Gourmet Day 2.0 Sichuan House WowTables Experience

Exactly 10 days ago, I had talked about WowTables  and the unique contest they had where they were giving away 150 complimentary tables for the biggest fine dining event of the year. Honestly, I was just keeping my fingers crossed without any expectations because I have often found that high expectations lead to higher disappointments and seems like my nonchalant - ment was rewarded when 2 days ago,I received an email from WowTables with these words- ''It gives us great pleasure to bring to your attention that you have won the Sichuan House WowTable experience in Mumbai at 8 PM on Gourmet Day (15th April) for 2 guests...All you have to do is make a reservation for your selected experience - Sichuan House and Voila! Your WowTable will be waiting for you. Please mention "Gourmet Day" in your special request option while submitting the reservation. So sit back, relax and enjoy your dinner - because you've earned it."

Now you can just imagine the bliss a hardcore foodie like me can feel on getting a news like this :D After much shrieking and dancing and making sure that my sister keeps herself free on 15th April (she was my guest!),my dreams of finding foodie heaven at Sichuan House started. And the real experience was no less than heaven indeed :)

Sichuan House is situated on the ground floor of the gigantic Phoenix Marketcity Mall in Kurla. Once upon a time, people would look down upon dining places situated inside a mall. Even today, food courts in malls are not considered very 'dine-worthy'. However, things are changing fast since a lot of us spend quite a lot of time in the malls nowadays and even award winning dining places like Mainland China, Indigo Deli, Punjab Grill are now expanding majorly in malls everywhere,thanks be to God and all the angels of food since foodies like me can proudly walk into a mall and make a beeline for some really great food at really great places. Sichuan House is definitely one of those. Lesson of the day-don't discount a diner just because it is situated inside a mall! In fact,some of the best ones nowadays are! :D

So, sharp at 8 PM, my sister and I walked in to the serene and elegant Sichuan House at Kurla. Very distinctive oriental design theme, very soothing color combination (with just a hint of heat with prominent red), pleasing decor and smiling,soft spoken staff. Wonderful start to a beautiful evening ahead. WowTables has a set menu so my sister and I chose our soups, starters, main course and desserts and then called for 2 drinks on the side. Service was exemplary. Our courses came in without missing a beat and the staff worked like superheroes to clear the plates after each course without hovering around. We loved the service.

Food was fantastic. Nothing extra-fancy, none of those theatrics that are nowadays gaining momentum, no smokey dishes, no imported caviar-meets-gold-foil-meets-shark-fin-souffle yada yada, just good,satisfying,fresh,flavorful Asian food :) Best part was that my sister loves spicy stuff and I am more of sweet lover and we both had a choice of dishes for our exact tastes.

So we started with soups where Sweet Corn won my heart while Hot & Sour made my sister swoon. I never ever order soup anywhere because more often than not,it feels starchy or artificial flavored or lumpy. None of that here! Sweet Corn had that perfect sweetness of corn with crunchiness of carrots and other veggies. Hot & Sour was enhanced with shredded tofu and mushrooms, the softness enhancing the kick of heat in every spoonful. We could have died after having the soups alone and reached heaven directly :D 

Starters meant Spring Rolls and Golden Corn + Water Chestnut Dumplings. I liked Spring Rolls, I wanted more! There were just 3 pieces and it was so good I wanted at least 3 more :P That is my only complaint. Same for the Dimsums. They were so fresh, crunchy, crackling, sparkling and tasty, my sister needed more than just 3 to go Wowwwwwww :P So tasty, got over so soon!

Main course came in like a hurricane, in the best way possible :D We chose Chilli Garlic Noodles with Exotic Veggies in Basil & Parsley PLUS Thai style Asparagus & Mushrooms. Again, the exotic veggies came in just the way I love my food (which a lot of people would say 'being on the bland side') and the Thai style Asparagus & Mushrooms were full of the heat kick that my sister & mom love! Win-win situation all around. I loved how the veggies were so full-bodied,their flavor was absolutely not subdued by the sauces or spices. Food here is pretty authentic-I mean, I have not been to China myself-but having had Chinese & Asian food at quite a few places, I can definitely discern how heavily Indianized Chinese is being presented anywhere. And at Sichuan House, proud to say that they have not sacrificed authenticity at the altar of taste! They do not douse their veggies and noodles in so much sauce that no original taste or flavor of the dish is preserved. And everything is fresh. It completely embodies the meaning of 'ate so much that stomach is full but heart is still hungry' :D By the end of the main course, we both were stuffed but we still wanted more. I think this is where the real victory of a good dining place is :) 

And thanks to my sister who made sure that we got 2 drinks on the side - The General (Mango+Lychee+Geraldine) and Ginger Punch (Ginger+Pineapple) because they saved my life in the time between finishing those fiery Chilli Garlic Noodles and the arrival of desserts :D I am not a lover of spicy stuff but I just couldn't stop eating those noodles and then ofcourse,came the lava of fiery kick :D

For the desserts, we had Litchi & Date Wontons PLUS Honey Sesame Noodles with Ice Cream. Both were great,just the way they are supposed to taste. I would have liked a bit more honey but that is only because I have such a sweet jaw :D For any normal person,this would be the perfect dessert to end such an amazing meal with. It is light,crunchy, sweet yet not too much. Oh and portions of every dish are fantastic. I am a heavy eater and so is my sister and we were stuffed to the brim. Our mom is a light eater. She would have to pack at least half of every main course and dessert dish :D So this is real gourmet experience at very reasonable prices (Yes,I got it for free,but I will be back on my own soon!)

Best thing about WowTables as I have mentioned earlier too, is- they do all the hard work. They choose the best places, the best dishes, set up a meal, make it affordable. All we need to do is choose an experience and just book it and sit back,relax,enjoy. I have already enjoyed 2 gorgeous gourmet meals with them and am looking forward to many more in days to come. I think foodies of the world must bookmark WowTables as their go-to destination for good food :)

Do check out WowTables because if you are a foodie,you simply cannot miss it. And yes, do visit Sichuan House too as myself and my sister are recommending it whole-heartedly. Our evening was full of perfect notes whether it be food itself, the ambiance or the service. Here is looking forward to many more such gourmet experiences!