Mainland China | Tangra — Restaurant in Kolkata

An elaborated review of Mainland China. Although my last experience with Mainland China at Avani wasn't good still I wanted to explore why this brand is so popular and charges so much of money for their food.

My expectations were sky high from this branch, as it's one of the oldest branch of MC and they're specialised in Ala Carte. So every other dish is being prepared separately by Chef unlike Buffet where food is prepared in mass quantity keeping value in focus thus becomes hard to control the quality.

Ambiance This place is as beautiful as you expect from a fine dine restaurant. Pleasant, soothing, clam and one of its kind. Obviously they've gone far to make every Mainland China look like a kind and interior designers did a great job.

Ordering Process I wanted to try some main course in fish, but they only had a few options in that category. So is the noodles, only 3 categories of noodles are present. Oh come on, is it really a fine dine Chinese Cuisine?

A tab was given where only the list of the items and prices were mentioned, no ordering through tab. That is absolutely illogical and meaningless, when a digital devices does the same thing as a paper menu.

Pan Fried Asian Chilli Fish @ 585 (3/5) A very simple dish, big Basa pieces lightly fried and tossed in spicy tangy Chinese sauce with some bell peppers. Taste wise it felt very average.

The portion of protein felt good for two people only because we took full portion. Usually they recommend odd 5 pieces for 2 people that costs 85% of the full portion.

Singapore Rice Noodles @ Rs.485 (1/5) I haven't seen such sticky rice noodles in my entire life. It was made with minimal effort. The noodles were excessive oily, oil was dipping from the bowl. The noodles became a ball itself.

Taste wise it felt very dull as it was super oily. Very less chicken chunks were present. This was probably the most worst and most expensive Noodles in entire Kolkata.

Braised Chicken in Soked Chilli Sauce @ 545 (2/5) Another disappointing dish, Chicken chunks cooked in red spicy gravy with bell peppers. Nothing but just a punch of black pepper was felt in the gravy. Obviously it didn't went well with the dull oily noodles.

Service and Management This is where speciality kitchen always shines. No matter what they'll never disappoint you. Although they've perfectly ruined our lunch by providing below average food but the manager took our feedback very seriously.

Conclusion A complete meal for 2 at Mainland China can easily reach Rs.3000-3500. If you search for value in overall experience at Mainland China, you'll feel its same as burning the money.

Obviously Mainland China is not targeted towards lower or middle class people still what you get as return doesn't justify the given price even if you're son of Ambani.

If you want good experience then go straigh to Haka or Mio Amore in Mani Square. You'll be really happy to see for price of a single dish at Mainland China you can get whole buffet. Or if you're really looking for gret Chinese food then visit Tung Nam or Crystal Chimney, Mainland China can't touch their quality even in...

Get ready for a gastronomical journey and let your taste-buds enjoy the goodness of sea-food...Enjoy a lavish spread of seafood at @Mainland_china Get ready to brace yourself with limitless flavours of seafood specialities hailing from different parts of the country and world. @Mainland_China brings to you a new edition of SEAFOOD delicacies specially curated by international chefs. Now all the Seafood Lovers out there this post is especially for you. Without wasting any time lets jump to the food menu.

Our menu consisted of:-

Lemon coriander soup Lemon coriander soup is a light and healthy soup filled with a different type of seafood like prawn, squid, fish... and the aroma makes you salivate

Fried Crab claws with sambal salsa sauce The Sauce was an ultimate treat to the taste buds..and Crab Claw filled with flavoured minced crab meat served in a small glass with Sambal Salsa which was an ultimate surprise...!! coming to taste.. it was as good as it looks.. the outer layer was crispy and the inner layer was soft.. eventually, the combination of salsa sauce makes this dish more mouth-watering...

The grilled fish cake This item is especially for fish lovers..this fish cakes make your taste buds sing out " more, more, more, " ... delicious puffy fluffy perfectly textured fish cake I've ever tasted...all cakes stuffed with pure fish and served with chilli dipping sauces

Crispy squids with bird's eye chilli and curry leaves Crispy deep golden fried squids rings make your mouth drool. This dish has become more delicious due to its golden texture... The meat is firm and white with a mild, slightly sweet, almost nutty flavour.... perfect tossed with fried curry leaves and served in a splendid noodle bowl.

Seafood and XO fried rice All-time favourite fried rice..mixed with plenty of seafood and fried eggs topped with sodden shrimps.. perfectly blend with all the flavours..and served is a pompous bowl.

Baby lobster in yellow bean Always favourite item... This dish is an Indo-Chinese delicacy which is spicy and lip-smackingly ...the whole meatball loaded with soft lobster meat delicious.. the outer texture was quite soft as well as inner one also...

Sliced Nile perch with chilli cinnamon sauce I never tried this dish before... innovative dish.. perfectly balanced all spices.. strong flavoured spicy cinnamon and soya sauce..that makes this dish more aromatic and drool-worthy

All items will be presented with this specialized menu as part of A-la-Carte dining. Come and be a part of this culinary journey.

©Kolkata...

I can't remember when I was so satisfied last time before I visited Mainland China. I visited Science City with my family and from there we went to Spring Club. I admit my mistake that I missed the opening time on Zomato and reached Mainland China at 6 pm, remaining an hour to open. Thanks to the staffs who welcomed us and requested to wait and also opened the place 20 mins early. No comments are necessary for the ambiance, sober and classy.

We started with Vietnames Chicken Soup flavoured with star anise and contained lots of fresh veggies and flat noodles. It was really nice and to all surprise my 8 year old kid liked it who turns every veggie down. For starter we ordered Drums of Heaven in Chillie and Plum sauce. The sauce was tangy and tasty, chicken was crisp on the outside and juicy inside. After the starter we ordered Bhetki in Chillie Basil Sauce, Roasted Duck with Greens and Cantonese Rice Noodles with Prawn. I heard about the whole Bhetki years ago and i was expecting that as i ordered it from their special menu but what I got was normal chillies Fish that are found usually. But the taste and flavour did not disappoint me at all. Roasted Duck is just superb, crisp shredded meat in white sauce with lots of fresh veggies. The noodle was good but I must say I have had better Rice Noodle in Kolkata.

Finally it came to dessert and there was Mango Pudding, Pulm Jaggery Ice cream(Nolen Gurh/নলেন গুড়) and Rambutan with Vanilla Ice cream. We wanted Lichi with Vanilla Ice cream but the staff suggested Rambutan which is a kind of Lichi from South East Asia. It was good but nothing above and beyond. I'd still prefer Lichi over Rambutan. However the presentation was cool. It was served over a bowl of dry ice which made a lot white smoke and created a cool looking presentation. Plum Jaggery Ice Cream does not need my certificate as there is an established Legendary about the Oh Calcutta famous Ice Cream.

Bit upset with the Mango Pudding. Pudding was well flavoured and creamy but I believe little more sauce on the plate could complement it better as the dish was low on sweetness scale and thus left a feeling of dryness which is less expected as a dessert.

I highly recommend Mainland China. Food lovers must try the place at least once. If you are worried about the cost, I guarantee it will be worth spending every single buck. Enjoy! :)

P. S. I missed about the Pineapple Ginger Mocktail which was...