Mainland China | Andheri West — Restaurant in Mumbai

Mainland China may as well change their name to Mainland Oshiwara after the abysmal experiences and nightmarish concoctions they are serving their poor customers in the name of "speciality dining."

Actually, they are right in a way - Their food is "Especially Terrible." So I guess it is "especiale dining," in a way.

I went to the Andheri West outlet because it was my birthday and I wanted my loved ones to spend some $$$ on me, so I INSISTED that we eat the lunch buffet in Mainland China.

It has been a few years since I've been to this particular outlet, and man has this place aged badly.

For starters, lets get to environment -

The fun begins at the entry gate itself, where the guards of the housing society where this restaurant is located, try and scam you for parking money. Mainland China has their own VALET parking in front of their restaurant, but they have not bothered to advertise this fact at the entry gate. So the housing society guards gherao you at the very gate itself, and offer to let you park your car in the society premises for a "small" fee of Rs. 200. I wasn't dumb enough to fall for that, but I did tell the manager that they need to protect their customers from this parking scam.

The furniture needs a desperate change of upholstery and a coat of varnish like a baby needs a change of diapers. The place is in a mess. The wooden furniture is badly scratched, stained and rickety and the plaster and paint is peeling off the walls. The restaurant interior looks like a dump. Or rather, it looks like someone took a giant dump inside the restaurant and neglected to flush it down the toilet after they were finished (PICS ATTACHED)

I'd gone for a lunch buffet on a weekday. The place was packed with people, which made me wonder that peeps in Mumbai truly have more money than brains. Granted, I was also part of that demographic when I was there, but atleast I don't commit the same mistake twice, which makes me a bit less dumb. Between the flocks of kitty partying aunties and packs of middle aged execs with a gordon gekko complex, there was enough noise in the restaurant to rival that of an airport runway...and I'm talking the International Airport here.

Now lets get to the slop they serve in the name of "chanese" food -

The street chowmin wallah is better value for money. Not because his food is any better than Mainland China's, but simply because it atleast costs lesser. This should tell you all that you need to know, but if you wish to waste more of your time, you can read more below.

I had gone for the buffet, and what generally happens is that there is a wide selection of dishes that customers can pick and choose their food from. Well, in the case of this restaurant, all we had to select from was a vast selection of empty dishes. Especially the vegetarian ones. After waiting almost 15 minutes for the staff to refill the empty vessels, I had to go and request the manager to bring more food, following which they finally brought a few dishes to replenish the empty ones. (PICS ATTACHED)

When restaurants do well, they usually up their game and see how they can make their dishes tastier and more unique, but Mainland China has a more innovative, and far lazier approach to this - They just start deep frying and coating everything with the same damn ingredients, giving every dish a flavour which can only be described as "Generic chinese flavoured food, as interpreted by lazy desi chefs." If you ate one item off the menu here, you will have tasted every single one of them, believe me.

And finally, I'll get to the "Fresh Lime Soda" - They need to call it "Mostly Flat Soda With A Few Drops of Lemon and a LOT of Sugar." I had only one sip, and I would have spat that back into the glass, if I had thought of spitting it out, before I swallowed it. (PICS ATTACHED)

The only saving grace about the entire experience was that the staff is polite and courteous. I'll give them an 7/10. Deducting 3 points for their old, frayed uniforms, which went superbly with the old,...

Mainland China a legendary place almost for 30 years has now revamped the food and beverage menu that complements the new age and gen-z crowd too.

This outlet is quite great located, standalone with great parking space. Also reachable by public transport, just 2 mins away from Lower Oshiwara metro station.

The ambiance is so elegant for fine dining vibe. One can't resist complementing their work on everything right from ceiling, seats, bar, walls, partition and even the waiting area. Pretty good option for a romantic date.

Special mention for the new bar menu that's quite impressive. The signature cocktails are curated by famous mixologist from London. Drinks kept matching the oriental cuisine centered. We tried two drinks and were highly impressed.

1. Thai Vacay - A vodka and coconut rum based drink that's packed with flavours. Basil, mint, lemongrass hitting with each sip makes this a flavourful affair.

2. Blooming Tea Sprtizer - This drink is an artwork as the gin is infused with Jasmine. Elder flower cordial makes it more floral flavours packed. Adding a little sparkling wine to it makes it more flavorful. However the main attribute is the blooming tea, that keeps blooming and imparting the earthy flavours. Very impressive drink and my favorite on menu.

Let's talk about food : Always a great experience with food so would never go wrong with it.

1. Soup : Shangsi Crab Meat What a spectacular soup it is! Most juiciest and sweet crab meat with little spices giving the flavours so perfect. Must order and its not even heavy.

2. Dimsums : Pearly Crab Dumpling

This one is most most favorite on menu now. The juicy and sweet crab meat complementing the soy broth very subtly.

3. Crispy Prawn Cheung Fun : This one is very delicious option. The rice paper rolls with crispy prawns and that soy broth drenched smooth goodness makes it a different experience.

4. Sichuan Peppercorn Numbing Chicken : This is a famous spicy Chicken recipe also known as Chengdu chicken or Chongqing chicken. Loaded with sichuan chillies, salted chicken pieces and peppers and peanuts. This one is spicy and make sure you dont eat the chillies.

Main course : We chose the best dishes recommended by server Ratnesh as he did best job earlier.

1. Cantonese King Prawn Blackpepper sauce : Lovely spicy and flavorful sauce and those huge sized prawns were absolutely delicious. A total delight if paired with nice fried rice.

We had this with super flavorful Chilli XO seafood Jasmine rice which paired very well with the curry. This rice had nice prawns pieces and fish pieces.

Dessert: It was confusion to choose the show stopper but then we were recommended Berry Forest by Ratnesh.

Its the most beautifully presented Dessert I feel. A bowl full of cake crumb and berries and a scoop of berry ice cream and a chocolate stick holding the luscious Candy Floss the entire beautiful plated dessert is brought with a plate of dry ice giving smokes all over.

As always the food, service and ambiance has been the best. Best fine dine in Mumbai. Pricing wise its still not that bomb I feel. Definitely visiting again for more cocktails and...

Dinner Experience @ Mainland China, Andheri West was decent.

Mainland China is an authentic Chinese Restaurant located opposite Infinity Mall, Andheri West.

Few Things before visiting Mainland China Serves Authentic Chinese Food Only Extensive Bar Menu Available Zomato Gold Food 1+1 applicable Valet Parking available, which is a bonus. A/c is pretty strong so Dress up accordingly. They do provide a shawl on request but not for all. Sichuan sauce is prepared by the chef in house & it’s yummy . Do ask for it. Staff sings Happy Birthday Song live which is a pleasant surprise. Pre- Table booking allowed over the phone or via Zomato app.

Details :- Mainland China is well lit up, decor is done up pretty well, table seating area is huge & decently spaced out. They provide a la cart & buffet options. For buffet enquire in advance. A/c is powerful & they do provide shawls but it’s advisable to dress up accordingly or bring your shawls with you for this restaurant. They adjusted the temperature for us on request which made it pleasant. Food Serve Time :- Slow ( Speed it up ) Food Hot / Cold :- Served Hot Staff :- Polite & Friendly Quality & Quantity :- I prefer the large portions compared to the regular ones. VFM :- Rs 3430 /- after getting 2 dishes complimentary using zomato gold (Actual bill was around 4300/- for 4 of us) ( 2 alcoholic drinks, 2 non alcoholic drink, 1 soup, 2 starters, 1 noodles, 1 main & 1 rice ) Zomato Gold makes it reasonable otherwise it’s a touch expensive.

Our Veg Order :- SOUP Hot n Sour :- Tasty . Authentic restaurants always make their dishes tastier using less oil, spices, sauces. A must order 👍

APPETISERS Crispy Chilli Potatoes (Large) - Potatoes cut into long thin slices & fried with chilli sauce. They are crisp, medium spicy & tasty 😋

Quick Tossed Babycorn in smoky BBQ sauce (Regular) - Baby corn mixed in smoky bbq sauce. Crisp , mild & tasty.

NOODLES Wok Tossed Hakka Noodles in Sichuan sauce - Dishes served here are authentic hence the noodles are thinner & less spicy in texture & flavour than your regular Chinese outlets.

MAIN COURSE Exotic Veggies in Chilli Basil Sauce - & Burnt Garlic Rice :- Veggies & chilli basil sauce combo blended perfectly & the sauce is mild thus blending well with burnt garlic rice which had the strong aroma of garlic.

DRINKS Mint Storm Glass :- Strong aroma of mint when you sip in , filled with lime, pudina leaves & lemonade. Refreshing but please put less ice. Decent overall

Orangepiroksha Glass :- Drink lacked flavour & the ice was just too much. Let down 👎

Being an authentic Chinese restaurant the chef makes the dishes with less oil,sauces, spices etc . The food is less oily, milder & has an authentic taste which is a nice , refreshing change ( compared to the usual Indian Chinese food you have which is more oily, spicy, chatpata @ regular restaurants)

Overall Food Experience was good but the Non alcoholic orange drink was a let down The service is slow & needs to pick up pace. With Zomato gold (food offer)place is priced ok otherwise...