Wang was born in Kolkata.[5] He is the son of a Chinese immigrant.[3] However,within a few days of his birth,his father died,and he was sent to live with a foster family by his mother. His foster father was a chef,to whom Wang attributes his own love of cooking.[2]
Early career
Chicken Manchurian served at a restaurant in Hyderabad
Wang came to Mumbai in 1974,with just ₹27 in his pocket.[6] His first job there was in a small restaurant in Colaba.[5] He also worked a variety of other odd jobs,including being a limbo dancer,at which he claims to be skilled.[3] According to Wang himself,he was a cook at the Cricket Club of India,when in 1975,a customer asked him to create a new dish,different from what was available on the menu.[3] He started by taking the basic ingredients of an Indian dish,namely chopped garlic,ginger,and green chilis;but next,instead of adding garam masala,he put in soy sauce instead,followed by cornstarch and the chicken itself. The result was Chicken Manchurian.[7]
China Garden
Wang branched out from his job at the CCI in 1983 to start his own restaurant.[6] His restaurant gained popularity,and won various awards proclaiming it "India's best restaurant".[5] Wang and China Garden have also been credited with inventing or popularizing a number of other Indian Chinese dishes,including creamy corn cream,chicken lollipops,date pancakes and hot and sour soup.[8] He and his sons Henry and Eddie would go on to open several restaurants in various parts of India,including Mumbai,Delhi,Gurugram,Hyderabad,Bangalore,Pune and Goa. It is available in Nepal also in Kathmandu.[3]
The restaurant encountered trouble in 1999,when a court ordered him to close it for violating Coastal Regulation Zone rules about building floor area,in a case that took more than fourteen years. A Rediff columnist criticised the ruling as making "no sense".[5][9] He reopened the restaurant at the Crossroads Mall in August 2000.[10]
Since then,China garden has reopened in its original location at Om Chambers.
References
↑ Yuan Nansheng/袁南生 (2007), 感受印度 (in Chinese (China)), China Social Sciences Publishing House, p.8, ISBN978-7-5004-5356-7
↑ Mukherjee, Sipra; Gooptu, Sarvani (2009), "The Chinese community of Calcutta", in Banerjee, Himadri (ed.), Calcutta Mosaic: Essays and Interviews on the Minority Communities of Calcutta, Anthem Press, pp.131–142, ISBN978-81-905835-5-8
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