Singhara chow- the hidden breakfast gem in Kolkata

Somehow, for some strange reason, there is a dearth of good breakfast joints in Kolkata. Now, I am not talking about the places which makes great kachori. I’ve been to few of them and they’re just great (you can read about them here) and also those places serving the great mughlai breakfast in those hazy winter mornings (you can read about them here). The so-called famed tiratti Bazaar chinese breakfast is left now with nothing but a shadow of past 

You can check my post on the same here

So, this time, when one of my friends Sabyasachi da from Hyderabad asked me to meet up on a breakfast and at some new place, I was kinda confused. But, in Fb, somebody was writing about Singhara Chow in Tangra and off we set out for the quest. 

Where to go and when to go:

If you enter Tangra chinapara (yes, that’s the keyword locally) from Topsia crossing, take a left and ask anyone for the chinese kali temple.

You can check the location in Google Map (here).

So, reach there, and go further the same lane. Ask anyone for the singhara chow or chinese breakfast. You’ll be guided towards 2 nameless shops (one for pork and other for chicken). For the first one, the road takes a fork-like turn after 2-3 buildings. At the crossing, the shop on left is the first one. Please check the picture below. 

We took the leap of faith and entered the joint serving pork. But, destiny decided something else for us. The joint seemed like those bollywood movie sets where hero enters to bash the villain (with barrels, boxes etc and few tables with tools thrown around). On the second day, we found the singhara chow finally there. It’s the regular stuff (discussed in details later) and the good part is, its being made freshly in front of you. The seating area, though not AC, is pretty neat. 

At about 100 mtrs distance, there’s this Laotze temple 

You can check it in google map link here

And the next building was supposed to be the joint serving singhara chow. Please note, till now, we had not freaking idea what was it or if we are running after some wild duck. But, once we got in, the lady (though giving us some suspicious looks) asked “How many plates …” and trust me, that gave us enough confidence. The places who makes few dishes (and even one dish), are the ones who tend to make it right. She made chicken singhara chow and don’t prepare pork. And, we knew, we have arrived. 

Most of these gems are no-frilled joints and rather than service, more emphasis is given on food preparation. Piping hot clear soup was served from a plastic water jug and accompaniments were already lying on the table (the usual sauces and salt/ peeper along with a holder full of stained cutlery). The soup was fantastic (even without seasoning) and a palate cleanser. And at last, the final product arrived. We understood, it was steamed noodles (with fat- don’t ask whose) topped with singhara shaped chicken wantons. Absolutely non-spicy, with oily love oozing, sexy staff. Aunty (though didn’t have enough confidence to tell us her name) suggested to put in some schezwan sauce (home made, she claimed) and gorge in. Next few minutes were the silent ones except the chewing sound coming from our mouth and the ummm hummmm kinda expressions. Life was good at 50/- a plate. 

It was just 100/- for two portions with me stealing 1.5 plates of it from Sabyasachi da and two happy souls left Tangra with filled tummy. We were told the dish is available from 7-10 everyday so, please make sure to reach on time. 

And finally, last week, I’ve been to this place Called Ah Leung (as part of the Calcutta Porkadicts meetup) for its supposedly famed Singhara Chow breakfast. The location, as uploaded by Poorna Banerjee, can be found here on Google maps. 

Let me be honest, after having the expedition (yes, it’s nothing less) of my life, the food was okay-ish. I mean good, but almost of the same quality as I’ve tasted outside at much more accessible joints. The Pork Bao was fantastic and the AC section – are the two things that are worth revisiting that place, but for Singhara Chow….. simply okay-ish (we were served Pork Chow BTW). 

Bon apetite !!!

Comments and critics welcome. 

I can be reached at 9903528225 / indrajit.lahiri@ymail.com