Bombay Chow has been on my list for a long LONG time. I bookmarked the place years ago and have come across their signature Chicken Lollipop at London Halal Food Festival one year. I even visited their sister restaurant, Fatt Pundit, when they first opened, yet somehow hadn’t visited Bombay Chow.
Fast-forward to now, I’ve finally managed to pay a visit to the place!
A little bit of background, Bombay Chow is an Indo-Chinese restaurant located a short walk away from Hammersmith station (or around the corner from Ravenscourt Road station). By Indo-Chinese, it means a fusion of Desi and Hakka Chinese flavours which is a very popular cuisine in the regions around Kolkata due to Chinese immigrants moving into the area.
I am a Chinese who love the robustness of Indian cuisines, and the marriage of the two is like a dream to me. Here is what we ordered:
Chicken Hot & Sour Soup (£5.75)
We started off with a bowl of chicken hot & sour soup.
It was warming, with a good little kick of spice and a lovely tangy touch of flavour. It comes with a side of soy vinegar which I loved. Just a little drizzle of the vinegar really made the flavours pop. I personally really enjoy the acidity so kept adding even more vinegar into it!
As a funny side story, I’ve always loved adding lots of vinegar into any thick bisque-like Chinese soups. In Cantonese, more of a casual slang, eating vinegar means getting jealous – and my grandma always teased me about it lol!
Chicken Lollipop (4pc – £7.95)
I believe their Chicken Lollipops are their best seller.
They got decent flavours, offering a little tingling flavour sensation for the palate. However, it wasn’t as succulent as I anticipated. Nor was it dry or anything negative, it just didn’t pop out as much as I anticpated.
On a side note, the accompanying chilli sauce was lip-smackingly delicious and paired up great with the chicken or any meats in general.
Butter Chicken Biryani (£12.95)
When I put Bombay Chow on my restaurant list, I was thinking of trying out all the different small plates they offer instead of going for curries and biryani.
However, we were REALLY craving for biryani so we ended up ordering both biryani options on the menu. I didn’t have any expectations for the biryani but I’ve got to say I was pleasantly surprised! This Butter Chicken Biryani turned out to be my favourite dish of the evening.
Firstly, the portion was great, accompanied by a generous amount of chicken pieces in it. Secondly, the flavours were rich and spot on. The dish was incredibly fragrant and came with a side of an umami butter chicken curry sauce and yoghurt. I most enjoyed the subtle sweetness from the butter chicken.
Lamb Biryani (£13.75)
The lamb biryani was great as well. Similarly to the Butter Chicken biryani above, it came with a generous amount of lamb meat in it and was served with a side of both curry sauce and yoghurt. The lamb was cooked to a very tender texture, with a beautiful robust flavour.
If I had to pick between the two though, the butter chicken biryani might win over just an edge in my opinion. A good one and of great value in overall nonetheless.
Sizzling Brownie (£9.99)
It wasn’t one of the nights to treat myself to desserts before we walked in. But after spotting the dessert, i.e. the Sizzling Brownie, on the menu, there’s just no way I’m walking away from the restaurant without ordering it.
And it certainly did not disappoint.
You just can’t NOT smile at the sight of a piece of rich & gooey brownie, topped with a massive scoop of vanilla ice cream and sizzling when the chocolate sauce gets poured on top. It was just satisfying all-round and absolutely irresistible. We shared it between the two of us and was just the perfect portion to end the meal.
In summary…
…I really enjoyed Bombay Chow and even preferred them over Fatt Pundit! The biryani honestly came as such a delightful surprise and the sizzling brownie definitely spoke for itself by its look alone. I can’t believe it took me this long to finally visit. But hey, better late than never, right?!
RATING:
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Food
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Atmosphere
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Service
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Value
Halal Status
All meats are halal at Bombay Chow.
Alcohol is present at the restaurant.
Tel: 020 8741 0292
Website: https://bombaychow.co.uk/en
Instagram: @bombaychow
Nearest station: Ravenscourt Road
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