Summer survival

A sudden Saturday idea to liven up the workplace. It sucks working on a Saturday, right? 

Long glasses of cold coffee. 

Infused with vanilla ice cream and chocolate with a few Cadbury Shots thrown in. All by the cooking talent in the team.

Slow sips of bliss! Life is sorted. Cheers!

#ColdCofee #Workplace #SummerBeverage #FunAtWork

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Restaurant review: SOI

Kolkata is deservingly called the gastronomic capital of India. However, a comprehensive range of quality Thai food is limited to only a few restaurants including Ban Thai and Benjarong.

Enters SOI – The Asian Street Kitchen located inside Zaranj, the reputed fine-dining north Indian restaurant next to Indian Museum on Chowringhee. Few years back, right there used to be a fine-dining Asian cuisine restaurant called Jong’s. I liked its Chinese food on one visit.

I recently stepped in on invitation for a blogger meet to sample its food. It is a large space classily decorated in wood and beige tiles exuding the warmth of a relaxed dining and an old-world charm. The tables and cosy chairs are nicely spaced out. The owners have left their signature in the look and feel. The hand-painted wall tiles about various Asian travel destinations lend it a character.

As you look around, what will definitely draw your attention is the truck bar (which is apart from the old-world main bar done in all wood). It’s an actual truck serving as a bar which was dismantled and flown in from France (You read that right), as Aritra Sen, one of the partners, shared with us.     

The truck bar

They do serve Chinese food too, more as a filler to attract more customers as not everyone may appreciate Thai food, at least till they try it here. So was I with a limited exposure to this cuisine. The only Thai dish that I loved before coming to SOI was sankaya - a pudding I had at Tak Heng.

Our welcome drink was Sweet Thai Basil and Rambutan Caprioska served in a small, nicely-shaped bottle. Vodka mixed with Thai Basil, lychee crush and lemon. The Thai basil added a pleasant herbal touch to the deft interplay of lychee and lemon in the cocktail which worked good for me.

Thai Basil and Rambutan Caprioska

The Satay Kai (pan-seared Chicken satay) was good and the peanut sauce in which it was done added a full-bodied flavour to it topped with herbal notes.

 Satay Kai 

The Tempura Prawn with Sukiyaki and Teriyaki Sauce came next. It was rather flat because instead of tempura batter, the prawns were rolled over diced wonton sheets before being deep fried.

Tempura Prawn with Sukiyaki and Teriyaki Sauce 

The Papaya Salad got thumbs up from me. Diced, crunchy raw papaya and thin strips of red chilli among other vegetables made for a heady mix of tangy and hot and made my nose sweat. A recommendation for salad lovers who can handle real hot stuff!

Papaya Salad

Aritra met us at this juncture and shared bits of info about his passion. He chose to open a restaurant that specializes in Thai cuisine because of dearth of choice in the city. The ‘Asian Street Kitchen’ features in the extended name because they wanted to bring the world-famous Thai street food to Kolkata. To create authentic flavours, they source the ingredients all from handpicked vendors in Thailand. And a Thai lady who Aritra met on one of his trips to the country came over to Kolkata to train the kitchen team. His partner-cum-chef is Raghav Khullar whose father owns Zaranj.

They also use recycled paper instead of table linen in support of green environment and to keep the place spotlessly clean.

Recycled table paper

The main course followed. The Lemon Chicken - the familiar Chinese dish turned out well with tender chicken pieces and finely balanced sourness.

Magsha Moo was a red, spicy pork curry made with the traditional Thai recipe. The strips of juicy pork with button mushroom in the thick gravy checked all the tick boxes for my soft corner for hot and spicy food and went well with the steamed rice on the table topped with kafir lime. Pork lovers can go for it.

Magsha Moo 

Kaeng Moo, the famous Thai curries followed. I tried Phed or red curry first. Another deliciously pungent curry made with coconut milk and boneless flat pieces of pork. I was eager to try Kiew or green curry too as fellow blogger Kirti Mahamia had made her liking for it clear just after trying. The green curry was the perfect contrast to the red curry. The mild-flavoured coconutty curry having a dash of sweetness with flat, boneless lamb pieces paired lovingly with the hot, steamed rice.

 Thai Red Curry

Thai Green Curry

The sumptuous meal ended on a high note with a delectable deconstructed caramel sponge cake teamed with vanilla ice cream.

Deconstructed Caramel Sponge Cake 

To sum up in short, it’s the newest Thai food destination which every foodie with a liking for Thai food or interest to explore the cuisine should visit.

#ThaiCuisine #ThaiFoodKolkata #ThaiRedCurry #ThaiGreenCurry #Magsha

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First Flush- love in a bylane, indeed

When I first walked into this tea café in a lane in Golpark in August, just after it opened its doors, I found the ambience intimate, cozy and different - Low glass-covered cane tables and chairs with relaxed seating and nicely spaced out, framed photos on the wall done in cream colour with red punctuating in racks displaying books, teapot, cups & mugs and a low cabinet. The tables are small and laid out with two or four chairs. Since people don’t come here for a meal, a table can comfortably accommodate four guests. The warm feel resembles a living room, which makes for a perfect lazy afternoon / evening meet-up with friends or even a relaxed business meeting.

You can reach here by taking the lane adjacent to the Axis Bank ATM on the left just before Golpark, going from Gariahat. A red door and a glowsign bearing the name with a thoughtful tagline “Love in a bylane” welcome you.

First Flush serves a small range of teas, the specialty being Darjeeling tea (first and second flush). The menu includes Gidda Pahar, Thurbo Moonlight and Castleton among others.

I like my tea strong, hence between Darjeeling tea and Assam tea, my loyalty goes with the latter. When I told the same to Subhasish Mitra, the owner, in a recently held blogger meet, he advised me to try second flush. I was soon served Avongrove tea in a colourless cup and plate through which its nice light brown colour came out well. I liked the flavour which was precisely between mild and strong.

Subhasish is a senior official working in IBM. His passion for tea, as my short conversation with him indicated, is probably the reason behind his first business venture in F&B. This part of the city doesn’t have well-known tea joints like in central Kolkata. So, being close to Gariahat – the heart of south Kolkata – it’s a well-chosen location.

There was a small, compact menu for the blogger meet, and first arrived Bacon Cheese Bomb. It was bacon wrapped around molten cheese served with a dip. The cheese caressed the palate and the perfectly done bacon flirted with it before melting away. The dip enhanced the sublimity of the dish. A definite recommendation for a light bite and I wonder why it is not listed among the signature dishes on the menu. A portion of five pieces is reasonably priced at Rs 200.

 Bacon Cheese Bomb

The usual banter and leg pulling among blogger friends was on in full swing, along with discussing what was happening in the city blogger circuit. The next to come was American Fish ‘n’ Chips with Beer Batter served with lemon butter sauce and French fries – a signature dish of the house. The thick fillet of Bombay beckti fried in a thin batter went well with the yummy sauce. The crunchy French fries are abundant. Subhasish told me that it was one of the popular picks. We called the young chef and asked what the sauce was and he shared with us the secret – it was lemon butter sauce added with cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper that brought out the killer taste. At Rs 390 for two pieces, it’s value for money.

 American Fish ‘n’ Chips with Beer Batter

As I asked about its offerings in coffee, Subhasish told me that they serve Jamaican, Irish, Puerto Rican and Colombian coffee. Though the range is small, the options are decent.

I tried the cappuccino and loved it.

My cappuccino

Next came American Club Sandwich which was noticeably heavy for one person, so we shared it. A full sandwich served generously with French fries should suffice you for dinner. At one layer it has slices of salami and at the other, poached duck egg. Tastes good, especially the finger-licking yolk. If you are looking for a sandwich meal, just order one. It is expensive though, at Rs 295.

American Club Sandwich, the heavyweight

It was a sweet ending with a nice brownie with chocolate sauce and a lage scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Blogger Debjani Chatterjee Alam posing with the brownie with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream

To summarize, it has the qualities to justify its tagline – love in a bylane, whichever way you think. It’s a place that you may develop a soft corner for as it’s just right to unwind alone with an invigorating cuppa tea (The books in the rack can give company) or with friends over coffee and snacks, also for lovebirds to while away time.

(Left to right) Bloggers Debjani, Madhushree, Anindya, yours truly, Subhadip and Subhasish Mitra (owner)

I was told by Subhasish that the pastas also move well. Noted, for the next time.

#Cafe #Firstflush #Tea #Darjeelingtea  #Fingerfood #Sandwiches

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Au Bon Pain Park Street reloaded

The American café bakery (with a French name) which started operating in December 2013 on the corner plot of Park Street made iconic by Music World, the music shop, has come quite a long way. It impressed Kolkatans with its oven-fresh baked goodies and a premium range of Continental foods which were compared to its famous next door neighbour Flury’s. Its USP was health delivered in its foods. The food was either baked or cooked, but not fried.

The chain was brought to India by Avarna Jain, the daughter of Kolkata-based industrialist Sanjeev Goenka. She had developed a liking for this café when she was studying in the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. The first café in India was opened in Bangalore in a few years from then.

As it was going to complete about two and a half years in the city, Au Bon Pain had reflected upon the journey and gone back to the drawing board to re-strategise and come back in a new avatar which can address the current likes and preferences of its core base of customers- the youth. The café re-opened in June after a closure of a month with some revamp in décor and a refreshed and streamlined menu.

I was invited to a blogger meet on a Saturday afternoon in June organized by the café to sample its new food menu. I was happy to accept the invite.

The first thing that caught my attention was the new offering of unlimited refill of tea. Nothing can be better for a city which loves its tea. One has to order a cup of tea by paying Rs 50 once. If the paper cup is retained, the refills come for free. And one can choose one or more variants from Elaichi Tea, Cinnamon Tea, Vanilla Tea, Black Tea and Green Tea. Go to the dispenser and fill the cup yourself.

The unlimited tea counter

One more interesting thing that I noticed was that one can try any soup (in a small cup) from the few options at the soup counter for making up the mind on which one to order.

For those who like aerated drinks, there is an unlimited fountain refill at Rs 70. The condition is the same- retain the cup.

My first nibble was an Open Face Margherita (with chicken) from the hot sandwich section ordered by blogger friend Sumit Surai. A crunchy baguette topped with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, pesto sauce, onion, tomatoes and tiny chicken cubes makes itself the perfect comfort food. It comes at Rs 199.

Open Face Margherita (with chicken) 

I had taken a Banana and Yoghurt Cooler, a new item, but didn’t like it. Sumit told me that the Orange and Papaya Cooler tasted better (another new item) thanks to the tang of orange.

Met blogger friend Debjani Chatterjee Alam and got introduced to bloggers Devpurna Talapatra and Urmi Ghosh. We dived into a deep discussion of our common interest- food- in no time.

Bloggers in food talk (Left to right: Sumit Surai, Devpurna Talapatra, Urmi Ghosh 

and Debjani Chatterjee Alam)

My first order was sort of pre-decided. I had read up the menu on Zomato and wanted to sample the new introduction- Keema Kouign–Amann (pronounced as queen-a-mon) which was a puff with a chicken keema (Minced chicken) filling. The spicy keema inside the thick, crunchy puff brought pep to the gastronomic sojourn. This comes at Rs 79 for one and Rs 129 for two. Khurshid, who was attending the large group of bloggers, told me that unlike the past, they had done away with the happy hour offering of fifty percent off after 8o’ clock and had introduced such offers on select items. In line with that, the coolers mentioned before come at Rs 119 for a medium size and adding just Rs 10, you can upgrade to a large size.

Keema Kouign–Amann

Ordered Chicken Keema Cone-wich next. It’s sandwich bread with a minced chicken filling rolled into a cone shape. This one was delicious too, mostly thanks to the rich filling of chipotle and onions mixed with a generous amount of mozzarella and cheddar cheese. One of it is for at Rs 109 and two are for Rs 179. 

 Chicken Keema Cone-wich

Both Keema Kouign–Amann and Chicken Keema Cone-wich are new entrants in the bakery section which has five more such introductions.

Au Bon Pain has refurbished the bakery section. Now it is better equipped than before and you can see dishes being baked all day thereby making fresh bakes always available for you.

One of the many baking ovens

The wide range of artisan breads

I felt like having a second drink and ordered a Classic Mojito (Medium- Rs 109 and large- Rs 119), which was good, and I liked it much for the infusion of herbs.

 Classic Mojito

The cafe

The self-service counter

Au Bon Pain has introduced Rice Bowl as a proper meal option. There is Herb Rice with Chicken/ Tofu Thai Curry (at Rs 179/ 169). The tofu version was ordered at our table as the chicken version wasn’t available. None of us liked the taste. The herb rice had a smoky flavour but otherwise quite bland.

Herb Rice with Tofu Thai Curry

In the main course, the Arrabbiata Veggie Pasta with Chicken (Rs 249) was ordered and we all shared it. It tasted good thanks to the tangy and mildly hot Arrabbiata sauce and diced tomatoes. The garlic bread that comes on the side added to the experience. 

 Arrabbiata Veggie Pasta with Chicken and garlic bread on the side

We had ordered one more drink each. After some deliberation, I went for Frozen Mint Lemonade (Rs 149- medium, Rs 169- large). It was zesty and refreshing!

Our last round of drink- Frozen Mint Lemonade (second from left) and mojitos (first and third from left)

We wrapped up with a safe choice- walnut brownie (Rs 79). And though it didn’t look pleasing, as we all agreed, it tickled the taste buds easily. A nice, sweet ending of a hearty meal and session with like-minded folks.

Walnut brownie

All the prices mentioned are before taxes.

#ABPNewMenu #AuBonPain #AuBonPainParkStreet #AuBonPainNewMenu #KolkataBakery #KolkataCafe #ParkStreet

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Tasting Darjeeling tea and green tea from Goodricke

I have always liked my tea strong, through my transition from milk tea to black tea. So my palate has always favoured Assam tea. Darjeeling tea has never really appealed to me, its venerable global fame (especially for its aroma) notwithstanding.

Green tea is also beyond my interest area. I drink tea in a reasonably healthy form (Black, with low sugar) in moderate amount and I don’t have health issues. So, I have never felt the need for drinking it for the purpose that drives most people to go for it, i.e. weight loss, preventing cancer etc. And on the rare occasions of my sampling green tea, I found the taste awful.

A few days back, Goodricke sent me a nice-looking, small blue tin of their Castleton Premium Muscatel Darjeeling Tea and a box of Barnesbeg Green Tea along with an invitation to a tea-tasting session. I couldn’t attend the session, but was prompted to taste the teas.

The Darjeeling tea leaves were soaked in hot water for three minutes. The brew looked dark, unlike the one familiar to me, but the taste was impressive. Probably, that’s the magic of muscatel. It is difficult to put to words the taste of muscatel tea. On the net, it is described as “an elusive taste found in some Darjeeling teas, most likely second flush teas. It is very hard to describe the taste in words, but it is easy to recognize the taste once you are familiar with it”. Rajiv Lochan, owner of several tea gardens in India and CEO of Lochan Tea Ltd has remarked that muscatel is “very difficult to describe but it is something extraordinary and rare.”

To me, it was rather smooth while not being a compromise on a strong brew. It was definitely far from as strong as an Assam brew, but satisfactory enough, and paired well with the smoothness. So it can please staunch Assam tea admirers like me. There was no apparent aroma, though.

 Goodricke Castleton Premium Muscatel Darjeeling Tea

Goodricke Castleton Premium Muscatel Darjeeling Tea is highly expensive, and comes at over Rs 5000 a kg approximately. A 100 gram tin costs Rs 525. However, those who love Darjeeling tea and those who like their tea strong but would like to taste Darjeeling tea and won’t mind paying some premium for it, can surely go for it.

I was less apprehensive of the Barnesbeg Green Tea as it came with a lemon flavour. But I liked the taste. The mild liquor was not bitter as green tea tastes to me and the lemon bit made it flavourful. Definitely recommended to all those who are open to having green tea but despise it because of its taste. Goodricke Barnesbeg Green Tea is healthier than the average green tea as it is completely organic.

Goodricke Barnesbeg Green Tea 

#Goodricke #DarjeelingTea #MuscatelTea #GreenTea #OrganicTea

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Street food: Chana tikia and mango lassi

This chatwallah near the AC Market end of Lord Sinha Road makes a mean chana tikia, as I found out on an official visit to this area. It had the right tang of tamarind sauce and spiciness with crunchily tawa-fried double aloo tikia.

It made my day! At Rs 40 a plate, though not cheap (not anyway expected in this part of the city), it’s worth every rupee. Will visit again as I dig good chana tikia.

Now comes the perfect follow-up! It didn't happen on the same day, though. But that's pretty much possible on a foodwalk as the two places are not far apart. Just two metro stations.

The top of the beer mug is covered with dry fruits, cherry and khoa. Thick mango lassi inside (lassi mixed with mango juice, not syrup). 

Sheer bliss! Especially as a dessert after a hearty meal. 

Available at Esplanade East. From KC Dass to Dacres Lane, on the right (a few steps from Bhojohori Manna). There are a few lassi & juice shops selling it for many years, but the corner shop seems to be the most popular. As you draw close, the stuff of the shops will call you aloud to try their mango lassi. The only other lassi available is plain lassi, which is the same thing without the mango bit.

The corner shop

#Chaat #Lassi #StreetFood

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Dragon Boat Festival celebration at Yauatcha

The Dragon Boat Festival is a unique celebration of China that dates back 2,000 years. It is celebrated by eating sticky rice, drinking rice wine, racing dragon boats and indulging in festivities with friends and family.

Yauatcha Kolkata, the fine-dining dim sum teahouse in Quest, is celebrating The Dragon Boat Festival throughout June with a special menu. It is as part of the celebration happening in all the restaurants of the chain in India.

The menu features a limited edition menu created by head chef Wang Yixuan featuring zongzi- pyramid-shaped sticky rice dumplings, a dessert and an exclusive cocktail.

The meticulously created menu includes authentic but contemporary delicacies devoured during this festival. Yauatcha’s newly introduced zongzi dishes include various fillings of edamame and vegetarian duck, pork belly and shiitake mushroom, lamb and pine nuts and chicken among others.

Chicken Zongzi 

Prawn Chicken Zongzi 

To special dessert and the cocktail created with wine complete the meal experience. The Wine-soaked Water Chestnut with Mango Cake is served with a Sauvignon sorbet, while the Citrus Spritz cocktail, made with vodka, dry vermouth, lime and wine will also be available to order à la carte for a limited period of time.

Wine-soaked Water Chestnut with Mango Cake served with a Sauvignon sorbet

The Citrus Spritz cocktail

The Dragon Boat Festival menu is available to order from an a la carte menu from 1st June until 30th June 2016 for all day dining.

Pictures provided by Yauatcha

#DragonBoatFestival #Yauatcha

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