Gone are the days when having Chinese food in Kolkata meant those age old chilli chicken & fried rice. Even the fancier name like schezwan chicken & dragon chicken have made their way into road side stalls. Its no wonder then that fine dining is no more restricted to costly & fancy restaurants. New eateries are springing up now & then, offering not only Cantonese/Mandarin but also authentic South East Asian cuisines like that of Thailand & Indonesia.

One such eatery providing authentic Chines & Thai food is China Wok, Hindustan Park. Its located just beside Sudipa'r Rannaghor near Triangular Park. Got an invite from the owner as part of Panch Phoron team for a food tasting session.

The place is quite small. The reception & kitchen is on the ground floor. A steep flight of stairs leads to the air conditioned seating area on the mezzanine level. The place can accommodate a  total of 16 person, no more. On weekends it is full most of the evening. So be prepared to wait before you can manage a seat.

The interiors are done in a simple manner, but I was pleasantly surprised to find chopsticks on the table.

We were served sweet lime soda as we were seated.You generally can't go wrong with this one, but It really needs some improvement, at least when one is charging a substantial amount for it. However I would like to have some South East Asian drinks the next time I visit.

For food we decided to go with the dishes suggested by the owner.

Will do a quick review of the items I tasted.

1. Soups:

Yen Ta Foh & Crab Meat Soup.

Both were amazing. However I liked the Crab meat one more than the other. Its a clear soup with crab & egg drops. The aroma, texture & test were just perfect.

Yen Ta Foh is the traditional Thai red sauce soup. It contains rice noodles in addition to the crabmeat & shrimps. This also tasted good but in my opinion could be made a notch spicier.

2. Starters:

Prawn Sui Mai, Pan Fried Chilli Fish, Prik Kai Sot Sai Thod,Veg Sui Mai, Veg Spring Roll & Babycorn in Thai Sweet Chilli Basil Sauce.

Prawn Sui Mai, the clear winner in this section are thin wrappers of minced prawn. To make it simpler, its sort of fried Prawn dumpling, only much superior in taste.Must have.

Like its non veg counterpart, the Veg Sui Mai too is an absolute must have.

Prik Kai Sot Sai Thod is Thai version of chicken wings. The look & feel resembles that of Chicken Lollypop. The sweetness of honey is predominant, but does not over power the Thai spices. Definitely worth trying.

Crispy Chilli Baby Corn gets a slight touch up with Chilli Basil sauce, good but nothing outstanding.

Pan Fried Chilli Fish is good too, nothing much to write there.

The veg spring roll was a bit disappointing. Specially for the price listed on the menu, it was not worth having.

3.Mains:

a) Rice/Noodles:

Khao Pad Kratiem Chicken, Khao Pad Kraprow & Pad Kee Mao Mixed.

Khao Pad Kraprow i.e. Thai Basil Fried Rice is the medium spicy Veg dish. Excellent flavours. Recommended.

Khao Pad Kratiem Chicken is the non veg variety of Burnt Garlic Fried Rice. The taste & smell of burnt Garlic did not suit my taste buds. Maybe they had overcooked the garlic this time. But I would rather have the Basil rice in place of this chicken one.

Pad Kee Mao refers to the rice noodles. This too was good,, definitely better than the Khao Pad Kratiem.

b)Sides:

Bok Choy Delight, Kai Himaparn & Pla Pad Pak.

The first one is a veg dish prepared with exotic vegetables like Bok Choy, Broccoli. A good gravy to go with non veg rice dishes.

Pla Pad Pak or Fish in Oyster sauce was the best in this section. The fish soft & the gravy equally tasty. overall the go to dish if you are ordering any veg rice dish.

Kai Himaparan is the Chicken in Thai curry. Although tasting good lost out to the Pla Pad Pak.

4.Dessert:

Darsaan with Ice cream.

I love Darsaan. Though I read somewhere it is not really a Chinese dish, my Chinese dinner feels incomplete without this fried flour chips tossed with honey,sesame seeds & topped with Ice cream. Of course no one goes wrong with Darsaan. But what I really felt is that the fried flour chips were freshly prepared. & definitely felt sliced thinner & crispier compared to many renowned outlets serving the same.

Overall it was a gastronomic delight.

However I felt some of the dishes have been prepared in a milder way to meet the Indian palate. Ask them to make it spicier if you are looking for a more authentic flavour.

The staffs are little bit undertrained. Hopefully they will get better with time.

The menu is huge, variety of offerings is overwhelming, so better ask the owner for suggestion.

& I suggest they make provision for some authentic Thai/Chinese drink if possible.

Till then Happy eating,

Ciao,

Deep