Around 33km from Kolkata is Achipur where a red tomb lies. It is the occupier of the grave that gave the locale its name. Tong Atchew, said to be from the Hakka community, was the first Chinese person to land on the Indian shores in the 18th century. Soon many joined him to work on the sugar plantations that he set up there. The community thrived, sprouting a culture that combined the charm of Chinese life with the vibrancy of Bengal.
The careful sublimity of this marriage is still seen in two Kolkata localities — the Tiretti Bazaar and Tangra. The food from here, which spread to the entire country, is what is now known as Chinese cuisine in India.
Now, the Tangra food festival at The Leela Kovalam, A Raviz Hotel, is recreating this splendour in Thiruvananthapuram. The food festival features 25 dishes — the delicacies of Indo-Chinese cuisine — curated by Chef Rakesh and his team.
Our tasting session began with the veg Manchow soup — sweet and tangy, with rich, silky texture — reminding us of the intuitiveness of Chinese ways. There was also a burst of Indian spices, giving the dish a unique peppiness. The crispy noodle added to the chicken variant gave it more of this tinkle.
The dishes in the festival menu have ample options for vegetarians too. “It’s 50-50 here. Almost every dish in the menu has a vegetarian variant,” says Sarath Madathil, deputy general manager, marketing and special projects of The Leela Raviz.
Starters soon followed the soup, in an endless trail. Baby corn dipped in Schezwan sauce, Tangra-style lollipops aptly named ‘Drums of Heaven’, Veg Manchurian, and Chicken Suimai (the dish stands almost needle-like) occupy the prime spot in this chart.
But what took the cake is the king of dimsums — the Crystal Dimsum with potato starch as the wrap, rendering the outer coating translucent. Glass skin rules in Oriental cuisine too!
Another attraction is the array of dips and sauces. The quintessential soya, tomato-garlic, and onion-garlic sauce aside, the spread has quite a scintillating storm packed in the chilli-coriander sauce, with a chewy yet crunchy splurt of lingering flavour. The Lao Gan Ma sauce, made with chilli, garlic and black beans, then slow-cooked and ravishingly flaunted, is also a formidable presence.
Chilli and garlic form the core of Tangra cuisine. The Schezwan noodles came with a layered taste of garlic, onion, chilli, and were cloaked in a tangy sweetness. The fried rice and its veg variant also bore the savouring fragrance of chilli and garlic. The prime spot is reserved for Lao Gan Ma fried rice.
The star was, of course, the Schezwan Hakka noodles, which packed the culinary history of the Hakka community. Originally made of rice and potato starch, in India, it transformed into a wheat or maida variant, doing justice to the tag of ‘Indo-Chinese’.
Another spectacle is the cluster of vegetables tossed in the legendary Chinese wok in garlic sauce. The zucchini, broccoli, and mushrooms seemed pampered enough to create a tsunami of gastronomical ecstasy. The desserts section at the festival is a medley of flavours — from panna cottas, to matcha cream brulee, kafir lime yoghurt, tiramisu, green tea cheese cakes, and chia puddings.
The highlight, though, is the live station where Chinatown and Tangra Wok-tossed delicacies, momos and dumplings are freshly dished out.
Arranged at The Terrace, adorned with Chinese decor, the experience transports one to the time and tides that brought Atchew and his clan to India.
The fest will conclude on August 3.