Blu Orchid’s newest outlet is curating a line of old school recipes from Kolkata’s Chinatown
Blu Orchid’s new dine-in space is trying to bring Tangra food culture to the heart of South Kolkata with a binge-friendly menu that’s not too experimental, and lines up some old school Chinese favourites. Blu Orchid started its roll in 2017 near Jadavpur with a takeaway outlet, but the eatery quickly gained a lot of popularity. The new 30-seater restaurant is situated in Panditiya Road, near Dover Terrace and is serving some trusty old Tangra picks which are very hard to score outside Chinatown.
“Blu Orchid started as an attempt to bring the flavours of Kolkata’s Chinatown to a broader audience, we are very specific about our recipes and sources all our sauces and ingredients from authentic producers. It’s still an Indo-Chinese faire, but it’s very rooted to the origins of Tangra. In fact, we have a few recipes on our menu that are go-to picks for locals of the Chinese community in the city. For our new outlet we have stuck to the same ethos because people clearly want more of it,” Jayashri Chattaraj, Partner, Blu Orchid, tells us.
The outlet near Dover Terrace is snug and comfortably set-up and the 30-cover space is only admitting around 22 people at the same time to make distancing easier. The restaurant is also pretty vigilant about frequent sanitising and is also offering complimentary mineral water which eases at least some anxieties. “We think the worst for the food and beverage industry may be over. People have started to come back to the restaurants for lunch and dinner hours. So, now is a great time for our industry to become aggressive and bounce back, of course maintaining the proper guidelines,” Chattaraj shares.
The house special pick is Chicken and Vegetables which is simplistic and hearty; it’s made with chicken, babycorn, mushroom and is cooked in a lean gravy, and if you’re looking for a healthy and fuss-free option this should be your go-to option. The menu also features a chef’s special Mandarin Fish, prepared with real Kolkata Bekti. “We have made some interesting additions to our menu, in terms of recipes and techniques and even with ingredients. But most of our consumers still go for the good ol’ Chilli Chicken and Chicken Fried Rice,'' we are told.
We started things off with the Blu Orchid Special Mixed Soup which is prepared like a Thai-style soup and impeccably seasoned. The Cantonese noodles at Blu Orchid is unmissable, it has a great texture and a really breathy flavour. We paired it with their signature Chilli Garlic Pepper Chicken, which was ideal because you’d want something crispier to go with the gravy-cooked noodles.
“We believe there is a shortage in quality Chinese restaurants in and around Gariahat and people here will definitely love the quality, quantity and reasonable rates they find here because they can get authentic Tangra style Indo-Chinese dishes in their neighborhood, or delivered to their doorstep. Plus, we are serving numbers cooked by chefs trained at Tangra which is a huge draw,” Reena Mohapatra, Partner, Blu Orchid, remarks.