Nagas prefer light and saucy preparations

Dimapur, April 2: A Naga gourmet gorging on Chinese noodles and dimsums in one of the many eateries that have mushroomed in this town is no longer an exotic concept.

Chinese cuisine has invaded the culinary bastion of Nagaland with both connoisseurs and commoners relishing the hot, haute and non-spicy flavour of Far East delicacies. “Our menu consists of Chinese, continental and Indian dishes. However, the response to our exquisite Chinese delicacies is tremendous,” said Tarun Bhattacharjee of Plaza, a posh restaurant here.

“Chinese cuisine blends well with the typical Naga tastebuds that relish mild spicy noodles and lots of meat,” says Rukuolo, a businessman. “Personally, I like light Chinese food with lots of sauce and vegetables.”

“Chinese food landed in the state in the early Eighties when Tibetan expatriates brought momo and thuppa into the state,” recalls Imti Ao who runs a Chinese bistro in a Dimapur suburb.

“People here, particularly the youngsters, were quite aware of Chinese culture and tradition. Bruce Lee and his Enter the Dragon, Lee denims in the Seventies and Chinese martial art like kung fu were a rage here,” he says. “Today, you will find restaurants with momos and chowmein in every town of the state. Except for the exotic Chinese sauces all other items are prepared locally,” he adds.

Former chief minister S.C. Jamir reveals a well-kept secret albeit with some prodding, “I do eat Chinese food like chowmein. But they are not good for regular eating.” A team of Western diplomats who visited the state recently exhibited their “adventure” into Chinese culinary territory.

Vincenzo Collarino, media and public affairs advisor to the European Commission in New Delhi, described himself as “gastronomic adventurer” and lauded the Chinese spread at one of the Dimapur restaurants. Biting into a large pork momo, French diplomat Francois Massoulie quipped, “Quite good.”

“A large chunk of our revenue is generated from Chinese food,” says Amit Jain of Breeze restaurant here. “We dish out all kinds of Chinese food from chilli chicken, chowmein, chopsuey to vegetable tongmein , garlic chicken and fish ginger,” he explains.

The response to Chinese cuisine from foodies and regular customers has been tremendous, particularly in the commercial centre of Dimapur and the state capital of Kohima. “Except for the famous Beijing duck you get all kinds of Chinese dishes, like Cantonese, Schzewan and hakka,” says businessman Ramzi Mehdi.

However, the dragon is not winning all hearts through the stomach. Senior Naga Hoho leader Hekhevi Achumi cut short the people’s fetish for Chinese food, saying: “They go for chowmein just for the heck of it. At home, they certainly prefer to eat their own traditional Naga food.”