The Morning Magic of Chinese Breakfast at Tiretta Bazaar

Chinese sailors started to settle down in Kolkata in the mid-18th Century. Tiretta Bazaar in central Kolkata soon imbibed their traditions, rituals, architectural styles and turned into Chinatown. 

Among the many traditions of Kolkata’s original China Town, the most well-known is the sumptuous breakfast it serves up every morning. The neighbourhood wakes up to the smell of Siu Mai and freshly steamed Tai Pao, a savoury bun stuffed with meat, long before traffic hits the roads.  

The quiet, steam-filled lane near Poddar Court ports visitors to a different era. Fresh and steaming Siu Mai, pillowy soft Tai Pei or a nourishing bowl of FIsh Ball Soup — there’s much to savour on this early-morning jaunt. 

The vendors start setting up their fare from 5.30am but it’s around 6am that the stalls start buzzing. Most of the food is sold out by 8am. 

The Chinese community in Tiretta Bazaar predates the more popular Tangra. While Tangra became the industrial hub for tanneries and air-conditioned Chinese restaurants, Tiretta Bazaar remained the soulful, residential core.

The breakfast market unfolds against the facade of Pou Hing, a popular Chinese eating house and continues to draw visitors. Across the street, a bustling vegetable market provides a green contrast to the Chinese delights.

Ming Chung and his wife serve up portions of Chinese sticky rice (made with Burma rice, pork and dal), fluffy bao and delicate fish and prawn dumplings. A few steps away, Mr. Chang sells sausages, while Mr. Ling runs a stall dedicated to tofu and fish balls. Tucked between them is a small, unassuming tea stall, the silent engine that keeps the morning's vendors caffeinated.

On Sunday mornings, among the crowd, you might spot a figure who seems both larger-than-life and incredibly grounded. Monica Liu, lovingly called the Don of Tangra and the Boss of Calcutta-Chinese Cuisine, is the force behind legendary restaurants like Beijing, Kim Ling, Tung Fong and Mandarin.

Perched unassumingly on the pavement, she explains that a touch of pork is the secret to a perfect fish ball as it acts as the binder that keeps them from breaking in the broth. For her, this isn't just breakfast, it’s a weekly pilgrimage to her roots.

Mr. Dalal, who has found his niche selling coconut and chicken pattice amidst the sea of Siu Mai. ‘This is essentially a market of the Chinese community but non-Chinese people too have joined to sell our food items. The customers and even the Chinese community people, enjoy and relish what we bring with us,’ he said.

Tiretta Bazaar is more than just a place to grab a quick bite. It is a living, breathing archive of Kolkata’s multicultural soul.