Article By Anthony Cordina
Silk Road Street, Da Tang West Road, No.118, Lao Dong South Road.
高新区锦业路12号 西安君悦酒店23楼
137 2065 1668
10:00am – 2:00am
Average Price per Person /人均消费: 50RMB
PROS: Great food; good, accessible service
CONS: Still in the final stages of renovation but will be wonderful when finished
From the creators of Xi’an’s renowned Redfort, allow me to present to you Macchi Bazaar. Both Redfort and Macchi Bazaar are the brainchildren of Dev Raturi, an Indian gentleman who studied hotel management and came to work in China due to his fascination with Kung Fu, and his partner, Mr. Tian Chang Li. Dev has subsequently been in China now for 14 years and has opened restaurants across the country in cities like Beijing, Chengdu, Xi’an and Hangzhou to name a few.
Unlike Redfort, which is aimed at bringing true Indian cuisine and culture to China, Macchi Bazaar is a Sichuan themed restaurant with a focus on fish. Similar to hotpot, you will be served one of three types of fish or crayfish (depending on what you order) wrapped in a cooking grade paper wrap placed onto a gas frying pan in the centre of your table. After three to five minutes of simmering one of the friendly service staff will then open the wrap to reveal the contents within. The smells that escape the wrap at this point will have you drooling. The brightly mixed colours of green and red chilies, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns and an array of other ingredients will have you waiting in frustration for it to cool down so that you can get all that spicy goodness onto your taste buds, where it belongs. Once the fish has been promptly devoured some water will be added followed by any vegetables you ordered from the long list of extras on the menu. From this point on, it is essentially hotpot.
Macchi Bazaar is family friendly and, once fully renovated, will include a private room as well as a small, supervised play centre for kids. All the chefs are trained in the art of Sichuan Cuisine and there will be at least one English speaking staff member on duty at all times. The menu contains English translations for all ingredients, although you will need to inquire about the details, and pictures are provided of the four primary fish and crayfish dishes.
You can find Macchi Bazaar on the second level Indian Pavilion at Da Tang Xi Shi (大唐西市), just next to Redfort. They also have Budweiser on tap and you can request for the fish to be prepared with mild spiciness, but chili is an integral part of this cuisine and you should be warned that this is not for the spicy intolerant.
Anthony Cordina never breaks the second rule of Fight Club. He can be reached at reviews@xianease.com