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The First Chinese Restaurant is located at the edge of the Adliya 'dining district' and offers authentic as well as fusion oriental cuisine, writes Shilpa Chandran.
The name is derived out of the company's proud boast that it is the kingdom's 'original' - the one and only outlet to offer Chinese cuisine when it opened in 1972.
It was brought to the island by restaurateur Abdul Ghani although it is now operated under new management.
Restaurant manager Ramesh Kumar says the outlet's popularity has grown from strength to strength, particularly since he introduced Head Chef Naveen Subba to the nation's eating out scene. "A good chef makes all the difference and we're proud of having found our man," he explained.
Chef Naveen came to the island two years ago with 10 years experience having learned and cultivated his specialist Asian culinary skills at the Mainland China and China Gate restaurants in Mumbai, India, after serving his apprenticeship in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
The 32-year-old, who now lives in Adliya, specialises in both Chinese and Thai cuisine. At the First Chinese Restaurant, he has helped craft a new menu which features a range of delicacies in addition to the well-established favourites from when the restaurant first opened for business.
Mr Kumar explained that the menu's most popular item was the 'spicy chicken' which is one of its founding recipes. Other signature dishes include chicken hot garlic, kon pao chicken with dried chili, fish oyster chili and Szechwan crispy fish.
Chef Naveen shared one of the popular recipes for GulfWeekly readers.
Fish Oyster Chili
Sliced hammour 200gm
Corn flour 3tsp
Shredded fresh red chili 2 pieces
Green/red/yellow peppers 50gm
Oyster sauce 5tsp
Chili oil 5tsp
White pepper 1/2tsp
Sugar 1tsp
Soya sauce 1tsp
Corn oil 2tbsp
Spring onions 1
Method:
Marinate the fish in soya, salt, white pepper and corn flour. Heat a pan, add corn oil and fry. Once the fish is well done, add oyster sauce, peppers, chili oil, spring onion, sugar and toss it with the remaining ingredients. Serve on flat platter once done.
