Tangra
in 4th Block Jayanagar

This Indo Chinese restaurant has just celebrated its first anniversary on the 12th of Dec 2011. It is one of the three restaurants at the Eden Park in Jayanagar 4th block. Unlike other Chinese restaurants it has a no nonsense ambience without any hint of the colour red, lanterns and dragons that either look down menacingly or have a surreal attitude. The interiors exude an earthiness accentuated with the dark brown teak wood furniture which is more functional. We were a group of 9 who did justice to the menu ordered and came away with a satisfied feel to the night. Surprisingly we could not discern the signature MSG, or it must have been in minimal pinches.

The chef's ancestors originally hailing from the Chinese Hakka region settled in the east Tangrai of Calcutta. This is an area in Calcutta where the first Chinese migrants introduced the Hakka way of cooking in the Indian cuisine making it a peculiarly Indian Chinese being spicier than the original. Chilly, garlic, yogurt and the vegetables are batter fried. Scallion, vinegar, noodles and Soya sauces are the Chef's specialties that mark many dishes that one orders at TANGRA.

Tangra is indeed Lip Smacking Chinese Indian food.

The starters
Paneer Manchurian (Rs 175/=) - Soft paneer lightly coated with masalas and with a tangy taste. We have tasted the Gobi and corn variants but this was surprisingly different and good.
Chilly garlic shell (Rs 175/=) - Mashed potatoes that hug a stick as it is wrapped around one. Spicy and pleasantly activating the taste buds with a chilly kick. This is indeed very welcoming on a winter's night and all of us enjoyed the pungency in this dish. It's more like a mixed vegetable cutlet flavoured with garlic.
Crispy veg in Chilly Plum sauce (Rs 175/=)- Baby corn, potatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms, crisply fried and tossed in Chef's special plum sauce. It is sweet and spicy with a hint of chilies and having a good texture. (And for the life of me I could not make out the plum sauce pronunciation by the North East server). We ordered two portions of this.
Tai Pei (Rs 225/=) - Diced boneless chicken in sweet and sour sauce tossed in shredded scallion (a type of onion that does not form a distinct bulb, a native of Palestine). All spices have blended well lending a surprising lightness. We ordered two servings. All the portions were decent.
All the starters teemed well with Beer, Scotch, Mojito, Breezers and Vodka and were more of a comfort food for hungry souls who polished the starters as they came in succession.

Main Course
Paprika noodles (Rs 200/=) - Can there be a Chinese cuisine without noodles and fried rice? This variety is soft noodles that were coconut flavoured having a spicy tinge with pieces of red, green and yellow peppers that was a visual delight. It was cooked to perfection.
Veg Hakka noodles (Rs 170/=) - Round noodles tossed with shredded cabbage, capsicum and onions and there was a fresh feel to the vegetables. Nicely done and not oily.
Mixed fried rice (non veg) - Chicken, lamb, egg and prawns. An enjoyable non veg delight with meat and sea catch. All are stir fried with lamb pieces roasted. The meat was tender and the flavours worked beautifully.
Veg fried rice. Fortunately less oily and bland as compared to the other dishes. Full marks.
Crispy American chop Suey- chicken based and the sauces were light and freshly made.
King Pao vegetables with water chestnut (Rs 200/=). Quite a mouthful. The chestnuts add body to the mixed vegetables which is capsicums, mushrooms, spinach flavoured with soy sauce, red chilies and five spices (dry chilies, cinnamon & clove, schwan pepper, black pepper and star anis). This is an incredible spice concoction and the way the spices have been manipulated i could feel the taste of each spice coming out. Delightfully spicy and perfect for the Indian palate.
Sapo Chicken- Chicken pieces cooked in red sauce flavoured with dry burst chilies and topped with burst garlic. There was a familiar taste with a touch of the exotic of the Far East.

Dessert
Fried Ice cream (Rs 140/=) - A ball of Vanilla ice cream sheathed in a fried coconut shell. Just the right combo of sweet encased in a fried outer, which I always marvel as to how ice cream is stuffed inside. As one took the first bite the crunchy outer leads to a soft landing.
All this with drinks came to Rs 600/= per pax.

An NRI, Anuradha Aswath had this to cite-"It is a paisa vasool experience and worth a repeat visit. The Indian Chinese adaptation is fantastic. That's what is special of India. Everything and anything is available here and to see a fine Chinese restaurant in Jayanagar is the bonus."

Address-
722/2, 36th cross, 10th A Main, Jayanagar, IV block
Bangalore
Ph: 80-42777333

On a scale of 5
Ambience 3
Service 4
Food 4
Value for money 4.5

Githa .U.Badikillaya