Residents of Koramangala would remember Ping, which rose to stardom and fell from grace all in a few years! The same vicinity now hosts Tim Tai, which calls itself an Asian Deli. (right next to bon South) It exudes fun, from the moment you see its bright signage from the road. The interiors have a high ceiling, a tree almost smack in the middle of the floor (around which there is some seating available) and functional, yet chic decor. The general cheeriness is also evident from the ‘Gurus @ work’ sign above the kitchen. Having read that it gets crowded by 8, we arrived early and managed to get a seat in the alfresco area, which even has a little waterfall.
Though they don’t serve alcohol, there is a drinks menu with a fair amount of choice. (menu, incomplete) There is also a separate dim sum menu as well. Another thing that reminded me of Ping. When there’s Tom Kha, there are no discussions. We asked for two small portions, and I also decided to check out an Asian Mary. (that’s a drink!) That, and the Banana Wrapped Grilled Chicken with Sambal’ made up our starers. The soup portion size worked just right for us and it was excellent in terms of taste as well. It was actual coconut milk (not the stuff made from powdered versions) and had a nice kaffir lime tang for some flavour in addition to the galangal and lemongrass. The drink was guava based with tabasco and a pepper rim that made it spicy, sweet and refreshing all at once. The Chicken starter should not be attempted if you don’t have a tolerance for spice. But if you do like spice, you’ll love this one! The menu also has satays, Asian salads and cold rolls.
The main course has several meal-in-itself options. We decided to take one of them, and add a stir fry to it. Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles) was the chosen one, along with Tamarind Fish with Red Chillies and Kaffir Lime leaves. Flat noodles, bean sprouts and a hint of spice made the former an awesome choice. (a large portion size too!) The fish turned out to be a fantastic complement to this – crisp, with a sweet and spicy sauce.
Feeling very indulgent, we asked for a Chocolate Chilli ice cream and a Water Chestnut Rubies with coconut milk. The ice cream was a little off – I actually got a large lump of ice and the chilli was very unevenly distributed. The coconut milk in the other dessert was a hugely watered down version of powdered coconut milk. But there are more interesting dessert options on the menu we’d like to try some other time.
All of the above cost us a little less than Rs.2100. The service was a little tardy when the place became crowded. (and boy it did! At about 8, the place was packed!) We had to request thrice for warm water. The playlist has everything from ‘That Thing You Do’ to Avicii’s ‘Wake me Up’, so you might suddenly get this dose of serendipitous pleasure. The ambiance is pleasant, the food is mostly good and it’s a place that we will most likely repeat.
Tim Tai, 130, 1st Cross, 5th Block Koramangala Ph: 65698888