Chin Wah – Pocket Friendly Chinese

While every year the number of Chinese eateries in this city is increasing, it is also true that most of them either fail to make a mark or are too expensive for a casual weekday meal. It is the old, family run Chinese eateries, that take care of people like us, who want some tasty, filling meal of noodles and rice, anytime of the week. Chin Wah is one of them. Tucked away in an inner lane of Chandni Chowk, this place is a bit tough to locate.

Look for this on your right after you enter Temple Street from Chandni Chowk

From Ganesh Chandra Avenue and Chittaranjan Avenue Crossing move towards Esplanade via Chittaranjan Avenue. Lake the lane on your left just before E-Mall. Keep moving till you reach a T-junction, where the legendary Sabir’s is located. Turn right. Take the second lane on your left (Temple Street). A 2-3 minutes walk in this street and in your right you will see the board of Chin Wah. Ok, I agree the direction was not an easy one. But then this place really can’t be reached without taking multiple turns. So, the best way would be to reach E-Mall and then ask anyone how to reach Temple Street.

The entrance. And no, the collapsible gate does not remain closed. We clicked it while coming out well past 3PM

The ambiance is of a typical Chinese eating house. Simple, basic and clean. The lighting is dim and it can accommodate a decent crowd. The service was fast, attentive and friendly. One thing I like here is they serve chilled water. An absolutely easy way to satisfy your customers, which, unfortunately, most expensive and classy restaurants fail to do. In a hot and humid city like Calcutta, this is something most customers would love.

The dining hall

To start with we ordered a bowl of meat ball soup. It came in a huge bowl with six pieces of meat balls. The clear broth was light and flavourful with few mustard leaves and the meat balls were delicious. We absolutely loved this soup. A must try if you are here and love a clear and flavourful soup.

Meat ball soup

Next we ordered a plate of fish noodles, gravy. Now, this is one item which, though a simple one, is not available everywhere. Well cooked noodles, generous amount of fish and loads of veggies in a light gravy is what we got on a plate. Amount was again huge and enough for two. The fish and the veggies were perfectly cooked and tasted great. The noodles was good too, but it tasted a tad oily. Might be the oil that was used to keep the noodles non sticky. The gravy was light. So if you like the gravy spicy or loaded with flavours add few spoons of the chilli sauce or vinegar soaked chillis. For me just a little amount of vinegar was enough.

Fish noodles gravy

Fish noodles gravy

With the noodles we ordered a plate of Sliced Chilli Pork. Amount was good and it tasted decent. Not great, not bad too. The quality of pork was good, but the sauce was not up to the mark. Also it was a bit too oily which killed the taste to some extent.

Sliced chilli pork

We left the place happily with two full tummies and that cost us Rs. 545 all inclusive (prices on menu are all inclusive). The only overpriced item here was the cold drinks. Each 300ml bottle was priced at Rs. 35 which was a bit steep for a place like this. So, if you are around and want tasty and filling Chinese food at a pocket friendly rate visit this place at 2A, Temple Street (11AM – 3PM , 6PM – 10PM : Tuesday closed).