I still remember my first meal at Yi-Jing at ITC Kohenur in Hyderabad. This contemporary Chinese brand marked a new beginning for ITC Hotels; I was convinced that Yi-Jing would go national. Half a decade later, Yi-Jing has expanded its footprint across ITC luxury hotels in Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Yi-Jing sticks to a brand of Chinese that has worked well in the past for the Indian palate. The restaurant tilts towards Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine but it’s not all classic dishes or dishes that have been Indianised by Chinese master chefs who’ve spent more time hopping restaurants in India than back home in China.
Almost five years after that meal at Yi-Jing, I experienced another engaging meal at Mahjong Room at the recently revamped Welcomhotel Chennai Cathedral Road. And yet again, I think ITC Hotels may be on to something.
The ITC hotels journey began here
The Welcomhotel was once Chola Sheraton. ITC’s first ever hotel was launched in 1975 and occupies a special place for most Chennaites. The hotel was built on the site of Tilak Bhavan, a historic guest house. Mahatma Gandhi learnt about the draconian Rowlatt Bill when he was staying here at the invitation of C Rajagopalachari in 1919 and announced the launching of the satyagraha in protest. A commemorative plaque at the hotel captures that moment.
This was the first luxury hotel I ever stepped into as a child. It was the magnet for the city’s movers and shakers. you could run into Rajinikanth on any given night – this was his comfort zone in the 1980s and ’90s. It’s almost fitting that a restaurant that rides on nostalgia takes wings at this hotel.
A 100-year-long love affair
L-R: Eau Chew Restaurant in Kolkata, one of the oldest Chinese eateries in India and (right) the famous Singhara Chow, a popular dish from the Kolkata Chinese community My Kolkata
Both Mahjong – a tile-based Chinese game — and Chinese cuisine gained global audiences and grew in popularity in the 20th century. It has been exactly a century since India’s love affair with Chinese cuisine started.
Nanking, launched in 1924 in Kolkata, is widely recognised as India’s first Chinese restaurant. The city’s vibrant Chinese community set the foundation for Chinese food in the country. Restaurants like Eau Chew (one of the oldest Chinese eateries in India) continue to draw diners for their Josephine Noodles and Chimney soup. The city was also the starting point for Mainland China that blossomed into a national chain as India’s economy opened up in the 1990s. More Indians began to travel abroad and explore global cuisines.
Today Chinese sauces and noodles are part of our grocery lists. The first wave of Chinese fine dining was pioneered by luxury hotels in the 1970s with restaurants like Golden Dragon at the Taj.
In many ways the first template for Chinese food in a fine-dining setting for a wider audience was established in the 1990s and the early 2000s. It’s this nostalgia that Mahjong Room aims to capture.
A delicious throwback
Inside the newly opened Mahjong room Courtesy Welcomhotel Chennai
When was the last time you went to a newly-launched Asian restaurant with your buddies and ordered your entire meal without looking at the menu? You might be able to do that at the Mahjong Room. Think Crackling Spinach, Manchow Soup, American Chopsuey or date pancake.
Mahjong Room at Welcomhotel looks even prettier at night when the interiors dominated by splashes of red come alive. The menu largely draws from Sichuan (with its generous use of garlic and chilli), Cantonese, and Hunan (renowned for its hot and spicy flavours) cuisine. Food from these regions have largely shaped India’s version of Chinese cuisine. The team at Welcomhotel is quick to point out that Mahjong Room doesn’t serve ‘Indian Chinese’ or Chindian cuisine as we know it but dishes that invoke a sense of nostalgia.
Crackling Spinach Courtesy Welcomhotel Chennai
Uncomplicated appeal
My meal began with a hot and sour soup and a personal favourite — crackling spinach with a hint of spice. I never leave familiar ground with dumpling options like the Chicken Siu Mai and diced chicken in chilli black bean sauce, a Cantonese specialty. And then there’s the American chopsuey that takes you back straight to your childhood, that first time when you had a Chinese meal in a restaurant. Another dish that’s likely to take you down memory lane is the darsaan (fried noodles tossed in honey) served with ice cream.
Chicken Siu Mai Courtesy Welcomhotel Chennai
Mahjong Room might not break new culinary ground or boast of an exotic culinary experience but therein lies its charm. You’re unlikely to experience any awkward moments like figuring out how to eat your edamame. It’s just the kind of setting where you will feel at home with your school buddies and where nostalgia triumphs. Could this be the start of another pan-Indian restaurant brand for ITC Hotels?
