Be it the 90s, when I used to visit my brothers in boarding school in the Nilgiris, or the recent summers I have spent in Ooty with my family, Shinkows has always been around, serving consistently good fare. The food here is simple and authentic, untouched by Indian spices, unlike in many desi-style Chinese restaurants.
The owner of Shinkows, Liao Pao Chun, labels the cuisine he serves, ‘Hakka-style’. Liao and his wife, Linda, in the midst of their setting up lunch service, were kind enough to take some time off to sit down for a chat and share the story of how it all began.
Olden days
Born in Kolkata, he moved to Ooty at the age of four, when his father took up a job as a shoemaker in town. He points to a corner in Shinkows, and shows me the exact location where the Chinese shoe shop once stood. His father, along with a shoemaker from Hong Kong, made handmade leather shoes for the British folk living in Ooty and the surrounding areas.
His family eventually bought the shop and set up a restaurant alongside, serving breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner to the British planters. Back then, they served continental food along with the Chinese Hakka dishes.
At the age of 16, when Liao’s father passed away, he was forced to quit school to take over the family business. In 1971, the shoe shop was shut permanently, while they expanded the restaurant by adding the Zodiac Room.
The departure of the British planters in the mid-70s led to the family stopping breakfast and tea service. The menu was reduced to mostly Chinese dishes and a handful of continental favourites served during lunch and dinner.
“I continue to keep in touch with Paoks (as Liao is fondly called by some of the regulars) and he cooks up a continental steak on request every time I visit even now,” says Palaninathan, who studied in Lawrence School, Lovedale, in the 60s.
In Shinkows, the diners are given a notepad along with the menu, to jot down the orders themselves. Every dish on the menu has a corresponding number. To place an order, these numbers must be noted with the quantities and handed over to a waiter. “#13A refers to the iconic chilli chicken in Shinkows, and anyone who went to school in the Nilgiris will always remember this item number,” says Koshini Viswanathan, who grew up in Ooty.
Memories galore
Dr Radha Rajkumar, who grew up in Coonoor , calls a meal in Shinkows ‘homecoming’. “A few months ago, as I was enjoying my meal in Shinkows, I was greeted by an old school mate, whom I had not met in over 20 years. Together, we reminisced about Ooty and our school days.”
Says Biju Velayuthan, who also studied in Ooty , “Even after three decades, the atmosphere and the menu have not changed. When I visited Shinkows last year, I felt 30 years younger.”
It’s like time has stood still. Paoks and his wife are a constant presence in the kitchen and they ensure that the food is hearty and consistent in taste.
The condiments — soya sauce, chilli vinegar, chilli sauce and ketchup are made in-house. The noodles used in the Hakka fried noodles are made in the premises as well, and set it apart from the doughy store-bought noodles.
Until recently, in a corner of the property, they even grew their own celery, which made their chicken and mushroom soup so aromatic.
Shinkows is a culinary paradise for non-vegetarians. The chilli chicken in hot garlic sauce, chicken with pineapples and chicken with almonds are crowd-pleasers. The chilli beef, beef with onions, chilli pork and sweet and sour pork are exemplary. For vegetarians, the choice is quite limited.
The young chow noodles (Chinese chopsuey), with its crispy noodles and quick-cooked vegetables and chicken, is outstanding. The American chopsuey is also very popular. .
Paoks is in his early 70s now, and approaching his golden years. He has some good news for the fans of Shinkows: he says one of his sons will move back to India and take over the family business in the coming years.
In this weekly column, we take a peek at some of the country’s most iconic restaurants