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Sunday, May 9, 1999
A culinary journey through China
Radisson's Chinese restaurant, I'Ching, has acquired a new master chef, Sujit Bose. And he is experimenting with the menu. All through May, he is presenting food from four different regions of China for one week each. And at the end of this, he will introduce a new menu at the restaurant, using the guests' preferences as his guideline.On the first week (up to May 6), Bose had food from the Szechwan region of China. Szechwan food is spicy and aromatic, and has been very popular in India. The food is flavoured with chillies, garlic, spring onions and pepper like the Duck Szechwan Sauce, he offered. The Claypot Vegetables with Beancurd, which has a mix of carrot, beans, peppers with soy cheese, tasted surprisingly good as beancurd has not been a favourite on my food list.Going through to the northern region of Beijing (from May 7 to 13), Chef Bose offered an exotic Prawn Peking Style. ``The northern region, with all its wealth and rich lifestyle, has a reputation of hosting huge feasts. And the food cooked isalso made using elaborate processes,'' he says.The Shanghai region, east of China, is known for its fish and rice (from May 14 to 20). And this is also where noodles and dumplings originated. Chef Bose has a Braised Noodles with Beancurd (again!) and vegetables, which was very different from the usual run-of-the-mill noodles to which one is used.The last leg (from May 21 to 30) will go through the southern region of Canton. ``Cantonese cooking uses sophisticated flavours, tastes and subtle sauces with such specialities as steamed prawns in oyster sauce and exotic dumplings,'' says Bose. The dumplings were exotic indeed with the chicken being marinated in Chinese wine, giving it a piquant taste. The Oriental Journey is indeed an interesting experiment that provides gourmets with the opportunity to try out authentic Chinese food from each region, though Bose admits that many times, the food has to be flavoured to suit Indian tastes. A meal for two would cost in the region of Rs 1,500 plus taxes. --VidyaDeshpande Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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