By Rikki N. Massand | Posted Jan. 16, 2025
Indian-style Chinese cuisine that many Montgomery residents crave has arrived at the corner of Belle Mead- Griggstown Road and Route 206. The trendy food hub is now open in the Grove at Montgomery shopping center – alongside Playa Bowls, in the former CafeMerica spot.
Wok Like a Desi owner and Montgomery resident Pallabi Ghosal.
The new cozy fusion restaurant is the creation of Belle Mead resident and entrepreneur Pallabi Ghosal. Wok Like a Desi (21 Belle Mead-Griggstown Road) takes its name from the 1980s hit song, “Walk Like an Egyptian” by the Bangles. The play on the Chinese wok cooking is also the restaurant’s logo, with flames representing the hot cuisine. Wok’s soft launch was on December 3; they started by offering just takeout and delivery service.
During her childhood in Kolkata – the capital and largest city in West Bengal, India – Ghosal’s family visited their local Chinatown once a week. “I have great memories of the food there in my childhood. Indo-Chinese and Chinese food is something I have always loved so I’ve cooked it at home over the years, and received a lot of compliments from friends and family for it,” she said.
Ghosal chose to pursue her passion for Indo-Chinese cuisine with the spirit to become a new business owner. Previously she worked as department head of talent acquisition for a large technology firm. She’s pivoted from a career where she was managing a team of 13 employees across four countries to being a restaurateur. Ghosal’s husband is Sarfaraz Ali, and their son Aary Ghosal- Ali is in 8th grade at Upper Middle School.
In 2021 the family moved from New York City to Belle Mead. “We were doing research to see where we could put down roots, and a top priority was finding a great school district. The other must-have criteria included safety and diversity. “Montgomery fits the bill all the way – so we found a beautiful house and thankfully it’s all worked out here,” Ghosal said.
Advertisement
The adjustment to suburban-rural life brought her a sense of freedom, and a career venture. The couple looked at some local dining options and felt there was a ripe business opportunity. While most of Route 27 in Franklin Township is lined with Indian restaurants, the 206 corridor lacks choices. Even in Franklin and Hillsborough, nothing matches the specific (and spicy) type of food they were looking for. “When both my husband and I had the opportunity to work from home, we realized it was a good time to move into a bigger living space, and to a very good school district.
Once we moved here, we didn’t want to have to drive too far to eat somewhere with our child who has a set bedtime. “We had no desire to drive to Edison and back, and I’ve heard the same thing from many friends and neighbors. The community wanted a nice place to gather and enjoy a good meal – we’ve needed more places to eat out,”
Ghosal said. "Americanized" Chinese restaurants and traditional Indian restaurants never meet the need. Montgomery’s market presents a clear demand – more hot and spicy options, please! “There’s no place specifically for Indo-Chinese here. Then, I found a space close to home, situated in a nice residential area. In Montgomery, it all fell into place,” Ghosal noted.
Inside, an exciting feature planned is a chaat station — a wide counter to customize chaat, ready for small-plate orders with dahi (yogurt) samosa or papri, sev puri, Masala puri, and Chinese bhel. Chaat will be offered once dining-in at Wok starts. “It will be nice to have a neighborhood place to have your snacks at 5:30 pm, or at any time.
Generally our focus stays on Indian-Chinese fusion without the medley of several North Indian and South Indian dishes. “We will be true to authentic Kolkata flavors and ingredients. It’s the entire spectrum of Indo- Chinese while offering accommodations for preferences – the community has many vegetarian residents so our menu has both veg and non-veg for every course,” Ghosal said.
Advertisement
Wok features both the staple vegetarian Indo-Chinese appetizers like spring rolls, Schezwan baby corn, chili paneer (curd cheese), Gobi Manchurian (cauliflower), and the non-veg favorites in Indo- Chinese like lollipop chicken, shrimp Manchurian, soy garlic and Szechwan fish, and fish or shrimp 65. By the way, “65” is the name of a seasoning and preparation common for chicken or fish dishes in Indian food snackstyle appetizers’ cuisine.
Wok Like a Desi offers a variety of hakka noodle and fried rice dishes, along with many Szechwan style house specialties. There’s always the option of making the main dishes fully vegetarian or non-vegetarian, and adjusting spice levels. So far, feedback from customers has all been positive, though suggestions are always welcome.
The menu has halal meat because many residents made the request in early December. “We spoke with our suppliers right away to make sure our meat is only halal, and we will also be adding a selection of fresh fish dishes,” she said. Ice cream is the only dessert on the menu, and adding toppings adds another dose of fun.
One of her favorite drinks is popping boba tea, so Wok Like a Desi has true fusion in mind by becoming Belle Mead’s goto for bubble teas. “I like mixing flavors with bubble teas, I always wished there were more varieties. We’re planning to have cool and unique stuff coming up for customers,” Ghosal said.
Eventually, based on the timeline of success for her first restaurant, Ghosal says there could be more Wok Like a Desi locations planned.
21 Belle Mead-Griggstown Rd
Belle Mead, NJ 08502
Web: Woklikeadesi.com
Comments