Tangra Chinese, at 28 Race Course Road, is an Indo-Chinese restaurant born from Tangra, East Kolkata's Chinatown, where Hakka Chinese traditions meet Bengali spice, with Tibetan migration adding momos to complete the tapestry. It is a Google-rated 4.6 star Indo-Chinese favourite, known for generous portions and crowd-pleasing flavours.
Tangra Chinese was launched in 2006 by Deepali Ray, a Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant with a Master's degree in Commerce from the University of Calcutta, who moved to Singapore in 1998 and worked in finance and business development before turning to food. She founded Fifth Season, the restaurant group behind Tangra Chinese, after noticing colleagues separating themselves at lunch over dietary restrictions, and wanted to create a cuisine that could bring everyone to the same table.
The restaurant respects diverse dietary preferences and does not serve pork, lard or beef. It does serve alcoholic beverages, and therefore does not hold halal certification. Tangra Chinese offers a pre-order executive set lunch menu available Monday to Friday, alongside its regular offerings, and diners can join the Rewards Club to start earning from their very first meal.
Tangra Chinese, at 28 Race Course Road, brings the Indo-Chinese cuisine of Tangra — East Kolkata's own Chinatown — to Singapore, blending Hakka Chinese traditions with Bengali spice, and Tibetan influences that gave the cuisine its beloved momos.
The restaurant is the creation of Deepali Ray, a Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant with a Master's degree in Commerce from the University of Calcutta. Deepali moved to Singapore in 1998 and initially worked in an IT company with over 400 employees, later holding senior positions in Finance and Business Development at multinational companies and government projects. It was during her exploration of Singapore's diverse food landscape that she noticed the absence of Indian-Chinese cuisine — a fusion she felt could bring people together, regardless of dietary background.
That realisation was sparked partly by watching colleagues separate themselves at lunch because of dietary restrictions. She envisioned a cuisine everyone could share at the same table — secular, inclusive and community-minded. Her answer came from Tangra, and in 2006 she launched Tangra Chinese, the first restaurant under what would become the Fifth Season Group, bringing bold, nostalgic Indo-Chinese food to Singapore.
Tangra Chinese's food reflects the layered history of its namesake district: the legacy of Chinese migrants and their fiery sauces, later reshaped by Tibetan influences into something distinctly Bengali. That history shows up directly on the menu, from Hakka noodles and Manchurian gravies to Tibetan Thukpa soup and steamed momos.
For weekday diners, Tangra Chinese offers a pre-order executive set lunch, available Monday to Friday. Options include a Veg Set with Thukpa Soup (Tibetan vegetable soup, steamed vegetable momos and kimchi salad), a fuller Veg Set Lunch with a choice of rice or noodles and a Manchurian, paneer or mock chicken gravy, and equivalent Chicken, Fish and Prawn set lunches, each built around a soup, steamed momos, kimchi salad, a rice or noodle choice, and a choice of gravy or stir-fried preparation. Diners can top up their set with dessert add-ons like Malai Chop or Gulab Jamun, or drinks including espresso, cappuccino, Americano, Coke, Sprite or ice lemon tea.
Tangra Chinese respects diverse dietary preferences and does not serve pork, lard or beef. The restaurant does serve alcoholic beverages, however, and as a result does not hold halal certification — a distinction worth knowing before booking a table.
Beyond the core menu, Tangra Chinese has introduced Bengal's Baked Delights, featuring baked versions of classic Bengali sweets: Baked Roshogulla, Baked Sandesh and Baked Chom Chom. Diners can also join the restaurant's Rewards Club, earning benefits from their very first meal, with exclusive deals, special treats and members-only perks available year-round.
Tangra Chinese sits alongside sister restaurants Kolkata Beckons and DIPU under the Fifth Season Group, each exploring a different facet of Bengali and Indo-Chinese cuisine. With a 4.6 star Google rating and a reputation for generous portions and crowd-pleasing flavours, Tangra Chinese remains the group's founding restaurant and the one that started it all back in 2006.