Eau Chew – Chimney Soup And Some Awesome Authentic Chinese Food

I was planning and trying hard to visit Eau Chew for the past few weeks. Finally last Sunday my wife and I decided it’s now or never. It was already 12:30 PM and we quickly searched the net for the restaurant contact details and timing. I tried the number twice but there were some problem with the connection. Also the search told us that on Sundays this place opens only for the dinner. Nothing to do we decided to wait for a few more hours πŸ™

Eau Chew is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, Chinese restaurant in India. The old China Town at Tiretti Bazaar and its surroundings once had the best Chinese restaurants. Now the new China Town at Tangra have added to the list, but Eau Chew remains a hit.

Finding Eau Chew is not absolutely easy as the place is a bit shy. From Esplanade take Chittaranjan Avenue. On reaching the Ganesh Chandra Avenue crossing take left. Leave two narrow lanes on the left and you will find a Petrol Pump (I think its now used as a garage only) and the building behind the pump is where Eau Chew is at the first floor.

When we reached there it was around 7:45 PM and the building was standing like a huge ghostly mansion. Well, almost πŸ™‚ The stairs were dimly lit and the initial few steps were circular and a bit tricky. Be attentive here. But as soon as we reached the first floor we forgot all these. A bright red wall with the name of the restaurant written on it. Very much Chinese πŸ™‚

Eau Chew at the first floor

 

The tricky stairs

Welcome πŸ™‚

Eau Chew dining hall

 

Eau Chew is a family run restaurant. To keep their recipes a secret they do not even hire cooks or waiters and everything from buying raw materials to cooking and serving is done by themselves. As told by the Huang family, Mr. Achumpa Huang started this eatery in 1927 and brought the brass pots all the way from China. His granddaughter-in-law Mrs. Josephine Huang made an innovative dish which is named after her as Josephine noodles. After the death of her husband Mr. Joseph Huang she is running the restaurant with the help of her son Joel and daughter Jennifer.

As you push the door and enter the dinning hall you will be able to hear the sweet sound of a wind chime. It is connected to the doors and used as a calling bell. As I saw the dinning hall, the first word that came to mind was homely. If you are looking for a Chinese theme restaurant this place is not for you. A few Chinese lantern and some paintings. That’s all. Even the table-chairs were simple and neat.

We wanted to try their Chimney Soup badly, but after reading a few reviews online was sure that at least this time we won’t be able to order it. Almost everyone wrote online that it requires more than 2-3 people to enjoy the soup and one even said the number to be at least six. I opened the menu to look for other specialties, but on the very first page found that they even serve medium and small Chimney Soups apart from the large one. Great! We decided to start with a small Chimney Soup πŸ™‚

Chimney Soup at Eau Chew

The famous Chimney Soup at Eau Chew

Chimney Soup at Eau Chew

A view from the top shows the burning coals inside the chimney

The soup container had a chimney in the middle with burning coals inside to keep the food warm. It was full of loads of meat, prawns and vegetables swimming on a tasty stock. Boiled food at its best!!! It was just the small Chimney soup, but still after consuming a bowl each we found we were only half through. We decided to come back to it later if possible and moved on to our starter.

Chimney Soup at Eau Chew

The Chimney Soup in the soup bowl

Roast Pork Chili at Eau Chew

Roast Pork Chili

For the starter we ordered Roast Pork Chili. Pork slices roasted with onions and green chilies. Good taste and the pork was really well done and was soft.

Next for the main course we went for their in house specialty Josephine Noodles, which I mentioned earlier. It was really a meal in itself!!! Boiled vegetables, meat, prawns, mushrooms and loads of them heaped over the steaming boiled noodles with light gravy. The quantity was huge and the taste really heavenly. I personally liked it more because the vegetables, especially the cauliflowers were a bit underdone which suited my taste and choice perfectly πŸ™‚

For the side dish we requested them to suggest one of their specialty. Our choice was mid spicy fish and they suggested Fish with Chilli Black Bean. The fish was good with a slightly crunchy outer cover but we liked the noodles so much that we almost forgot our side dish πŸ˜› Just take a look at the picture and you can at least have an idea how it was πŸ™‚ Of course we had our remaining portion of Chimney Soup as we ended our journey with a bowl of it each.

Josephine Noodles at Eau Chew

The awesome Josephine Noodles πŸ˜›

Fish with Chilli Black Bean and Josephine Noodles at Eau Chew

Fish with Chilli Black Bean with Josephine Noodles in the background

Fish with Chilli Black Bean at Eau Chew

Fish with Chilli Black Bean



Few points which I would like to share before ending are –

1. They don’t use Ajinomoto / MSG (Monosodium Glutamate).
2. Their Sweet Lime Soda was really refreshing.

Awesome evening it was for us πŸ™‚

Pocket Pinch

For the above meal it was around Rs. 1150 with taxes. But keeping in mind the Chimney Soup (small) can be shared by 4 people and the Josephine Noodles by at least 3, I think the cost for four will be about Rs.1500 – Rs. 1600 approximately.

Address
12, Ganesh Chandra Avenue,
Kolkata – 700013
Ph. – 033-2237-8260

Disclaimer

With Authentic Chinese food here I mean Authentic Indian Chinese which started its journey here in Calcutta nearly a century ago and today is served by only a few, while the others forked into new age Indian Chinese, Bangla Chinese, Bangal Chinese, Road side Chinese, Drinker’s Chinese … whatever!

 

Eau Chew Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

67 Comments

Roo

Thanks you for sharing this.. certainly brought back a lot of memories…:)

Reply
order food online

This post gives the light in which we can observe the reality. this is very nice one and gives in depth information. thanks for sharing this nice article.

Reply
Jennifer Huang

Thank you for the wonderful review.
Glad you enjoyed your meal.
See you soon..!! πŸ™‚

Reply
Shakri

Thanks for the awesome review…this place currently tops my FoodQuest List n u charged me up with new enthusiasm….looking forward to my meal at Eau Chew!!!

Reply
Subhrobikash Das

Very useful post. Feel like going myself this weekend. Hope the quality of food matches the one mentioned here. πŸ˜€

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Subhrobikash Das

Saw your post on Friday, Went on Saturday, Writing here on Monday. Everything feels great, right from finding the restaurant, till we finished our meal. Awesome food… Loved it. πŸ˜€

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Sumit

Thanks Subhrobikash. It’s great to know you enjoyed and found the post useful. Happy eating πŸ™‚

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Abhijit Sen

Hi Sumit !
Wished you shared their Ph. No also.
I am reaching Kolkata on the day of Saptami in the afternoon and wished to go straight to Eau Chew…..may be around 2pm. But not sure whether the time is right or not.
But you deserve all praise as a great food reviewer. Keep doing you good work !
Thanks,

Abhijit Sen

Reply
Sumit

Hello Abhijit,

Its great to know you liked the post. Thank you πŸ™‚

Saptami this year is a Sunday and they will be closed for lunch. But still I think you should call them and confirm if they will remain open for the Pujas. Number is – 03322378260

Happy eating and Happy Puja!

Reply
Alyson

We’re coming to India in February ( so excited!) I’m not sure if we’ll make it to Kolkata this time, but if we do we’ll see if we can track down some Chinese food. (But Indian food is Sooooo Good!)

Reply
Cory Lee

This restaurant sounds great! I love Chinese food and if I’m ever in the area, I’ll definitely check it out πŸ™‚

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Jess

I spent a good amount of time in China and never came across this beauty. Will have to look out for it the next time I am in London Chinatown πŸ™‚

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Emily

The decor looks quite shabby, but I’d be willing to sacrifice that as the food looks fantastic! Have you tried Englands version of Chinese food? It’s all very bland and difficult to get authentic Chinese food πŸ™‚

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Chris

I think that it’s great that they don’t hire any waiters or cooks so no one can find out their secret recipes. A true family business!

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Courtney

I’m a Chinese food fanatic but have not tried chimney soup!!! I will have to fix that asap!!

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Becks

That food looks yummy! I really like local restaurants like this -some of my best food experiences have been at completely unexpected places. I have had a similar Chinese soup with the broth and meats/vegetables but the chimney part is new to me!

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Susan

This restaurant looks and sounds good, and I love the fact that its in India. So multi cultural. I have never seen/tried/heard of chimney soup, it looks like a hot pot, but not the same. I’m going to keep my eye open for it on menus at Chinese restaurants!

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Franc Ramon

It’s nice to see how their menu evolve with more family dishes. I think that’s what make Chinese food special, it has a story into it.

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Ruth

Oh, I really want to visit India! I wish to visit soon! It is nice to know there is a Chinese restaurant in that area. Good break from the usual curry-rich flavors of India πŸ™‚

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Cindy G

i love visiting family restaurants. The recipes are passed through generation and you know it is unique. Glad to know you enjoyed your visit. Hope to visit the place too.

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Robin (Masshole Mommy)

The closest I have ever had to authentic Chinese food was in Chinatown in NYC. I am not so sure how “authentic” it was, though.

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Angelic Sinova

Authentic Chinese food/restaurants are the best! Those Josephine Noodles looks so yummy. I went to Chinatown (in Chicago) recently and was looking for a new place similar to this but didn’t find anything.

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Paula - Buenos Aires

Many interesting points beside the food review itself. Loved the fact that they do everything themselves with no hired help to keepΒ΄their traditions intact. And also the plates with coal to keep the food warm.

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Eileen

I haven’t had Chinese food in awhile and your post totally made me crave it. I’ve never tried chimney soup but it sounds great!

Reply
Benny Selwyn

HOW HUA Restaurant which used to be on Free School Street , made the best Chimney soup according to me, before they closed. Am anxious to know where they are operating from now.

Reply

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