Loco Chino | Peddar Road | Mumbai| Food Review | Restaurant Review

Having been to Loco Chino outlets at Fort and Carter Road and genuinely enjoyed their scrumptious fare, varied choices, value for money price points and exceedingly warm service, it was thus an evening with high expectations when I landed at Loco Chino Peddar Road outlet with my mom and sister for sampling some of their dishes from the newly launched menu. This means even more choices but thankfully still at very value for money price points. Meal for 4 hungry souls would still be within Rs. 1500 :) Cool! 

The ambiance is standard Loco Chino fare, vibrance and colors intact. They could probably do a paint job and spruce up the place a bit more. It is not as spacious as the Fort outlet and feels a bit cramped but the majority of orders here are for takeaways or home delivery, so dine - in might be pretty rare. We saw plenty of singletons walk in, nosh on some nachos or soup while waiting for someone, or take away Wok or Nachos on their way home, which was a good sight. Seating is decent with basic chairs and table with funky artistic tops. Staff is again extremely polite, helpful and efficient just like at other Loco Chino outlets. I just told them to bring in all the new dishes from the menu and they got that at proper intervals, our plates were cleaned promptly, dishes were suggested according to our preferences, they checked up on whether the dishes met our mark of approval without being intrusive and overall gave a wonderful service. 

We started with Peach and Lemongrass Iced Tea both of which were sublime and delicious. Lemongrass Iced Tea actually felt like a relaxing day at some Thai spa! It just had the flavour bang on :) Both of them weren’t too sweet either, perfect for instant refreshment. I would have liked more full bodied peach flavour though,it was very mild. 

Dimsums were the perfect way to start our culinary escapade. I love the Dimsums here, they are crunchy, filling and full of flavours. The latest additions are full bodied Spicy Pumpkin Cheese, delicate & delicious Wasabi Vegetable (acquired taste!) and very crunchy (my favourite) Waterchestnut & Lotus Root. I suggest do not miss the Dimsums here. They are awesome,even if not technically absolutely authentic! 

From the starters section, we chose Salt & Pepper Vegetables, a hearty portion of crunchy Waterchestnuts stir fried with fresh Bell Peppers, Onions, Tomatoes, Spring Onions in mild salt & pepper flavour combo. For those who love their Chinese cuisine not overly Indianized :) For those who do, go for Wok Tossed String Beans that my mom loved with the hearty dose of Soya sauce which gave it such a wonderful flavour! 

Cottage Cheese Corn Carne Quesadilla tempted us next and the mix of Paneer with corn, cheese, beans within these delicious wraps was indeed worth relishing. I find all the Mexican dishes have a burst of flavours with the help of fresh vegetables. I have never had authentic Mexican food but this is pretty good for my & my family’s taste buds and I am actually going to search for something similar when I finally visit Mexico :D I must tell you that this is very much like a fresh salad burst, I know there are people who might think this is not standard restaurant fare but well,I like it!

Next up was Mexican Veg Sauteed Chipotle Pizza which was unique and again delicious. Nacho chips with cheese, corn, chipotle sauce, loads of veggies sandwiched between them and a big dip of sour cream plus guacamole. Loved it. Again, a very typical rustic taste of fresh veggies and sauce, as if I am sitting in someone’s home and having home cooked food! It helped that the songs being played in the background also seemed as if they had been captured at some traditional Mexican wedding :) 

We finished our hearty meal with 2 dishes we already had and loved before –Thai Green Curry with Rice and Cottage Cheese Wok with various veggies (Zucchini, Bell Peppers etc.) in Sweet & Sour Sauce. Thai Green Curry was perfectly creamy, rich, fragrant while Wok reminded us of the best American Chopsuey we had eaten when we were kids! Such generous portions too! I just wish that the Cottage Cheese was a bit softer, I really love the melt-in-mouth version,but in any case this is one of the best Wok places. 

We were completely stuffed by now and are already making plans to come back since there are dishes like Burrito, Tostada and Chocolate Nachos still left for us to taste! Looking at the quality of all the dishes we have had so far, along with all the other factors of ambiance, service etc. we are sure we are going to have many more wonderful trips to Loco Chino :)