Tangra Cuisine
Little Kolkata beckons foodies in Singapore's Little India
A Chartered Accountant by profession, Deepali Ray moved to Singapore from Kolkata in 1998. While working in the corporate world, her passion for food led her to explore the city’s exotic culinary landscape. Soon she discovered the absence of typical Kolkata style food, which in addition to dal, bhat, shukto and macher jhol boasts of other items that reflect touches from China, Europe and Central Asia.
This led her entrepreneurial mindset to start in 2006 an Indo-Chinese eatery called Tangra Chinese Restaurant, serving Chinese dishes that came out of Tangra, a Kolkata suburb, once home to tanneries owned by Hakka Chinese immigrants.
The cuisine from there is a distinct variety of traditional Hakka Chinese food adapted to the Bengali palate, maintaining the essence of the original ingredients while introducing regional spices and flavours.
She didn’t stop there. She recently opened Kolkata Beckons to connect Singapore with authentic Bengali cuisine, so that lovers of Kolkata food don't miss anything from chilli chicken and hakka noodles to mochar chop , shorshe ilish and mutton biriyani loaded with an egg and a potato.
Both the restaurants are located almost next to each other at the Race Course Road inside culturally explosive Little India, one of the city’s most tourist haunted quarters. It’s a buzzing historic area that shows off the best of Singapore’s time-honored Indian community from vibrant cultural goodies and incredible human scenes to endless shopping and spicy food adventures.
Located not far from the glamourous Orchard Road and Raffle City precinct, Little India stretches couple of kilometers on both sides of Serangoon Road between Little India and Farrer Park MRT Stations
Like colourful saris and glittering gold ornaments, Indian cuisine is an important aspect of this neighbourhood. By virtue of its evolution with people from South Indian background, the menu has been traditionally influenced by South Indian style.
There are some North Indian and Mughlai eateries as well, but there was never a place in Little India and beyond in Singapore to fulfil the craving of a Bengali with authentic Kolkata style Bengali dishes.
The menu at Kolkata Beacons includes both vegetarian and non-vegetarian items alongside a long list of sweet dishes.
“We bring together the diverse flavors of original Bengali cuisine with a touch of Mughal heritage and European sophistication,” said Deepali when the author met her at the restaurant during my recent visit to Singapore
“At Kolkata Beckons, we honor this rich heritage by incorporating modern cooking technologies. Our use of air frying, sous vide, and steaming replaces traditional deep frying and microwave heating, ensuring a healthier yet flavorful dining experience. We pride ourselves on home-blended spices and herbs that infuse each dish with a unique and authentic flavor profile,” she added
I noticed many of his favourites there, from luchi , motor shutir kachori, mangsher chop, kathi rolls and fish fry to cholar dal with narkel, shukto, kanch kolar kofta and pabda fish, rui kalia , dab chingri, shorshe ilish and kasha mangsho.
As imagined, it would require several visits to the restaurant, to taste all the items. I sampled some of his darling picks, the aroma and tastes of which surely transferred me to the kitchens of Kolkata and revived memories of my birthplace. Living in Australia for more than four decades, it was like revisiting my home kitchen with my mother and aunties cooking. Each dish was very well presented and displayed character and abundance of flavour. The ending with Malpoa and Patishapta, both served with Kheer was awesome.
TRAVEL NOTEBOOK
Getting There: Singapore Airlines flies direct from several Indian cities including Kolkata to Singapore
Accommodation: Conveniently located just minutes away from the colourful and vibrant Little India, Village Hotel Albert Court (www.villagehotels.asia) effortlessly straddles the best of both worlds. While a walk around the compound will uncover traditional Indian and Peranakan carvings and motifs on the walls, a peek into any room will reveal modern facilities catered to both business and leisure travellers.
Kolkata Beckons details: www.kolkatabeckons.com.sg
(Sandip Hor is a Sydney-based travel writer. He can be reached on sandiphor@hotmail.com)
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