The great wall isn’t there. But food from the land of the great wall surely is. On the busiest stretch in Baga, opposite the Brittos Shack/ restaurant, the flag-bearer of beach side culinary dining in Goa; the Chinese have arrived, rather quietly as Chinese do, to say “Hello to Goa”.
In what is quintessentially Chinese, the team of Hello China worked with some of the finest Chinese chefs in the country and internationally to create cross country culinary marriage on the sands of Baga. They worked with fresh seafood locally available and worked the magic of sauces from the regions of China, mastered by the gurus of Chinese cooking.
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The Hello China menu has been created to perfection by a duo of icons Chinese origin, raised in Kolkata, arguably the home of Chinese cooking in India. The gurus, Dominic Ho and Lawrence Lao set to work putting their combined experience of close eighty years, in getting it right for Hello China. It will be fair to say that the best Chinese restaurants in Bombay and India have all been opened under his supervision. The merit list includes Nanking, Ling’s Pavilion, Henry Tham, China Garden and Kamling. Lawrence Lao has curated the cuisine at Royal China and Koko.
Sachin Roche, a hospitality impresario and closely involved with Hello China said, “The idea was simple. Goa lacks a top of the line authentic Chinese restaurant. We wanted to combine the fresh sea food catch with Cantonese sauces (though the menu crosses other regions too). It’s marriage made in heaven. This kind of food will pull people back to Baga. The massive parking space (at the official Baga car park) where you can get down from the car and walk into the restaurant, the easy access and the sheer size of the restaurant tics all the boxes, for a very special Chinese dining experience”
The restaurant is airy, with very high ceilings and lots of space between tables. It accommodates people without being cramped for space at both the ground and at a higher level. The bar runs along one side with high stools. Importantly each table itself has ample space for the food and the plates to be placed. These are little boxes which when ticked, complete the experience.
While one can actually pick just about anything on the menu and feel the flavours, there are some key picks which are absolute must dos, not necessarily in order of preference:
The Asian Pepper steak: Deliciously soft and juicy with pepper sauce
Tenderloin King Pao: Wok grilled tenderloin with chilly garlic ginger, Szechwan pepper corn and cashew nut
Chicken Hot Pot: Chicken cooked in an iron pot with pakchoy, shitake and veggies and herbs
Prawn Tempura: Crispy juicy prawn tossed in tempura style, served with kilkoman wine sauce
Prawn Wasabi: Fresh prawn fried and bound in wasabi sauce and dragon fruits
Fish Sirachi Style: Fried slice fish in spicy chili sauce
Pakchoy and Shitake Dumpling: Pakchoy and shitake toss wrap in wheat and potato dough
With freshness as its leitmotif, the vegetarian dishes have flavours literally bouncing off the plate.
The expanse of the bar and the whacky, irreverent cocktails with names like Mama’s boy (gin, orange juice and sattu water), My Girlfriend (Bacardi, watermelon juice, coriander, basil leaves and passion fruit syrup) and Tubelight (vodka, lemon grass, ginger syrup and orange or pineapple juice) ensures that the frolic is omni-present at this high table of Chinese fine dining.
So let’s say hello to Hello China; Chinese food has well and truly crossed the great wall and landed in Goa.
