Located at Level 37, By the Mekong is one of Mumbai’s most popular and buzzing restaurants often referred to as the city’s finest Asian restaurant. Director of Culinary Himanshu Taneja and his team at The St. Regis Mumbai are known to create superior quality preparations using authentic herbs and aromatic spices.
By The Mekong takes you on a culinary journey through the districts of Yunan and Sichuan in China and through Thailand and Vietnam. As you enter the elegantly designed restaurant, you can’t help but marvel at the stunning 37th floor views of the Mahalaxmi Racecourse and the Arabian Sea from the huge glass windows. Mekong is an expansive restaurant with Oriental artefacts, wines lined over the walls, gorgeous lamps that create just the right effect!
By the Mekong has a brand new menu especially curated by Chef Shi Xilin. With a career spanning over two decades, Chef Xilin has honed his skill over the years defining Oriental cuisine in the Indian Diaspora at a renowned speciality restaurant in a leading luxury hotel. His expertise in Asian cuisine has led him to curate and create an interestingly unique menu at By the Mekong with exotic ingredients such as caviar and truffle and a varied choice of dishes for vegetarian guests.
The menu is a perfect balance of the exotic and the authentic! By the Mekong has a really extensive menu and so if one is visiting the very first time, it would be a great idea to ask the waiting staff for suggestions. Divided into sections such as small salts, soups, dumplings, baos, seafood, meat & poultry, vegetables & beancurd, rice & noodles and desserts, there are lots to choose from for both vegetarians and lovers of meat. The menu carefully curated to capture the best of Oriental flavours is a selection of the bestsellers like Edamame Truffle, Stir Fried Shimeji and Green Beans with Dry Red Chillies, Butter Garlic Prawns, Steamed Chilean Sea Bass, Hot Beans and Fresh green Chillies, Roasted Pecking Duck and a blend of Chef Xilin’s exciting new creations like Lotus Root and Asparagus with Pickled Chilli and Ginkgo Nut, Beggar’s Chicken, Sea Scallop Cuttlefish with Flying Fish Roe, Mekong Chicken with Shimeji and Roasted Prawns with Thai Chilli paste. Those who prefer a light yet filling meal should try the assortment of dimsums and baos here. Gorgeous desserts such as Chocolate Texture and Ms Berry serve as the perfect end to a fabulous Asian meal in a refined ambience complimented by efficient and friendly service.
Those who enjoy a great drink with food in a fine ambience should try By the Mekong’s innovative cocktails such as the Mimosa (sparkling wine, orange) or the Mint Julep (Bourbon, mint leaves, sugar) or the Negroni (Gin, Campari, Sweet Vermouth). The beverage list boasts of some of the best wines, single malts, blended malts, blended scotch, aperitif, whiskeys, gins, vodkas, rums, beers, liqueurs etc from all over the world. It would be a great idea to try the hotel’s signature drink known as the Mumbai Mary-(Belvedere vodka with freshly cooked tomato puree with spices and coriander) or the popular Red Snapper (a classic from St. Regis NYC made using gin, tomatoes, celery, lime and spices).
By the Mekong with it’s refined ambience, fabulous views, efficient service, superlative food and drinks is a great place to unwind over an excellent meal with friends or family or even solo as I have discovered on several occasions!
