Zomato Meet-up at Studio, Novotel (Kolkata)

To start with, I would like to thank Zomato for inviting me to The Studio, Novotel at the foodie meet-up which happened to be my third Zomato meetup! I had been to Novotel couple of times before and it happens to be very close to my place! There is very little to say about Novotel which has its headquarters in France with around 400 hotels and resorts across the globe! My words are not enough to describe the high standards of quality and magnificence of this place which has started its operations couple of years ago in Kolkata.   

Location - - - - - This sprawling property is present in Newtown (action area-1) just beside the Axis Mall. Locating it is not an issue and you obviously need not worry about the car parking either since you get valet parking here.

Ambiance - - - - - The grandiose interiors leaves you mesmerized whenever you are inside this property and of course the ambiance of Studio (which is said to be an Asian culinary gallery with five Asian cuisines, rather than just another restaurant), is also very classy and urbane. The huge glass walls overlooking the pool, the wooden-step walls and ceilings, the classic furniture and pretty cutlery sets uplifts your mood whenever you walk into this place. And of course, for the Zomato meet-up the place was all decked up and ready to greet all the guests for the event. Also in general, the seating arrangement is very spaced out and the overall ambiance is pretty relaxed and warm.

Food - - - - - There were loads on the menu frankly speaking :) and I strived hard to taste most of them, here are the items I had tasted –

1) Studio Mist – This was the welcome drink, one of the most refreshing welcome drinks I have had, it had an unusual mix of Asian flavors and ingredients and had cinnamon, pineapple juice, kaafir lime, hint of basil, etc.

2) Summer Rain – It was an orange flavored cocktail served in a martini glass loaded with some huge kick, that’s all I can say :) One of the tastiest cocktails I’ve had in a long time!

3) Rainforest – It was a watermelon based mocktail with pieces and bits of watermelon in it, very refreshing and presented quite beautifully.

4) Coco Cucumber – Intensely flavorful refreshing drink for the summers with fresh cucumber bits in it, surely try this out if you are here during the summers!

5) Crispy Tofu – Well, it was nice and fresh but served in small quantity. We were told that most of their dishes have small quantities so that you can taste many dishes at one shot or rather in one single visit. I found that to be one nice thought but some may not appreciate it since that will make your bill amount go up!

6) Yasai Kakiage – It was fried six flavored vegetable tempura, nice and mild; add some red chilli paste and have it!

7) Chicken and Glass Noodle Spring Rolls – Oh man I loved these! It was an Asian style spring roll loaded with chicken and glass noodles with a typical sauce that they call the ‘studio dressing’.

8) Prawn Tempura – Again a must have at this place, golden fried crisp prawns in freshly grated ginger and inimitable tempura sauce!

9) Water Chestnut delight Dimsum – The dimsums were the winner for sure and this water chestnut delight dimsum was flavorful and green in color with a pomegranate bit topping.

10) Prawn manti Dimsum – One of the star items I had at this place, it has got a yellowish tinge to it and an out-of-the-world taste, maybe I could have had 10-12 pieces of this at one shot :) It had a fresh piece of prawn sitting inside the dimsum with one amazing overall flavor! Also it was presented very well. Must try if you are here!

11) Tom Yum Cavier soup – It was a lovely soothing tom yum soup with cherry tomatoes, lemon juice, roasted chilies, lemon grass and garnished with coriander leaves.

 

12) Dragon Roll Sushi – Though I am not a fan of Sushi but I am glad that I had tried the dragon roll sushi here at Studio, it was very soothing with a piece of prawn in it, served with wasabi, soya sauce, tempura prawn and crunchy tempura crumbles.

13) Cashew Prawns – Very fresh preparation of shrimps which were handsome in size and drenched in ma la sauce, cashew nuts and tri color pepper!

14) Thai green curry with steamed rice – One of my favorite Thai dishes which I try and cook at my home as well! Anyway, here the flavor was fresh and beautiful and very aromatic as it should be. The tastes of sweet basil, fresh coriander, dash of bird’s eye chilies, kaafir lime, lemon grass was irresistible and you can surely have some good amount of steamed rice with this. Loved this!

15) Fermented beans chicken – This one nice and spicy dry preparation of chicken to go with the fried rice or noodles with water chestnut and Chinese mushrooms!

16) Hot Basil Fried rice – It was again one amazing preparation with spicy bird’s eye chilies and basil leaves. Loved the intense flavors it offered.

17) Spicy Garlic Noodles – Again this was a nicely prepared dish with sesame oil in fresh garlic that gave the aroma and spicy kick which I always prefer.   

There were many more items on the set menu along with the desserts (like tarts and mousses) which I could not end up having since I had to rush for another appointment :)

SERVICE - - - - - The service was really amazing out here, I had been to Novotel before and I know this great service is not because of the Zomato meet-up; service is always top-notch here at Novotel, very courteous, helpful, warm and friendly. Would like to specially thank Neelabh, the master chef behind this amazing lunch!

SUMMARY - - - - - Here are my granular ratings:

Food quality: 4.1/5

Food presentation: 4.2/5

Food quantity: 3.3/5

Ambiance: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Overall rating comes to 4 out of 5. The great ambiance, service, food and beverages combined together  gives you every reason to visit this newly opened Studio at Novotel! This was a complementary meal from Zomato and I would like to thank Kaustav, Samridhi, Diptak and everyone at Kolkata Zomato team for arranging this wonderful event at this amazing venue! For every foodie and lover of Asian cuisine this place has got all the ingredients to satisfy your soul and is the perfect spot to make great memories.

Cheers!

 

Cocoa Bakery - Kolkata - Bakery Bahar for Bashant Panchami!

Cocoa bakery has already made its mark in the short span of about 2.5 years mainly because of its premium quality bakery products, cookies, cup cakes and amazing quick bites. The advertisement has primarily been the word of mouth which I believe is the best way to build the goodwill and customer base. It is not present in any buzzing food gully or somewhere like Park Street or Sector-5, the place is basically a residential area (New Alipur Block-A); but still this place draws loads of crowd, primarily because people tend to come back to this place for more. People who appreciate quality and love the classy ambiance this place has to offer are sure to visit time and again.

I was invited at this place for their event named ‘Bakery Bahar for Bashant Panchami’ along with other Panchphoron members. They had arranged a foodie meet to mark the introduction of bakery items in lovely gift boxes for presenting to your loved ones, family and friends during this Holi. It being such a popular festival in Kolkata this offering from Cocoa Bakery is definitely like an icing on the cake for the fun filled festivities of Holi. I was quite amazed to see their collection of gift items for this Holi that included cookies, cup cakes, macaroons, mousse, chocolates, assorted bakery items and more. 

The price range varies from INR 400 to INR 1000 and it might go up based on the items you wanna pick and get packed in your gift box. Also there were amazing bakery items and chocolate cakes all lined up for the Easter. The brilliantly designed rabbit with the carrots cake is for Easter and is definitely one gem of a creation. The detailing in each of their bakery products really amazes you. I was even awestruck seeing their lovely Hello Kitty and Mickey Mouse cup cakes! It really keeps you glued to their designs and customizations of each and every cake or cupcake that you see around this place. It is like an artist’s studio with masterpieces lying at every nook and corner. 

The four tier wedding cake with fountain within (which is on display near the entrance) really makes you stand and stare in admiration and awe! They can probably make any design and customization under the sun on a piece of cake; the dedicated team which is working here is an amazing lot for sure.

We were introduced to each and every Holi special gift item present there by Sarita Lakhmani, the Proprietor of Cocoa Bakery. She took out time from her busy schedule and started chatting about this place, her larger than life cake designs and other fond memories related to Cocoa Bakery. It was an awesome feeling to get introduced to this amazing place while listening to all the stories and memories shared by Mrs Lakhmani.

Talking about the cake designs, I would like to emphasize on the remarkable taste and intense flavors these cakes and cookies have got. The Holi special macaroons were probably the most colorful macaroons I have seen in my entire life and it was crisp with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, it is a must try item for sure. The macaroon cookies were not at all flat or cracked, the batter was perfectly mixed and it had a mild moist interior and nicely ruffled circumference. Infact we agreed that it was definitely better than what many big fine-dine joints are offering across the city. The Holi special cookies and cakes have got fun toppings depicting color droplets and color balloons which is generally used while playing Holi, it also has color filled 3D buckets and pichkaris designed on the cakes. All these cookies, cakes and chocolates taste amazing, absolutely the way they look like.

Apart from this Holi special gift items, we also tasted few other items at this place. Since we were there at the lunch hours, we went on to taste their Veg Panne Pasta, Veg Quesadilla, Veg Exotic Fucassia along with some tangy salsa dip. The Veg Quesadilla had the perfect thin texture with fillings of sweet corn, minced onion, capsicum, etc. The Fucassia had all the exotic vegetable toppings like broccoli, bell peppers, olives, etc along with loads of cheese making it even more sinful! But then I loved the flavors of that simple veg penne pasta, I loved it so much that I kinda overate it! :) In the end we tried some Opera Pastry, Tiramisu Pastry and Mix Fruit Pastry. Oh I just loved all the three pastries; they were heavenly to say the least! 

The Opera pastry had nearly seven to eight thin layers in it which was very rich and made with crushed almonds and other mixtures. The Tiramisu pastry looked stunning with that droplet-like topping and it had a strong aroma of coffee and tasted like the bitter coffee with an amazing melt-in-your-mouth texture. Now we had the Mix fruit pasty which again looked pristine and spectacular! It was stuffed with freshly cut fruits, it not only had the fruit toppings but there were finely minced fruit bits in every layer of this pasty, really one classic work of a master baker!

Now talking briefly about the interiors and ambiance of this place. The place has got of the most elegant looking interior décor I have come across in this part of the city. The quaint European styled bakery cum café has got three distinct seating areas. Despite the fact that the entire place is not so big but the seating arrangements are done nicely and are comfortable enough. It can be a challenge if you are visiting this place in very large groups, so you should call in advance if you’ve got a big gang.

Overall the ambiance exudes warmth, class and sophistication, perfect for your date! And the courteous prompt service makes thing even more pleasant. And with all these Holi special gift items on offering you have now got more than one reason to give this place a visit! It is really one piece of heaven for the cake lovers and offers you some cozy little corner to enjoy the company of your loved ones over some amazing food and beverages. 

A big thumbs up from my end!

Cheers!

 

Soul Food - Tasting Anglo Indian cuisine from British Raj era - at Blu, Hotel Aauris

To start with, I was honored to be invited to this amazing event called ‘Soul Food’ at Blu, Hotel Aauris on a beautiful spring afternoon which was hosted by popular arts personality Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee and Theatre actress Baisali Chatterjee Dutt. The event had the who’s who of the city comprising of legendary and popular actors, dancers, painters, television personalities, restaurateurs, designers and socialites. In the audience we had Mamata Shankar, Alakananda Roy, Barun Chanda, Agnimitra Paul, Tota Roychowdhury, Rita Bhimani, Paroma Banerji, Jayant Kripalani, Wasim Kapoor, Elina Banik, and many others. This event was a truly unique blend of culture and cuisine served right for the cognoscenti of Kolkata who were all present there to make some amazing memories.

The venue in itself was marvelous; Hotel Aauris which houses this restaurant called Blu is a luxurious hospitality destination located at 4 Robinson Street (Theatre Road) that made its grand debut last October by setting new standards with its classy design, lavishing ambiance and serene comfort. The beautiful setting of Blu was just perfect for a relaxed lunch and some mesmerizing presentation by Sujoy and Baisali. This story telling session where the stories related to Anglo Indian cuisine were explained was really enticing. 

Coming to our subject, ‘Soul food’ is a variety of cuisine that originated in the Afro-American culture. It is closely related to the cuisine of the Southern United States. The term may have originated in the mid 1960s, when ‘soul’ was a common word used to describe this African American culture. Origins of soul food can be traced back to Africa. Foods such as rice, sorghum, and okra - all are common elements of West African cuisine and they were introduced to the Americas as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Anyway, coming back to this event – here the ‘soul food’ was creatively presented that truly touched our souls, it revolved around food in literature and the chosen texts were by Charles Dickens, Roald Dahl, Maya Angelou, Leo Buscagalia, Mallika Basu, etc. The story telling was interspersed with recital on violin by Sandipan who created the perfect melody for the afternoon with classical strains, Mexican notes and Indian ragas. The story-telling tingled the memories of comfort, warmth and the flavors of lost childhood.

Now coming to the food, the entire event was garnished by some amazing lunch with set-menu designed by Chef Sujit Mondal (in the picture above). I was privileged to taste all these awesome lip-smacking Anglo Indian cuisine from the British Raj era, you don’t get to taste these inimitable dishes every now and then. So let me run through this entire array of dishes which were presented to us. Here they are –

<< Starter >>

a) Anglo Indian Fish Cutlet – Lovely fish cutlet topped with finely chopped salad and garnished coriander leaves, for people on strict diet you can forget your diet plan for a moment and indulge your taste buds in this lip-smacking fried starter. I loved the mashed, perfectly spiced filling that was there inside. It’s just the way I like it!

  

b) Mini soya mushroom pies topped with vegetarian gravy – Well, the name says it all. It was again presented very well with salad and coriander garnishing. The pie was perfectly done and had a nice filling.

<< Soup >>

Minestra di legumes – I was really happy to taste this soup since I am not fond of soups to be honest and I can not finish a soup which doesn’t interest me. But the intense flavor here in this vegetable soup kept me glued to it, the perfect mix of ingredients and the tanginess to it was bang on.

<< Salad >>

We were served one amazing looking bowl of fresh salad that comprised of baby spinach, perfectly done macaroni, green beans & carrot. It had a lovely mango salsa dressing. It was so satisfying. Just so fresh, it was actually some loving and caring kinda food in my opinion!

<< Main Course >>

a) Chicken Calderon – This was really awesome to be very honest. The gravy or the curry was greenish in color and extremely flavorful and aromatic.  The dish was accompanied with rice pilaf which was extremely aromatic, fluffy, tender, light and soothing! Also there was a tomato stuffed with sautéed green peas that tasted really nice and it went well with the rice.

b) Anglo Indian Courgette stiffato curry – Though I didn’t taste this but this was a stuffed zucchini preparation that came along with the same rice pilaf and tomato stuffed with sautéed green peas.

<< Dessert >>

a) Dodol – This is a sweet confection that is bit thick and sticky, though I would say the variant tasted here was not overtly sweet, it was nice.

b) Kumquat bread butter pudding – I am again not a fan of puddings but here I tasted this sweet dish and found it to be really good, I went to try more since it interested me. The pudding was topped with poached pears in red wine! Kumquat’s unique flavor was also a pleasant addition to this dish. The dish had an awesome caramel dressing on its side which I almost cleared till its last bit, since it was so very perfectly done.

I really wished the menu had more items to offer since I couldn’t get enough of this cuisine and was longing for more in the end :) Overall, the food was no doubt soul satisfying and very well designed and prepared. The service was overall attentive and courteous. So that makes the dining experience even more pleasing and memorable.

To wrap things up, I must say this awesome food tasting experience will be remembered by my taste buds for a long time, it was both exceptional as well as innovative at the same time. Though I would like to come back to Blu to taste their other offerings which I am sure will be equally good and remarkable. I wish the team all the best and I am sure this place will be one landmark destination for the foodies in the coming days.

Cheers! 

 

Being Hoppi Bloggers! - Food Tasting & Bloggers Meet at Hoppipola, Kolkata

Life ain’t a rosy paradise, it gives new heights every now and then, new conditions, new hurdles, new rules and then it changes all the rules; but you need to still strive hard and go ahead to live on, you need to find your solace, your stress busters, your moments of disconnect from the maddening world, memories that make you happy… or rather Hoppi! Yes people, an easy solution and defined destination for refueling your lost energy, passion and vigor has arrived at Acropolis mall, Kolkata – it’s Hoppipola! It delivers all the fun that it promises, definitely along with lovely food, super-innovative drinks, vibrant ambiance and warm service :)

I was invited to the Bloggers Meet and Food Tasting event at this place, and only after I reached there I realized it’s like a whiff of fresh air for which I was craving for long! The place will surely catch your attention from a distance when you reach the 4^th floor of the mall which houses this Icelandic named restaurant under the umbrella of Speciality Restaurants Ltd (which boasts of other award winning brand restaurants like Mainland China, Café Mezzuna, Oh Calcutta, Sigree Global Grill, etc). Like already said, the Icelandic name of this chain of restaurants actually means ‘jumping in puddles’, and I was really curious to check out if my experience will be anything close to this name! 

Well, right now this is the only place in town that lets you scribble and draw on your tables, play games, read books, play table soccer, play drinking games, and shake your legs to the awesome music while sipping your favorite cocktail or beer. It pretty much gives you enough space and moments to bring back the child in you who was on the brink of getting lost in this rat race.

This place actually stresses a bit more on alcohol when compared to Café Mezzuna or the likes, so it is an all-day bar and bonhomie! You can stay to yourself by sipping your drink and reading your favorite novel or play some games which are available, maybe with some new group of people. Or else you can go ahead to try your luck at hourly shot competition, the Chuggathon, etc to win goodies and trophies :) But then it’ll be real tough to convince the child inside you to leave this place in the end! And then the food comprises a relatively smaller part of the focus here and comprises mainly of finger foods, pub grubs or bar bites along with some really flavorful comfort mains and few desserts. Again coming back to the bar menu, I should say it’s real fun and moreover they allow you to play with your drink like for example, Da Vinci Tini where you can paint in your glass and pour the drink in that and drink from it.   

LOCATION - - - - - This place is located on the 4^th floor of Acropolis Mall at Kasba (beside Geetanjali Stadium). The mall has ample parking space, so no issues in that regard.

AMBIANCE - - - - - Well this is the catalyst which will help you to spend some quality time with that part of you which refuses to grow up! The ambiance is really vibrant, colorful, fun filled, warm, and exudes positivity and happiness. You will fall in love with all its elements right on your first visit, that’s a guarantee from my side. The place is mainly white and blue color themed and even the flooring bears that color and lovely motifs. It has both indoor and outdoor seating, though the outdoor is not close to nature since it is in a mall; but anyway I loved the openness of the outdoor seating along with all the fun elements and pristine décor with light Mediterranean hues. I loved the colored glass walls and separators. 

The place has bioscopes installed on walls, table soccer, a library where you can spend some time with the nice collection of books, a video game corner with bean bags, quirky black board tables with boxes of colored chalks on all tables (along with salt and pepper shakers!) so that you can keep on scribbling and drawing while you are waiting for the food. 

The ambiance is just too funky and when you look up you will find the ‘sky’ is filled with large and medium sized aeroplanes suspended with strings. The seating is fun yet the design is classy and overall they are comfortable. The music which is played is really awesome, when we were there Linkin Park and Metallica numbers were being played and that’ll surely keep young diners glued to their seats for some more time :)

FOOD - - - - - Now coming to the food, the place served quick bar bites along with sumptuous meals with fresh flavors. There is an unorthodox mix of cuisines like – American, Jamaican, Asian, Mediterranean and Italian. The food is not very traditional and specially the drinks. The presentations are sometimes out of the world and the preparation methodology is also pretty unique.   

At our food tasting event we were served one nice array of cocktails, starters and mains. Here they are –

<< Vegetarian Starter >>

a)      Harrissan Paneer – The presentation first caught my attention, it was presented on a typical Indian rural miniature cot. It was so unique! The six Paneer pieces were quite nicely sliced and were flavorful, fresh and soft. Of course well garnished and presented as well. 

b)      Smoking Carlos – The six pieces of well rolled cigars looked so appetizing that we hardly could click any pic! The covering was really crisp and the dip was just right to go with. The jalapeno and corn filling was really so comforting for me.

c)      OMG – Another great vegetarian starter tried! One of the best mushroom starters I have tried in a while! There were crisp fried button mushrooms all stuffed with cheese :)

<< Non-vegetarian Starter >>

a)      Chicken Trilogy – Coming to the non-veg starters the Chicken Trilogy was served but here I guess the presentation could have been a bit better. They were three different colored and flavored Chicken satays with total six in numbers. It was nice and tasty but the meat could have been a tad bouncy.

b)      Fishful thinking – These are the classic fish fingers with a dip, nice and fresh.

c)      The New Age Wing Man – This was the best non-veg starter for sure since it had the juicy bits I was looking for. These are succulent chicken wings drenched in tangy freshly prepared buffalo wing sauce, yummy!

<< Main Course >>

a)      Cup of Oriental (Chicken) – It is one typical Thai dish but served in a big cup for that twist. The Thai green curry was mild and looked like a white curry. The intense flavors of galangal, basil leaves, kafir lime and lemon grass made my day for sure. The flavors were just perfect. It was served with steamed rice and together they tasted just great. Must Try!

b)      Spaghetti Aglio Alio (Non-Veg) – Oh boy! I loved this one, maybe the most. I loved the spicy kick it provided. It was almost smeared with dry red chilli flakes and maybe a bit of chilli oil and was bursting with flavors in my mouth! I never had a better (and spicier) version of this dish before! :) Loved it, and please try it.

<< Dessert >>

a)      Ice cream with chocolate sauce – This is the saddest part! They really don’t have any option in desserts, maybe they’ve got only two and when we were there they offered us vanilla ice cream scoop with chocolate sauce on it :( And it tasted just like vanilla ice cream scoop with chocolate sauce on it, like it’s available anywhere else in the city, sad!

<< Cocktails >>

a)      IQ – It was served in a glass bulb! Yes you read it right :) The red colored vodka based drink was bit bitter in the beginning for the mix of cranberry, watermelon, etc but had that lovely bend which just made it so good to taste in the end. Work of art in true sense! Most of the drinks available here can be shared by two or three, but IQ is for one, the bulb is all yours!

b)      Bird cage – This one is the real work of art! The most innovative presentation and deserves some award for sure :) It is available in 1000 ml bucket which is placed in a real arty bird cage; it can be shared by three for sure. It has got the kick from white rum mixed with orange liqueur, pineapple chunks, hazelnut, kiwi and pomegranate… it has got everything more or less, just that bird in the cage is missing maybe :)

c)      Da Vinci Tini – Oh this is for the fine artists and painters around the world, this glass is your canvas and you can drink the paint and passion after you express them on your canvas! It has got separate containers with vodka espresso and baileys with choice of dark/white/caramel chocolate and then you have got your brush and big conical glass which is your canvas. Paint with the chocolate sauce in the canvas, then pour the drink in it and take a sip :)

d)     Hoppi Bath Tub – It has got crushed ginger, basil, burnt orange, white rum and beer from the bottle which is just place upside down on the bath tub. The presentation is out of the box and the taste is amazing as well.

e)      Drown in a Bucket – Oh this had the best kick I guess. It had some huge amount of tequila along with Peach, orange juice, rosemary, etc. Just awesome!

Also we were shown live demo for cocktail preparations. Hoppipola signature cocktails like Hoppi Bath Tub and Drown in a Bucket were prepared in front of us, infact I had participated in helping them out in the preparation of Hoppi Bath Tub :) That was really fun-filled and informative.

SERVICE - - - - - The service as already said, was very warm and friendly. The servers were interactive and fun loving. I kept on asking the names of the dishes and every time they replied back with a smile. 

As per the concept note provided to me I can say the prices are pretty comfortable and it is around INR 1200 plus taxes for two.

SUMMARY - - - - - Here are my granular ratings:

Food quantity: 4.5/5

Food quality: 4/5

Food presentation: 5/5

Value for money*: 4/5

Ambiance: 5/5

Service: 5/5

* Value for money quotient was evaluated by checking out the price indication provided in our concept note, since our meal was complementary.

My overall rating comes close to 4.5 out of 5 which is just awesome I guess :)

CONCLUSION – I would like to thank Hoppipola management and Candid for this lovely invitation, we really had a great time. This is surely a place where you can just open up and be yourself every time you are here, there is something for everyone, for every type of individual, it’s scattered all over. I am glad that now Kolkata has got one Hoppipola. 

No one will lent you a magnifying glass to search the lost innocence and child in you, but Hoppipola does, it surely puts the effort and you need to make use of the elements to pull that off. Oh I guess after all these discussions my drinks are now all over! So, this is the place fellas. This place will surely help you recollect how to again be hoppi…eek… billions of blistering barnacles… I meant ‘happy’! :)

Cheers!