Woq a Toque

"Don't judge a restaurant by it's lunch combo." Seriously. Some good restaurants have forgettable lunch combos, though a few do stand out in how bad the lunches are, in comparison to their regular menu. I had the lunch combo at CHAO and I thought it was a poor imitation of the wonderful food they otherwise serve and Kryptos' lunch buffet is best not spoken about. And then comes a lunch which, for the standards of the otherwise available lunches in town, packs a nice punch!

Yes, the restaurant is new and maybe they are trying to make an impression, but right now, this is probably the best lunch combo in town. My friend and I made an impromptu plan and landed at Woq-a-Toque and came out more than just satisfied!

Service started off with an excellent dimsum. Now the thickness of the dimsum shell is supposed to be inversely proportional to the skill of the chef and though these days, you get readymade stuff, you can see from the photo, how thin the dimsum is and how much meat is stuffed in it. Excellent is the word here. A stir fried fish that I could eat forever and my friend who is an even worse fish eater than I am had three helpings of, was next. A not-so-great fried wonton was then served with a good hot-and-sour soup and the starters finished with a good chicken satay! Unlimited servings of each of them were available and only your stomach's expansile capacity determines the portions!

For the main course, you are allowed one visit to the stir fry bar to put your heart's content of uncooked food onto a bowl which will then be tossed up for you! Comparison with Chap Chay at Rain Tree is inevitable which has more options, but to be fair to the restaurant, at this price point, a stir fry bar visit is a luxury and one that is extremely well done here! You can choose from four meats, four noodles and an array of veggies and they did a very good job of my choice, considering I used the one visit to shamelessly add lamb, chicken and prawns onto ONE STIR FRY. Yes, shamelessly!

Service concluded with a small platter of three desserts - none as impressive as the starters or the main course, but just there for the formality. At Rs 998 for two people, all taxes inclusive, this is one of the best lunch combos in that price point and with a service to match. The restaurant is dimly lit and because of the way the roof is designed, reflecting light for a good photo was a challenge and we gave up very early because the smell of the food was so inviting. Obviously restaurants are not designed to make life easier for food photography, but the interiors and the lighting was quite nice!

Woq-a-Toque is at Hotel Chariot, near Valluvar Kottam, diagonally opposite Vidhyodaya School.