Restaurant Name: Pink Wasabi, Juhu, Mumbai
Phone: +919769999918
Address: G1, Plot 31, Eden Square Building, JVPD Scheme, NS Road 10, Vile Parle West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400049 India
Time: 12 Noon – 12:00 midnight
Meals for two: Rs. 1,750
Cuisines: Thai, Chinese, Asian
Facilities: Home Delivery, Takeaway Available, Indoor Seating, Romantic Dining
Move over themed restaurants! Here comes the biggie… the one which is crackingly up-to-date and keeps up with the times. And how! Whaddya know! This new Asian bistro Pink Wasabi actually boasts of being Mumbai’s most Instagrammable restaurant. and rightfully so! Not only is the decor Instagrammable, but the dishes, too. All decked out in… (no prizes for guessing) pink.
Insta-Hit
Is Pink Wasabi (splashed all over social media) only an Instagram hit? Or is it worth going to for its food, too? I invite the perfect Insta-hit guest to check it out with me. Not only is the gorgeous Maria Goretti a well-known TV anchor and actor, and a French trained chef, but is also an Instagram queen and has a huge fan following. It was great to meet this award-winning cookbook author, forever smiling Maria in Australia and once again in Pink Wasabi. Admiration for this brilliant Economics major, jazz dancer, model, VJ and cricket presenter, who trained as a chef in the world’s best culinary academies and now is all set to release her much-awaited book on love poems. Maria straddles the virtual world and the real one with panache and ease. We eat our way through the menu over a fun-filled lunch. Our review follows.
Pink Wasabi, Juhu, Mumbai: Decor
Please take a look at the photograph (I shot a few months ago). The profusion of candy-floss pink flowers, the waiter in his pink mask and the furnishings give Alice in Wonderland’ tea party vibes. Now please look at the most re-cent pic, where Pink Wasabi has been transformed into a ‘Winter Wonderland’ drizzled with snowy white. The dynamic young Prasuk Jain is obviously determined to ensure Pink Wasabi is always up-to-date. We lunch in the daylight bathed outdoor space; there is an equally exciting indoor space, too.
Pink Wasabi, Juhu, Mumbai: Tasting Pink
Apprehensive and sceptical! That’s our initial reaction! Pink colored food? Pink noodles? Yuck! What next? Aren’t they stretching the Instagram-worthiness to an absurd level? Surprise! Surprise! The bright Pink Wasabi Noodles actually taste delicious. They’re made pink with beetroot and infused with the punch of wasabi. The plump dim sum may be pink, but retains its moist texture and delicious filling. Ask for the Blue Fried Rice musky with Truffle and Edamame. The soft spongy bao with the tangy Thai Herb Chicken stuffing is recommended. Contrasting textures make many a ‘dish delightful. Be it the Crunchy Lotus and Hot Basil Chicken Dumpling or the Tempura Fried Prawn Sushi. Curry lovers are in fora treat. Ladle them over fluffy rice and enjoy the Basil Spiked with Chilli Cum and even the Spicy Mongolian Chicken Curry Innovative desserts, too. Though on the sweeter side, the Baked Cheesecake, Raspberry Chocolate Mousse are good. It’s the dramatic globe of a chocolate shell dessert that comes up tops. Crack open the chocolate shell and revel in the Coconut and Passion Fruit Mousse, a light, airy coconut mousse as the passion fruit compote oozes from the middle. Insta-worthy, boomerang worthy and video worthy, too.
READY, STEADY, SHOOT AND EAT
Already packed with happy millennial armed with their smartphones, giggly girls, young romantic couples and families, too. Don’t go looking for a quiet, refined gourmet experience. Happily, the name itself alerts you about the experience which will follow… and the decor confirms it. You go camera-ready to shoot for Instagram, are sceptical about the absurd pink dishes and you’ll get pleasantly surprised with the Asian fare, too. Leave behind your logical, sceptical mind. Madly, sappily romantic. Pink Wasabi captures the vibrant, eccentric, youthful spirit of present-day generation.