The 2 small plates we had next wrapped-up the night’s dinner. The well-flavoured and tender Sichuan lamb was  polished off in a jiffy. The ‘too mild for the spice loving husband’ Chilly chicken did not make the cut.

Wrap with the cheesecake

Do not miss the black marble sesame cheesecake – artistic to look at and sheer poetry on the palate. Do not pass-over this creamy, dreamy treat for the chocolate loaded sweet stuff.

Happiness and Prosperity

The lunch bentos are an interesting quick, executive lunch option that needs repeated experimentation. So we will definitely be back to sample the Foo food repeatedly! Foo means happiness or prosperity and definitely the food delivers on both counts.  Happiness when someone get the flavour-taste balance right and a ‘prosperous’ middle that comes from eating it!