House of Ming: Capital’s first Chinese fine-diner all set for new-age royals

When the Taj group debuted in Delhi with Taj Mansingh in 1978, it challenged the North Indian hegemony in the hospitality sector, a “Bombay” institution trying to leave a cultural footprint in aspirant Delhi. Its interior decorator Elizabeth Kerkar did what nobody thought about back then; she picked up stray dogs and found homes for them. So, when workmen took over the site of the present property and found a resident dog, Kerkar gave it a name, Tajuddin, and let it roam and play across the greens and gleaming floors. That one act of humanity gave Taj Mansingh what others lacked, a character.
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Memories, author Joseph Addison had once said, are like “those repositories in animals that are filled with food, on which they may ruminate when their present pastures fail.” And the House of Ming, Delhi’s first five-star Chinese restaurant at Taj Mansingh, has a treasure chest of memories since 1978. One look at its general manager, Hem Godiyal, who has been here since he was an apprentice in 1980, and you know why new-fangled ideas can never outrun what he represents, institutional pride.
The Ming dynasty in imperial China introduced techniques of burning, steaming, boiling, frying, roasting, braising, spreading, frying, sautéing, frying and broiling (Express Photo Praveen Khanna)
“This restaurant is everybody’s personal milestone. We have had generations of the same family come in. The parents dated here, got married here, brought their children here till they all got so used to the food that now the grandchildren are also Ming loyals,” says Godiyal who not only remembers the names of his guests but who they are as people.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
Of course, he knows the secrets of his VIP guests, too, some of which he shares with us. “Our late Prime Miner Atal Bihari Vajpayee loved Ming’s golden fried prawns. On his birthday in 1986, he came here with a couple of friends and ordered the dish.” The late Pranab Mukherjee loved chicken and seafood specialities while Union Miner Nitin Gadkari, a vegetarian, loves rice topped with sauced up lotus stem or water chestnuts. Of course, he has had B-town patrons like the Bachchans and the Kapoors, who booked Ming for a celebratory dinner after Raj Kapoor won the Dadasaheb Phalke award.

Godiyal has also been privy to a Delhi in change, from business and power players in the 80s to working class, families and now professionals. That change is evident in the décor, the heavy Chinese character now giving way to contemporary, sleek designs. Discernment, however, flows through the food. Chef Arun Sundararaj has upgraded what many considered a “Punjabified” Schezwan sauce-dominated menu and retrieved Ming’s refinement with crisper Cantonese flavours and Hunanese deep colours and aroma.

The Ming dynasty in imperial China introduced techniques of burning, steaming, boiling, frying, roasting, braising, spreading, frying, sautéing, frying and broiling. The royals ate more vegetables and fruits than meat or fish. Their cooking artry is evident in Prawn Truffle Sui Mai, the truffle oil squeezing out the sweetness and fullness of the prawn that gleams through the translucent wrapping. It’s topped with a golden leaf or varq, crowning a masterful effort in waking up your tastebuds. The Cantonese Crispy Fish Taro dimsum comes in crunchy delicately meshed pouches made of sticky root paste. Dip it in oil and it curls up enough to leave a hollow in the middle for the fishy flavours to swirl around and explode on your tongue. But Lo Mai Gai, the glutinous rice and chicken steamed in lotus leaf, is a celebration of Cantonese tradition. Besides infusing the dish with their flavour and aroma, the lotus leaves also preserve the juices. Rice and chicken are the commonest combos in oriental cuisine but here they are soft enough to absorb each other’s goodness and become a morsel of meaty intensity.
Lo Mai Gai, the glutinous rice and chicken steamed in lotus leaf, is a celebration of Cantonese tradition (Express Photo Praveen Khanna)
If delicateness is about zen, then do not miss out on the Scallop Edamame dribbled with burnt chilli garlic sauce. Light and buttery, with the right hints of sweetness and nuttiness, the sauce gives it a fiery aftertaste. Just like the heat in the Cumin Mala Goat Shoulder, originally belonging to Xinjiang but now common in Hunan and Sichuan restaurants. Cumin and goat are perhaps the best flavour matches there are in cuisine, and topped with some pepper, this dish is simple, succulent and wholesome. Many use the goat legs but the chef has chosen the shoulder so that the meat can cook in its own fat, making it absolutely luscious. The giant lobster, crisped up with salt, pepper and cornstarch and then scooped out for the stir-fried vegetables, onion, ginger, celery and soya sauce to work their magic, is nuanced and rich. But it cannot quite overpower the braised pork that’s been steeped over four hours in star anise, spices and sauce liqueur. This one, in one word, is umami, where all the five tastes seem to co-ex in perfect balance.

But what we like is the tea brewing cart that offers the finest of Chinese teas in a sip, pairing them like wine with each dish! Now that’s the perfect innovation with tradition.
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