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Chinese oriental delights

Photo: M. Periasamy

Endless options Though non-vegetarian dishes are a majority, vegetarians have a good choice too

You have to climb a creaky wooden staircase to reach the Ming Ling restaurant. There is soft music playing in the background. The seats are unique and have rounded cushions with oriental inscriptions. A number of Chinese umbrellas hang in the backgro und, lending an oriental feel to the place.

The manager ushers you to the seat and hands you the menu card. The menu is not very long and the dishes are self explanatory. The manager confides that the smaller menu is to ensure that the guests do not get confused over the dishes they want to eat. However, you can also select certain dishes from outside the menu after consulting the waiter.

Coming to the food, the chicken hot and sour soup is a decent starter. It comprises vegetables and well-cooked chicken pieces. As for the starters, the sweet and spicy jumbo prawns are a must try. The prawns are very fresh and taste really good. They are a expensive and are priced at Rs. 350 for a plate, but definitely worth a try. The Shanghai spring rolls available in vegetable, chicken and prawn varieties within the price range of Rs. 110 to Rs. 150 and the fried wantons are also good.

The sweet crispy fried chicken, yet another starter, also manages to leave you tempted for more, with the sweet taste accompanied by a tangy flavouring. Coming to the main course, the prawn noodles, comprising finely cut prawns mixed with vegetables and noodles is quite popular. The freshness of the prawn dishes is indeed a speciality and adds to the taste and flavouring of the entire meal.

The meat fried rice comprising an assortment of prawns, fish, lamb and chicken mixed in fried rice is also quite appetising, both for the good taste and the freshness of the meat dishes. The meat pieces are boiled just right are tender and manage to exude a great deal of the freshness.

Vegetarians need not be left out of this food fest either. Though non-vegetarian dishes are a majority, vegetarian dishes like vegetable balls with a choice of sauces and Szechwan vegetables are also quite good and make a very good combination with vegetable fried rice or chicken. As far as the pricing goes, the seafood and fish dishes are slightly expensive, but the taste and freshness easily make up for it. Sign off this meal with a generous helping of fried vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. This unique dish is indeed superb and infuses an array of flavours even in vanilla ice cream.

The service is quick and the staff helpful, with even the restaurant manager chipping in to provide tips about the dishes. Ming Ling is located at the Sheraton Grand Hotel on Church Street.

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