It happens so often. A new restaurant opens. And friends, family…everyone gets to try it before I do. And then I have to face a series of anxious foodies who think I’d enjoy the new place.

Whether I’d like the food, or the place…the ambience, or even the economics…I’m lucky that there are good friends who look out for me…and children who point me in the right direction when I look like I am lost.

Tim Tai was the same story. Just opposite the Google Campus, it had opened a few months ago to rave reviews. And I missed out for some reason or the other.

But when a friend and I decided to meet for lunch today, and she said ‘Somewhere in Madhapur’ I suggested Tim Tai. Fortunately she agreed.

So I found out the names of the people behind the eatery (thanks Sankalp and Deeksha), got their contact details, and called. Made my bookings. And I was all set.

I must say that I was humbled when I realised that they had heard about me from another foodie friend (thanks Swati) and confirmed my table without a problem.

Due to my more than expected stopover at Hitex where the Airtel Marathon Start Off event was taking place, we got delayed and landed up there only for a late lunch.

My evaluation of any food place almost always starts with the smile. There is something nice about walking into a place where you are made to feel welcome by default. And in this department Tim Tai and its team scored well and in the high numbers.

While I had tips about what to order and in fact a list of some absolute ‘must haves’, I chose to let my host order on our behalf. My guest was vegetarian and she had to run  a Marathon the next day, so the request was to keep it light, and keep it simple.

This is perhaps the one area where they let us down, but at the end of it, who’s complaining?

A lot of food made its way to our table and there was no way we could avoid being stuffed. But let me first assure you that at the end of a very heavy and satisfactory meal, there was still a light feeling in our stomachs and all of us had an extremely satiated palate.

Now Oriental or Pan Asian cuisine has two ends of its spectrum. One is reputedly bland, and the other is distantly Indian in its spice quotient. And most eateries in this space struggle to find the right balance.

Tim Tai, let me assure you, seems to have got it almost right from the word go.

Starting with the soup…I had the seafood version. While it had the typical Tom Yum flavour, there was something that gave it an extra zing. Very nice.

The dim sums were a delight. And the accompanying sauces in three grades of fiery made the mild looking balls a nice and hot enough conversation starter.

The starters were then brought out, and while they are supposed to be like the pawns in Chess and are normally allowed to be sacrificed, this time they had us in droves…and we surrendered with pleasure. But it was far from Game Over.

The Crispy Water Chestnut and Bamboo Shoots were my personal favourites, but then I have been partial to the chestnut for a while.

The Banana Leaf wrapped Grill Fish appealed to the Bengali in me and I remembered the mustard sauced fish in a leaf from Mou’s restaurant, and also a similar dish cooked up by my friend Asha in Manglorean style. Amazing how many varieties of this delicious preparation exist.

For the mains, the notorious Burmese Khawse (I normally spell it Khao Suey) made its presence felt. But the Tim Tai Special Chilli-Coriander Noodles were a wonderful innovation. Intermittently soft and crispy they were the tastiest strings I’ve had in a long while.

While the prawns I had were succulent and saucy, my lamb was a pet. Cooked to perfection, flavoured to delight.

Now, in an oriental restaurant, I’ve learnt not to look for any special desserts. The usual Lychees with Ice Cream, or at best a Daarsan kind of sweet kind of define the sweet section of the menu. Usually.

But at Tim Tai, there is a difference.

The ice chilled Water Chestnut Rubies in Coconut Milk, served like a mocktail…was a refresher if there ever was one. And the Ginger & Lemon Grass Brulee did things to the palate that poems are written about.

Oh, I almost forgot. While my friend had a fresh lime soda as accompaniment, I was treated to a Ginger Mint Mojito that had my taste buds singing right through.

Thank you Supriyo. Thanks Sanjay. You were too kind. And gracious was your hospitality.

As I was outside after lunch and waiting for my car I could see the Google office opposite and I thought…aaah, you can find Tim Tai on Facebook and Google…but you can also find it opposite Google