I decided to review these two restaurants together because they have similar concepts and food, but there are some slight differences. So in that spirit, I have reviewed the two in a compare/contrast style.
Overview
Noodle Play is a new delivery service in Mumbai with several locations, and an interesting concept in that they do not have sit down, only delivery. This means that they are an all internet restaurant, from the menu to the ordering process, everything is done online, which is great if you're like me and have a hard time ordering food on the phone in Hindi. They have a set daily menu as well as an ala carte menu from which you can select various individual items.
Wok Express is a "build-your-own-meal" concept, which is not unique in any way, but I found that the condiments they offer are a bit different as are the sauces. Their first location is open in Pali Hill and they will be opening two more locations soon. They do deliver as well as accept online orders. But, the thing that I found most exciting was that they served bubble tea! For those of you who don't know, bubble tea is a flavored drink which might be made of milk, with tapioca balls at the bottom. Guys, this is one of my favorite drinks in the world and I have never seen it in India! It's almost worth it to go here just for the bubble tea! And the food just adds to the experience, honestly.
Compare/Contrast
Both restaurants offer Chinese/Asian food, but in a more authentic style. Noodle Play offers a set menu for each day and an a la carte menu, but no option to choose your ingredients. On the other hand, Wok Express only offers the option to select your ingredients. This includes the usual; select your base amongst options of rice and various noodles, protein of veg and non veg, vegetables, sauce which includes a selection of kung pao sambal and even toban, and finally your garnish which might be cilantro peanuts or fried onions which are not so common. Now not everybody is confident enough to select their own ingredients which I know first hand having messed up many orders myself at "build-your-own-restaurants". So, it might be better to opt for Noodle Play, where you will get a set combination. However, in that case you will only have one veg and one non veg option per day. It really depends on the person and their taste, as it always is with food.
Food
To be honest, I liked the food from both restaurants. However, I think I found Wok Express to be a little bit yummier maybe because I got to choose my ingredients, so I wasn't forced to eat vegetables that I don't like. I ordered the following combination; large chicken combo with rice, kung pao, which is my favorite but I have not yet found any restaurant here that makes it properly, mushrooms, spring onions and a few more veggies. Most important were the toppings I picked which really gave the dish its flavor; the crushed peanuts and fried onions. This dish was incredible! I loved it so much, I honestly couldn't get enough until I bit into a chili which was too spicy for me and put me off my food for a bit. But really, the food was great and I highly recommend this restaurant if you like Chinese rice combos like me. We also tried the chicken bao from here which we found to be way lacking in filling and more in dough, which was so disappointing because I love bao. The boba tea did save the meal though, after the bao, but I would go for the Thai boba tea over the French vanilla boba tea which tasted way too strongly of vanilla bean.
Noodle Play sent over a few combinations, but since I like rice a lot better than noodles, I mainly stuck with the rice combo. The Thai curry combo here was excellent, but I think the coconut flavor should have been upped a bit. They also sent a Chinese gravy and rice combo, which was also good. For those of you who are health conscious, the food from Noodle Play had a lot less oil than usual Chinese food. Overall, I would recommend both restaurants. The food was good, and the choice depends on who is ordering, but if you are looking to be more health concious then I suggest Noodle Play, and for stronger flavors I suggest Wok Express.
Pricing
Noodle Play $$
Wok Express $$$
Seating
Noodle Play: no, seating is not available it is delivery only
Wok Express: yes, plenty of seating is available
Location
Noodle Play: list of locations here
Wok Express: list of locations here
Anagha C.
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