The Casablanca Brunch At O:h Cha

There are a few things that would make me wake up early on a Sunday morning and head ALL THE WAY to Lower Parel for. One of them is the launch of a new menu at O:h Cha, a trendy Thai restaurant. And the other is the fact that a dear friend’s wine brand ‘Casablanca’ was partnering with them for the event!

O:h Cha is a quaint, tasteful restaurant that serves Thai cuisine by blending the old with the new. They are renowned for using fresh ingredients to create an explosion of flavor that delights the palate. One of the things that sets O:h Cha apart is the music... upbeat, happy, and an instant mood lifter. There was also a one man band playing foot tapping jive music on the sax! Ah.. every Goan's delight!

So, have you tried Casablanca yet? It's India's first Prosecco styled sparkling wine, great for light, easy drinking. Complex in taste, it is primarily sweet and acidic, a perfect contrast with spicy Asian food. It's actually a little hard to describe. One would probably have to be a wine connoisseur to find the exact words - I'd call it mystery and romance bottled up!

So this special brunch was whipped up by none other than Chef Rakesh Talwar. Few would have heard of him, but everyone would have heard of, if not eaten at one of his many restaurants in Mumbai and abroad. Here are some names that I'm sure you will recognize: Spare Kitchen (Juhu), Wok this way (Bandra), Cafe Cubano (Vile Parle), Boomerang Bistro and The Rolling Pin (Malaysia) .

                     

Who pays attention to complimentary appetizers? No one. However, I have to mention the Krob Keam (Sweat and Salty Wantons) were A-D-D-I-C-T-I-V-E! I could have snacked on these alone. C'mon.. who doesn't love deep fried salty-sweet goodness?

So, honestly, I don’t know where to begin telling you guys about the food. The menu was exhaustive and had something for everyone...literally! After tasting the 12 starters, picking even my top 3 faves was no piece of cake.

Vegetarian starters included Asian Mushroom Vol – au-vent, Veg Chive Dumplings and Veg Gyoza. I wasn't too pleased with the Sweet Corn Patty. Although it looked great, it had too much batter and barely any corn in it. The Stir Fried Tofu in Sriracha (below) was light, creamy and it looked visually attractive as well.

The non vegetarian starter menu had Chicken Satay, Stir Fried Chicken Black Pepper and Fried Lemon Grass Chicken. The Holy Basil Chicken Bruschetta (below) was decent.

If I had to pick my favorite starter, I would choose the Prawn Chive Dumplings. They were soft, succulent and beautifully steamed. Fried Turnip Cakes was another fabulous dish comprising of thinly sliced squares of Turnip that were fried and garnished with dry spiced garlic mixture. Perfect for a rainy day!

Soups and salads came next! Being so stuffed with all the starters, I actually skipped soups. Needed some room for dessert, you see!

Plan ahead... always plan ahead!

The menu had Burnt Garlic and Basil Soup and Tom Yum Kai, while salads included Som Tom and Kimchi. Som Tom is made of raw papaya, carrots and peanuts and was pretty spicy! But it paired well with Jasmine Rice. A dish I really disliked was the Thai Green Vegetable curry. It was watery, bland and kind of weird. Would have been much better if the coconut gravy was thicker! I really enjoyed the Steamed Dory Lemon Chilli Garlic (below). The melt-in-your-mouth fish vanishes in seconds, leaving a tart lemon aftertaste.

Call me strange, but I love beans. These French Chilli beans were really juicy but a little too oily for my liking.

I've read about Pad Kra Prow Kai. It's apparently sold everywhere in Thailand and is a popular street food dish made with minced chicken and basil. This stir fried dish was my favorite main on the menu. It was delicious!

Coming to the best part! There were two desserts that were out of this world! These cute little Tub Tim Krobe shots. It was made with coconut milk with a piece of Jackfruit inside. Notice those little red rubies? That's water chestnut covered with Tapioca flour and cooked until sticky. The texture, flavour and aroma is indescribably yummy!

Take a look at the Orange, Lemon Grass and Honey Sorbet. It was refreshing, light, and overall the perfect dessert for a hot, summer day. I'm not a fan of fruity desserts... I like rich indulgent chocolate more. Sadly, the Gooey Chocolate Mousse Cake was a let-down. It was much too dense.

Home-made sticky rice and mango ice cream seemed interesting on the menu. Although it had a strong taste of mango, the rice was really, really sticky.

Last but not least, the Lemon Grass Creme Brulee! Oh my goodness... that was divine! But as you can imagine, after eating all this food I had no space left and only ate a spoonful. How I regret not eating the whole thing now!!

The service at O;h Cha needs a lot of work. Although the staff was polite and eager to please, they were terribly slow. Starters were served for almost two hours, and by then one can't really relish the main course as much as one would have liked to.

That wraps up the Casablanca Sunday Brunch. It's on for the next 3 months @ Rs. 2,000/- per person. There's unlimited food, glasses of beautiful bubbly and it's a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Cheers!