Mantra Indian Restaurant, Ryde

Jewelled print in the dining room

Bollywood glamour.

You wouldn't know it from the outside--a bland concrete facade perched at a busy intersection in Ryde--but enter Mantra and you'll find an over-the-top spectacle of diamantes, gold and silk, a whirling riot of colour that screams Bollywood on speed.



There's so much to take in, I don't know where to look first. Everything is glittery and shiny and glammed up with bling.


A's Nepali sari

We're here tonight to celebrate A's daughter's pasne or rice feeding ceremony, an event performed at five months for females (six months for males) which signifies the start of weaning, moving from milk and onto solids.

Family and friends fill the back room, swelling the room with happy chatter and laughter as kids run underfoot with high pitched squeals. A looks exquisite in a traditional Nepali silk sari that is brilliant magenta in colour and decorated with blue and silver sequins.







Chicken tikka

Dinner is a group banquet, commencing with entrees that are shared on each table. Chicken tikka is succulent and juicy beneath its spicy yoghurt, garlic and chilli marinade.


Spring rolls


Sheek kebab

Spring rolls seem like an unusual inclusion on the menu, tasting much like a Chinese restaurant version, but sheek kebab is reassuringly back to the traditional, skewers of lamb mince mixed with mace and fennel seeds and then cooked in a tandoor oven.


Paneer tikka

Paneer tikka is a brilliant orange colour, cubes of panner--a firm Indian cottage cheese--smothered in a mix of spices.


Samosa chat

Samosas are piping hot from the fryer, their rustic appearance a testament to their handmade production. The pastry is the best part, thick and super crunchy, although the filling of potatoes and peas is delicious too.




Murghan qurma pistachio, Lamb roganjosh, Malai kofta dhoopchaon,
Fingri dhulma and Saade chawal

We queue up for our main course, a series of dishes dispensed from warmers by staff. There's plenty of heat but a complexity of spice as well, from the murghan qurma pistachio (chicken breast cooked in pistachio paste with yoghurt and almond) to the lamb roganjosh (diced lamb cooked in onion, tomato and coriander).

Malai kofta dhoopchaon consists of spinach and cottage cheese dumplings sweetened with raisins and nutty with ground cashews. Fingri dulma is the second vegetarian dish, combining mushrooms and cottage cheese with tomatoes, yoghurt and coriander.

We soak up the curries with saade chawal saffron rice and rounds of fluffy naan.


Belly dancer

We're entertained halfway through dinner by a belly dancer, a vision of hot pink and tassles who shakes her hips and shimmies her torso with enviable fluidity. The kids are entranced, following her as she makes her way around the room, imitating her moves with giggles. Audience participant is part of the act, and I'm impressed when most of the room gets up later to dance, a mood of fun and joy as fathers carry their kids on their shoulders and young mingle with old.

A resident DJ on Friday and Saturday nights gives the place more of a nightclub feel than a family restaurant, and R&B tunes get cranked up as the night wears on.


A and her daughter

It's a celebration of family and friends, of children and doting grandparents. A night of good food and music with a touch of glitter.


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Mantra Indian Restaurant
100 Blaxland Road, Ryde, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9808 2266

Opening hours:
Lunch 7 days 12pm-2.30pm
Dinner 7 days 5.30pm til late

Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Indian - Abhi's, North Strathfield
Indian - Aki's, Woolloomooloo
Indian - Faheem Fast Food, Enmore
Indian - Janani, Homebush
Indian - Kammadhenu, Newtown
Indian - Maya Masala, Surry Hills
Indian - Viva Goa, Pyrmont

New Shanghai, Chatswood Chase, Sydney

"Ooh, fancy."

It's the first thought that comes in my head when we finally find New Shanghai at Chatswood Chase.

We'd wandered around the shopping centre a little lost at first, taking a wrong turn and hitting a dead end at the supermarket before turning back and heading hesitantly towards the food court.

I'm still unsure as we make our way past hard plastic chairs and tables, coffee chains and fast food outlets until there it is, right down the back, a picturesque upmarket Shanghai cafe straight out of a big budget Hollywood movie.



A bicycle is artistically propped by the entrance, the dining room fitted with wooden tables and curved rectangular stools. Strings of red triangular flags overhead and a heavy wooden door with iron studs at the back are presumably meant to make you feel like you're dining in the courtyard behind an imperial palace.


The bar

The bar area is marked by two printed kiosk umbrellas and patterned with a recurring 1930s poster depicting a demure Asian female. However most of the attention is focused on the dumpling kitchen, a brightly illuminated glassed-in prep area where a production line of workers are pleating with white-uniformed non-stop precision.


Dragon's well green tea $3.50

There's an impressive queue of people already waiting, even though it's only Tuesday night. The place is buzzing with a steady stream of diners, many of them families, we notice, grabbing a quick bite to eat with kids still in school uniform, and working parents arriving late, straight from the train station.

The happy rabble and the sharing nature of the menu, means there's plenty of people-watching to be done whilst we nurse our drinks. In addition to offering alcohol and soft drinks, the tea menu is comprehensive, including bi luo chun spiral green tea, white tea, dragon's well green tea, oolong, pu-er, chrysanthemum and jasmine.


Shallot pancake $5.80

We start with the shallot pancake, two golden discs pan-fried and cut in half when served. Whilst not oily, I find them a little heavy, their resounding crunch compromised by a disappointing lack of fluffiness at its core.


New Shanghai Xiao Long Bao $7.00 (8 pieces)

Xiao long bao are much more rewarding. We dip the xia long bao into our saucers of vinegar and soy and then transfer the delicately pleated dumplings onto our spoon. Gently nibbling one corner open, a small flood of sweet and salty broth gushes forth. We savour this slowly, before slurping the rest of the dumpling -- a winning combination of silky pastry skin and soft pork mince -- in one tasty bite.


New Shanghai Crab Meat Xiao Long Bao $9.80 (8 pieces)

Crab meat xiao long bao are the more upmarket version, and I'm pleased to find that the soup-filled dumplings have a noticeable crab flavour, both in the broth and the filling inside.


Hot, spicy and sour soup with shredded pork and bean curd $4.50

Hot, spicy and sour soup is a little saltier than versions I've encountered in the past, the broth more umami in taste and less vinegary. Suspended batons of tofu in the thickened soup make this feel more like a meal than a starter or side.


Deep-fried calamari coated with salted egg yolk $18.80

Salted egg yolk on the menu catches my eye immediately, and upon the recommendation of our waitress, we order it on deep-fried calamari. There are no complaints about the amount of egg yolk provided, but the calamari itself is a little rubbery and oily. I'm thinking that the salted egg yolk on prawn ($22.80) or blue swimmer crab ($29.80) might provide more successful dishes.




Stir fried Chinese rice cake with blue swimmer crab $18.80

Instead we try the blue swimmer crab with stir fried Chinese rice cake, a starch lover's dream with chunky slices of chewy gelatinous rice noodle that is swathed with a sticky garlic crab sauce. The portion of crab is generous too, although this is strictly a hands-on affair, requiring intricate crab picking and noisy finger licking too.


New Shanghai pan fried pork bun $9.20 (8 pieces)

There is far too much food for two people but we cannot leave without trying the pan-fried pork buns. The buns are another winner, steamed white buns pinched together at the top filled with a juicy centre of pork mince and a puddle of sweet soup.


Crispy bottoms

The bottoms are a lust-inducing golden brown, a delightful contrast of crisp base, fluffy bun and sweet and salty pork mince. A dip in vinegar soy and the accompanying tumble of chopped shallots help cut through the richness.


Perfect dinner tv
- Schoolkids at the counter watching the dumpling makers in action


Slow cooked white fungus with papaya $4.80

Slow cooked white fungus with papaya is the ideal dessert for refreshing the palate. The white fungus is perhaps a little too soft for my liking, more soggy than crunchy, although I relish the sweetness of the papaya and the syrup. The cooling effect can be felt immediately, spreading from your stomach and resonating throughout your chest.


Pan-fried pumpkin pastry $8.80

If white fungus soup is the responsible fat-free adult dessert, then pan-fried pumpkin pastry is its antithesis, a deep-fried nugget of chewy deliciousness.


Inside the pumpkin pastry

The panko crumb shell gives way to a stretchy middle that is more like a pumpkin mochi, or chewy rice cake. It's like a glutinous vegetable chewing gum - in a good way, of course.

If this is the new Shanghai, then get outta my way. I've got a plane to catch.

Grab Your Fork and companion dined as guests of New Shanghai.




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New Shanghai
Lower Ground Level
Chatswood Chase Food Court
345 Victoria Road, Chatswood, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9412 3358

Opening hours:
Monday to Sunday 11am-9pm
(til 9.30pm on Thursday and Saturday)

Also at
Ashfield - 273 Liverpool Road, Tel +61 (02) 9797 7284
Chatswood Lemon Grove - 427 Victoria Road, Tel: +61 (02) 9415 3536


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
New Shanghai, Ashfield
New Shanghai, Chatswood - Lemon Grove Shopping Centre

Xia Long Bao - Din Tai Fung, Sydney
Xia Long Bao - New Shanghai, Ashfield
Xia Long Bao - Shanghai Night, Ashfield

Win The Foodies' Guide to Sydney 2011

So you've read about Foodies' Guide. Now who wants a free copy to aid their next food adventure?

It's a long weekend for Sydneysiders and what better way to start it than with a Freebie Saturday giveaway.

THE PRIZE:

Five readers will win a copy of the The 2011 Foodies' Guide to Sydney authored by Simon Thomsen and written by a team of 18 food writers, including me.

We've combed the streets of Sydney and beyond for this fifth edition, hunting down the best bakeries, cheese specialists, chocolate makers, patissiers and more. You'll find snapshot reviews of butchers, delis, fishmongers, spice shops and greengrocers, all helpfully indexed by suburb, and clearly marked on detailed maps for easy reference and navigation.

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The 2011 Foodies' Guide to Sydney retails for $29.95 (Hardie Grant and SBS). An iPhone app will be available from 18 October 2010.

~~~~~
HOW TO ENTER:
All you have to do is fulfil the requirements below:

Option 1:

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell us: Where is one of your favourite foodie stops in Sydney?
   
2. And then send an email to grabyourforkfreebiefriday@yahoo.com.au with the subject heading "Foodie" and include your full name and a copy of your published comment from this post.

Option 2:

1. Enter via the Grab Your Fork facebook fan page- Simply leave your answer on the event listing here.

*This competition is open to Australian delivery addresses only.

The winning entry will be decided on honesty, creativity or entertainment value. Don't be shy! You gotta be in it to win it! Readers may submit one entry per day as long as each answer is different.

The Foodies' Guide to Sydney competition closes on Monday 25 October 2010 at 9.30pm AEST. The winner will be announced on Grab Your Fork on Tuesday 26 October 2010.

EDIT: Thank you everyone for your entries. This competition has now closed. The five lucky winners have been announced here.

More Grab Your Fork competitions to enter:

> Win a $100 dining voucher at Signorelli Gastronomia

(entries close Sunday 10 October 2010)

> Win two tickets to a molecular gastronomy dinner class worth $270

(entries close Sunday 10 October 2010)

> Win Reinventing Food, Ferran Adrià: The Man Who Changed The Way We Eat

(entries close Sunday 24 October 2010)

Freebie Friday: Win a copy of Reinventing Food - the first biography of Ferran Adrià

Ferran Adrià - who is he, and how did he become such an influential chef on the international stage, winning "Best Restaurant in the World" for an unprecedented four years running?

Without any formal culinary training, Ferran built elBulli into a three Michelin-starred restaurant, with over two million reservation requests received for only 8,000 dining places. How did a cook in the military service get to where he is today?

Reinventing Food, Ferran Adrià: The Man Who Changed The Way We Eat is the first-ever biography of Ferran Adria, written by award-winning food writer Colman Andrews, Saveur co-founder, James Beard Foundation Award-winner and long-time friend of Ferran.

And yes, you guessed it, Grab Your Fork readers have the chance to win their own copy, thanks to this week's Freebie Friday.

THE PRIZE:

One reader will win a copy of Reinventing Food, Ferran Adrià: The Man Who Changed The Way We Eat.

The book includes 16 chapters that map the rise of Ferran, with a final chapter called Morphing that reveals the full story behind elBulli's closure and his plans for the future.

This 360-page hardcover book is officially released today, 1 October 2010, and retails for $A39.95 / $NZ46.00 (Phaidon Press).

*This competition is open to Australian and New Zealand delivery addresses only.

~~~~~
HOW TO ENTER:
All you have to do is fulfil the requirements below:

Option 1:

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell us: Who, or what, has changed the way you eat?
   
2. And then send an email to grabyourforkfreebiefriday@yahoo.com.au with the subject heading "Ferran" and include your full name and a copy of your published comment from this post.

Option 2:

1. Enter via the Grab Your Fork facebook fan page- Simply leave your answer on the event listing here.

The winning entry will be decided on honesty, creativity or entertainment value. Don't be shy! You gotta be in it to win it! Readers may submit one entry per day as long as each answer is different.

The Reinventing Food competition closes on Sunday 24 October 2010 at 9.30pm AEST. The winner will be announced on Grab Your Fork on Monday 25 October 2010.

EDIT: This competition has now closed. Congratulations to the winner announced here.

More Grab Your Fork competitions to enter:

> Win a $100 dining voucher at Signorelli Gastronomia

(entries close Sunday 10 October 2010)

> Win two tickets to a molecular gastronomy dinner class worth $270

(entries close Sunday 10 October 2010)