We came across Kampot when we visited Mannheim. The name itself was alluring, since Cambodia is one of our earliest and most cherished travels, and home to one of D’s all-time favourite dishes – Fish Amok. Given the constraints on the things you can do inside Ecoworld, they have done a fair job with the ambience. The menu turned out to be a lot more Asian, which I am guessing is a smarter choice if the idea is to get a crowd.
We started with a Tom Kha Head Soup. The flavours and texture were totally off with this one, which we might have guessed anyway given the colour. Closer to the other Tom – yum that is, than what we expected. Next up was the Holy Basil Sambal Chicken, and again, the memories of sambal in Indonesia are strong enough for me to recognise non-sambal. That fiery bite was completely missing in the dish. The soup actually was spicier!
For mains, D went with the Miso Ramen with Soba Noodles and Chicken, and I thought going Vietnamese might be a good idea after Thailand and Indonesia had failed. Of the two, D’s Miso was easily better in terms of flavour but definitely not the best we have had. The Pho was a disaster, and I didn’t even bother to finish it.
On hindsight, this was stupid given everything that had transpired, but we decided to try a Kampot Coffee. Since this is their own concoction, I don’t really have a benchmark to compare against. So all I’ll say is that I regretted it soon as I took the first sip.
We paid close to Rs.2700 for this mistake. The service was pleasant but tardy. After having sampled multiple eateries in The Bay, Ecoworld, I think the building has found a way to decrease the quality of dining experience. For instance, Irish House and Punjab Grill. I’ll soon be able to update with Mannheim too. For now, I’d avoid.
Kampot, The Bay @ Ecoworld, ORR Ph: 9606025113