Appetizers rule the show

The exit from Rajiv Chowk towards B Block in Connaught Place leads you to the little known Bonsai - the multi-cuisine restaurant in The Chorus Hotel. Metrolife’s food team stopped by here to have its bite and give you its candid opinion.

The open lounge outside is a treat for the eyes but soaring temperatures drives all the patrons inside, unless of course you prefer a hookah in this heat, which will not be served to you inside the premises.

The place is not exciting but the menu does seem pro­m­ising. Begin with a smoothie or mocktail to tickle your taste buds. The Melon Delight is a perfect choice with its interesting combination of melon and vanilla. This cooler is thick and just right to begin a meal. But Simply Red with oranges, pineapple and lemon is too sweet even for sweet lovers.

Move on to the starters as they are the most interesting lot in the menu, with a wide variety ranging from Thai, Chinese to Oriental and Continental dishes. The Thai Veg Platter which has fresh vegetables with cocktail dressing has interesting flavours with broccoli, baby corns, mushrooms and others well cooked in Thai spices.

Equally crisp and more delectable are fried Philadelphia Cheese Wontons which is cheese and fresh chilly stuffed in wonton and deep fried. It does look more like a corn pakoda served with garlic sauce but is distinct in taste. The real treat is the deep-fried Wasabi flavour prawns which are tossed with Wasabi Ma and are rich in garlic. There are more options such as tandoori and continental starters.

The Bruchetta base lacked sufficient tossing to make it crisp and topping was not as cheesy as the description on the menu had promised. But a must try is the Pasta Salad which has appropriately cooked fusilli with tasty cocktail dressing. The paste is neither soggy nor raw and cooked to perfection.

This was the end of the good part as the main course didn’t live upto the promise of the starters. While the course offered a large choice of dishes which were served well with interesting garnishes, their taste was bland.

Be it the Pad Thai noodles or Paneer Lababdar, Slice Lamb in Bijin Sauce or Goan Fish Curry, all were cooked well but weren’t ‘tasty.’  

The only praiseworthy item was the Garlic Naan which was really soft and
delicious. The final course of desserts raised few hopes with the well presented Walnut Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream. It did taste really good with the softness of gooey chocolate melting in the mouth couple with the solid crunch of walnuts. However, the Date Pancake with Apple Sauce and Honey shattered our rising hopes.