The Silk Street in Kozhikode is the heartline of the city, beautiful, throbbing with life. The place derived its name from the trade exchanges between China and Kozhikode, especially in silk that took place ages ago. Brushed by the sea, Silk Street had a distinct Chinese flavour, more so because the presence of Chinese traders demanded that food too be served to suit their palates. That’s how Chinese food came to stay in Kozhikode. But this influence gradually waned with the arrival of merchants from the Arabian Gulf. However, what was left of the Chinese food craft was preserved. Today, China has conquered the world with its food flavours and one of the places that still boasts of exquisite and pure Chinese kitchen stuff is the Chinese Factory restaurant on Silk Street.
A quaint auto world
Walk into the factory and if you expect to find the traditional lanterns, red colours, Chinese letters and dragons, you’re in for a slight shock. None of these Chinese reminders is visible anywhere. It’s a garage ambience that greets you at the Factory. Is this a food factory or a car unit, one would wonder. The external décor accentuates the effect of an auto world, for right up there’s what remains of an old Ambassador screwed on to the walls. Once inside, it’s drums in new avatars for chairs. There’s more to come. The dishes, forks, spoons and all that reminds one of a kitchen are fashioned after spanners, nuts and bolts and all things that reinforce an auto garage effect. As for the restaurant staff, they’re all in jackets and helmets and move around like workshop mechanics. The walls inside are plastered with number plates of vehicles from China, Germany, England and America. Miniature cars modelled after a vintage car rally add extra fizz to the automobile ambience.
Juices come in old camera boxes. If you’ve the yen to go more crazy, there are miniature reminders of the historic Route 66, wash basins made from Audi R 8 tyres and oil pumps doubling up as water taps.
The juice counter is again another miniature, an old jeep cut in half. The Factory walls designed after Dekker floor mats used in cars, lights that look like machines, a clock resembling an old train engine, a tractor front for a bill counter, spoon shelves shaped after letter boxes and a big postal box to drop your feedback in are some on the long list of quaint sights that open up at the Chinese Factory.
Fuelled by the concept of a “different-themed” restaurant, Aneez Adam and Muhammad Sameer, managing director and director respectively of the Factory, set out on their quest two years ago. What they sought for was a top notch menu in addition to material for interior décor. Three weeks in China got them what they wanted from Sunday markets which they shipped across. Though the name Chinese Factory hints at all things Chinese, the joint is in reality a Pan Asian restaurant with the flavours of the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Cambodia served in style. The feat was achieved after the duo stayed in all these countries and got a feel of the food.
Pan Asian flavours
Wherever the Chinese went to, they carried their cuisine along with them. They settled down in foreign shores and blended the native herbs and spices with their food, thereby, creating a fusion of sorts. It’s a mix and blend style too that the Chinese Factory serves with native sauces brought down from each country.
It’s mostly beef and seafood that get cooked here. Thai fish dishes, with their penchant for coconut milk, are closely related to the Kerala style of cooking which is heavily dependent on coconut milk. With its trademark tender coconut juice, Singapore Chilly Crab, Indonesian Nasi Gori and a variety of sizzlers, the Chinese Factory is a truly multi-cuisine restaurant.
A global brand
Aneez Adam is no novice to the food trade. He ventured out with the uber-hit “Adaminte Chayakkada”, experimenting with a fusion of Kerala food. If his chayakada was a testing of waters, Aneez Adam and his partners are making it big with a fusion of international cuisine at the Chinese Factory.
Plans and arrangements are on to open outlets in Australia, London and GCC nations. Also in the pipeline are outlets and franchises to be opened in all major cities of India.
Home delivery has been arranged within a radius of 10 km on orders from 1 kg to 5 kg. For details: Phone: 9846308787, 04954044955, website: www.thechinesefactory.com, Facebook: Fb.com/chinesefactoryrestaurant. Instagram@thechinesefactory.
Some must-try specials:
Thai fried fish
Fresh fish is fried in whole. No masalas, no marination. Totally non-spicy, the fish can be had along with Mountain Chilly Sauce, Chilly Tamarind Sauce and Thai Chilly Sauce.
Singapore prawn rice noodles
This is a combination of rice noodles and prawns
Chinese sizzlers
A fusion dish, it comes in a combination of vegetables, meat and rice or noodles. The taste lies in the way it’s baked and comes with two dumplings.
Thai curry with steam white rice
A coconut milk curry, it has a close affinity with Kerala dishes. Can be had with rice or chappathi.
