Journey to the west for Mughlai delights

In his 16th century novel, ‘Journey to the West’, Wu Cheng'en tells the story of a group of devotees making a long and arduous journey westwards in order to bring back teachings and wisdom to share with the masses. A story of perseverance in the face of adversity, it quickly become a classic and its protagonists household names.

More than 400 years later, another group of devotees made a similarly grueling expedition to the west – Minhang in this case – equally intent on sharing their discoveries with the world (or at least those following on WeChat).

Much like the original tale, this modern-day expedition was headed by a compassionate and devout leader (Chairman), flanked by a loyal but rather porcine assistant (Vice Chairman), and a hairy fellow wielding immense power (Punisher).

It’s a story that has it all: planes, trains and automobiles; sweat and tears; song and dance. But how did they get on? Would they go on to receive similar infamy and be lauded with the same honour and respect? And most importantly, how was the curry?

The evening began with travelling. A lot of travelling, almost all of it westwards. Whoever that philosopher was that talked about the value of the journey over the destination had clearly never tried going to Minhang during Friday night rush hour.

The destination in question was Mughlai Masala, a recently renovated spot located on Baole Lu close to Fashion Park, famous for – you guessed it – Mughlai cuisine.

On first glance the restaurant appears rather small – one big table and a few chairs - but much like the characters in Wu Cheng’en’s novel, appearances can be deceptive. Heading upstairs reveals the place to be enormous, easily big enough for the OCC several times over, with Mughal-style patterned wallpaper and a beautifully tiled bar in the corner. There’s even a stage and PA system in the middle, both of which we made good use of later in evening.

The dozen or so OCC devotees nestled into the corner, seated underneath what Google confirms were Mughlai-style lamps and ceiling features.

Onto the food.

We kicked things off with some rather tasty samosa chaat (spicy chickpeas drenched in fresh yoghurt), chicken samosas and the obligatory papadams, the latter being used to scoop up a wonderfully lively onion and pistachio chutney supplied in absentia by Chutney Master James.

Following on, and with more than a little sway from the management, we went for a few of the Mughlai mixed BBQ platters, a specialty of the in-house Pakistani chef. They were immense: heaps of fragrant rice surrounded by piles of grilled chicken and lamb, interspersed with vegetables and herbs.

Portions were so big we probably could have stopped at this point but, inspired by the grit shown by our predecessors 400 years previously, we soldiered on in our quest to bring curry wisdom back to the east (of Shanghai).

While we waited for the next dishes to appear, Vice Chairman channeled his inner Zhu Bajie (the grumbling, always hard done by one from the novel) to launch into something quite extraordinary. Taking the floor, he ‘treated’ us to an ad-libbed version of Meatloaf’s “I’d Do Anything”, artfully and seamlessly changing the words in an effort to serenade (sway?) Jules about some beef they have over goalkeeper selection. Outstanding.

Talking of beef, the floor show was interrupted by the arrival of some black beef bhuna, a very rich, very meaty (if a tad mild) dish served with piles of naan.

This was quickly accompanied by a trilogy of chicken dishes, starting with a jalfrezi and quickly followed by some handi, a traditional Mughlai dish slow cooked in creamy aromatic yoghurt and tomato sauce, named after the pot (or ‘handi’) it’s cooked in. This was a clear winner and received universal acclaim.

Less popular was the white karahi chicken, a pale-looking dish many felt was rather bland in comparison, with several damningly mistaking it for a korma.

Throughout the evening the staff were attentive and responsive, keen to introduce each dish and explain their Mughlai cultural heritage. As far as drinks go, it’s fair to say no one went thirsty, and although there weren’t any draft beers available, a steady and uninterrupted flow of Tsingtao’s kept us going all night. For those of us more partial to a glass of vino the restaurant had no issue with us bringing our own and didn’t charge corkage.

So what was the verdict? Our journey to the west – our expedition to the dark side of Hongqiao airport – was it worth it? We’re happy to report that the consensus was yes, very much so.

Scores (out of 10):

⦁ Customer Care – 8.0

⦁ Service – 7.8

⦁ Value – 8.4

⦁ Quality – 7.4

⦁ Atmosphere – 6.7

TOTAL – 7.7

OCC Approved!