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The Chinese connection

I am not a mall rat. I find the noise in these huge glitzy concrete jungles so loud that I try not to step into one if I can help it. When I do enter a mall it’s just for one thing – to eat. Some days ago I got a call from restaurateur Anjan Chatterjee. He told me that he had opened up a new restaurant in a mall called the DLF Place in Saket.

It was a fine-dining Chinese restaurant – called The New World Mainline China – offering a kind of cuisine that’s known as Nouvelle Chinese. There was a rainbow in my heart – a bit of rain because it meant driving up all the way to Saket and going into a mall, but a bit of sunshine because it also meant a nice evening out with friends. I had been urged to take my foodie friends to the restaurant for its soft launch, so that the chefs and the servers would get a frank feed back on the food and service.

The restaurant is elegantly done up – with subdued lights that reflect from the sides, giving an impression of a room with a golden aura. We sat down, and were presented with a special menu. It turned out to be a 12-course meal – which was a bit too much for us. By the time we were nearing the end of the meal we were all bursting at the seams. And when dessert came, some of us had passed out.

But let me go back to the beginning. Nouvelle Chinese is a rage in parts of the world, especially Singapore, and defines a kind of food that’s a mix of traditional Chinese and ingredients and methods used in other parts of the world. For instance, New World Mainline China serves prawns served with wasabi, a pungent root popular in Japan, and mayonnaise, the sauce that Americans can’t do without.

Chef Rajesh Dubey, who trained for three months in Singapore, tells me that the cuisine in China is changing as well. Influences of the North are visible across the country, and late at night, traditional Chinese eateries stop serving Chinese, and start cooking whole roast chicken and naans. And cumin, our own jeera, is among the most popular spices used in China these days.

Our meal included a host of dishes. The ones that I liked the most were duck rolls, pakchoy and prawn dim sums, a clear soup with dumplings, pieces of spare ribs cooked with wild pepper and a fish in a light sauce flavoured with fennel.

My group included a friend who’s an awesome amateur chef. He trained in France, and has cooked for us some of the best meals I’ve ever had. He asked the chef so many questions – and gave such an honest feedback – that I fear we may not be invited there again in a hurry. But I think it would help the restaurant, as much as it would draw diners.

All in all, it was a wonderful evening, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Though a fine-dining outfit, the prices are not very high.

A meal for two should come for anything between Rs.1300 and Rs.1500. I had such a good time that I am contemplating another visit to the mall. I’ll take the noise.

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