Dalchini - Indo-Chinese fast food!

Indo-Chinese cuisine is the adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to Indian tastes. The Indo-Chinese cuisine is said to have been developed by the small Chinese community that has lived in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) for over a century. Today, the Chinese food has become an integral part of the Indian culinary scene. It is also enjoyed by Indian and Chinese communities in Malaysia, Singapore and North America, now in fact; it is craved by all Indian living, all over the world.

At present, the Chinese population in Calcutta stands at approximately 5,000. Most of these people are of Hakka origin; however, the dishes of modern Indo-Chinese cuisine, such as:   Manchow soup ,  Sweet corn soup ,  Momos/Wontons ,  Chicken Manchurian ,  Gobi Manchirian ,  Chilli Chicken ,  Chicken Pakoda ,  Egg-Chicken rolls ,  Chicken Lollipops ,  Egg Pakoda ,  American Chopsuey ,  Egg-chicken chow-mein/fried-rice etc   bear little resemblance to traditional Chinese cuisine. They are just our very own taste, developed on Indian soil.

To our bad-luck, Britain was racing behind for sometime; in terms of adapting to Indo-Chinese cuisines generously. Simply because vast majority of Britons still love traditional Indian curries and they perhaps didn’t want to try beyond that. But time has changed; there are specialized Indo-Chinese restaurants available all over the country, at least in most of the suburbs in London.

Having grown up in Indian streets and Indo-Chinese being my MOST MOST MOST favourite food; I always look out for opportunities to find a better restaurant, which can match to the taste of those heavenly street foods in Indian streets. I have tried quite a few Indo-Chinese restaurants in London but my favourite is: “Dalchini” in Wimbledon Park. They serve Hakka Indo-Chinese food. They say to their credit: Indians and travellers to the subcontinent are familiar with this cuisine. To most Indians, it is comfort food when they miss India. Their restaurant cuisine is a wonderful marriage of oriental techniques with Indian ingredients.

My Favourite dishes in this restaurant are:

• Lamb Momos
• Golden Fried Prawns
• Garlic Prawn
• Man Chow Chicken Soup
• Fish and Coriander Clear Soup
• Hot and Sour Chicken Soup
• Fish with Ginger and Spring Onions
• American Chicken Chop Suey
• Dalchini Chow Mein
• Lamb with Dry Red Chilli
• Hakka Chilli Chicken
• Manchurian Chicken
• Stir fry Lamb with Pak Choy
• Egg Fried Rice
• Burnt Ginger Rice
• Szechuan Fried Rice
• Honey Noodles Ice-cream
• Coconut Ice-cream

My rating: 3.5 / 5.    Seriously appetizing!!!