A long time ago, sometime during the late 19th century, a small Chinese community of about 300 people from the Hakka region of China came to Kolkata, looking for jobs. They settled in specific areas of the city which were later called Chinatown; Old Chinatown (Tiretta Bazar) and New Chinatown (Tangra). Over time, the food at Chinatown got so popular that restaurants across the country changed their menu to include food items like Chilli Chicken and Gobhi Manchurian.
According to many, dishes like Fried Rice, Darsaan and Hot Garlic Chicken do not even exist in China. These, along with many other dishes were the result of tweaks made by the Indian Chinese cooks at Chinatown to serve their Bengali customers.
Menu at McDonald’s first got a Chinese touch with the introduction of Chilli Paneer pockets, a vegetarian side dish packed with crunchy vegetables, fresh paneer and hot spices last year. And this year, McDonald’s has introduced the McVeggie Schezwan and the McChicken Schezwan burgers.
Originating from the Sichuan province in Southwest China, Schezwan is a cooking style that involves a lot of Sichuan peppercorns, garlic and dried chilies. Spicy as they sound, the cuisine has found a huge fan following in a country like India, where spicy is always welcome.
McDonald’s India has a long standing association with Kung Fu Panda franchise and these Schezwan burgers have been inspired by the movie. So, if you’re a Chinese food fan like Po, you may not like to miss these two Chinese additions at McDonald’s.
