Announcing the first Finely Chopped Table: Ling’s Pavilion, Mumbai, 14th September, 2014, Sunday, 1 pm

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People often ask me about what to order at Ling’s Pavilion, one of my favourite restaurants in Mumbai.

Which is why I thought of organizing a
lunch where you can come and try some of my favourite dishes at Ling’s, get to hear the
story behind them and meet the people who create them.

Thus was born the idea of the Finely
Chopped Table. A curated meal which is not your regular restaurant experience.
In some cases they could feature great home chefs who has wowed me with their
food and in some cases replicates great restaurant meals that I have had. The
idea is to have a small and cosy gathering where you could try out the food,
meet other Finely Chopped readers who possibly have similar tastes in food and
chat about things culinary over a great meal.

I spoke to Baba Ling about the idea and he
asked me in a very worried tone “but will they eat everything dear?”

That’s Baba’s biggest concern while hosting
folks. That they should not be picky eaters.

Baba knows that this is normally not a
problem with me. Fortunately, the people I eat with eat everything.

Baba Ling is the second generation owner of
this 70year old restaurant group. His father came to India from China and set
up a restaurant. Today Baba Ling and his brother, Nini Ling, carry on their
father’s legacy. In Mumbai they run Ling’s Pavalion in Colaba which his
replaced Nanking, their earlier restaurant. In Delhi they have Nanking and have
recently launched Canton Spice in Gurgaon.

Old SoBo (South Bombay) hands swear by
Nanking and Ling’s depending on their ages. Ling’s has a huge following and is
always packed. Most of these are loyalists who have been coming here for years.
It is a bit of a Mumbai secret as folks new to the city don’t know about it.
There are two reasons for this. One is Ling’s is in Colaba and the new Mumbai
has moved to Lower Parel, Bandra and Andheri. Secondly, the Ling’s brothers are
media and social media shy. They just know how to serve great food.

While I always knew of Ling’s existence, I ‘discovered’
it 16 years after I landed in Mumbai, all thanks to friends such as Sassy Fork, made through the
blog, who are Ling’s fans. I fell in love with Ling’s ever since my first visit there as have been all my friends whom I have taken there and people I have
recommended it to in social media.

The Cantonese flavours in Ling’s are
vouched for by the Chinese delegations visiting Mumbai who eat here looking for home food just as Gujaratis
travelling abroad carry their Maharaj with them. I once went with a Korean TV
crew to Ling’s who said that they eat Chinese outside of home. After eating in
Ling’s they said its pretty close to the best Chinese they have had while travelling
across the world. I once took a British food writer and her fiancé there and
they too said that the fare at Ling’s matches with the best of the Chinese run
restaurants in London.

The thing with Ling’s is that their owners
are just one generation removed from China unlike the Chinese of Kolkata who
have been in Kolkata long enough to have become Indianised. Secondly Baba Ling keeps
going to China every three months or so to shop for produce and stays current
with the tastes there. Most importantly Ling’s Pavilion sees strong involvement
of the family. From when the restaurant opens at 6 am for prep to midnight when
it shuts, one of the brothers is there. If both are travelling then their wives
are manning the counter. So eating in Ling’s is closest you can get in Mumbai
to eating with a hospitable, food loving Chinese family.


Baba Ling tells me that they have not changed their suppliers of meat over 70 years and you see the results of the consistency in the brilliant quality of meat served here.

Regulars will tell you that the best way to
eat in Ling’s is to give Baba Ling a bear hug, tell him what you want to eat
and let him order for you. If you order excessively he will firmly tell you
‘that’s too much dear’. His brother, Nini Ling, gets flustered by my disregard
for the menu and often tells me to look at the menu. I did that recently and
had a wonderful dried chicken, liver and fungus dish which I ordered from the
menu. That didn’t stop Nini though from sending us a sinful plate of Nanking
styled sweet pork which consists of pork fat fried till its rendered to the
tissue. He didn’t tell me what it was and asked me to identify the dish. I got
it right.

So here’s the menu that Baba Ling and I
came up with for the lunch on Sunday. It’s a bit pork heavy but the Chinese and
I love pork so that’s to be expected and at Ling’s you get some of the best
renditions of pork. Each dish has been a source of joy over many meals of ours
at Ling’s. We have planned out the meal in such a way that in true Chinese
style you can have a course by course sampling of each dish unlike when you are
in a small group and are limited by how much one can eat.

For starters we have salt and pepper prawns
which differentiate Ling’s from any Indian Chinese place. Here and salt and
pepper prawns means just that. Salt and crushed pepper. Nothing else. Simple seasoning
which allows the taste of the prawns to flower in their full glory. Very
similar to the pepper crabs I have had in Singapore.

Then comes another favourite. Juicy pork
dumplings. A bit like a Chinese pani puri. Dumplings with a thin casing with
delectable pork inside and slivers of ginger. You pour in a light wine soy
sauce and pop it into the mouth at one go and see the flavours explode in your
mouth. This is served hot so be careful.

No Cantonese meal, I am told, is complete
without roast pork and Baba plans to add some to the menu on Sunday.

For our mains is a sliced beef chilli with
spring onion. Dry. I just hate saucy dishes where you don’t get the flavour of
the meat. Recently a Goan friend who loves her beef and is a meticulous eater
tried this with us and approved of it. If she does then anyone will.

Then there is pork spare ribs cooked in a sweet and spicy sauce which Baba has been cooking from the days of Nanking and is a big hit with the Chinese.

Then more pork. Stewed pork belly with shitake
and bean curd. This one comes in a sauce which is filled with flavour and
doesn’t shroud the meat. As any pork lover will tell you, the belly is the most
gastro-orgasmic cut of meat and in Ling’s they cook it till joyous submission.

The Chinese love a touch of green to break
the red and Baba suggests a stir fried Chinese greens dish to help wash our
meaty sins.

With the stew there has to be steamed rice
according to Baba. In deference to local tastes they serve basmati here.

Then there is the mixed meat fried rice on
our menu which is the most incredibly flavoured fried rice that I have had in
India. Internationally the Chinese season their rice well and fried rice can
become a one dish meal. In India resaturateurs make it bland forcing you to order
a side dish too. No such issues at Ling’s. The only Indian touch is the basmati
rice used.

Rounding up the meal will pan fried or
grilled noodles. I was not the biggest fan of noodles in a Chinese restaurants
as I more fond of rice. Things changed when I discovered the pan fried noodles
with meat of your choice (Baba plans chicken this time for a bit of variety)
with Chinese greens. There is a crunch to the noodles and a delicate poetic
touch to the light sauce in which it is served which makes the dish addictive.
K who is not a fan of Chinese food at all fell in love with noodles and says
that if she lived in Colaba she would order from Ling’s every day.

So if this menu sounds interesting then
please come on Sunday and join us for lunch. If we are lucky we might be able
to pluck the very shy Baba Ling out of the kitchen and talk to us.

Here are the details:

Date: 14^th September, 2014,
Sunday

Time: 1 pm seating. Food will be served at
1.15 pm. This is table service so we will need everyone to be on time

Details: 3 starters, 4 mains, 2 rices, one
noodles. Optional, a bear hug from Baba and a shy handshake from Nini

Costs: Rs 2,500 (Two thousand and five
hundred). Soft drinks and alcohol extra and to be charged per person at
restaurant prices and this is to be paid directly to the wait staff.

Address: ADDRESS:

19/21, Mahakavi Bhushan Marg, Behind Regal
Cinema, Colaba, Mumbai (in the Mondegar Lane)

Write in at k.finelychopped@gmail.com or tweet me at @finelychopped or write to me at the Finely Chopped Facebook page if you want to
join. Given limited seats please don’t change your minds. Looking forward to seeing
you there