Indian/Chinese Fusion

[AzianBrewer]

Indian fusion Chinese restaurants are quite popular in NYC these days. Dishes like Lollipop chicken: Crispy fried-chicken drumsticks with a tangy sauce. Manchurian: Lightly battered meat or vegetables in a dark, gingery soy sauce, and Hakka noodles: Spicy pan-fried noodles are some of the hottest selling plates. Is this real deal Indian/Chinese like they served it in India? Or this some just some trendy gimmick.

[Milagai]

Indian Chinese has been around for generations

in India (there are long standing Chinese immigrant communities

in India, and many of them have specialized in: restaurants,

beauty parlors, custom shoemaking and tailoring).

Indian Chinese is fantastically good food....

Milagai

[origamicrane]

observation here so feel free to discuss

but wouldn't indian/chinese fusion food

be like malaysian? indonesian? nonya? food?

[Laksa]

The few times I've had Indian Chinese food have been immensely enjoyable. I.C. isn't anything like Malaysian food. Some of it can taste a little like Thai. I have often wondered though.... is the Indian Chinese food served in the U.S. much the same as what you get in India?

Recalling my I.C. experiences (in Edison, NJ), I noticed on occasion accentuated sweetness, and the promiscuous use of corn starch. Is Indian Chinese food in the U.S. picking up bad habits from Americanized Chinese food?

[Jason Perlow]

I have a number of photos of Indian Chinese food from a short-lived restaurant in Hackensack, NJ that might be of interest:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=35844

[liv4fud]

laksa is right, though its very popular back in India, what we get here is nothing like back home. The only place in Chicagoland I have come across is called *Hot Wok* in one of the affluent suburbs.

The food is good and very similar to the one we find back home. Alas its expensive. Its as if the owners took the menu from a restaurant back home and changed the Rs. sign to $

But as I said the food is really good

On an interesting note: they tried to open up a branch in the more well known place on Devon Street but it closed down really fast thanx to the really high prices and generally slow service.

[anil]

Much of the Indian Cinese originated in Calcutta/Kolkatta. I distinctly remember that there were so many chinese restaurants in WB, and just a handful in Bombay/Mumbai (circa late '60s early'70s) as new ones opened in Bombay/Mumbai, I used to initiate my local friends on my visits home from West Bengal.

Fast forward to '90s and now - Nearly Every restaurant in nerarly all major cities serve Chinese Is that same as one's I had in Kolkatta ? No !!!

Back to NYC - Indian Chinese that one gets served is within the bell-curve of what you'd find in upscale indian restaurants and some chinese restaurants in Mumbai & Delhi {I've not visited Kolkatta, Chennai,BLR in the last decade or so }

Edited November 12, 2005 by anil (log)

[percyn]

Its been a while since I had Chinese food in India, but I remember ordering staples like:

Sweet corn chicken (or crab) soup

Chilie chicken

Hakka noodles

American Chop suey

Manchurian Chicken

Sweet and sour pork or jumbo prawns

etc...

[Mayur]

The few times I've had Indian Chinese food have been immensely enjoyable.  I.C. isn't anything like Malaysian food.  Some of it can taste a little like Thai.  I have often wondered though.... is the Indian Chinese food served in the U.S. much the same as what you get in India?

Er, maybe. The food at Chinese Mirch (27th & Lexington in NY, NY, IIRC) is pretty representative, but some other stuff, like some of the dishes they used to put out at the brunch buffet at Jackson Diner in Queens, NY) is not.

Recalling my I.C. experiences (in Edison, NJ), I noticed on occasion accentuated sweetness, and the promiscuous use of corn starch.  Is Indian Chinese food in the U.S. picking up bad habits from Americanized Chinese food?

←

No; those happen to be bad habits shared by Indian Chinese and American Chinese food, actually.

[Pan]

The few times I've had Indian Chinese food have been immensely enjoyable.  I.C. isn't anything like Malaysian food.  Some of it can taste a little like Thai.  I have often wondered though.... is the Indian Chinese food served in the U.S. much the same as what you get in India?

Er, maybe. The food at Chinese Mirch (27th & Lexington in NY, NY, IIRC) is pretty representative[...]

←

Representative in terms of dishes, or quality?

[bethala]

i have a friend who will be working in calcutta next month. she would like to eat chinese food there. does anyone have any recommendations for chinese places in calcutta?

[Raj Banerjee]

i have a friend who will be working in calcutta next month.  she would like to eat chinese food there.  does anyone have any recommendations for chinese places in calcutta?

←

i can chime in about Kolkata's Chinese restaurants...I visit Kolkata every year as its where my family is from, tho I was born and raised in London, England.

In terms of high end Indian Chinese (its still ok to turn up in shorts tho!), you can't go wrong with Mainland China (Mainland China, 13A, Gurusaday Road, Kolkata-700019

Ph: 2287 2006 - 09), one of Kolkata's most popular restaurants. Booking is recommended. Food is of excellent quality. Make sure you try the darsaan dessert (you will find this on IC menus all over Kolkata, but its best here).

Otherwise, Red Hot Chili Pepper is also very good. You will find that multi cuisine restaurants are a big trend in Kolkata these days, so many restos will have a chinese section to their menus - restaurants will serve Chinese, North Indian, Bengali and Continental Cuisine, since Calcuttan gourmands like the idea of choosing from different cuisines when they go out rather than settling on a cuisine beforehand. The Chinese food at the Bengal Club (if you know someone who's a member) is also excellent. Tangra Kaizen on Landsdown Road is also good.

Then theres Jimmy's Kitchen (Jimmy's Kitchen, 7/1 A J C Bose Road, Kolkata - 700017, Phone: 2247 7139). This is one of Kolkata's oldest Chinese restaurants. The other option is of course Tangra, Kolkata's Chinatown. This is slightly on the outskirts of Kolkata, on the road to the airport. Its near where all the tanneries are, therefore the smell on the way there may be off putting. Finding a particular resto to recommend is difficult, as there are many small places. Its best if you ask someone who ventures out here regularly what the best place to go at the moment is. Tangra is much more village like and less urban than central Kolkata.

OK, thats enough. If you have any more questions about Kolkata or Kolkata Chinese, feel free to ask.

In terms of Chinese Indian food, something I eat every year, it is very different from UK and USA Chinese food. Its generally spicier, and garlic, ginger and chillies are far more prevalent. Sounds obvious, but true, and the fusion is not as obvious as one would think. It is truly delicious and to an Indian at least, very enjoyable. I find Chinese food here bland when I come back, but then start to appreciate the cleaner flavours after a while. Ideally, I would like the option of both on my doorstep!

Cheers,

Raj

PS Incidentally, while ur friends over there, she can pick up an Indian Chinese cookbook by either Sanjeev Kapoor, India's most high profile TV chef, or Nita Mehta, India's Delia Smith. A good bookshop would be Crosswords, 8 Elgin Road (dont know phone number). Incidentally, books are much cheaper in India, so I tend to stock up. Oxfords is another good book store, on Park Street, and then theres a whole road full of bookshops in the slightly out of the way College Street (near, you guessed it, Calcutta University).

[bethala]

thanks, raj. this all sounds great! wish i could give some of these places a try. i'll be sure to pass this info.

beth

[Flotch]

Most Indians find it difficult to stomach traditional Chinese cuisine because they are so used to home-bred dishes like Manchurian and hakka noodles which are staples when they dine out or order in. Another favourite is dragon chicken which is deep-fried chicken drumsticks tossed in szeuchan(sp?) sauce. A real treat when paired with cold Kingfisher beer. Stir-fried meat and vegetables also came late as most restaurants preferred to make everything batter fried with thick cornstarch- based sauces accompanied by several slit green chillies.

In Mumbai where I'm from Indo-Chinese food is perfect after a night of drinking and can be savoured from several roadside carts that are open late. The only problem is that you may have to eat standing up, not a good idea when you are over the legal drinking limit.

[canucklehead]

I have a number of Chinese friends who families lived in Calcutta for generations. My friend's mother still makes her own garam masala blends and speaks hindi perfectly. Many of the contractors in Vancouver are Indian and she surprised them one morning with fresh Chai and rambling on and on in their native tongue.

Reflecting this are a couple of Indo-Chinese restaurants - here is a review for a place called Green Lettuce. I have not been myself - but I looooooove Indian Food and I looooooooove Chinese Food - so I am a little leary of what the combination might bring....

[warlockdilemma]

I am chinese from Kolkata now in Toronto.I agree with Raj Bannerjee's suggestion.But yes Tangra would be the place for authentic Indian Hakka ,just a word of caution,the food is always very oily.My personal favourite in Tangra was China Haus,but you can drop into any of the restaurants and they are all good.

The weekend buffet in Mainland China is good.Try not to miss that.