Pune's newest fine-dining Chinese restaurant wants you to try something new

Tao Fu, the newly opened Chinese restaurant in JW Marriott Pune.

The allure of Chindian—that umbrella term for Indo-Chinese cuisine—notwithstanding, Chinese cuisine has come a long way in India. Back when years had at least two zeroes in them, authentic fine-dining Chinese restaurants were so rare, you could count them on your fingers… of one hand. Chef Fu Lei was at the forefront of those trying to change that.

During his various stints in India, the celebrated chef who has his roots in China, has launched restaurants such as China Kitchen at Hyatt and Shang Palace at Shangri-La. When they opened, these restaurants were pushing the envelope when it came to Chinese food in India.

India’s history with China has been a troubled one. Border skirmishes, incursions and the war of ’62 have led us to be wary of our eastern neighbours. Yet, the thing that has endured all of this is the food that travelled across the border and metamorphosed into a cuisine that is unique to our country.

Spread at Tao Fu, Pune

Even though its popularity has gone through the roof over the last couple of decades—the emergence of food-delivery apps has played a big role here—Chinese food has been around in India since the 18th century.

Hakka Chinese traders arrived in what is present-day Kolkata, and struck roots here. As time passed, they found other vocations—dentistry, carpentry, even leather tannery work—and began including local spices in their original recipes. And just like that, Chinese-Indian food was born.

The womenfolk of immigrant families quickly saw the virtue of selling this to their Indian neighbours, and before long Chinese-Indian food became a hit. Today, Chinese is the second-most popular cuisine ordered on food-delivery apps like Zomato and Swiggy after North Indian.

Anti-China protests following the border dispute have also put the cuisine in the spotlight at various times, with Indian politicians calling for a ban on Chinese food and restaurants. Such calls are often met with memes and jokes arguing that the Chinese we get in India is an attack on the original cuisine.

Chinese-Indian is so popular in India partly because of its unique mix of carbs, vegetables, and meat tossed in spices and sauces with a flavour that’s just the right amount of ‘exotic’. It requires you to take all but one step beyond your comfort zone, to enjoy a cuisine that’s not (entirely) your own.

Chef Fu Lei

Tao Fu, the newly opened Chinese restaurant in JW Marriott Pune invites you to take just a few more steps further. At his newest launch, Chef Fu Lei’s attempt has not been to cater to the local palate but rather push the envelope just enough so you can see that authentic Chinese isn’t what you’ve made it out to be in your head. It may not be loaded with spices, but it certainly isn’t so out there that you won’t enjoy it at all.

Take, for instance, the Spicy Sweet Potato Noodles (Chicken) served with Mapo Tofu and tossed vegetables that are served as part of the main course. The mildly flavoured, yet somehow comfortable, noodles and the melt-in-your-mouth tofu could easily serve as that late-night pick-me-up you didn’t know you needed.

Indeed, much of the menu is just that—a gateway to the flavours of cuisines from different parts of China. It may not challenge you, but it certainly sparks intrigue.

For instance, a young chefling is tasked to make the Peking Duck roll for you on a live counter instead of simply serving up the ingredients on the table as is the norm. Admittedly, it is tad amusing but it makes for some good Instagram moments.

The little show also goes on to highlight the fact that restaurant uses every part of the duck—from beak to tail—which we are told has been reared for 45 days exactly to get the flavour right. So, besides the duck roll, you’re served the crispy skin with custard sugar, and salt-n-pepper duck on baby gem lettuce.

Storytelling forms an important part of Tao Fu’s menu. Almost every dish has a story behind it. Some stories are personal—the black fungus salad with soy garlic dressing is a dish that Chef Fu Lei’s mother made every time he returned from an overseas trip—others are legends passed down over the ages.

Case in point is the Spicy Sichuan “Dan Dan” Soup which gets its name from the type of carrying pole (dan dan) that was used by walking street vendors who sold different foods to passers-by.

We are also introduced to Beggar's Chicken, a popular Chinese dish of chicken that’s traditionally wrapped in lotus leaves and clay and baked slowly using low heat. A traditional Beggar’s Chicken takes as long as six hours to make. The origin story—depending on who you ask—involves a beggar who may have stolen a chicken, wrapped it in lotus leaves and clay, and dropped it in a fire pit to avoid getting caught or an emperor who dined with a beggar and loved the dish so much that he included it in the imperial menu.

Stories are what add meaning to our lives, and there is no dearth of them at Tao Fu. I could, of course, tell you about the baked lotus root, mozzarella cheese, five spice dimsum or the steamed edamame, garlic, truffle oil, and shaved black truffle dimsum. Or I could tell you about how they have a drink for every Chinese Zodiac sign. But, really, the one that I couldn’t shake off is the story of Pune, the city that Chef Fu Lei has made his home for a short while.

A far cry from the '80s and '90s when the small town that was probably best known for Chitale’s Mango Barfi, Pune has metamorphosed into a bustling metropolis offering cuisines from all over the world. It is a shining example of how manufacturing and IT doesn’t just bring prosperity to a city but also the world to its citizens. Tao Fu and its food is testimony to this.