When Dongli Zhang moved to India in late 2019, she never imagined that three years would pass before she was able to return to her hometown of Chengdu in the Sichuan province of China. Stuck in Bengaluru as COVID-19 lockdown restrictions continued, she eventually decided to turn to a source of comfort, one that reminded her of home when going back wasn't an option — cooking. Along with her husband Aditya Ramakrishnan, Dongli began recreating dishes from the Sichuan region, some that were nearly impossible to find in India.
While India is no stranger to its own version of Chinese food, the flavours and textures that Dongli and Aditya sought couldn't be found in typical Indo-Chinese joints. Together, they experimented in their home kitchen and once the restrictions started to lift, they began to invite friends over to sample their offerings.
"I used to cook for myself when I was studying in the US," said Dongli, who, at that time, saw cooking as nothing more than a simple daily activity. "I never thought that I could make something of it." It wasn't until Dongli saw the response to their cooking from friends that she realised there was a culinary path she and Aditya could seriously pursue. "It really sparked a passion for this," she recalls.
In December 2022, the couple officially began the Má Là Kitchen Supper Club out of their apartment in Bengaluru. Má Là, as their Instagram bio details, means numbing and spicy, and is one of the 24 flavour profiles in Sichuan cooking.
For Aditya, cooking quickly went from a hobby to a serious craft he wanted to hone while drawing from his wife's background, to better understand the food and culture of Chengdu. They started the Supper Club with smaller groups of two or three, but today, they're able to cater to an eight-seat table with a five-course menu carefully curated by them. Through word-of-mouth, Má Là Kitchen Supper Club has become a coveted dining experience in the city with a growing waitlist of clients waiting to sample their unique menu. "Our goal is to introduce authentic Sichuan fine dining dishes that you find in high-end restaurants there," Aditya said.
On a recent Sunday evening, eight guests took their seats at Aditya and Dongli's apartment in Bengaluru, with steaming glasses of chrysanthemum and goji berry tea in front of each person and a Chengdu rap playlist on the speaker system. In curating the evening's five-course menu, the couple looked to highlight flavour profiles that encompassed the experience of Sichuan cuisine, from savoury to numbing and umami. A wood-ear mushroom salad carried sweet and sour notes to the menu, while a tender chicken cooked in a bright homemade chilli oil made for a surprisingly mellow experience.
For the Dan Dan noodles, Aditya and Dongli used sesame paste, white peas, pork and a speciality product called ya cai — fermented mustard greens are hard to find in India and must be sourced from elsewhere. The combination of these ingredients forms an aromatic savoury and umami profile for these noodles that Dongli described as a surprising favourite among guests. With the Mapo Tofu, a familiar dish for some, they used gobanjang paste, black beans, tofu and fermented ginger to inject an array of flavours into the dish. Mapo tofu also crucially uses Sichuan peppercorns to create the Má Là flavour profile — spicy and numbing. Ending on a sweet note, two varieties of mochi cake were placed on the table, one fried and the other baked with sweet corn and served alongside jaggery syrup.
Aditya explained that many guests who come to the Supper Club are unfamiliar with the intricacies of Sichuan cuisine, so he and Dongli take pains to explain the flavour and provenance of each dish they serve, along with providing a welcoming ambience to compliment the food.
As the Supper Club continues to grow and evolve, Aditya is hopeful that they will be able to expand in the future, while staying true to the spirit and authenticity of Chengdu and Sichuan cuisine.
For reservations, contact Má Là Kitchen (@malakitchen_blr) through direct message on Instagram.