As a certified foodie (by my personal standards) I’ve always loved exploring different cultures through their food. There’s something so interesting about tasting the spices and herbs used to create flavor profiles that are unique to each culture’s traditional dishes. I’ve tried a variety of different global cuisines from Croatian to Thai but I’ve never had the opportunity to try fusion cuisine until I found Chinese Dhaba! Chinese Dhaba serves Chinese food with an Indian twist with two locations in Gwinnett. The Indo-Chinese cuisine served here actually has a lengthy history dating back to the 19th century. It combines the spiciness of Indian cuisine with Chinese flavors like soy sauce, vinegar and Sichuan creating the perfect balance of umami with spice.
Appetizer: For an appetizer, I decided to go with the Gobi Manchurian which is a popular Indo-Chinese dish dating back to the 1970’s. This vegetarian version of the dish features cauliflower fried until crispy with onions, cilantro and housemade Manchurian sauce. My first impression of this dish was that it was a total flavor bomb! I’ve always been a fan of cauliflower but the Manchurian sauce adds a sweet and tangy flavor which the cauliflower takes on!
Main Dish: Choosing a main was so difficult because everything on the menu looked incredible! I decided to choose the Szechuan Hakka noodles which are a thin type of Indian/Chinese noodle that’s cooked until al dente and then stir-fried with oil, soy sauce and veggies. As a spice lover, the Szechuan definitely brought a new level of heat that I wasn’t used to. I definitely recommend ordering the mango lassi to drink because the cooling and fruitiness of the mango lassi balanced out the spice level of the noodles!
Dessert: To close out an incredible meal, I chose the Shahi Falooda Kulfi for dessert. This dish features vermicelli which are noodles cooked in rice milk served with kulfi ice cream, dipped in rabri and garnished with rose syrup and nuts. I haven’t tried many Indian desserts before except for a rose syrup lassi which I absolutely loved so I was really excited about this pick! My favorite part of this incredible dessert was definitely the creaminess of the Kulfi ice cream and the floral notes of the rose syrup. I’m also a huge fan of different textures which the vermicelli noodles and garnish of nuts provided.
Overall, I had an amazing experience tasting the food from Chinese Dhaba and now I can say I’ve tried Indo-Chinese cuisine. Definitely give this restaurant a try and discover the cultural fusion of flavors!