Special menu by Chef Jia at Mahjong Room of ITC WelcomHotel [4.5/5]

ITC WelcomHotel, one of the premier hospitality institutions in Bengaluru, often hosts special chefs as guests who curate special menus for one of its two in-house restaurants: Jacaranda and Mahjong Room.

Now, I have reviewed Mahjong Room before, and the Chinese food there is really good. So, this time, my expectations were even higher when an actual Chinese chef curated the menu, and I was invited to taste.

The starters

First up, some Congbao Yangrou, aka stir-fried sliced lambs and onions in dark soy sauce. The lamb chunks were thin, and tasted heavenly, thanks to the fresh ingredients that accompanied them.

Next, some Ganguo Xia: crispy fried prawns tossed in Sichuan hot-pot sauce. This one had a layered taste and texture to it. The Sichuan sauce imparted it a tangy-sweet quality, the crispness of the outer coating was crispy as promised, and the prawns were firm yet succulent, with the fresh veggies adding an overall bite to the dish.

The main course

For the main course, I ordered the seafood version of Xingreng Chaofan — almond fried rice. This was fluffy rice tossed around in fragrant oil, paired with diced vegetables and assorted seafood. The biggest takeaway here was that the calamari in it did not smell musty or pungent!

Complementing this was Hunan Daxia: prawns in Hunan sauce. The subtle-yet-playful sauce was a great foil for the fresh prawns and veggies.

About Mahjong Room special menu

It is a pity that I came around to writing this post almost a week after the special menu ended, but it happened due to unavoidable circumstances.

I sincerely ask my readers to keep their eyes peeled for the next time Mahjong Room or Jacaranda decide to showcase more regional cuisine. I will be happy to attend, and so will you!

If you have anything to say about to review, or just want to reach out, right this way, please! We promise to reply in a jiffy!