When Momo Plans Go Wrong, Mandarin Comes to the Rescue

I don't know what exactly we were thinking.

It was a Sunday night, around 9 pm, and for some inexplicable reason we suddenly got a craving for Momos. So, without much thought, we decided to head to Momo-I-Am.

Because obviously, if you turn up at 9 on a Sunday night at one of Kolkata's most popular Momo joints, you're bound to get a table!

Except... no.

It was a bit of a fool's errand.

Momo-I-Am is tiny, popular and, as we discovered rather quickly, absolutely packed to the rafters. There wasn't much point standing around hoping that a table would magically appear, so we did what one does in Kolkata when Plan A disappears — we started thinking about food!

Luckily, there was another option not too far away. A place we hadn't visited in ages, but one that we knew could be relied upon for a completely different kind of craving.

Mandarin.

There are certain restaurants in Kolkata that have become almost institutions in their own right, and Mandarin is definitely one of them.

For me, Mandarin falls firmly into that category of places where you can walk in without wondering whether you're going to get "Chinese food" or some modern interpretation of it. You know exactly what you're going to get — proper, old-school Kolkata Chinese food, the kind that has been satisfying generations of Kolkatans.

And once we saw the menu, there really wasn't much discussion needed.

Mixed Chowmein.

Mixed Fried Rice.

Mixed Veg.

And, of course, Chilli Chicken Dry.

That, in our household, is pretty much a Kolkata Chinese food greatest hits package!

The food arrived, and suddenly the failed Momo expedition didn't seem like such a bad thing after all. There is something immensely comforting about a plate of mixed chowmein or fried rice from a restaurant you've known for years. No experimentation required. No surprises. Just the flavours you remember.

And naturally, when you've ordered enough food for what appears to be a small family reunion, there is only one logical conclusion.

We're taking some of it home.

So the Sunday night Momo craving remained unsatisfied, but we returned home with boxes of Mandarin instead.

Sometimes Plan B turns out to be exactly what you needed.

And in Kolkata, when Plan B involves Mixed Chowmein, Fried Rice, Chilli Chicken and some good old-fashioned Chinese food, I'm certainly not complaining!