Mainland China, Ballygunge, Kolkata

First let me confess that I am a big fan of Specialty chain of restaurants and a great admirer of how Mr. Anjan Chatterjee has revolutionized Indian middle & upper middle-class dining. I also admire the fact that he left his job and started off with a single restaurant in Mumbai and now has gone off to become the biggest restaurant chain in India.

Whats good about it??

Me and my wife is a complete foodie and we both are crazy about Oriental Cuisine. Our first tryst with Mainland China started in Bangalore (off M.G Road) and as soon as we had the first time we have become absolute loyalists to this brand. What we liked then is that Mainland China was not another mushroomed Chinese restaurant serving very much an adapted Indianised Chinese. It was absolutely authentic, with its flavors, the ingredients used, the ambiance & decor, even the vegetables been infused were so exclusive. The taste was just too good something which we have always wanted coupled with excellent customer service. We kept frequenting the joint as often as we can..!! It would be worthwhile to mention about their duck specialties and also the wantons.

Then we moved to Kolkata and tried the Mainland China at Gurusaday Road. It was good but not as excellent as compared to the one in Bangalore. That was agreed by both me & my wife in unison. As per my understanding if its a country wide brand and have several outlets across the country, then whatever the chef's dishes outshould also be consistent.

Now been dissapointed with this branch, we tried the next Mainland China in Kolkata (they have several outlets here) at Silver Spring. The decor & ambiance at this place was just so amazing, completely levels above what I have seen so far. The food & service was better compared to one at Gurusaday Road. I would definitely like to suggest this one to anyone above Gurusaday road.

What's not so good about it??

Even being the biggest admirer, I must confess that Mainland China is slowly loosing its charm, as the quality of food is dropping from the standards it has set earlier. It might be due to the fact that the success has gone to head and they are heading towards a more commercial way by spending so much money in tv advertisement nowadays. I strongly believe that food is one business where you can completely live without commercially promoting it, just by serving excellent food and then relying on word of mouth of its customers.

I feel that they are now trying to attract as many people they can and in doing so, they are moving slowly away from authentic Chinese to Indianised chineese...!! Then why should I go to Mainland China paying extra bucks, I can go to any A B C restaurant all over the city...!!

I also feel that their customer service has also deteriorated and there are many attendants who does not properly understand English and you literally have to converse then in the language he speaks.

There is one more thing which I disliked from the day-1 I visited Mainland China. Why don't they have Pork in their menu. Do you think any Chinese food could be complete without a pork delicacy?? I don't think so, after travelling half of the world. I know, Indian consumers are not always open to everything, but times are changing. Who does not want would not order, but why you want to disappoint the ones who love to have Pork.. think about it Mr. Anjan Chatterjee.

Having said all that, it is still one of the best Chinese available, only if they keep consistent to their standards. The ones who have never tried, please go off this weekend and have it and then give comments to this review....!! I would love to hear what others think... as I believe sharing our experience only empowers us as consumers in India, where there is not so much of Quality adherence in any field...!!

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I visited the Kolkata Mainland China, usually do twice every month. The courtesy of the Manager, yes the manager himself was disgusting. I entered the lobby downstairs, with no one there. I went upstairs, sat on a table for around ten minutes. The waiter poured water in the glass. I went up informed the waiter to serve me the soup, and I catch up with the buffet. When I came back, my seat was already taken. I asked another waiter, he directed me to another 6 seater table.

Pretty embarrassing sitting in the restaurant, in a 6 seater table alone, to add to the woes, here comes the manager, Dipanjan Ghosh. He asked how did I enter the restaurant? whom did I ask when I took the seat? You cannot do anything u like. then he said politely please enjoy the food.The idea was he was doing me a favour to allow me to sit there.Ihad been to almost 5 mainland china restaurants, always been a delicacy. But thanks to the manager, you just lost me as a customer. You are now just another restaurant, who cooks good food, but very bad customer service.

Oh yes I paid the bill and did not have anything else.

Thanks Mainland china

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Exploring the restaurants around the world is one of my passions. I’m born and brought up in Calcutta, so my visit to the Mainland China of Club Silver Arcade mall(on the bypass) was nothing unexpected. 16-th Jan 2010 evening we decided to visit the place and booked a private dinning for 7 adults and 3 kids.

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The other day me and my friends decided to make a trip to the newly opened Mainland China Restaurant at South City Mall. We arrived at around 1.30 PM and moved to the top floor of the mall where the restaurant is situated.

Upon entry, we were asked about the number of people in our group and were allocated a table accordingly. When we told them that we were expecting more people to join us, they told us that it would not be a problem if they enter the buffet anytime before 3 PM. There is no need for a reservation for joining the buffet, even if you have to wait it would be for a very small period of time.

The ambiance was nice with dim lighting and a light background music. The smell of food was also nice! Let me tell you the price of the buffet in the first place: on weekdays it is Rs. 295+ taxes which comes to around Rs. 332, on weekends it is more than Rs. 400.

There were a couple of starters which included fried chicken wings, prawn papad, chicken momo and lots of veggie starters. We tried quite a few of them and they had an excellent taste! Add to that a nicely prepared chicken soup that would amplify the secretion of your gastric juices so that you feel even more hungry! The waiters served us the starters but it would be better if you go yourself and fetch some more.

The main course comprised of chow, fried rice with a few vegetable dishes(the sweet and sour vegetable was nice) followed by fish in sauce, crab and prawn dishes. It was a bit disappointing to see the size of the prawns though.

The taste is pretty good but might seem a bit bland for some: in any event it is not going to bring tear to your eyes! The fillings were also quite rapid so that we didn't have to wait for a long time when something was finished.

We then moved on to the dessert section. It comprised of a nice collection of cakes and ice creams and sweets which you can readily try so that you must keep some empty space in your stomach after the main course of meal.

We didn't go in for any hard drinks but they are probably served in this restaurant. Overall, the buffet lunch is quite a good value for money so that if you are free on any weekdays, just try this out but remember to enter the place before 3 PM!

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According to popular perception Mainland China represents the finest dining experience in Calcutta.Probably true.This is a prize-winning premium chinese eatery owned by Mr Anjan Chatterjee.There are branches in Mumbai,Bangalore,Hyderabad,Pune,Chennai and New Delhi.In the city where I live,that's Calcutta its situated in a highly fashionable addess which kind of heightens the whole experience.The entrance itself is quite impressive with the reception being handled by very friendly people.The decor looks traditional Chinese so does the furniture and other such effects.Some of the employees are in Chinese attire though that's kind of in-the-face.But they are all rather courteous.But make reservations well in advance for there is heavy rush at all times.The prices are ahem on the higher side.And the food is kind of paisa vasool but not more than that.There is an excellent takeaway facility with 10% rebate being offered at present.Now,to the menu.Its divided into dimsums,starters(seafood,poultry,lamb,veg),main course(steamed and stir-fried,seafood,poultry,lamb,vegetables).There are soups,rice,noodles and of course desserts all of which have a distinct oriental flavour.All in all this restaurant is a great place to spend a quiet,cool evening but it helps you are kind of financially solvent.Also its away from south Calcutta where most of Calcutta today lives.

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MAINLAND CHINA, CALCUTTA

January the sixth being my birthday, my daughter Ananya, a soft ware techie invited us for lunch at Mainland China, a premier restaurant in Kolkata specializing in Chinese cuisine. My wife and I along with two of my uncles [both octogenarians] and their better halves, my cousin sister and my sister –in- law and her daughter made up the team.

The restaurant is quite a groovy place and at lunch time is rather crowded. We were ushered in by smartly attired waiters to our table and on sitting down everyone sang ‘A happy birthday to you’ to me. Not that it was embarrassing but I would have appreciated a quieter welcome. Reckon I must be obsequious to Zeitgeist. The ambience was sophisticated but not stifling. And who is bothered when one is among one’s very own, the few, the very few whom one loves dispassionately.

Ananya advocated a buffet to which all of us agreed. The waiter served us chicken soup along with mou-mou, both steamed and fried. It was simply divine. Afterwards we lined up for the main buffet. There was a wide range of choice and dish in hand we helped ourselves to each item.

``Oh, Tiber! Father Tiber!

To whom the Romans pray,

A Roman's life, a Roman's arms,

Take thou in charge this day!

Baby corn in sauce, ladies fingers with mushrooms, two types of noodles, rice with shredded chicken, two preparations of chicken, fish in whitish sauce and crabs. Yes crabs with their cathedral of claws; and they were the main attraction. Forgive me, I am not much of a connoisseur of Chinese delicacies and I am unable to give an exact description of the dishes, but the food was indeed delicious. Aditi, my niece, is quite at home with chopsticks and she used them with delectable élan. The rest of us used fork and spoon but when it came to the crunch we had to use our fingers. Yes your guess is right; for the crabs, especially to get at the claw-meat there was no other way. And the crabs, both the corpus and the claws were exceedingly succulent. The elder of my uncles did not try it; his dentures would not permit. Time and again we went to the long table and refilled our dishes and the conversation that flowed was congenial.

There were two ladies, both Indians, in their late fifties dressed in European style eating with chopsticks sitting immediately behind me. Nothing unusual in that but suddenly one of them felt unwell and was comforted by the other. I approached her and thought of saying ‘ete vous malad?’ mistaking them to be well versed in French. However she spoke in chaste Bengali that she was allergic to ajina moto [sodium glutamide] and the food in the restaurant had a generous sprinkling of the same. I further gathered from her that ajina moto was banned in the hotels of Europe when I politely informed her that it was in regular usage in India as an essential ingredient of Chinese cookery. Anyway her vitals were well maintained and I informed the maitre’d who had come running by to offer her some brandy. She gulped down the drink and quickly recovered and her spirits soared.

Time slipped by as we did justice to our fare. My cousin informed me that ajina moto was indeed banned in Europe; I wasn’t all that certain though. Aditi, the sweet darling, regaled us with tales about Switzerland which she had visited last year. I was intrigued to know that the second and third piercing of her ears were a Swiss affair! Ananya later recounted her life in the information industry at Hyderabad, the pranks they play and the dressing down they receive from the project manager.

My sister–in–law Sharmila, who is Aditi’s mother, is a many splendoured lady. A product of Presidency College, Calcutta, she has an excellent academic record, and wonder of wonders, is a superb cook to boot. Her forte is ice-cream and soufflés. But the drudgery of a home-maker is taking its toll; she says she no longer makes ice-cream on her daughter’s request, on the contrary she hands over the money for ice-cream to her daughter and tells her that all the ice-creams in her repertoire are available in the City Centre. There is wisdom somewhere in this but it overshot me.

Talking of ice-creams, its time to describe what we had for desserts. There were fried crispies dipped in syrup and ice-cream. We had an over generous helping of the dessert.

We ate and ate is if there was no tomorrow, my better half making innumerable bee-lines to the ice-cream table. Talk about watching the calories; its ‘gone with the wind’.

And how can man die better

Than facing fearful odds,

For the ashes of his fathers,

And the temples of his gods.

It was time to say goodbye; but wait a minute. No we did not sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’. The waiter brought a cake and a tumbler with an electronic cracker to me and I had to do the honours to blow out the candle. We all shared a piece of cake before we left.

It was an experience worth the visit. Mainland China is indeed a place where good food can be had for the asking at competitive rates. And believe me the clientele there, as it appeared, are well behaved and do not flaunt their wealth. On our way back, we had a piece of Homeric humour in a lively discussion on which of my two uncles was better dressed; but that’s another story.

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