A better variant of clichés and not too hung up on the afterthoughts, Ping’s Café Orient delivers in parts. By Devi Singh
It’s not standard, the thought will hit you first thing you step in but a saunter around and you’ll get the standards coming through. Take the done to death red walls for instance. The typified red is so trite that any eastward bound eatout doesn’t have any of its own character coming through. Think Oriental think red. Okay we get it. What nextIJ The place is not that big on space and we instantaneously chose upstairs than having a meal all cramped up.
And there you have it, some character, a bit of drama finally. You are greeted with streets of Bangkok with clothes being dried up on a clothes line with a neon signage saying, ‘tattoo and spa’ and it actually looks real. For the naive ones might just head inside and come out nonplus realising it’s just a prop. The grooming kits for men and women make for a dolled up imagery leading to an open space, again not too big but sufficient for a private small group.
We began with baos which came as buns stuffed with squidgy tofu, not at all high on the spice quotient. The filling was slightly nectarous. The mango quinoa salad with a tinge of red chillies was a good attempt but lacked the heat. Then came the summer rolls with the usual veggies, carrots, beans and some noodles. light and fluffy, really summery. Meanwhile some wok-tossed edamame and corn fritters gave us company while we dawdled with the menu, the latter scoring high on piquancy. The chicken yakitori taking its inspiration from the streets of Pontocho couldn’t make a hit with us. It was more like a chicken tandoori instead of yakitori. Teriyaki asparagus was impressive though. Their hooch had us nickeled and dimed over. We couldn’t get any taste of the spirits.
Be it the absinthe based Godfather or gin rinsed Singapore Sling, we felt as if we were on water therapy. All the Japanese, Singaporean or other fantasies as pointed on the menu went down the hill. Anyway, it was time we went for mains for which we decided on pokchoy bamboo shoots and water chestnut with cashews. This was the usual heady mix of sweet and sour kicks, passable. Next up, Balinese asparagus and string beans were anything but sapid. Thai green curry came with an option of four different rice – sticky, black, brown and red. We stuck to sticky. Nothing special about the curry, it was like any Thai green found anywhere. Rather it was runnier than what’s being served elsewhere.
Although we didn’t really need a dessert after the not too spicy fare but still we went for banana pudding served with coconut and jaggery ice cream and chocolate cigars. Have to say they couldn’t have got the pudding any better. The thing with the combination of banana and vanilla is that it can never go wrong as it’s so basic. And getting your basics right is half the battle won. PCO does hit a spot when it comes to unabashed portrayal of ersatz emotions but there’s a lack of push for a second visit.