Chinese food in India has always excited me and I guess a lot others, as is evident by many of these restaurants opening in the city of Bangalore. At the same time, it’s not that easy to make the food taste good or give a great service for that matter. With the mall boom in major cities a lot of these are now opening within the malls which give a facelift to the appearance and crowds in and around. Noodle Bar is a standalone restaurant, slightly more than a year old in Whitefield – it has a nice feel as the servers greeted us in and got us comfortable.
The Location
Noodle Bar is clearly visible as you come in to the Phoenix Marketcity for parking; it has an easy access on the first floor from both outside and inside of the mall.
Address: Unit No. F-24, 1st Floor, Phoenix Marketcity, Mahadevapura, Whitefield Road, Bangalore – 560048
Phone: 080 – 67266466
The Hours
All days 12PM to 4PM for Lunch and 7PM to 11PM for Dinner. I recommend doing a reservation for the holidays and weekends.
The Ambiance
The entrance from inside the mall is the main one and has a richer feel, it sports red and black contemporary colors in line with the Chinese cuisine, the seating is some nice wooden chairs and sofa. The kitchen is openly visible from the restaurant and you can see the chefs dishing out the menus.
The Service
The service was the hallmark of Noodle Bar as we were greeted as we entered, the servers were helpful in choosing the menu and suggested the pairings and options with both vegetarian and non vegetarian options. They informed us of each course of food before bringing it to the table – I liked this as it allowed us to pace the dinner. At the same time they gave enough personal space and did not overwhelm us with the presence. Just the right service I would want.
The Price
A dinner for two without drinks would cost about US$23 – (including tax), the service charges are included in the menu.
The Food
As is typical with a lot of Chinese restaurants, the table was set with some Kimchi salad, cucumber and carrot fingers and corn salad. A good selection of sauce on the table including Schezwan, Red Sweet Chili, Sweet Coriander, Soy, Chili Vinegar and Sweet Mustard was available. Noodle Bar branded chopsticks gave a fine dine appeal.
We started with soups, Hot & Sour and Veg Manchow, I could have done with slight less chili in the Hot & Sour, while the manchow soup was just perfect.
For the starters we had Crispy Threaded Paneer – cottage cheese wrapped in crispy noodle threads – it was absolutely delightful; Banana Wrapped Fish had Basa fish nicely cooked inside banana leaves while the traditional Steamed Chicken Momos had fresh tomato and black bean sauces as accompaniments. Overall, a nice selection in the menu to choose from.
The main course offers good choices and also includes some Malaysian and Thai dishes. It also allows you to choose between veg, chicken, lamb, and seafood. We however stuck to Chinese and the taste of Hakka Noodles and Burnt Garlic Rice was an thoroughly enjoyable.
They also had a nice dessert menu including traditional delicacies like Jaggery Dragon Rolls and Sizzling Fruit & Nut Brownie.
I can say that I found a nice place for Chinese food and a great service at a decent price. I recommend a visit if you are around the east side of Bangalore.