BackHUNGER GAMES: Sitcom-style take-out
Mumbai's newest Chinese quick-service chain gets everything rightfriendly service, comprehensive menu, hip interiors and even spiffy oyster pails
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Since take-out and home delivery options in my neighbourhood are restricted to pizza, Mughlai, Udipi snacks and Indian Chinese, my mother and I added our favourites in each category to speed dial a few years ago: Union Café in Lower Parel for pizza, Kalpana’s Tastee at Worli Naka for idli-dosa and pav bhaji, Copper Chimney at Lotus Court for Murgh Rarah and black dal and China Gate at Atria Mall for fish steak in “Schezwan" sauce and egg fried rice. Sadly, a couple of months ago, most restaurants in Atria Mall, including China Gate, shut down, leaving an empty slot on our mobile phone keypads. We’ve tried to find another Chinese delivery service couple of times—our orders from Mr. Chow’s and our Udipi joint were real disappointments—but these days we wish we could replace our old favourite China Gate with Five Fat Monks, the newest delivery joint on Linking Road in Bandra West.
Unlike most Indian-Chinese restaurants we’ve committed to in the past, the Five Fat Monks concept is starkly different—we’re calling it Chinese fast-food 2.0. The interiors are made up of slick grey-and-orange accents, 3-D murals on the walls and cool white plastic chairs and tabletops. The menu is boldly concise, instead the kitchen has a subway-style counter for D-I-Y stir-fries for variety. The pricing is competitive—an average meal for two won’t cost more than ₹ 800—and the portions are substantial.
But our favourite feature at Five Fat Monks is the novel packaging: everything is served in leak-proof white cardboard oyster pail containers, the kind we usually see on our favourite American sitcoms. Many years ago, Smokin’ Lees (by the company behind Smokin’ Joe’s) at Kemps Corner attempted to deliver food in these boxes but promptly shut down, so we’re quite excited by their comeback. The oyster pails are probably more wasteful than the reusable plastic containers used by most restaurants for take-away but their lid-free design allows you to chomp on your favourite Chindian dish on the go.
Over two-three visits, we identified our favourites from the menu: Crunchy Chicken Wings ( ₹ 200), in a sticky sweet-spicy sauce and Savoury Prawns ( ₹ 200), stir-fried with chillies and garlic from the “Bites" section and Kung Pow-Wow Chicken ( ₹ 295), Sichuan-style fried rice with fiery chicken pieces and the Chowmein Chakra ( ₹ 275), noodles in a light Buddha’s Delight-like soy sauce with brocolli, mushrooms and pak choi. Though my mother and I prefer to eat fish over chicken and other meats in Chinese preparations usually, we still haven’t tried any fish dishes at Five Fat Monks since the restaurant only uses the bland basa.
The menu also has a handful of soups ( ₹ 90 to ₹ 145) like Hot & Sour, Tom Yum, Sweet Corn and Japanese Soba Noodle, two salads ( ₹ 145), a few other appetisers including dim sums and spring rolls (both ₹ 200) and a total of 14 rice and noodle preparations (all priced between ₹ 275 to 295) in the form of pad Thai noodles, Thai curries and regular gravies like Sichuan, oyster and black bean sauce. Since we’ve still got a couple of mains left to order for the first time, we haven’t opted for the “Make It Your Way" option for Veggie and Non-Veggie Woks (starting at ₹ 165 for a small portion to ₹ 295 for a large portion). The menu lists three bases for the wok (steamed rice, plain noodles and flat noodles), seven proteins (tofu, paneer, egg, chicken, lamb, fish and prawns), lots of veggies, 13 sauces (like hunan, kung-pao, Manchurian, black pepper and a secret XO sauce) and a few garnishes like sesame seeds, fried onions, Thai basil and roasted peanuts.
There’s also free green tea for all and desserts (all ₹ 100) include Honey Noodles with Ice Cream, Banana Fritters with Ice Cream, Gooey Belgian Chocolate Cake and Banana Fritters. We’re not big fans of the sweet banana bhajiyas—their coating was too thick and oily—but the light Coconut-based custard has turned into a regular order for us.
Even though Five Fat Monks doesn’t deliver to our doorstep in Worli yet, we don’t mind a drive over the Sea Link to get our fill of their simple, grease-free Chindian staples and popular South-East Asian dishes.
Five Fat Monks, The New Kamal Society, Ground Floor, near National College, Waterfield Road, Linking Road, Bandra (W) (022-61668881). Also at R-City Mall, LBS Marg, Ghatkopar (W) (022-66711423. Delivery available for Bandra, Khar, Santacruz and Mahim from the Bandra outlet and for Ghatkopar, Powai and Vikhroli from the Ghatkopar outlet. For more details, click here. -
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