Brunch Mumbai – June 29, 2019

do),thencanIbasemyjudgementsof theirfoodonSichuanmeals

Ihavehadin London, NewYork, Singapore, HongKongor Taiwan?

Shouldn’tIlearnaboutthecuisinein itshome?

Andso,off wewent to Sichuan,whereNickHeandKevin

XueoftheRitz hadpreparedalistof placesweshouldgoto. I

wasscepticalabouthow‘local’these placeswouldbetillwear-

rivedatthefirstoneanddiscoveredthatthoughthiswasafor-

malrestaurant withprivate diningrooms,not onememberof

thestaffspokeEnglish.Allthemenuswere in Chinese.But one

of themhadphotos.So, as theChinesestaffgiggled,Ipointed

to variousitems.Wedecidedthataspictures could bemislead-

ing,weshouldordertwice thenumberof dishesweneededto

ensurethatweendedupwiththingsweliked.

Asit turnedout,Ihadonlymadeoneblunder.Adishthat

lookedlikemincedporkinthephotoswasindeedmincedpork.

Butwhat Ihadnotbeenabletotellwasthatitwas agarnishfor

awhole(giant,really)fish.This ledto anothercomedyof er-

rors.While thefishstareddisgustedlyatus, wetriedveryhard

to cutoff bits.Eventually,wegaveupandaskedthestaffifthey

couldserveittousorget thechef to carveit.

Theyhadnocluewhat wewere talkingabout.Imimed

cuttinggestures.Theylookedbemused. Iactedoutalittle

playlet in whichafishis takento thekitchenandcutintolittle

pieces.Theylookedat mecuriously.

FinallyImanagedtoget themessageacross.Aseniorlady

server camein,easily carvedthefish,pullingout itsspine

withaflickofher knife andservedit to us.

rude fo odf

indulge

12

ir sanghvi

All IndianChineserestaurantsclaim to

serveSichuanfood. But do theyreally?

Iwent to Sichuanto find out

FANFOLLOWING

Indiansmaybethe

world’slargestgroup

ofSichuanlovers

outsideofSichuan

A

lmostalloftheChinesefoodweeatinIndiais Sichua-

nese,claims-to-be-Sichuaneseor is clearly influenced

bytheflavoursofSichuan.Thiswasnot always so,but

ever sincetheTajgrouplaunchedtheGoldenDragon

in Mumbaiin 1974andthen,theHouse of Mingin Delhiin 1978,

IndianshavebeencrazyaboutteekhaChinesecuisine.

Withouttheinfluenceof Sichuan,therewouldbenoChicken

Manchurian(createdin Mumbaiin the1970sbythelocal Chinese

restaurantindustryas aresponseto thedemandforSichuan-style

teekhaChinese),noIndian-Chinesefood,nothela-wallahsmaking

spicyfriedriceandnoSino-Ludhianvi cuisine.

Wedon’trealisethis, butIndiansmaybetheworld’s

largestgroupof Sichuanfoodlovers outsideof Sichuan.Even

in China,thecuisinesof BeijingandCantonarefar more

respected,whileSichuanfoodis regardedas aspicy, hearty,

peasantcuisine.

IhaveeatenSichuanfoodallovertheworld. Butuntil last

week,Ihadnevereatenit in Sichuan.Totheastonishmentofevery-

one(exceptperhapsmywife,whois usedto accompanyingmeon

theseflightsof fancy),IannouncedthatIwouldtakemysummer

vacationthis year in Chengdu,thecapital of Sichuan.

Thereare nodirect flightsfromIndia,so Ifoundaconnection

viaBangkokandspoketothegeneralmanagerofChengdu’sRitz-

Carlton.Iwas comingto eat, Isaid.Couldhis stafftakemetothe

pl aces theylikedto eatatthemselves?Iwanted

uristtrapsandnofancyplaceswhere

thefoodhadbeenwatereddownto makeit

easierforoutsidersto enjoy.

Therewas amethodtomyapparent

madness.Ialways saythatIloveSichuan

food.Butif Ihaven’tever eatenitin

Sichuan,thenamItalkingaboutthe

real thing?AndifIwrite aboutChinese

restaurantsin India(whichIsometimes

Tasting The

Real Sichuan

places they liked to eat at themselves? I wanted

no tourist traps and no fancy places where

the food had been watered down to make it

easier for outsiders to enjoy.

Ph

otos:

iSTO

CK

&S

HUTTER

ST

OCK

COMEDYOFERRORS

Thedishthatlookedlikemincedporkin

photoswasactuallymincedporkgarnish

foragiantfish!

Sautébellpeppers,mushrooms,corn, salt&pepperin apan.

Remove from heat. Addolives&basil leaves. Spreadpasta &pizza

sauceontortillas, place mixtureand bake. Enjoyevery bite!

TastyTacoPizzas

Makeit

today!