The Blue Poppy

Critic´s Review

• Food: 3 / 5
• Service: 3 / 5
• Decor: 2 / 5

-By Salmoli Mukerji

You would have heard this name already, if you are a vigilant foodie in Kolkata. What's new is their branch at Salt Lake - tucked inside the fortress-like, Gorkha Bhawan, opposite the boisterous City Centre in DD block.

DECOR: 2

There is no decor. First glance would make you write off the place as a college canteen. Clean, comfortable tables and chairs, perfectly chilling airconditioning and welcoming smiles of the family of three girls. Accessorising the space are Doma Wang and her elder daughter Sachiko Seth's tattoos and the younger Sonam's pink girly fixation! Don't give up yet.

FOOD: 3

Wait till you see the menu. And let the mother-daughter (Doma-Sachiko) combination whip up a riot of authentic flavours for you. There's an energy to the place which is appetizing and makes you happy. On first attempt, came the steamed Chicken and Pork momos (Rs.80), eight to a plate with homemade red chilli sauce. Perfect, with moist fillings of textured mince, flavoured with finely chopped onions and fresh coriander, all steamed in its own juices. Another version - smoky wok fried, with a dash of sweetness in the red chilli sauce is the Pan Fried (Rs.100). The Pork or Chicken Meifoon Soup (Rs. 90) - a whole meal with a hearty stock, with slivers of hand torn chicken or slices of roast pork, Thai meifoon, delicately flavoured with salt, pepper, and chopped spring onions and coriander, was delicious.

PLUS and MINUS

Skip the rest of the menu and go straight for the Tibetan, Bhutanese and Nepali selections. The Tibetan picnic special, vegetable phalay (Rs.40) we ordered were stuffed with minced vegetables, served deep-fried was fluffy and scrumptious,rnresembling the Italian Calzone. Our next order was the crunchy version of Tibetan chili pork - Shapta (sha is meat and ta is fry in Tibetan) (Rs. 120) - the scrapings of roast pork were delicious, and came from an easy recipe of stir frying in fresh chopped juicy tomatoes, silky onions, green chillies and voila! The Bhutanese Ema Dasi or Q Dasi (Rs. 80) - chilly cheese or potato in cheese came with a combination of sharp yak cheese on request, but for the unadventurous a regular portion is cooked in a mix of local Amul cheese. A great hit on the menu are the typical Nepali thalis both vegetarian and non vegetarian, which we did not try with Gundruk - the dry fermented rye greens simmered in a soup, Kinema - fermented soyabeans in gravy and the Nepali style pork curry in coriander flavoured thin sauce. What a meal at The Blue Poppy will leave you asking for more is desserts - but they don't have any and the limitations in vegetarian option is also evident.