Peaking Chinese Fast Food Kalina

Peaking Chinese Fast Food Kalina is tucked away on CST Road 168 in Santacruz East. It’s a busy stretch of road, especially with all the taxis and bikes zooming past toward the university area. The kitchen is right at the front, so you can see the flames jumping up from the burners whenever someone orders a stir-fry. We use those big heavy woks that take a lot of muscle to toss around all day. The walls are painted a simple color, and we have a few small tables for people who don't want to take their food home. Most of the orders are for delivery or pickup though. You’ll see the delivery guys waiting around on the sidewalk, checking their phones. We go through a lot of soy sauce and vinegar in a week. The floor in the kitchen is always a bit wet from cleaning, and the air smells like ginger and burnt garlic. It’s not a quiet place to eat because the fans are always on high to get the smoke out. Sometimes the orders get backed up when everyone calls at once around eight o'clock, and we just have to tell people to wait an extra ten minutes. We’ve been at this spot for a while now, and we know most of the people who live in the buildings around Santacruz East. It’s just us making fast food in a small space, trying to keep up with the pace of CST Road.