The current pandemic has affected our
lives in many ways, some major and some more subtle, some for the better and
maybe a few for the worse. As a person who enjoys eating out immensely,
COVID-19 has made me transition to ordering food online more frequently.
Pan-Asian is one of those cuisines that has such a broad connotation and while
many restaurants don the 'Pan-Asian' hat, few can deliver on it, and even fewer
on the home delivery front. I recently ordered in from Hao-Chi and was
pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food, the packaging and the overall
VFM aspect.
The first few images that flash across in my mind's eye when someone says Pan Asian food, are piping hot ramen bowls, fragrant Thai curries, freshly steamed Dimsums, paper-thin rice paper rolls....and then I start feeling hungry. Bear in mind though that Asia has nearly 50 countries the fare in most of these places is limited to the popular few countries including Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia and Singapore. Here are some of the items that we ordered in, and while I missed the formality of dining out, being served each course and a personal touch with the Chef talking about his experiences, it is hard to beat eating out on your sofa while watching your favorite series on Netflix.
1. The Non-Veg. Dimsum Platter- For me, an Asian meal is incomplete with Dimsums. While in traditional Cantonese cuisine, Dimsums are typically served with tea, I love eating these bite-sized delights to stimulate my taste buds at the start of the meal. The Dimsums I liked from Hao Chi were the Prawn Hargao and the Chicken Siu Mai. Beautiful translucent skin, expertly folded and a flavor bomb in your mouth, each one of them.
2. Seafood Salad: Shrimps, crab sticks and other assorted seafood bits and veggies tossed in a fragrant dressing of sesame oil, lemongrass and a few other herbs. While it not sound like much, this was a refreshingly light salad and added a much needed freshness to the meal.
3. Lamb Rendang: Rendang is one of Indonesia’s(origin is a fierce debate between Malaysia and Indonesia) most popular dishes and the array of flavors from this dish actually gets better as it ages. Lemongrass, Kaffir Lime, Toasted Coconuts, Cinnamon, Red Chilies, Galangal are just some of the spices that go into making this delightful slow-simmered concoction, and my mouth starts to water as I think of the dish. The Hao Chi version of the Rendang was immensely flavorful and is a meal on its own with some steamed or jasmine rice. Perhaps the best home delivered Rendang I have had.
4. Vanilla Pannacotta: A word of mention of the dessert because you have to taste it to know how good it was. While I could do without the sprinkles, the pannacotta was creamy, light and yet held its shape despite travelling with a delivery executive on a bike for some distance.
Also, worth mentioning that their Wasabi Prawns and Drums of Heaven were also pretty good!
Verdict: Superb Taste, great packaging and excellent VFM, Hao Chi is the full package. If you are a fan of pan-Asian food, like I am, order in from the Hao Chi nearest to you (They currently have outlets in HBR Layout, Bellandur and New BEL Road). Overall, a meal I thoroughly enjoyed and will be definitely ordering in to satisfy my Asian food cravings.
