Temples and Sunday Breakfast of Chinatown Kolkata

Temples of Chinatown

The temples or places of worship though are referred to as “churches”, they are moreover sites of veneration that adhere to Chinese traditional religion and have nothing to do with Christianity.

·       Toong On Church

·       Sea IP Church

·       Nam Soon Church

·       Sea Voi Yune Leong Futh Church

Toong On Church (since 1904)

The original temple and the community center inside the temple itself were enhanced into this red-brick neo-classical influenced structure by the Au family who started the Nanking restaurant on its ground floor which has later been stopped due to lack of maintenance and economic stability. The community center and the temple continued to exist on first floor. Nanking Restaurant became an incredibly posh and renowned Chinese restaurant in the city then. The restaurant got shut down post-independence in the late 1970s. This magnificent structure lay largely vacant nowadays.

Sea IP Church (since 1905)

One of the most well-known temples or churches in the Teritta bazaar is Kwan Yin Temple, also known as Sea IP Church was established in the year 1905. Though it is the oldest, it is the most easily accessible one among the other six temples. The temple is actually two storied where the ground floor is moreover used as a rest place or a library for the local people rather and the top floor is actually the Church. Goddess Kwan Yin sits on the alter and is surrounded by many other Chinese gods and goddesses.

Naam Soon Church (since 1820)

It is the oldest of the six Chinese Temples of Teritta Bazaar. It is also the most spacious of all the Churches and also contains a large courtyard. It is located at the end of Damzen Lane and is difficult to locate. The Naam Soon Church acts as a symbol of peace to the chaotic Damzen Lane as it surrounds within narrow lane and thus the existence of a Church on the spot becomes unbelievable to the visitors. The Chinese Goddess of war, love and mercy, Kwan Yin sits on the alter with her two war companions. The interior of the temple is designed with wall hangings, Chinese weapons and several images and statues of Chinese Gods and Goddesses. the roof hanging evidently speaks about its beauty in the picture above. 

Sea Voi Yune Leong Futh Church (since 1908)

It is the smallest but most elegant of all the six temples of Teritta Bazaar. It houses the twin idols of two ancient Chinese Gods. The temple also consists of a set of weapons, wall and roof hanging and numerous images and statues of Chinese Gods and Goddesses. The Church is being maintained by a priest seems to be very frank and decent on sharing information about the Church whoever ask for it and cooperates with utmost respect. The picture clearly shows the candles that have been lit by the devotees who come to pray.

Chinese Breakfast of Old Chinatown

The Sunday morning silence of the Old Chinatown at Teritta Bazaar breaks around five and it comes to live from six to nine in the morning. The place satiates one’s cravings for those hot, juicy chicken Momos, Pork Momos, Suasages, Prawn wafers and the list goes endless. Walking down the streets people witnesses the momo containers on both sides of the road, sausages hung from ropes as well as the typical Indian breakfast. The hot soup noodles, steamed baozi buns, dumplings in both steamed and deep-fried forms are served in utter delicacy at the stalls on the roads.

Sunday Breakfast in Old Chinatown Kolkata (Poddar Court)

In addition to these, Rolls, Rice Pudding, Ham Choi, Vegetable Dumplings, Rice or Meat Zung, rice Dumplings and a few Pork and Beef items.

Some details about a few food items found here: -

Stuffed Bun: It is mainly the steamed stuffed buns that are mostly made of Pork and Fish. They are served with a tangy sauce and are available in abundance in Teritta Bazaar’s Sunday Breakfast.

Dumpling/ Momo: this is probably the highest selling item over there. It comes in three varieties, Pork, Chicken and Fish and it also comes in fried form as well.

Meat Zung and Rice Zung: these are mainly the sticky rice outer coating with a meat or sweet lentil filling respectively and wrapped in Bamboo leaves and then steamed.

Chinatown is one of the important areas in Calcutta, but now the condition of this area is going to a dark phase due to economic and social condition as well as globalization. Kolkata's Chinatown is changing rapidly. The population is no longer renewed by waves of migration and many traditional professions of Chinese like dentistry, laundry and tannery are no longer the preserve of the Chinese. However, Tangra has been an integral part of the culture of the Chinese community in India.