Dimcha, the dimsum and chai restaurant has an outlet at Epicuria and we were invited for a review session. Ordinarily Asian food is lighter than Indian fare. Given the warm and stuffy weather that we were facing in Delhi NCR, light food was the way to go and we gladly accepted the invite.

Epicuria at Nehru Place is a foodie heaven. While it is a detour, we have always had lovely experiences when we have visited joints such as Pizza Express, Dhaba by Claridges, Uncle Tom’s Steamed Hot dogs  and how can we forget – Chai Point.

Dimcha here has a long menu, balanced in vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare, and we tasted a host of dishes all of which were good. Following are of course the must trys:

Dimsums – We had Bok Choi and Tofu; Vegetable and Chive: Black Pepper Duck. All of them looked very appetising, tasted fresh and brilliant and were served with yummy sauces made of peanut paste or black bean. They no way resembled the modified momos that we are ordinarily dished out as dimsums. We also tried the pork puff that was a unique sweetish filling in a soft and flaky patty. Caramelizing meat is common to South East Asian cooking and this dish virtually took us to Vietnam or Malaysia.

Khao Suey – A lovely saffron coloured broth that contained chunks of chicken and noodles. The subtle flavours of coconut milk, saffron and other spices harmoniously co-existed in this dish. We could almost always get a different aroma in every spoon. It’s a complete meal in a bowl and a relatively healthy affair.

Dimcha Special Crispy Aromatic Chicken – The waiter got a chunk of fried chicken on the table, shredded it and make pancake roles with sliced cucumber, spring onion and Hoisin Sauce. Although the dish had fried chicken, it was not dripping with oil and had a very balanced taste given the veggies.

Kiwi Mint Cooler – Salty refreshing drink which went well with the dishes.

Virgin Kaffir Lime – Sweet but tangy refreshing drink to settle the dishes.

Raw Papaya Salad – Fresh, tangy and a lovely palate cleanser.

French Bean and Tofu salad – Wonder where they got such fresh and soft mild tasting tofu. This dish with the proteins, greens and seasoning is a health buff’s delight.

Chrysanthemum tea and Rose tea – These warm aromatic drinks at the end of the meal cleared our senses and helped to settle down the lovely dinner.

Can be avoided – desserts – the coconut ice cream was too sweet and the apple cheese cake was so dry that it was falling apart.

Nonetheless, the rest of the meal was so mindbogglingly tasty that we didn’t care.

The decor is subtle in shades of light blue and white with bamboo lamp shades making a perfect setting for a summer evening. The staff is attentive and very hospitable. We would specially mention the earthy ceramic crockery in modern shapes that added to our dining experience.

There is no way we can rate Dimcha anything but 5 on 5.