The Eight Culinary Traditions of China are:

Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang cuisines.

 

Prominent styles of Chinese cuisine outside China include:

Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian and American, but there is Chinese cuisine wherever Chinese people are found.

 

Indian Chinese

Yang Tai Chow was the first recorded Chinese to migrate to India for better material prospects besides spreading Budhism. In 1778 he put down roots in Kolkata. Chinese served with distinction as dentists, tannery owners, sauce manufacturers, beauticians and shoe shop owners, but it was as restaurateurs that the Chinese found their fame and glory in India, thanks to the ‘ever migrating’ Hakka, who are known to take to the most remote places, while strictly preserving their culture. One anecdote has it that the northern-most restaurant in the world, closest to the Arctic, is Chinese and run by a Hakka. As all immigrant communities tend to do, the Chinese assimilated Indian sensibilities and beliefs. They even acknowledged one of our goddesses, Kali, as their own, and offered noodles, chop suey, rice and vegetable dishes in rituals as a sign of unity. The first Indo Chinese restaurant Eau Chew opened in Kolkata. New restaurants mushroomed all over Kolkata, and legends like Fat Mama and Kim Fa were born, offering newer dishes with fancier combinations and names like August Moon Rolls and Fiery Dragon Chicken. Before you knew it 'Indian Chinese' had tickled the taste buds of folk in every small town and city across India. No small feat for a foreign cuisine.

 

How the dish ‘Manchurian’ came to be

Was Manchurian a dish that came from China? No.

 

It is the result of a request by a customer at China Garden, Mumbai's original Indian Chinese restaurant, to create something different from the menu, owner Nelson Wang (then caterer of Chinese food at the Cricket Club of India) took cubes of chicken, coated them in corn flour and deep fried them. Wang then prepared a red sauce with onions, green chilies and garlic, and slapped some vinegar and soy into it. He popped the fried chicken dumplings back into the sauce and gave it a quick stir so that the flavors came together and served it with steamed or fried rice. The customers loved it. As Nelson says, "word of mouth" spread the acclaim of this dish and today it is found in almost every menu that serves Chinese food in the country.Nowadays his son Eddie, a third generation Chinese Indian, spearheads the restaurant’s expansion to Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Goa. Not bad for a man who began his career eking out a modest living doing odd jobs, including limbo dancing at clubs in Kolkata, which, by the way, he was also very good at.

 

I have eaten at China Garden around 15 years back in Bombay, my brother’s friend used to work there, of what I remember, the place was bright, unlike most Chinese restaurants, and the food was yummy.One of my favourite Chinese restaurants in India is Mainland China; I love their buffet, reasonable for the vast spread they offer, and very good food, especially the garlic crab.

 

Chinese food in Dubai:

Many Chinese expatriates hail from the Wenzhou region; they are mostly businessmen and merchants who run hundreds of commodity shops. Chinese culture in the Emirates has a sizeable presence; there are an overwhelming number of Chinese restaurants in Dubai. I’ve had food from two, both were very Indo-Chinese in their cooking style.

 

I have eaten from only two of them till now, our friends Sharon & Alfy took us to Chinese Village at Seaview Hotel, Al Mina Road. We ordered so many things, that I could only barely taste the food, and I was full with it. We got some delicious chicken dumplings, with very tasty chutney to go with it. Then there was a crispy spinach chicken, I noticed the popularity of the dish, both tables on my left and right had ordered the same dish. Although I liked only the spinach in the dish, it was a bit sweet and crispy. Another interesting dish was the rice served in a bamboo shoot, quiet presentable and nice. But the best part of the meal, was our server, her name is ‘Teertha’, what an amazing lady, she makes you feel like you are sitting at home and being fed by your mom!

 

The other place I’v had Chinese food from is from Chin Chin at Satwa. I love their tagline,'Nothing fancy, just good food’, and just good food it is and reasonable on the pocket too. Try the beef in black pepper sauce and potato chilly dry, although the later could be a bit too sweet with tomato ketchup at times.