IF you thought dhabas are the only option for your midnight cravings in the city, Chowman is here to change that notion. The 12th outlet of the Chinese restaurant has arrived in Central Kolkata, keeping up with all the other outlets that have won hearts from Garia to B T Road. Serving delectable Chinese cuisine since 2011, the F&B chain opened a 750 sq ft diner at Ho Chi Minh Sarani near Hotel Kennilworth recently. “We now have 12 Chowman outlets across the city with more than 50,000 loyal customers and a delivery fleet catering to every corner of the city. This is the only outlet that will remain open post midnight. We plan to open more outlets in the coming year and also foray into other cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai. Chowman has become unique over the years as it has democratised the concept of a neighbourhood fine dining restaurant in Kolkata,” says Debaditya Chaudhury, Managing Director of Chowman.
Retaining the signature red and black décor, this branch is divided into two floors. We choose not to climb the stairs and instead made ourselves comfortable in a corner seat with a huge half face of Buddha above our heads. We are always at peace with good food, we thought loudly, and prepared ourselves for some foodgasms while sipping the refreshing fresh lime soda. We noted that Chowman’s menu offers a wide variety of choices in fish, chicken, prawn, lamb as well as crab meat.
The joint was buzzing with the chatter of office goers and college students when the Roasted Chilli Lamb arrived on a white plate. While the aroma hit the olfactory senses, the tastebuds were tantalised with the flavours of garlic. The meat chunks laced in soya sauce were spicy and juicy. For porkaholics their Roasted Chilli Pork, is a must try, we are told. We also tried Pan Fried Chilli Duck, from the ongoing Duck Festival (till January 13), as suggested by the manager of the restaurant. The duck meat lacked tenderness and the spices were very similar to the two starters that we gorged on earlier.
While we unsuccessfully tried to decipher the Chinese texts on the walls, the Shanghai Mixed Noodles interrupted our cryptography session. The mildly spicy noodles tossed with broccoli, mushroom, baby corn and prawn was served with Chilli Wine Fish. Made with white wine, the soft chuncks of fish melt in the mouth instantly, with a hint of spice.
Meal for two: `800+ taxes
At Ho Chi Minh Sarani.