38 Degree East | Good Pan Asian Cuisine | Food Review | Bloggers Launch Party

38 Degree East is a new entrant on the busy food Mumbai scene, the rationale being cuisine included in the menu here originating within 38 degrees from India, so Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Burmese and yes even Indian dishes provide a plethora of choices for everyone. I like the concept of something for everyone, especially when it comes wrapped in a cool colourful ambiance, very efficient staff, wholesale rate bar, omnipresent party vibe and ofcourse good food. We were here for the launch party bloggers meet and loved our dinner experience. 

We had some lovely mocktails with strong flavors and kickass presentation, absolutely loved Tango Twist with Mango, Orange, Vanilla Ice Cream blended to perfection while Cranberry Delight scored on its presentation in a two faced glass with dry ice creating a mystic effect,it was tangy and I would have liked a stronger cranberry flavor. But one thing is for sure, the bar here is choc a bloc with geniuses whipping up one marvel after another as we saw everyone around us crowding the area till the end :D

Then we moved on to delicious starters, right up front was Wanton Nachos i.e. crispy fried wanton wraps topped with beans in tomato sauce and sichuan sauce; appropriately crunchy and good to share with friends,

The best of the lot and my mom's favorite were Veg Tempura i.e. Jullienes of vegetables dipped in tempura batter and crispy fried, these might look like bhajiyas but the flavors are lovely & a bit exotic in there (and notice the dip alongside, it is extraordinary),

Gamja Jeon was another scrumptious starter, a bit on the oily side, but the generously filled crunchy veggies in the potato tikkis made us reach for more and we actually asked for a second serving :D

We also had Veg Sushi which I thought were a bit too bland (I polished off the plate nonetheless) and I would like it to be an amalgamation of more flavors -such as an acidic punch meeting a crunchy accessory in one bite :)

In main course, we really liked Veg 7 Jewel Rice i.e.fried rice with loads of veggies in spicy sauce, a bit on the oilier side but tasty nonetheless, while Veg Red Thai Curry i.e. in house red curry paste with coconut milk,herbs and spices with steamed rice was absolutely perfect,

Kudos to the staff since they accommodated a special request from my sister who was battling severe cold and provided her with warm and soothing Burmese Soup i.e. shredded vegetables and noodles cooked in creamy coconut soup, a generous bowl full of creamy goodness that made her feel much better afterwards :)

While we were almost full by now, my sweet jaw would not let me leave without trying out some desserts and we tried Pisang Goreng i.e. batter fried cripsy banana fritters topped with honey and served with vanilla ice cream -very innovative, quite good; as well as Gulab Jamun Truffle i.e. gulab jamun with cream rabdi, cake and topped with vanilla ice cream, the presentation was very good, the quantity is enough for 2 people, gulab jamuns were good but cream felt a bit sour-y and ice cream had sort of melted, making it a bit mushy, otherwise it is a good idea :)

A little bit of misses are just always expected when a place is just launched, as are some teething problems, so no major complaints on that front. The staff was doing impeccable service even in the midst of all the chaos and that is truly commendable as is the ease with which the kitchen was operating, we took a look at the menu and prices seem reasonable for the quantity and quality and the place is spread over 3 floors (family dining, bar as well as roof top) so we surely are keeping this on our list of repeat visits!