In an age where culinary innovation often means chasing trends, Chef Amit Dash stands apart as a custodian of memory, culture and craft. With over two decades of experience across India, the Maldives,
Zurich and some of the country’s most iconic hotel kitchens, the Cluster Executive Chef of The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi, and The Westin Sohna Resort & Spa has carved a distinctive space for himself, one where authenticity is not sacrificed to novelty, and storytelling is as essential as technique.
A graduate of IIHM Kolkata, Chef Dash’s grounding in Indian kitchens from the legendary Dakshin in Chennai to the iconic Bukhara at ITC Maurya instilled in him a deep respect for tradition. Over the years, he expanded into Italian and Asian cuisines, developed a flair for experiential formats and emerged as a strong voice in sustainable, zero-waste culinary leadership. Yet, despite his global repertoire, it is Eastern Indian flavours and the emotional resonance of regional food that anchor his philosophy.
This commitment to culture, memory and lived experience explains why Tangra, his latest concept at The Westin Sohna Resort & Spa, feels less like a restaurant and more like a story long waiting to be told.
Reviving a Forgotten Culinary Legacy
For Chef Dash, Tangra is not just a restaurant; it is a reclamation of history. He describes the food of Kolkata’s historic Chinese community as a “culinary legacy shaped by necessity, adaptation and craft”, one that influenced an entire generation of Indian diners yet was rarely given the depth of recognition it deserved.
The inspiration flowed directly from the families, tanneries and kitchens of old Chinatown, from Tangra’s industrial lanes to the narrow by-lanes of Tiretta Bazaar. “Their kitchens were intuitive, resource-led spaces where flavours evolved from memory and resilience,” he explains. These stories gave Tangra more than a repertoire; they gave it soul. In his hands, dishes become a way of honouring a community’s lived memory, a culinary anthropology rendered edible.
A Philosophy of Restraint, Intuition and Intent
At Tangra, the menu rests on three uncompromising principles: bold yet balanced flavour, lineage-honouring technique and storytelling that honours heritage. Rather than recreating textbook Hakka Chinese food, Chef Dash reinterprets the spirit of Chinatown kitchens, food guided by intuition, shaped by scarcity and elevated by experience.
Every ingredient has purpose. Nothing is ornamental. “Garnish is not decoration, it is punctuation,” he reflects. If removing an element weakens the story, it stays; if it adds nothing, it disappears. This discipline shapes signature dishes like Chimney Soup, Braised Wontons, Yam Mein and Buddha’s Delight, each layered with clarity, memory and emotional resonance.
Preserving Techniques at Risk of Disappearing
One of Tangra’s most remarkable commitments is its revival of traditional Chinatown cooking techniques, methods many modern kitchens have abandoned due to complexity, labour or time.
Chef Dash brings back:
High-heat carbon-steel wok cooking for true wok hei
Slow steeping of aromatics for broths built patiently
Hand-pounded spice pastes and light fermentations
Cold-smoking techniques and hand-pulled noodles
Seasoned oils infused with ginger, scallions and chillies
These techniques are not mere gestures of nostalgia; they honour the ingenuity of a community that shaped India’s earliest interpretations of Chinese food. They are, as he describes them, “techniques of living history.”
A Collaboration That Anchored Authenticity
Tangra was shaped not just by Chef Dash’s expertise but by the wisdom of Chinatown families, cooks and legacy establishments. He spent time in their homes, listening to stories that revealed subtle patterns of flavour, rhythm and balance that no textbook could capture. Meals cooked by third-generation families, from delicate fish dishes to plant-forward traditions, guided the menu’s emotional and cultural accuracy.
This collaboration ensured that Tangra is not merely inspired by Chinatown, it is created with Chinatown.
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Design as Storytelling: A Space That Breathes Memory
The restaurant’s design mirrors its culinary purpose: evocative, refined and rooted in heritage. Rather than recreating Chinatown literally, the space distils its essence. Guests begin their journey by walking over stepping stones above a koi pond and entering through grand timber-panelled doors, an intentional shift meant to feel like stepping into a reimagined courtyard.
Inside, the atmosphere is sensory and poetic. Parasol-inspired lanterns float overhead, Mahjong-tile inlays lend playful nostalgia and Guardian Lions stand sentinel at the entrance. The colour palette, jade, natural stone, textured timber keeps the experience refined and connected to the resort’s nature-led identity.
At its heart is the open kitchen, where flame, aroma and movement form the restaurant’s theatrical core. The crackle of garlic hitting a hot wok, the rising smoke of soy and chilli, the tableside finish of steamed fish, these are integral to Tangra’s storytelling.
Even the cocktails, Loong, Red Dragon, Weishiji echo the mood and mythology of the space.
The Chef Behind the Vision
Beyond Tangra, Chef Dash’s leadership reflects a rare equilibrium of tradition and innovation. At The Westin Sohna Resort & Spa, he champions farm-to-fork practices and immersive guest experiences such as cow-milking and herb harvesting. At The Westin Gurgaon, he balances global finesse with regional depth across ten F&B outlets, including Prego and EEST.
He collaborates with international chefs, embraces cutting-edge kitchen technology and mentors his team with openness and creativity. His work is rooted in the belief that every plate is a chance to stir memory, emotion and connection.
Tangra, in many ways, is the fullest expression of this philosophy.
A New Chapter for India’s Culinary Storytelling
Tangra does more than introduce diners to Kolkata-Chinese cuisine, it restores a chapter of India’s multicultural culinary history with reverence and artistry. It is a space where nostalgia and modernity coexist, where flame and memory work in tandem, and where a chef’s personal heritage converges with the stories of a community.
For Chef Amit Dash, Tangra is not an homage; it is a living, breathing continuation of a legacy. And for diners, it is a rare chance to taste history precisely crafted, purposefully told and beautifully reimagined for today.
