Food for thought

If you go to a restaurant just for its food, give ChaoBella a shot

For all those who enter multi-cuisine restaurants and spend the first 20 minutes or so debating what kind of
cuisine to order and ultimately end up ordering a mish-mash of everything that doesn't gel well together, ChaoBella could certainly ease you pain a bit.


The ambience is too business-like and not exactly suited for family dining

For one, it limits your choice to just two cuisines -- Italian and Chinese. As people associated with the restaurant pointed out, perhaps rightly, that these are the two cuisines most families order when they go out for lunch or dinner.

Way too formal
But having said that, it's odd that ChaoBella should go for what families would prefer on their evenings out, since the restaurant is located in a hotel which likes to classify itself as a business hotel.

Anyway, the d ufffdcor is pretty business-like, and they have a well-stocked bar which will keep you going through that boring business meeting or client presentation. One minus point though, is that it is too close to the lobby for comfort.

I don't exactly fancy the idea of random visitors walking in and taking a peek at what I am eating, for that matter. What I liked though is that they have actually separated both menus -- the Chinese and the Italian -- rather than mixing up the dishes and putting them all in one single menu card. They have mixed up the name of the restaurant though -- chao is 'hi' in Chinese and bella means 'beautiful girl' in Italian.

I decided to steer clear of confusions (well almost), and tried the Italian menu, after nibbling slightly into some Chinese fare. For instance, there was some seriously yummy shredded duck breast, barley and cabbage broth which I completely enjoyed having. But the flip side of doing a food review is that you almost always have to keep space (in your tummy sillies, not pockets) for the next item on the menu. So it was time to move on.

To dumplings
I tried some steamed chicken glutinous rice dumplings which were good. If you don't get repelled by the taste of banana, you could go for the wafer paper banana prawn roll made of rice paper with a filling of banana and prawns and deep fried. They were okay, but nothing worth dying for. For the main course, I went for some porcini risotto, which was cooked well and some lamb infused with hoi sin sauce and Sichuan oil, again, nicely done and juicy. The smoked chicken and sausage pizza is thin crust, but nothing that will make you forget the regular Pizza Hut.

If you are fond of Chinese unlike me, try the steamed Chilean sea bass with ginger strips and kikkoman soya sauce. For something spicy, go for flaming prawns or Sichuan prawns. Pair it up with Singapore noodles or the Cantonese style Yang Chow fried rice with barbeque chicken, prawns, spring onions and egg.

Delicious desserts
Do not give their desserts a miss. Even if you have gone there on a business lunch/
dinner. The Cassatta Casicilliana with sour cherry compote was delicious. They also have a selection of regional Italian cheese which is worth trying. Also dig in to the nonya red bean kueh pudding. The dessert will make you want to keep going back, like it did to me.u00a0

At: Crowne Plaza Today, Plot No. 1, Community centre, Okhla Phase 1
Timings: 12.30 pm to 3 pm (lunch), 7.30 pm to midnight (dinner)
Ring: 46462000
Meal For two: Rs 3,000 + taxes