Go Panda means baby panda in Japanese. There was a time when there was an immense craze among the Japanese for the Panda especially when China lent its two pandas to the Japanese zoo. It has immense importance in the spiritual philosophy and is a much revered animal as a symbol of abundance and prosperity. The carefree panda is also a symbol of pleasures, caring and compassion. It is a symbol of friendship, fusion, partnerships and bringing cultures together among the Chinese.
The restaurant, Go Panda is a fusion concept which amalgamates different Asia Pac styles with a good dash of Indian to form wholesome meals!! So you have a fusion of Thai and Chinese, or Korean and American, and so on. The outlet is small but they also deliver. But if you are the sort who gets hungry with the idea of food, you will be better off ordering delivery well in advance. Ours came one and half hour after the promised time.
We had ordered starters, sandwiches and meals. For starters we had ordered Chicken Satay (Rs. 200), Barbeque Fish (Rs. 250), Phathimlai Chicken (Rs. 195) and Thai-Chi Chicken spring roll (Rs. 200). The Chicken Satay was easily the most outstanding dish being richly flavoured with soft, succulent flesh roasted to perfection and paired with a spicy peanut sauce. The barbeque fish was however a disappointment as there was nothing remarkable about the flavours. The Phathimlai chicken – chicken tossed in honey garlic tangy sauce – ticked all the boxes for flavour. The Thai Chi chicken spring roll was quite a pleasant surprise as spring rolls tend to get soggy on delivery. However, this was nicely crisp on the outside with delicious chicken and vegetables filling inside.
We had also ordered two sandwiches Sloppy Joe Lamb (Rs. 240) and Vietnamese Smoked Chicken (Rs. 220). Both were pleasantly filling but there was nothing remarkable to talk about.
Our mains consisted of Pot Meals of Stir-fried vegetables with Chicken with Rice (Rs. 250), Honeyed Chilli Chicken Pot Rice (Rs. 220) and Malaysian Korma (Rs. 275). The dishes came in earthenware pots. They need to change their packaging as the honeyed chicken had lost its crispness by the time it reached us, turning it into a gooey mass on rice. The Malaysian Korma was chicken meatballs in gravy. While the concept of bringing in the lesser known Muslim Malaysian cuisine is interesting, this dish failed in execution as it was bland and the meatballs chewy.
We had not ordered desserts as they are only outsourced and not made by the restaurant.
In all, I can say that the Go Panda experience was a mixed bag. It was something like the feeling one would get with the new pencil-box whose magnet didn’t work but the pen that came with it was smooth but the compartments were too flimsy but the sharpener worked well… Ah well ! Mixed bag I told you !
Ratings out of 5
Food: 2.5 | Ambiance: 2 | Service: 2 | Overall: 2.5
Meal for Two without Alcohol: Rs. 1000 Approximately plus taxes| Alcohol: No | Credit Card: Yes|
Timing: 12 noon to 11:30 pm | Wheelchair access : No
Address: Greenville Building, Shop No 7, Near mala Tower, Lokhandwala, Andheri West, Mumbai – 400053.
Telephone : 022 65555499
Disclaimer : This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgment and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review; however readers may exercise their own discretion.
