Mumbai Chopstix

There is a wonderful two-week time span, twice a year, which is known to the natives as Boston Restaurant Week. During this magical time, restaurants all over the city, as well as the surrounding suburbs, offer prix fixe menus at a deeply discounted rate. It gives everyone a chance to sample the tasty treats of a restaurant that you might not normally frequent. This could be a cuisine you've never tried before, or an establishment that would usually be beyond your budget. Either way, it's my favorite time of year! I usually try to cram in as many lunches and dinners as I can, with reservations booked weeks in advance. However, this time around, it kind of snuck up on me and I don't have many reservations lined up at all. Yesterday, we made a last minute plan with a few of my husband's co-workers to try an Indian-Chinese fusion restaurant on Newbury Street, called Mumbai Chopstix.

For our appetizer course, we were allowed to choose two from a list of many delicious options. I decided to go with the Indian Street Cart "Tum Yum" soup and Lachew Cauliflower. The soup is an Indian version of a traditionally Asian soup, which included chickpeas and fried noodles. The spices were fantastic and it was a very comforting sort of soup - something I would eat when I was cold and achy and wanted something to warm my insides. It was perfect for this dreary, rainy evening! I don't normally order things with cauliflower but this just sounded so interesting. These fried cauliflower dumplings are seasoned with chili and garlic and they were very reminiscent of a tempura dish you'd find in any Asian restaurant, but that chili flavor really brought the Indian flair out! Other orders that showed up on our table included Drums of Heaven (pictured below), chili paneer and chili fish.

For our entrees, we had a choice of both a main dish, as well as a side noodle dish. The choice was a tough one, but I decided to go with the Ginger Lamb as well as Chili Garlic Noodles. The lamb was stir-fried with green beans in a Mumbai-style ginger sauce. Again here, the spices were so reminiscent of a traditional Indian meal, yet, the stir-fry style brought home the Chinese influences, and made for such an interesting dish. The noodles reminded me very much of lo mein, which I don't normally order when I go to a Chinese restaurant. However, the spices and flavors coating the noodles made it a much more intriguing dish then I would have expected. Those chilis - they do wonders!

I can't wait to eat my leftovers for lunch tomorrow after my yoga class! :) Now, for dessert! I don't usually make it to dessert when dining out, because I love the meal so much, but dessert is part of the deal so I saved some room. We didn't have a choice here, there was only one option...but I'm not complaining. We each received a martini glass full of a chocolate mousse cake with a date pancake. A few strawberries scattered the mousse and it was all garnished with some whipped cream. The date pancake really added a very ethnic touch to an otherwise mundane dessert, and took the dish to another level. I wish there had been more date pancake and less chocolate mousse...because it was a very nice palate cleanser after a beautifully spiced meal!

All in all, I really enjoyed my meal at Mumbai Chopstix. Every step of the way, I was met with interesting combinations of flavors, and they really made my palate think about what it was tasting. I love a meal that makes me think, and the concept of Indian-Chinese fusion is a fantastic one...two of my favorite cuisines, intertwined! I love it when a plan comes together!