Side Wok, Connaught Place, New Delhi

[Rated: 4/5]

In our quest to find the hidden and new treasures (Read: Restaurants), Sumeet & I tried the new East Asian restaurant, Side Wok, at Connaught Place. I must admit this is one of our decent finds in the recent time.

The interiors are nicely done in oriental style with deep red and deep blue chairs on the first floor. Though the large Buddha statues are reminiscent of Shiros at Samrat Hotel, but Side Wok has its own unique charm. The second floor is even better and has both covered seating done in resto-pub style and open area offering an excellent view of central Delhi. Side Wok which looked modest-sized from outside has seating capacity of almost 100 guests including a private dining room. They have researched their food and drinks well and offers one of the largest collections of wine for a restaurant in its class.

I can be a big snob when it comes to food and service. But I didn’t find much to complain other than the complementary served Kimchi, which was under-fermented, and the service delivery time which was a tad longer. Since I was sitting on the terrace floor and Kitchen is on the first floor, I can understand the slow delivery. Service otherwise was friendly and non-intrusive.

The excellent prepared dim sum were as authentic as it could get, and included Pakchoy rice flour dumpling (255; stuffed with Pakchoy, water chestnut & black mushroom), and Harkao (295; steamed prawn rice flour dumpling). Our starters, The Crispy fish Piquant sauce (375) and the Stir fried mint lamb (275) were soft, juicy & flavorful.  In the main course slow fried prawns (475) and Mix Veg in black bean sauce (235) were a delight. The flavors from spices helped us appreciate the taste of main ingredient rather than camouflaging them. Another point going in restaurant’s favor was they did not mellow down the hotness of original recipe to suit the taste of tourists. The Veg Hakka Noodles (155) could be eaten on its own without any main dish. After a great meal, the desserts, Blue Berry Cheese Cake (145) and the Caramel Custard (125) acted like an icing on the cake.

We friends met after a long time, and the ambiance, food and service all came along to create moments that we shall long remember. We are definitely going back and suggest you try it too.

Meal for Two: Rs1800 | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes|
Address: 21/90, Outer Circle Connaught Place (Near McDonald), New Delhi | Phone: 011-43509122/ 33

– Pawan Soni