Chinese with a
difference
Source: "The Pioneer"
Sunday, October 30, 1994 |
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Fa Yian, a new Chinese restaurant at
Connaught Place serves distinctive dishes, rich in flavour but free of fat, says
Sunita Paul
Its not as if Delhi lacks restaurants. People
here love to eat and there are restaurants, mushrooming at every nook and corner.
But few that one enjoys going to. A meal is not just food, though I admit it is
the most important element. You do enjoy food if its good, but you really enjoy
it, if the atmosphere is right. Ambience, the latest catchword is what every restaurant
boasts of having. Yet all do not and what constitutes the right ambience is difficult
to pinpoint. Like sex appeal, either its there or it isn?t and no amount of cultivation
can create the effect.
So, when I found this delightful little
place, the last thing I wanted was let others on to it.
Located behind Handloom House in Connaught
Place and just opposite the Dhoomimal sculpture gallery, this Chinese restaurant,
Fa Yian, is a little over a month old, yet word has spread and there were a lot
more takers than one expected. The surroundings do not quite gel, there are several
motor parts shops around and Fa Yian seems like an incongruous oasis in their midst.
At the entrance, the delicate bamboo plants,
the greens in flat pottery and the rather interesting black sculpture, immediately
spell an integrated sense of aesthetics.
Though the restaurant is small, there is
a sense of space, of openness. The ten tables fit in rather snugly and the extensive
use of white on the walls and the lampshades-probably Chinese-lends a simple, uncluttered
feel. The glass windows provide a not-too-scenic glimpse of the shops outside, but
framed as it is by bamboo branches, the view is elevated just a little. Prominent
among the shops is the DSIDC wine shop, which reminds me, the restaurant does not
serve liquor.
At the far end of the restaurant, hanging
planters at different levels, form a cover for the large black jar-fountain with
four spouts that spill water. Now, this is what I like-the sound of water spells
a sense of freshness. Pottery from Khurja, with blue motifs on beige gives it a
finishing touch.
If I harp too much on the decor it is because
a lot of thought has gone into each element and they are well integrated though
simple.
Francis Kuok, one of the partners comes
around to take the order. A generous sized Chinese, he is by profession a phototypesetter.
In fact his printing- typesetting unit occupied the present premises earlier, informs
Anu Bakshi, his partner.
What?s special about their food I ask? And
Anu replies quite simply, Its different. we don?t use a lot of oil, and most of
our food is stir fried and steamed.
What style do they follow? Not any one,
in particular, they serve staples, have created dishes and picked some hints from
here and there.
But they sure have hit upon the correct
formula. The Lunch (12.30 to 3pm.) and dinner (7.30 to 11pm) menus are marginally
different. The prices are slightly higher at night, but the food is definitely a
cut above that served at many of the other places I have been to. And as Anu said,
it is different.
Take the Steamed Noodles (Rs.35) with an
option of chicken, pork or prawn, for instance. A simple dish but the absence of
a greasy feel is perceptible. The vegetables are fresh and crisp, and the dish has
flavour and body. The soup worth recommending is the Mah Mee soup, which is a clear
soup with prawns, rice noodles and vegetables. The strong celery and the shallot
flavours come through and a full portion can form a light meal in itself.
For appetizers, the choice could be Nuek
Shong Ku (Rs.60) again a dinner item, where each steamed black mushroom is topped
with a meat filling. Very delicate in taste. The Australian Fish (Rs. 90) is another
of their dinner specialities. Pomfret fillets, lightly fried are flavoured with
a mildly pungent chilly garlic sauce.
Another must is the Singapore Chicken (Rs.
65) which has a special flavour of its own. But it was the Steamed Fish Delight
(Rs.90, only available at dinner) which is whole pomfret in a black bean sauce,
that I liked the best. There is just a hint of ginger-not over powering, and the
black bean sauce adds its own dimension to the dish. And again, it is totally minus
the fatty feel.
In a word their food can be described as
rich in flavour with each dish having a distinct character.
What I did feel was not quite right were
the Pepper Prawns which if memory serves me right, should be lightly sauteed in
pepper and salt. Here the dish was a clone of garlic prawns and lacked the delicate
flavour. The other was the tea. Though Francis did insist it was Jasmine Tea, and
imported from HongKong (like their glasss noodles, black mushrooms, prawn crackers
and several other ingredients) one felt the flavour was not quite right.
The lack of Date Pancakes on their dessert
menu was also difficult to digest in a Chinese eating-place. But on the flip side-their
portions are very generous and the service is quick. And according to Anu, their
reasonable prices are not an introductory gimmick! They intend to maintain them
for quite some time.
I think part of the secret of their success
lies in the way Gregory Kuok, their chef handles his area. The four woks were sizzling
as I entered the kitchen and the very last thing Greg wanted was a conversation
with me. What I did notice was the absence of readymade sauces. Each dish was prepared
fresh, each sauce that accompanied it was made on the spot. So I watched him handling
an order for Pineapple Rice with Fried Chicken Balls, trying to take in as much
of the recipe as I could. A Chinese, Greg?s passion is obviously his work. The ingredients
were put into one of the woks, each at a time while the chicken balls were fried
separately in another. Over the dish of rice went the chicken balls on a skewer
and finally the sauce and voila the dish was ready.
Greg prefers to prepare most of the ingredients
himself, which accounts for the quality of their black bean sauce and their chilly
garlic sauce. The noodles, in fact, are made fresh each day. I think Greg is a natural
- his knowledge may not be perfect in the technical sense but he has an instinctive
understanding and feel for flavours and combinations and sympathises with a palate
jaded with the taste of Indian-Chinese food.
But, why am I writing about this place,
when I want it all for myself. I guess I always had that self-destructive streak!
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