PROLOGUE
I must write upon Ling’s Pavilion. It is here that I learnt, nay, was indeed taught, upon what Chinese cuisine is – and the art of appreciating it. Many restaurants and purported China Towns in India have been branded in the past as having introduced and propagated “authentic” Chinese cuisine. While some of these claims may partly be true, I must aver that Chinese, as is eaten in China, and in Chinese homes, is also produced and served in Ling’s Pavilion as part of their usual offering. As I write, my thanks must go to Baba Ling, Nini Ling and to “Johnny Uncle” as my daughter would call him. If Bombay, Mumbai and India possesses extraordinary restaurateurs in Baba and Nini Ling, then surely it has possessed one of the most aesthete, knowledgeable, generous and comprehensive teachers of Chinese cuisine in Johnny. Johnny has since retired; Ling’s Pavilion suffered bereavement. Ling’s Pavilion was introduced to me by my wife, who knows of cooking, cookery and cuisine. Before I step into a description of Ling’s Pavilion’s produce, I must make somewhat of a generalised differentiation between Indian and Chinese cuisines. By the way, I am Bengali. My wife is Parsi.
INTRODUCTION
Both Chinese and Indian Cuisine are constituents of immensely ancient culinary lineages. Both are scientific. Both are radiant and resplendent in their glories. Both are immensely popular worldwide; and both are completely different – as different as chalk is to cheese. The base ingredients of Chinese cuisine constitute of what is purely non vegetarian, while we, from India, base our cuisine on what is intrinsically vegetarian. Consumption of milk products is much higher with us, or so I am led to believe, while the Chinese derive their basic milk and curd for cooking from soybeans and other such plant material – or so I am told. Of course the Chinese also drink milk from cows and buffalo – yet in China, these animals are farmed primarily for their meat. Chinese cuisine attempts to preserve flavours within food and its original constituents to deliver maximum nourishment in as easy a manner as possible. Indian cuisine is built on adding various ingredients with the art of using spices, to bring out as much flavour as possible, even at the cost of changing food value and composition – and make nourishment thus delivered, pleasing to the tongue as well as to the physical constitution. In short, in Chinese cuisine, one cooks food as is and to reflect as much as possible – original ingredient; while in Indian cuisine, one freely reengineers raw material into a product. Indian food is subject to constant change within the basic vegetarian framework; and using this base, has evolved beautifully constructed non vegetarian results – case in point, the grandness of Bengali cuisine, which is unique in which it possesses a fundamental and vast vegetarian base, but a spectacular non vegetarian reality built upon it – which by itself is larger and more varied that most world non-vegetarian cuisines in their entirety.
Indian variety is also underlined by its fast food, in which different schools of cookery are united to produce weird but delicious concoctions – such as the Chinese chop suey dosa and Chinese Bhel; not to mention Falafel and Pita Bread cooked with Gujarati spices or Punjabi ingredients. I must reiterate that there is nothing “vegetarian” in Chinese cuisine. Even though that “vegetable” preparation placed in front of you has an appearance of being vegetarian – the proof of the pudding is in the fact that the entire “vegetarian” preparation is made with beef, pork, chicken, fish stocks; or even a masterstock made out of mixed meats, dried herbs, and in the vast majority of cases, no spice at all. Even tastes, textures, flavours and uses of Chinese vegetables are different from their Indian counterparts and equivalents. India’s evolution in its local traditions are immovably rooted in accepting and amalgamating external cultural influences and precepts. China is more purist; defends and maintains its traditional ingredients and schools of cookery, permitting little foreign influence. Chinese cakes are entirely different from what we in India understand by “cake”, trained as Indians are more in western traditions. Amongst others, one of India’s most beautifully created “cakes” integral to local culture constitute of the Handvo from Gujarat. The reader must note that I use the term “cake” under advisement; the Handvo is neither a cake and nor a pastry; and it is not a bread. It is what it is and is one of those works of art fairly unknown outside it geographical region. However, the reader will understand my context.
Chinese cooking is rooted more in boiling, broiling and steaming rather than in frying, roasting, garnishing or fire baking. Steaming, by itself, is a vastly different art in China, where, instead of plain water, herbs and stocks are employed so as to preserve and double flavour. India has a fair variety of steamed foods. We steam prepared ingredients traditionally in leaves and bamboo, or in vessels made of copper or other alloys; in contemporary times, the use of aluminium and stainless steamers are popular. China steams in cane, bamboo, wooden, bronze or even bone receptacles. Consider, that in the same steamer, one may make Tai-Pao as well as the Idli. But how different is the Idli from the Tai-Pao! It is not possible to define and categorise Chinese cuisine as it is impossible to do so with the Indian – the variety is too overwhelming and flows with the tide of taste and need. Both cuisines reflect class, region and ethnic background. Both cuisines are constructed out of staggering varieties of ingredients, techniques, eating styles and preparations – evolved through longs years of hoary antiquity; and much history.
India possesses enormous varieties of breads – each reflective of a unique cooking method, ingredient, quality, texture and taste; moreover, except in sporadic cases, our breads are all uniformly vegetarian. Bread, in China, is reminiscent more of loaves and dumplings; and are often stuffed with meat and fish. China also prepares something that closely resembles our chapatti. But this is actually an import from Korea, and its cooking style is very different from ours.
In India, dumplings are usually treated as appetisers and as snack; in Chinese cuisine, a meal may be composed of dumplings accompanied by a light and watery soup drunk after the main course. Dal is akin to our Indian soup if I may so hazard; and the most delicious such soup that I have partaken of is the Gujarati, Marwari and Kutchi Panchmel Dal and Dahi ni Kadi. Our Dals are vastly vegetarian in scope and context, except, among others, for the delicious Dal Gosht, which is a pearl of Muslim cookery; Dhansak, which is famously and scrumpaliciously Parsi; and the Bengal Maache’r Muro diye Bhaja Moogh Dal, the recollection of which is enough to send a homesick Bengali, marooned in foreign shores, in search of the nearest riot in hope of attaining heaven. The Moghlai and Persian Shorba is incredible; but when I find Tomato Soup with crouton marked as a “Shorba” in the Moghlai Restaurant, I marvel at India’s adaptability. Of course there are other such successful amalgamations between plants, leaves, pulses and well slaughtered animals; but, eventually, our dal is not a soup – and consider, too, how different Sambhar is from Tadkey-wali-Dal. But in China, a soup is a soup, which is also a meal.
INSIGHTS ON CHINESE SCHOOLS OF CUISINE
There are essentially two sorts of Chinese cuisines. The first alternative is the one that is traditional, “authentic” and meant for domestic and ethnic consumption. These are the Anhui-cai (Hui Cai), Cantonese (Guangdong), Fujian (Xianwei Style of Cookery), Hunan (Xiang), Jiangsu (Jiangsu Cai), Shandong (Shandong Cai), Szechwan (Sichaun Cai) and Zhejiang (Zhecai). “Hakka“ cookery is a sub-cuisine that fits in the Cantonese and Fujian traditions; Mongolian and Manchurian (Manzhou Cai) precepts were later additions. There is however, nothing in Chinese such as “Mongolian Prawn” or “Manchurian Chicken”. Mongolian Prawn in fact uses a wide variety of Hunan styled spices and cookery. Expectations of “authentic” Manchurian Chicken is a dead end upon an insurmountable wall. Additionally, there is also the Huaiyang cuisine (Huaiyang Cai), which is a subgroup of the Jiangsu Cai.
The second alternative is for foreigners and constitutes of the Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian and American Chinese cookery. Because of the basic nature of Chinese cuisine, it lends itself very well to admixture with foreign local ingredients; of additions or subtractions of subtleties. We may be forgiven for mistaking the Chinese in Imperial China Restaurant in London as offering “authentic” Chinese, or our Mainland China in India for doing the same. But if truth be spoken, then these restaurants, while maintaining the Chinese brand and even methodology, produce a cuisine that is not purist, but engineered subtly and sometimes overtly to suit local traditions, taste buds, expectations and needs; nowhere in London will you find the traditional Snake Head stewed in Rice Starch; but the Chinese in Bombay do eat snake meat, though canned. Indian cuisine abroad faces similar restraints; some of the best Indian restaurants in London produce “Indian” curries and kabobs which, to a travelling Indian tourist, would be routine travesty; the much vaunted “Chicken Tikka, while maintaining its legitimate antecedents, lives an illegitimate existence in our London. Let’s now approach Ling’s Pavilion.
STYLES OF EATING – A PRÉCIS STARTING WITH SOUP
When us Indians eat in Chinese restaurants, we are used to ordering, in western fashion, a soup and starter, followed by the entrée. Main course then follows, followed by dessert. Drinks are liberally partaken through the meal – whether these be soft drink or hard liquor. In contrast, the soup is often the meal for the Chinese. Sometimes, two soups are “eaten”; a heavy soup to begin with, followed by a central course, and ending, with a light soup. Soups that we in India know of are famous worldwide in Chinese cuisine – Hot & Sour Soup, Prawn Noodle Soup, Tum Yom Soup, Sweet Corn Chicken Soup, Chicken Asparagus Soup, Shark Fin Soup, Crabmeat Soup, Fish Meatball Soup, Lung Fung Soup – so and and so forth; except, that in pure Chinese cuisine, many of these soups do not exist as preparations, and certainly not “Lung Fung Soup”. While some of these soups are available in Ling’s Pavilion, the “House Soup” as it is called here, is a purely Chinese creation that is elegant, simple and absolutely delicious. It is known as the Pork Bone or Pork Broth Soup. To order it, you have to specifically ask for it; it is not present in the general menu. Pork Bone and Pork White Broth Soups are made of lean pork and blanched pork bones, mixed with herbs, vegetables and fungi such as shiitake mushroom, etc, and simmered for several hours on a tediously fed wood or charcoal fire, to produce a rich but thin broth; and is perfectly heavenly. Ling’s Pavilion makes it with wonton; serves it separately with potatoes, radish or pumpkin; tomato, beet or winter melon; it is served in white porcelain bowls – bony and large portions of pork are usually visible in servings. Pork Bone Soup and Pork White Broths are also intrinsic to Korean Cuisine. Ling’s Pavilion sees considerable visitations from crowds of Japanese, Korean and Chinese Consulates – and these gatherings tend to be animated once the soup has been drunk and the wine bottle opened; ladies and gentlemen of these national persuasions visit Ling’s Pavilion for a piece of their home. They say they do not find such restaurants in India. Other soups include the “Seafood Fire Pot Soup“. While the soup by itself is completely Chinese, it bears a fancy name just to appear exotic; it is staple in China, and it is not for us who do not have a taste for squids, clams, prawns, fish and fishball, pork, mussels and meatballs – all boiled together in a masterstock. This soup is a meal by itself; and is served in a self heating brass container – enough to serve six.
DUMPLINGS
Indians term all dumplings as “momo“. This is an error in my opinion. A Momo is necessarily a Tibetan and Nepali preparation. Chinese dumplings constitute of the Siew-Mai, Guotie, Wonton, Zongzi, Xiao Long Bao, Tangyuan, Cha Siu Bao, Cheong Fung, Har Gow, Teochew, Bao Zi, Taro, Ngau juk Kau, etc, to name a few. It is beyond the scope of this article to go into this in any further detail; I am happy, however, to write on three of my favourite dumplings at the Ling’s Pavilion – the Siew Mai, the Tai-Pao, which is also made as the Cha Siu Bao, the Har Gow and the Xiao Long Bao. Be aware that dumplings are also referred to as Dim Sum, and they differ in size, depending upon the restaurant, chéf and kitchen. Dumplings in Ling’s Pavilion are served in covered self heating stainless steel receptacles. Upon touch, they are steaming hot, and fill the air in front of you with their redolence. Siew Mais resemble large, white truncated flower buds. They can be filled with chicken, pork, beef or fish, or mixed meats. The Cha Siu Bao, also called Tai-Pao is filled either with a sweet barbecue pork or with chicken; both Siew Mai and Tai Pao are served with a brilliantly tangy mustard sauce; six Siew Mais are served in one serving; Tai-Paos number in fours. Steamed wontons are served in eights or tens. The Xiao Long Bao in Ling’s Pavilion is better known there are the “Steamed Pork Dumpling” and is served in pairs, in a little rectangular porcelain plate; with a bottle of vinegar and long stems of shredded ginger/bamboo shoot. The Har Gow is also called “Prawn Dumplings” – they are made of raw prawn with a sprig of herb or lemon grass, enclosed in white dumpling skin – and filled with juice. All these are steamed, and it is expected that these will be eaten steamed, including the steamed Spring Roll. However, you may order what you desire. A variety of fish, prawn and meat cakes are available with this – and you may order as per your taste. And remember, sometimes, food that sounds and looks prohibitive, such as Chicken Foot Soup, Oxtail Stew or Stewed Rice with Steamed Fish are incredibly delicious once you have overcome your initial hesitation – and the names I have used reflect exactly the ingredients of preparations placed in front of you. If you order Ox Tongue cooked in Bean Curd and Bean Sauce, you will find sliced Ox Tongue on your plate; and no, it is not slippery, spitty and slimy globs of meat. On the contrary, tongue is solid, well cooked and incredibly delicious; served, it closely resembles salami. The vegans and vegetarians here must forgive me assaulting upon their sensibilities; but whatever our personal morality may be or our principles, values and religious persuasions, this is a superficial description of a gigantic and ancient, scientific non-vegetarian cuisine. As for me, I am omnivore. I am perfectly content to unending stints of vegetarian fare; as I am happy to gorge into a bull’s private parts when they are laid up for me to eat, fresh from spices, marination and flames; honoured by recipe and adorned through procedure.
RICE, MEAT, EGGS ET AL
China has pioneered the concept of restaurants. We hear of restaurants in China, back in the 11th Century. Individual restaurants specialised and were noted for their delicacies; some were famous for their red meats; others for all kinds of poultry; some for fish and a vast variety of other preparations. The main staple in all of China constitutes of rice, herbs, weeds and seaweeds; noodles; and fresh produce from farmland and lakes; rivers and the sea. Fruits, nuts, herbs and fungi are integral as staple. Reptiles and insects find place in Chinese recipes. Rice is the staple. Ling’s Pavilion serves a superb selection of rice: and these are cooked not in water, but in non-vegetarian masterstock. Vital to this, of course, is steaming hot rice; and it is cooked in such a way that it can be eaten raw with the minimum of other additions. Rice is redolent with herbs and protein; the colour is off white. The flavours are resplendent; many different varieties of rice are eaten in China. Sticky rice is eaten, and is called Nuomi or Chut-bi. In Ling’s Pavilion, steaming hot rice can be had with very mild and aromatic sauces; and sauces are not to be used as gravy. Rice can be stewed with sliced beef or lamb; chicken or mixed meats; with salt fish and pak choi. In Chinese cuisine, “stewed” is actually stewed and steamed in stock; and not “boiled” in oil, butter or cream. Ling’s Pavilion also serves steamed rice mixed with ground meat, and served in a pot with an egg broken it just before serving. The idea of eating a raw egg may not appeal to many. But raw egg mixed into food, by means of employing the correct methodology, creates supremely delicious results. The rice is served piping hot in a wooden bowl. As it is placed on the table in front of you, the lid is opened to reveal white rice, hot, with bellowing vapours of steam redolent of freshly boiled and ground pork or beef, mixed in with herbs – awaiting the eggs. Two raw eggs are broken into the rice and meat, and mixed quickly in by an expert waiter. The lid is then shut and the entire dish made to stand for about three to four minutes. When the lid is opened, one sees a miracle wrought in food engineering; the revealed rice is covered with what looks like very finely made scrambled egg; the meat is thoroughly mixed into the rice; luscious flavours that emanate are captivating. Upon tasting, the rice is supremely delicious; the food value – unbelievably healthy and nourishing. This is a marvel constructed with protein, starch, gluten, carbohydrates, minerals and various enzymes present in egg, meat and rice – untouched by oil or frying. The Chinese eat such preparations every day; and it is little wonder that they are so strong and healthy, and seldom fall sick.
The other, more of a “restaurant” preparation available is the Steamed Pot Rice, served with mixed Tofu, meats, prawns, chicken, salted fish, bacon, pork and beef. It is shatteringly delicious; and equally wholesome. In addition to this, there is the more common Fried Rice and various other rice preparations – stewed, steamed and even baked in bamboo. The choice of meat and vegetable is yours; you may try Rice stewed with fish, beef, pork or chicken; pak choi and water chestnuts; you can literally ask to add anything within a traditional Chinese framework, and be served that, mixed in or topped on rice. Ling’s Pavilion had stopped serving Sticky Rice. You and I are poorer for it. Sticky rice just does not work in India – or did not work. I am uninformed if Baba and Nini Ling plan on re-introducing sticky rice preparations. Sticky rice is central to Chinese cuisine. It is cooked with chopped Chinese sausages, pork, beef, mushroom, pak choi, fish, shrimp, mussels and scallops. A variety of dumplings are constructed of sticky rice; and so are other traditional Chinese delicacies. Chinese sticky rice is unlike what we find in India – which, at times, claim Chinese antecedents. It is worth a taste; and I’d recommend you visit any Chinese restaurant of note and ask them to cook you traditional sticky rice as per your taste. I wish Ling’s brings it back to the table.
MIÀN & FEN
Now a word on noodles at the Ling’s Pavilion. To begin with, we, in India, are used to the Hakka Noodles, which we gorge upon at the slightest provocation. Even the roadside phatichar Chinese Cart-walla thinks of himself as offering “Hakka Noodles” to his constituents; and the new invention is Hakka Fried Noodle Rice in Szechuan Sauce, which bears a decidedly evil, red tinge. But as you and I know, all of this food masquerades as Chinese, while it is all very creatively, and even admirably Indian. Our Hakka Noodles is fried, while noodles cooked after the Chinese fashion are steamed or stewed. It is only Châu Méin, which is also served stir fried, along with the more common version where it is steamed; Châu (Fried) Méin (Noodles) – or “Pan Fried Noodles with Vegetables and Meat. Our Châu Méin “Chicken Chowmein” as we like to call it, we consume in a mixed manner, for we have it stir fried and with gravy; our stir fried version utilises noodles that are used in the steamed Chinese version – in short, ours is closer to the Hong Kong style of Châu Méin. There are other examples of noodles, which are neither stewed and nor steamed – and which are eaten crispy, fried or boiled. I shall not go into such detail however. How is noodles served in Ling’s Pavilion? Like rice, various different kinds and combinations of noodles are prepared and served. Noodles are served as toppings with soup. It is also used steamed and boiled, in soups. It can be had stir fried with different ingredients and additions or subtractions of flavours. It can be constructed as deep fried and used in both American and Chinese Chopsuey. Hakka Noodles are popular and delicious. The Châu Méin is magnificent. But the best is traditional stewed noodles served with a variety of toppings – chicken, bacon, pork, dumplings, meatballs, sliced beef, mixed meats, salted fish, prawns, pak choi, Chinese Greens, water chestnuts, fruits and nuts; bean curd and beans; the variety is almost endless. Portions are large; in fact large enough to satisfy the needs of a small family. If I order a serving of rice or noodles for myself, I ensure that I eat them stewed with ingredients of my choice. I need not order anything else. It takes me a good forty five minutes to go through my portion; I have it out of a bowl, with chopsticks. It is my wish that you try it; you will not regret it.
A WORD ON MEAT
For the sake of argument, I shall state that many of us here do not partake of either pork or beef. The reason for this, in my opinion, tends to be religious or moral; social and traditional; and is eventually a non-negotiable personal choice that is beyond judgement. A fundamentally meat-eating civilisation such as the Chinese are not hampered by any such restrictions though; nor are majority of world civilisations. I, who eats everything, must say this – that while keeping in mind many health related concerns that accompany consumption of red meats, pork and beef are the two most delicious, healthy and nutrition giving animal foods that today exists. The Chinese have conquered techniques of combining meats with various natural ingredients – and created a cuisine that exemplifies the best combination of vegetarian and non-vegetarian elements. And just as vegetables must be procured from a clean source and eaten fresh, meat, too, must be fresh, and clean. Yet, civilisations in which meat is eaten without nutritive balance with other foods, are prone to a whole gamut of health issues – which range from the tragic, to mundane, to the disgusting. Meat will always be eaten and mankind is fundamentally carnivorous – but eaten balanced with vegetables, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Climatic conditions play an important role in how meat is metabolised by the body. Physical activity is central to digesting meat. A diet based purely on meat is distinctly dangerous for Indians. I am of the opinion that fish and white meats are better in subcontinental conditions.
SEAFOOD
Ling’s Pavilion produces an amazing variety and quality of seafood. Fish, crabs, crayfish, lobsters, squids, scallops, clams, mussels, and shark is central to the offering. Ling’s Pavilion does not serve octopus. I do not think that other than the stray Korean or the Coastal Chinese, anyone would have the stomach for it. Like squid, octopus is chewy and mildly flavoured. Octopus is eaten fresh, raw and live in Korean Cuisine. Seafood, in Ling’s Pavilion, can be had in soups, stews, stir fried, roasted, steamed, smoked, baked, broiled and boiled. Various different methods and schools of cooking are employed; and supporting ingredients – myriad. I believe that major Chinese schools and techniques are reflected in Ling’s Pavilion – and ensuing results both astonishing and sublime. Whole fish is served cooked; the Grouper, Red Cod, Snapper, Shark, Lobster, Crayfish, Flatfish, etc, form the staple. Prawn is served in various styles. Though I am Bengali, and am reputed as the “fish eating civilisation” in India, I hated fish for many years because it was forced upon me. I learnt to appreciate fish when my wife re-introduced me to it during the early days of my marriage. I now enjoy fish, though I tend to avoid fresh water varieties, save a few. I have nothing but good to say of all the fish that Ling’s Pavilion has recommended for my tastes, and served for my consumption. Some of my meals therein have been so filled with fish, and even committed fish eaters have turned their noses up and declaimed “enough!”. You can order whatever fish you desire; you can ask it to be cooked in whatever manner. Try to rise above Manchurian Fish and Mandarin Fish – though these are delicious; you can have them anywhere else, while Ling’s Pavilion affords you a chance to eat something that you have never heard of, and which, upon tasting, will be your new favourite – and traditionally Chinese. Prawns with Bean Sprouts is certainly for everyone!
BACK TO MEAT
Cooking meat is an art. Cooking meat and converting it into something eminently advisable, palatable and desirable for human consumption is science. The Chinese, through untold centuries of experimentation, have perfected both art and science – and combined everything together into a matchless tradition. Vast quantities and varieties of meat are eaten in China. Along with Pork and Beef, the variety includes many forms of birds, reptiles, seafood and freshwater food; and insects. Ling’s Pavilion does not serve insectoid and reptilian preparations. It serves Chicken, Duck, Pork, Beef, Lamb and Mutton. I gave up mutton after being introduced to beef. Compared with beef, mutton and lamb are either insipid and tasteless slop; or these are smelly and unpalatable results from an animal which should have been set free – no prejudice to the animal. Traditional Hindus will not touch beef; they will go green at its very mention; and my Muslim and Jewish brothers will never touch Pork; the last great Muslim who doted on well constructed Pork Chops was none other than our very own Mohammed Ali Jinnah; it is said that he was introduced to porcine delights by his wife, Rattanbai Petit, who was Parsee; or perhaps this story is just a rumour. While no one can judge these choices, the Chinese have no compunction in consuming herculean quantities of both beef and pork as a part of their everyday diet. Meat served in Ling’s Pavilion is prepared with generosity, efficiency and avant garde technique; and with what result! We Indians are used to our meats being spiced and marinated, and cooked in oils, tomatoes, onions and sometimes yogurt and cream; with a variety of spices. Our resultant curry, rezala, kassa, kofta, rasa and jhol are spiced works of art. The Chinese do not employ cream in their cooking. Nor does food undergo any form of “currification” that forms the basis of contemporary Indian cuisine. The use of spices are sparse and circumstantial. The Chinese use herbs and fungi instead; and may I say that unless one is trained in the finer points of Chinese cooking and is provided with appropriate ingredient and technique especially in cooking meat, Chinese preparations are impossible to construct in an Indian kitchen. The two schools are very different, as I must yet again reiterate. At Ling’s Pavilion, I always almost eat beef. In my favourite preparation, beef is stewed in a pot with radish or potato. It is to be eaten with steamed rice. It is one of the most delicious outcomes of cooked beef; rarely, in any civilisation, has cooked beef reached such sublime levels of technique and taste. Beef can be served stir fried; it can be served roasted. It can be served with peppers and sprouts; it can be served with overwhelming varieties of Chinese Greens. The results are diverse, fascinating and marvelously delicious. Beef is served sliced, roasted or stewed with rice and noodles; or is mixed with chicken, bacon, steamed pork or as mixed meatballs. Both pork and beef can be served in stews and in soups; they can be served even with fish; as the entrée and even appetiser. Another great favourite is in Hong Kong styled Beef Steakettes served with Onions and Tomatoes. Equally varied and intricate are pork preparations. Like beef, pork is stewed, roasted or even fried. It can be served as appetiser, entrée or main course; it can be served as a mixture or as a topping; and it is radiantly delicious. I could go on and on – but such detail is beyond the scope of this already long document.
CHICKEN
For those that would like to engage chicken as their primary choice in victual, will be relieved to know that chicken forms the basis of the menu in Ling’s Pavilion. The largest selection of non-vegetarian is dedicated to our favourite bird – the chicken. I shall not go deep into the delights of chicken; you can visit Ling’s Pavilion and find out for yourself what constitutes of avian delights. You will not be disappointed. However, since some space is allotted to me, I shall speak of the Hainan Styled Chicken. It was Johnny who introduced me to Hainan Chicken and Rice in 2008. I was somewhat skeptical when I saw it arrive – for it looked quite raw, and was accompanied by a large bowl of rice and two small receptacles of raw, pounded ginger and garlic, with a dark red soy sauce, sprinkled with chopped red chilli. I thought, on first impression, that I was required to gorge through a whole bird minimally cooked. I was mistaken. Hainan Styled Chicken is the single most delicious chicken meal that I have tasted; it is also probably the most nutritious. Hainan Chicken is not cooked every day in Ling’s Pavilion; it is not even cooked every week. It is made on special occasions – such as Consulate Dinners or visits. It is a preparation to be savoured over; to taste layers of fragrant flavour in every bite of rice, chicken and cucumbers. Well, do not be put off by its “raw” look. Not only is it not raw, it has been cooked for hours and is served piping hot. And I cannot forget the Full Roast Chicken. Order the full roast if you are four adults at your meal. The portion is enormous; though many appetites are larger still – I would still advise half a roast between two adults and one child. Chicken with fish; chicken with meat; chicken with vegetables; chicken without anything – all are available and everything is delicious at the Ling’s Pavilion.
EPILOGUE
The time has come to conclude this long, long document that has been marked by a fair amount of drool. In doing so, I shall make certain propositions. Starting these propositions, let me state that Ling’s Pavilion is a fine dining restaurant that serves “traditional Chinese cuisine”. However, if you are looking for extremely good Indian-Chinese, I would prefer that you go to Flora off Worli Sea Face or to Kamling, in Churchgate. Back to Ling’s Pavilion, I have heard the same refrain, and surprisingly, from individuals who have pretensions of being food critics, that the “food was insipid”, or “the food was undercooked”; or that “the prawn was chewy” or that “the beef tasted of lamb”. These are ridiculous comments made by idiot-mortals who cannot be trusted to judge a handful of peanuts, leave along a fine dining restaurant. When one specifically tastes food that is authentic, one must possess, to begin with, that little breadth of vision in which one must accept that food can and is cooked differently in different cultures. Mutton boti that is designed to melt in one’s mouth is not the same as Steaks of Lamb a la Balkan, wherein lamb is meant to be chewed and savoured for as long as possible. To apply expectations and yardsticks of Mutton boti to the latter continental creation speaks not only of lack of education, but also of a certain foolish carelessness. I might as well shake my head in understanding when the Bengali gentleman that I have for dinner tonight says that “the Dhokla lacks a crunch….”.
Ladies and Gentlemen who are proponents of Tangra in Calcutta may note that Tangra is not purist, but caters to particular Bengali tastes and expectations. You do not need to take my word for it. Find for yourself, wherever in the world you may be, a traditional Chinese restaurant that offers traditional Chinese cuisine, and compare that to Tangra. Or better still, if you have Chinese friends in your city, try and dine at their home, and then, compare your experiences with restaurants or dedicated areas that claim to offer Chinese cuisine. You will find a difference. This difference is acceptable because, at the end of the day, the Chéf and Restaurant, to break even, must offer that which is acceptable to local expectations. The Chinese is Calcutta eat snake meat. But ask for it in Tangra – and I am quite certain that you will be served it with a great deal of hesitation, if served at all. The last days of authentic Chinese cuisine in Calcutta ended in the mid 1970s, when the advent of Communists made any kind specialised enterprise a strict no-no. Otherwise, I recall, fondly, of my experiences in a restaurant known as Peipin.
Calcutta was once the fount of external culture – both Chinese as well as Continental. Indian Chinese was never in existence during the early days of Chinese restaurant entrepreneurship in Calcutta; aesthete Bengali tastes accepted only that which was authentic; Bengal had not been overrun by immigrants from the East and the diffusions of taste that they brought with them. Continental cuisine in Bengal was perhaps as good as any to be found in high restaurants of London. This is because of Bengali proclivities. Bengalis were then educated and genteel; today, Bengalis are literate and loud. I am Bengali myself, and I am painfully aware of the diffusion that Bengal has undergone through the last 40 years. The point of entry for Chinese cuisine in India was in Calcutta; and it is little wonder that when the family Ling migrated to Bombay in 1942, their origins had hitherto been in Calcutta – and their mandate was to spread traditional Chinese cuisine into a fairly empty Bombay, in which the only sophisticates consisted of the Parsis. The first restaurant that the family Ling established was known as the “Nanking”. Nanking was besides where “The Plate” now stands in resplendent glory. I met Baba Ling for the very first time in 1987, when I went on to order a pack of Hakka Noodles and Chilli Chicken as tiffin, to be had after my entrance examinations for the National Institute of Design, which was being conducted at the J. J. School of Arts. The food blew my mind then, as it continues to do so now. With this, friends, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you bon appetit, and end my note. I believe that you will forgive spelling mistakes and typing errors that may have attended this article.
REFERENCES
Ling’s Pavilion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cuisine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_cuisine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_noodles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaozi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice
The Blog by a Blob 