Old school Chinese dishes - at TAK HENG

I was longing to visit this place, the so-called south Kolkata branch of the legendary Tung Nam. For Tung Nam loyalists like us, this was indeed a great news. For people of South Kolkata this is indeed one much needed addition since they get really less or no option to try out the typical orthodox 'old school' Chinese cuisine in this part of the city, and it is not always convenient to visit Tung Nam. Also people would have loved to have a Tung Nam with a better ambiance, hygiene and A.C. and that's when they got Tak Heng!

LOCATION -----  Located on Southern Avenue, near the Thyagaraj Hall and the Blue Door Restaurant. You can park your car on the main road right in front of the restaurant or close to it.

AMBIANCE -----  The place has got humble white walled interiors with neat designs and relevant wall paintings, nothing flashy. The biggest plus point that Tak Heng has got over Tung Nam is this relatively better ambiance with A.C., there is surely no old-world charm, evidences of bygone era or enigma here like Tung Nam but the place is ideal for family dining and small meet-ups over some awesome Old School Chinese food that is soothing and honest. The tables, chairs, table mats, cutleries everything is just perfect and just what one expects. And yes, I loved the designer chopsticks! The place has got really good crowd, so yes it is perfectly okay to visit this place with your family, relatives and parents.

Couple of suggestions to the management - please add some pleasant background music to this place, some soft Chinese instrumental track can do wonders to the overall dining experience! Also later you may think about false ceilings and acoustic wall treatments to take this place to the next level, but then the prices printed on menu card are bound to change :) So this can be marked as a long-term plan as of now. Also the place is too brightly lit, you can work on the lighting part as well.

FOOD -----  Being a true fan of Tung Nam, I knew what to order. Though I could not order their pork items since my mom was reluctant to go for it and preferred chicken. Anyway, I started by ordering -

a) Chicken Wanton soup - One large Chicken Wanton soup that serves four, we were three so quantity-wise this was perfect for us, bit on the higher side. The Chicken wanton soup is just heavenly, the clear broth is extremely soothing, aromatic and flavorful. It has mustard greens and chunky steamed soft chicken wantons in it with a blissful silky skin. Add some chilli vinegar, soya sauce and definitely some red chilli paste to take the taste of the dish to a new level. This is one MUST TRY item here.

b) Chicken Gravy noodles - Then we went in for this dish that has got lightly fried crispy noodles, nicely diced veggies and loads of chicken pieces in it, taste and texture-wise it was just perfect. Just one ting - try this dish very hot, right when it is served else the gravy in there might not be that delicious. Goes perfect with some dry chilli pork side dish.

c) Chicken Yam Mein - It was one lovely tossed noodles dish with finely chopped veggies, mustard greens and sprinkled black pepper, got some typical old-school flavor of Tung Nam in there. Add some chilli vinegar and red chilli paste to this dish to elevate the taste and to excite your tastebuds. Goes well with spicy gravy sides.

d) Roast Chilli Chicken - I settled for this side dish according to the suggestion by the person taking my order. It has got nothing to do with Bengali-style chilli chicken, if you want to taste chilli chicken then please do NOT order this dish, this is one amazing dish but has no resemblance with Kolkata-style Chilli chicken. We already knew about that while ordering and we loved every nibble of this dish. I have never tasted this preparation before and I could well imagine how delicious the Roast Chilli Pork would be. Next time I'll surely try the Roast Chilli Pork and I was missing the dish badly as I was having the chicken counterpart. The chicken in there was perfectly grilled and then put into one soothing gravy with loads of garlic and fresh green chillies, simply loved the texture and smokiness in the chicken, one amazing side prepared with grilled chicken pieces.

 

SERVICE -----  Service is comparable to Tung Nam, very prompt. The person serving our food (named Bablu) was quite knowledgeable about the menu options and the preparation of the dishes, he also suggested us few dishes. Also he was very courteous and pleasant.

OVERALL -----  Billing, etc is quite prompt as well. Cash was accepted and no extra taxes were charged when we visited this place (last Sunday). It isn't a huge place so there are limited numbers of tables and hence there might be waiting time as well, though we didn't have to wait when we last visited. Authentic quality and quantity of food should be the reason why people should come here; it is one huge value-for-money dining destination. 

Also for all Tung Nam fanatics this is your holy spot. So please do plan to visit and try them out!

Cheers!