Eggheads - one world...

caliking

A Chinese egghead from Canada connects with an Indian egghead in Texas, about building a tandoor. Turns out that they're both from Kolkata in India. The Indian guy tells the Chinese guy that he's going to India for a few weeks, so the Chinese guy tells him to give his brother a call. And that's how things got rolling.

I called @canugghead's brother when I reached Kolkata and we decided to meet for lunch on  Sunday. Canugghead's brother runs a sauce factory in Tangra (Kolkata's Chinatown, and the only Chinatown in India that I know of), so the plan was to tour the factory and then go eat some authentic Hakka Chinese grub. It was cool to see how soy sauce is made the old school way - soy beans are fermented in the sun, brined, and the soy sauce is then siphoned off and bottled. They make a variety of other sauces as well, which we were given several bottles of to take home! We also drove through the lanes of Tangra a bit, with Canuggehad's brother acting as our tour guide. The area used to be busy and bustling, but is now sadly a ghost of its former self.

Lunch was a real treat! Hakka Chinese have lived in Calcutta for 200+years, and so Chinese food in India is fabulous. We were taken to a small (7 tables total I think) restaurant called Lee's, which we would have never been able to find by ourselves. Lee converted part of his house into the restaurant, and he cooks himself. We ate all kinds of deliciousness - handmade noodles, dumpling's, steamed fish with a ginger soy sauce, chili chicken (a Chinese food staple in India), shrimp, red sauce noodles (never had these before), and shan tong cooked two ways (one with a preserved lemon sauce and the other with a rice wine sauce). The shan tong was a special treat since it hard to procure, but apparently Lee "knows a guy". I can't describe what cut of beef it is exactly, but Canugghead's cousin described it as the neck muscle (I think). As soon as the cut is separated from the carcass, it is beaten to tighten it up. The meat looks white like pork, but is quite tender... and tasty. I could barely walk back to the car after we were done, because canugghead's brother  ordered about a dozen items for us to try. We were stuffed!

Canugghead's sister-in-law sent us home with all kinds of treats - several bottles of different sauces from their factory, shrimp crackers, and dry-cured Chinese sausage. This outing was a highlight of our trip to Kolkata, and I couldn't help but muse over how it all came together. Good times.

I have a picture of all of us at the restaurant, but I first need to ask canugghead if he's ok with me posting pics of his family. No pics of the food since I didn't want to look like a geek, and I was probably amusing everybody enough by insisting on eating with chopsticks

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Wow! Awesome story.

StillSmoken

That is awesome! That's it I'm going to Lee's!!

johnkitchens

That is a great story. I hope you can post the pics. I really wish you would have geeked out and took a few pics of the food. It sounds awesome! 

caliking

johnkitchens said:

That is a great story. I hope you can post the pics. I really wish you would have geeked out and took a few pics of the food. It sounds awesome! 

I lost count of all the different things we ate. Many of the items we ate for the first time, e.g. red sauce noodles, and shan tong. Chinese food in has evolved to serve what local folks like, but Lee's is more authentic Hakka cooking, from what I was told. In the US, a lot of the Chinese food is Cantonese and Schezwan.

caliking

StillSmoken said:

That is awesome! That's it I'm going to Lee's!!

You will need a guide to get you there Canugghead's brother asked if I wanted to go somewhere "flashy" or somewhere no-frills but with great food, so we picked the latter. The restaurant is not much to look at, but the grub was amazing - very fresh, home-cooked, and deelish!

stemc33

So cool. :-bd

texaswig

That's awesome. I always take pics. Geek or not.

Mattman3969

Way cool story and just goes to show what a small world it really is.

theyolksonyou

Man that is a great story. What an adventure!

NPHuskerFL

That's an unbelievable story. That's such a freaking trip of what a small world we really live in. Thanks for sharing this story. :-bd

Little Steven

Beautiful thread title man. You are gonna have to grow some dreads for Salado!

Aviator

I insist. Pics or its all a pipedream.

BTW, this is awesome. Chinese food in India is totally another taste, for those who have not had it.

RAC

Great story! Glad you had a good time.

bud812

This is the best thing that I have read on here.

cook861

Great story lucky to have friends like that always good to try diferent food and culturs

Dobie

Sounds like an episode of Anthony Bourdains Parts Unknown =P~

CMCordial

EggHeads helping EggHeads...

caliking

Little Steven said:

Beautiful thread title man. You are gonna have to grow some dreads for Salado!

I can try

Aviator said:

I insist. Pics or its all a pipedream.

BTW, this is awesome. Chinese food in India is totally another taste, for those who have not had it.

I have to see if I can post the pic.

The food we ate was unique. Lighter flavors than usual Indian Chinese fare, but not bland by any means. The red sauce noodles had a slight sweetness from caramelized jiggery, I think. The steamed bhetki fish had a light but very flavorful soy ginger sauce, and the lemon preserve sauce tasted kind of  like nimbu achar (lime pickle). The shan tong didn't taste or look like beef, so it was like tasting a new kind of meat entirely. The soup we had was an egg drop hot and sour kind of soup, but not fiery hot and not overly sour. The chili chicken wasn't the usual with sauce thickened with corn starch - crispy fried chicken pieces with green chiles and just a touch of thin sauce for flavor. And I had never eaten handmade noodles in India before.

I wouldn't have been able to keep up with food pics anyways, since once the dishes started hitting the table, there were too many and I was busy stuffing my face!

caliking

Dobie said:

Sounds like an episode of Anthony Bourdains Parts Unknown =P~

Yep, a very fun outing Most people don't believe me when I tell them that Chinese folks have lived in India for that long, or that Kolkata has a Chinatown. There is an open air Chinese market that sits early in the morning, and we used to go there for dim sum when I was younger.

dldawes1

I know you had a great time.

I lived in China for 1 year (2010). I immersed into the authentic Chinese lifestyle and met many good friends...but none of them spoke English !!!  Then a Chinese guy I worked with went with me several times to authentic Chinese homes and restaurants....it was amazing. I loved everything about China...wish I could just stay and live there.

Canugghead

@Caliking thanks for your kind words and visiting my folks, glad you had a good time and like the food I grew up with! Too bad we are missing each other there by just a few months, can't wait to be there ourselves!

paqman

That's cool!

caliking

Canugghead said:

@Caliking thanks for your kind words and visiting my folks, glad you had a good time and like the food I grew up with! Too bad we are missing each other there by just a few months, can't wait to be there ourselves!

Nope, I thank you! As I said, hanging out with your peeps in Kolkata was definitely a highlight of our trip. Hope you have a wonderful trip too.

You may still be able to get nolen gurer rossogollas (rasgullas made with palm molasses) when you go in Feb. The ones from Vien on Theatre Road (crossing of Theatre Rd and Rawdon St) are my favorites. They are usually available after 4pm or so, but they sell out quickly.

shtgunal3

Awesome story Cali

Mickey

Thanks so much for the story. Very cool.

R2Egg2Q

What a small world.  Great story!  Thanks for sharing it.

GrannyX4

Great once in a life time event. Loved it! ;;)

DMW

Great story, wish I could have tagged along.

caliking

Update: I got the go ahead to post a pic of @canugghead's family.

Left to right standing= yours truly, SWMBO, canugghead's SIL, canugghead's brother. Sitting= canugghead's uncle and cousin.

ksmyrl

That really is a cool story. Gives me hope in this world...nice post, very nice post.