TWO-FOR-ONE DEAL
Indian-Chinese restaurants are becoming a feature of suburban restaurant scenes from West Footscray to Lakemba. The cuisine is thought to have developed in Kolkata’s Hakka enclave in the 1920s, and is gaining traction in expat Indian communities in the wider world. While its connection to the food of China can sometimes appear tenuous, it has an internal logic all its own. Indian-Chinese in Australia is typically halal, the tables are usually set with forks and spoons rather than chopsticks, and menu staples include vegetarian chow mein, chicken spring rolls and masala fried rice. Manchurian sauce – a masala-based gravy finished with soy sauce – gets a good workout, and while the “Sichuan” dishes often include no Sichuan pepper, they still pack plenty of heat. At Parramatta’s Dragon House, the signature dish is Triple Sichuan, a layered dish of crunchy noodles, fried rice and vegetables dressed in Sichuan sauce, while the dessert list at Taste of Tangra in Lakemba offers deep-fried ice-cream alongside pistachio and mango kulfi. dragon-house.com.au; tasteoftangra.com.au