When the world was still opening itself up to the idea of fusion cuisines, Papaya had already unleashed its charm upon us. The concept of Modern Asian Cuisine was perpetually brought to Mumbai by them. The Kalra’s impress us with yet another beautiful place of the same brand at Colaba.
Papaya, in all its glory managed to spread its charm with this one too. Glinting chandeliers, golden lights and a spectacle of a place is what it is. The hexagonal blocks which mark a signature recognition to this place is their unique trademark which unmistakably draws your mind to the experience. While we were drooling over the architectural and geometrical beauty, the servers came with something more to drool over.
Our meal started with an amuse bouche. Served in coral shells and covered with foam, this one was watermelon compressed with basil and topped with essence of lemongrass and chilli. The foam gave a good texture to the watermelon and the taste was cleansing.
Our meal started with dim sums and more. The Asparagus, Corn and Spring Onion Dim Sums were the first one where the flavours of all three were integrated to give a sweet and spicy taste. The corn had a filling taste whereas the sauce topping in it was delicious.
Next were the Sautéed Leeks Water Chestnuts. The chestnuts had a typical taste which was topped with a creamy sauce and had a tangy sweet sour taste to it.
Next one was the crispy lotus steam. Now, this one was crunchy and served on a huge pebble. It had a delicious flavoured honey chilli sauce covering it and was served with avocado cream. The Crispy Veg Maki Roll was another delicacy. It was huge and the sweetness exuded by rice was better than the other whereas the sesame seeds gave it a peculiar crunchy taste. The Spicy Avocado Rolls were yet another delight. The avocado rolls gave it a filling base and a buttery taste.
The Edamame Chick Pea Slider were next. Served in pita bread, this crisp edamame slider had a flavour of truffle to it and was equally delicious.
For the mains, we had the Khao Pad Karpao and Yaki Udon Noodles. These had a luscious taste with a proper flavour carrots, cabbage, spring onions, and the noodles were extremely soft and buttery. The Wok Tossed Spinach Tofu Seas was basically stir fried veggies in a sweet sour sauce loaded with broccoli, zucchini, and hints of spinach here and there. We thoroughly enjoyed this along with the rice and noodles.
While we enjoyed this meal, we sipped onto drinks in between as well. Starting off with the u-isuki-sho, it was based on Bourbon. With a strong aroma of kafir lime, frozen watermelon and the sweet essence of vanilla, it was slurpy and delicious. We even tried the Lighthouse. This one was basically lemongrass flavoured vodka, and the orange juice in it made it tangy. Pineapple gave it an edge and completed the drink. Yin Yang was another drink based on Vodka. Caramelized pineapple gave it a hint of sweetness whereas cardamom gave this a peculiar flavour loaded with essential chamomile foam. Bito-no chardo was the last one. It had a lemon ginger taste, with a flavour of dehydrated orange to give it a spicy, sour and sweet taste.
Last but not the least, our meal ended with the Liquid Hazelnut Fondant Cake and the highly recommended Chocolate Ball on Fire. The liquid fondant cake was filled with gooey chocolate. It had ball of blueberry and crunchy hints of hazelnut crumble side by side with the same. It was mind-blowing and had a delicious texture and flavour altogether.
The chocolate ball was the star dish. It was loaded with ice-cream, brownies, chocolate, candied dry-fruits, and blueberries. It had a ball of rich chocolate on the top which was melted by the triple sec that was set on fire literally. It was a spectacle. The taste was equally rich as well as delicious. We loved this through and through.
The experience was speechless and the whole menu shows not just variety but delight too. We had a fun lunch and definitely a fulfilling one too. The name is enough for this one, but again, it would be a crime to not do so!
Ambience: 4.5/5
Taste Quotient: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Address: Hotel Diplomat, Whitehouse Building, 24 – 26, B.K Boman Behram Marg, Apollo Bunder, Colaba, Mumbai
The Hungry Duo 