Kerala - Kozhikode   

A taste of the oriental

Staff Reporter

GOURMET'S DELIGHT: Oriental delicacies in the making.

KOZHIKODE: `Wonton and Noodles,' a 10-day Chinese food festival, began at Fortune Hotel's restaurant, Malabar Court, on Friday. "The ongoing festival is a celebration of Chinese cuisines to tingle the taste buds of food connoisseurs in Kozhikode," says chef Babu Abdullah.

Oriental delicacies such as catfish Tushisashi, Tsao's Chicken, tea smoked mussel wontons, drunken crab, chilly shrimp with basil, Shanghai red cooked chicken and West Lake fish will be featured at the festival. The celebration will be held from 7.30 p.m. A few select dishes are on a la carte basis.

In Chinese culture, Abdullah says the process of food preparation involves a delicate balancing of grain food or starch (fan) and meats and vegetables (ts'ai).

It can be called the fan- ts'ai culture.

Wonton roughly translated as "swallowing clouds" are dumplings filled with meat, cheese and vegetables.

Noodles, which come chiefly in two forms, wheat, rice and cellophane, provide a dietary balance. "And, this is one of the staple food of China," he says.

Explaining some of these imperial cuisines, he says Tushisashi, is bamboo skewered grilled meat tossed in peanut sauce.

Another ethnic dish is the Peking chicken seasoned with special sauces. The others are Cantonese red cooked chicken, tea smoked mussel wontons, Peking chicken and `Prawns herbal salt.'

A few of the dishes have been carefully selected to give the festival a regional colour.

All ingredients, including sauces and herbs, used for the festival are imported to give the dishes flavour and authenticity.

Guests are also offered exotic Mandarin chocolate mouse, moon cakes, almond pudding and an exquisite array of Chinese teas.

Vipin Das, front office manager, says the guests will also be introduced to Chinese horoscope.

One can figure out the character of a person simply using his/her year of birth corresponding it to the nature of an animal.

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