Sunday Brunch - China 1

Hey everyone

Hope you all had a great Friendship Day/ International Beer Day.

So finally after missing all the planned brunches for the past few sundays, I woke up on time last Sunday and managed to make it on time for brunch. Though renaissance was the actual plan, but we couldn't make it there. Hopefully that visit shall happen soon. So I started looking up the internet for options for a Sunday brunch and after much pondering short listed The Little Door and China 1. But finally made up our mind and went to The Little Door.

We reached The Little door but much to our surprise the place was quite empty and when we saw their menu for the sunday brunch  we knew why. They give you an option to choose just 1 hot breakfast item and 1 main course for Rs. 700 and then you need to add another Rs. 600 for drinks. I don't know somehow that idea did not quite appeal to me. When I talk about a brunch, I need lots of food. LOTS. Don't want to be limited to just one or two things.

So yes we left that place and decided to go to China 1 which thankfully wasn't too far from The Little Door.

So we reached China 1 around 2ish and luckily got seated right away. The place was quite packed otherwise with families enjoying their Sunday and quite a few birthday treats happening. We were quite impressed with the contemporary interior work at China 1. It was quite different from the typical cliché Chinese restaurant interiors. It also is quite spacious, so inspite of it being crowded it wasn't cramped up. Though it was a little too noisy.

                              Taken this photo off the internet just to show you what the place looked like



Coming to the brunch. The waiters initially came to inform us that the soup and starters would be served on the table and asked us what would we like for our 1 complimentary drink. I ordered for a peach ice tea, which was quite refreshing.

Then came in the soup, which was chicken coriander soup. It was aromatic and flavourful. The tiny coriander leaves enhanced the flavor. After which came in almost 8 types of starters they served us 6 non veg starters and Paneer in Chilly Flakes and a Veg Puff. In Non Veg there was Cashew nut Chicken, Fish Fingers, Fish in Chilly flakes, Stuffed Crab, Chicken Dimsum, Chicken Satay and another dish which am not very sure what its called but was similar to a Dimsum.

                                                        Chicken Coriander Soup

Cashew Nut Chicken 

Chicken Dimsums

                                                 
                                                              Stuffed Crab

                                                             Chicken Satay

The Dimsum look alike. 

I absolutely loved the fish in chilly flakes, it was tender and had just the right amount of spice in it. Even the Paneer in chilly flakes was similar, just that it was Paneer ofcourse. Was rather suprirsed to have a veg puff at a Chinese brunch, but it tasted quite good, seemed like it was fresh out of a bakery. The Cashew nut Chicken was a little too sweet. The fish fingers were good, though I was hoping for a tartar sauce to compliment it. The chicken satay with peanut sauce was mouth watering, I think its one of the best Chicken Satays I have had in Mumbai. The stuffed crab and the Dimsum's were very mediocre and could have been better. And the other dish that was similar to the Dimsum was horrible and could be given to someone you are not very fond of.

Finally moving on to the main course, there was a lavish spread of two types of noodles, rice and salad (Veg and Non Veg) and 3 types of chicken i.e Kung Pao Chicken, Shredded home made chicken and grilled chicken in soya. I tried all three, the Kung Pao Chicken and Shredded Chicken were delicious. But the Soya Chicken was horrid, there was more soya, less chicken. Then there were prawns that I tried, it was good but not the best I have had, it was slightly sweet. There was also Lamb, Crab and Lobster gravy but I dint try it since I was already quite stuffed and had a tad bit space left which I reserved for dessert. Though my friends who tried it had good things to say about it. I tried the coriander flavored chicken noodles which was spicy and tasty just that way I like it and also tried the burnt chicken garlic fried rice which was decent. The chicken salad was in white dressing and was fresh so it worked for me.

                                           Just a glimpse of what the buffet looked like 



And now my favourite part, the desserts. There was a huge counter which displayed fruits, fruit custard, caramel custard, blue berry cheese cake, mango pastry, strawberry pastry, strawberry mousse and chocolate/white chocolate cake which could be dipped in their chocolate fountain. And lots of Ice Cream too. So yes I was super excited to try whatever I could and managed to try most of it but before I get to anything else let me tell you all that the blue berry cheesecake was out of this world, I had two in my plate and went back for more in spite of being so full. I would give the mango pastry and fruit custard a miss, since it was very average. The strawberry pastry and mousse were quite nice. And I think a cake in chocolate fountain just cant go wrong, though it did not look as gorgeous as a chocolate fountain usually does but tasted delicious. Did not try the Ice Cream however.

Strawberry Pastry/ Blue Berry Cheesecake / Mango Cake 

Caramel Custard and Fruit Custard 

                                                     The Chocolate Fountain 




The sunday brunch is priced at Rs. 598 / person, which is affordable and totally worth it.

Overall quite a good brunch at China 1, I would rate it a 3.5/5.

China 1 is located at G-05, Morya Landmark 1, Off Link Road, Andheri West, Mumbai
Contact number - 022 30932030 ext:128