In a NUtshell

I had to pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming – the food at sonabridge made me think I was in Guangzhou, no tweaking to meet Indian tastes, ditto same. I had been searching for such a place in the last one & half decades in NCR.

Address & other details: sonabridge

Meal for 2: ₹800 onwards

Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian

Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.

I rate all the food items & then give a final overall rating which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster

Short description- in case u r in a hurry

We got to know of this restaurant from social media post by food blogger aalok wadhwa. He clearly mentions advertorials & places he has been to on his own & that makes me take his posts seriously.

The restaurant is located inside a Chinese hotel. When we reached the restaurant for lunch, the people staying in the hotel were having lunch. All of them were Chinese. We were the only Indians. Much later, two Indians came to dine, but with a Chinese guest.

Everything was written in Chinese & a Chinese channel was playing on the TV.

There was a buffet spread on one side. Most of the hotel guests were having the buffet. We peeked into it – looked super fab. The cutlery for the buffet was kept in a warm chamber. A la carte had to be ordered from the menu.

The menu card had big pictures of the dishes with name of dish written in both Chinese & English.

The lady who came to take the food order spoke fluent English. She also helped us with some recommendation.

The portion sizes were big. So we ended up having 3 dishes.

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Absolutely loved the food. We were pleasantly shocked. Must say that many Indians who are used to Indianised Chinese food might not be able to appreciate this. It just can’t get more Hardcore than this.

I have been to China multiple times for work over the last decade & half & have eaten the real Chinese food at roadside food stalls, factory canteens, people’s lunch boxes, local eateries & also 5 stars. The cuisine is very evolved & every dish celebrates the ingredients, their textures, flavours. Most dishes have not too many parallel flavours. In india unfortunately most restaurants serving ‘authentic Chinese’ end up serving thickened gravy, strong flavoured , deep fried dishes that have nothing in common with the real Chinese food in terms of flavours, textures & taste. Sonabridge was as authentic as it cud get – as real Chinese as it cud get.

Even the bill was written in Chinese.

Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:

day 1:

Steamed prawns with celery – I cud not believe how they cud get prawns almost as fresh as in mumbai, from INA market. Cooked to perfection – softest possible, perfectly cooked. Full blown flavours of the prawns. The celery sticks were crunchy & pungent as expected. Sheer brilliance. Rate it 4.75/5

Cantonese roast pork had a lovely balance of meat & fat. Every bite was pure heaven. The lady warned us that the dish will be a bit sweet . We went for the dish hearing it was her personal favourite. Robust Flavours of pork was just so enjoyable. Super loved it. Every bit of it, every drop of it. Rate it 4.95/5

Spicy boiled beef had ‘boiled’ in the name but was not at all bland. In fact it was hot due to a certain kind of pepper that reminded me of my China days. The sauce was thin, pungent, robust & surely rustic. Loved every bit of it. The beef pieces were super soft & juicy. Rate it 4.5/5

Overall rating of food at this place averages out to 4.75/5

Day 2

We went this time with friends who r not as experimentative as we r. So we ordered dishes that r more mainstream in india. Impressed with what came:

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Chicken fried rice – sticky rice, cooked with chicken stock that gave flavour, little bits of veggies & small pieces of chicken. The pieces were actually besides the point. The mild flavour of the rice & the texture was making me feel as if I was in Beijing. Rate it4.5/5

pork dumplings were very different from the sophisticated ones served at good Chinese high end restaurants. This one was rustic & similar to what I have had at roadside stalls in China. Loved the juicy filling & the slight crisp outer layer. Rate it 4.25/5

stir fried beans – when we ordered this (after reading good words about this dish at this restaurant on the social media), our preferred non vegetarian friends were not sure. When the dish arrived, all were pleasantly surprised. The brand vanished faster than other dishes!! The chef managed to beautifully keep the texture of beans intact while adding juiciness & add on flavour thru the dark brown sauce. Loved this. Rate it 4.5/5

Crispy duck was fried duck meat (with skin). Wah. Just too good to be true. Small layer of fat below the skin, super crisp skin & juicy & soft meat at the bottom layer. Brilliant. The play of textures, the robust flavour of the meat – simply outstanding. Rate it 4.75/5

Steamed prawns were wow. Flavours of good fresh prawns & garlic did a perfect tango. Just right texture of prawns. No extra sauces, no extra blah blah. Simple. Wonderful. Rate it 4.75/5

Overall rating of day 2 averages out to 4.65/5

Overall rating of both days is 4.65/5

Look forward to revisiting here to try more dishes.