Is Indian-Chinese on its way out from popular consciousness? On the face of it, it would seem an absurd question to ask with an obvious answer (?no?), particularly in a week when the founding father of the Manchurian? that trademark made-in-India ?Chinese? concoction?is celebrating renewed success. Nelson Wang, the China Garden restaurateur, who claims credit for having invented the pakora-like manchurian several decades ago in his first Mumbai kitchen, has just opened up a posher version of his popular restaurants at Hotel Samrat, the new, hip F&B destination in the capital. Pointing to him, you may as well argue that the cult of the deep-fried, chillied-and-honeyed, robust halwai-Chinese is very much alive and kicking.
But, while we may still be inclined to occasionally gobble up tandoori-chicken dimsums or to slurp on comforting chicken sweet corn soup, just pay a visit to the likes of the Taj brand House of Ming to appreciate what I mean. The formula for dishing out ?Chinese? seems to have quietly, but remarkably changed, at least at the trendier establishments in metropolitan India. This is regardless of the progress being made in an alternate universe, as it were by Yo! China and its cousins, who continue their march into cities like Patna, Lucknow and Vishakhapatnam.
Despite the latter and the fact that Indian-Chinese continues to be a money spinner in middle India, there is some evidence now that at least in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, not to mention Pune and Kolkata, there is a counter move towards authenticity and the appreciation of the ?regional? in restaurants seeking to serve contemporary (or classic) ?real? Chinese. The move may have kickstarted with the high-wattage openings of restaurants such as China House in Mumbai and China Kitchen in New Delhi (at the Grand Hyatt and Hyatt, respectively) almost three years ago, but it is finally gathering steam everywhere else too.
Step into the likes of the Yum Yum Tree at New Friend?s Colony, or Mamagato (a pan-Asian, experimental caf?) at Khan Market, or the RED in Noida, and their counterparts in other cities with a substantial working and youthful population, and you will find that smart Chinese restaurants today are no longer basing their business plans on how well their Indian (or Nepali or Sikkimese) chefs can turn out staples such as honey chicken, crispy lamb or, indeed, the manchurian.
Instead, the accent is more likely to be on real Peking duck (grilled in a wood-fired oven), on the best har gaus with the most translucent of skins that you may eat off a conveyor belt, on hand-pulled noodles, soft shell crabs, fresh seafood subtly done, and wonder of wonders, steamed and stir-fried veggies, not to mention, in some cases, green tea ice cream. In short, it is no longer enough to sell the familiar comfort food of the past. Instead, authentication seems to be a concept driving these restaurants. And, invariably, its search leads them to the realm of the expat chef?if not from the mainland itself, then from Singapore, Hong Kong or via Down Under!
Any self-respecting Chinese restaurant today expecting you to shell out your hard-earned rupees will, at the very least, make it a point to show off its chef from China. And, unlike in the past, when these expat chefs (in the few places that they existed) were expected to quickly get ?acclimatised? to the Indian palate and its supposed fondness for chillies, today the accent is on chefs taking you on authentic culinary journeys to the various regions they come from. While the milder flavours of Canton have finally found favour with Indian audiences, others from the ?royal north? (erstwhile Peking) or the tribal northwest (Uighur/Mongolia) are also being showcased and there is no dearth of still others?from Nonya (Chinese-meets-Malay) to Singaporean street flavours. ?Chinese? is no longer the generic cuisine of our memories.
When I met Chef Sam Wong recently at the yet-to-be opened hotel Crowne Plaza Today in Okhla, part of the international chain with big plans for India in the next two years, he remarked on this huge change that seems to have come about in dining preferences lately. Regulars at the Oberoi?s Taipan in Delhi will remember him as the kitchen deity there of long standing. But while Taipan, one of the older style Chinese restaurants in the metros, may have been a seat for power dining, Wong doesn?t really miss it. He is happy, instead, putting together a new kind of Chinese menu these days?one where the entire cooking will be done in an open kitchen with everything from the noodles to the dimsums and even Chinese crepes being totally handmade, down to their skins. Wong himself will be behind the glass window showcasing his newly-acquired skills at making hand-pulled noodles?stretching the fresh dough, sometimes cutting it into broad ribbon shapes with a knife edge. If you want to continue with the spectacle, you can then watch these getting dunked in a tub of hot water before being lightly stir fried and brought to your table?
Oops, where did the manchurian go?
?The writer is a food critic