Travel Destinations » The Club Delhi

As Chinese food is now the second regional cuisine amongst Delhi’s foodies, it is not at all ironic that Moti Mahal, the most pucca Mughlai of all the restaurant chains in Delhi should go on to open a speciality Chinese restaurant. The effort, however, seems somewhat lacking in commitment.

We have several reasons for saying this. First, this restaurant is asmaller part of the larger Moti Mahal establishment in Greater Kailash II, giving us the impression that they are cashing in on a craze and not pursuing a commitment. Secondly, no effort has been made to create a separate brand image. The whole ambience of the restaurant is a continuum of the Moti Mahal Deluxe effort in the restaurant below. Finally, the food caters basically to the usual Mughlai clientele who might want a small change of pace. We have often commented on the Delhi restauranteur’s incomparable ability to make Chinese food taste like Mughlai food. It’s no surprise at all that the Moti Mahal Deluxe should do it better than anyone else!

The tiny, under 30-cover eatery, features cream walls with just a hint of dark tan wooden beading and very post-modern paintings that we do not understand at all. One wall is open to the road below and makes for a pleasant view on a good day. The chairs and sofas are comfortably upholstered in shades of brown, with soft furnishings in cream and beige. This “dignified” decor is quite appropriate to a large club room, but here, the combination of small spaces and high density tables makes for a heavy ambience.

Service, though is slick. With their enormous experience of dealing with high load diners at the Mughlai restaurant, it is no surprise that orders get filled accurately and the quality of service never falters.

The Club’s large food list is mostly predictable. Most of the 15 starters (Rs 60-100) feature chicken, and most of it is fried: wantons, golden fries, pepper salt, wings and legs and something we haven’t ever heard of called jyosa. The soup list (Rs 50-60) offers nothing new with combinations of chicken with asparagus, mushrooms, wantons, coriander, jade, sweet corn, manchow and hot sour. There’s also a generic sea food soup, and tom, yum.

For the main course, the Club’s seafood list (Rs 100-180) features sliced fish in garlic, mushroom-bamboo shoots and sweet-n-sour, Cantonese shrimps and several variations of prawn, including a sizzler house special.