This Kolkata cocktail bar and kitchen serves all things oriental

The de-facto woman ruler of the Tang dynasty, the only woman emperor of China, Wu Zetian was the inspiration behind chef Muskan Sethi’s Asian cocktail bar and kitchen, Boo-Tang, with a wordplay of ‘boo’ giving a Gen-Z ambience to the Camac Street diner.

The neatly done, minimal and rustic décor was welcoming enough for us to take a seat overlooking the city. The bright, hand-painted walls behind the bar counter gave the right blob of colour it needed. We settled down with a gin-based cocktail with soju foam, Sabai sabai, paired with a Cream cheese and truffle dim sum. If you are a truffle lover, this is a must-try. Don’t forget to pair it with chilli crisps and the ginger scallion sauce.

We tried an authentic steamed egg dish, Chin taan, next. Topped with a portion of flavoursome Pad kra pao (stir-fried hot basil chicken, a forever favourite of ours) this dish was a delight. The steamed egg, more like a jiggly savoury custard or pudding, paired well with the spicy Thai chicken stir-fry. If you are always counting your calories, this protein-packed meal will be to your liking. We also tried sweet and sticky Yakitori chicken skewers, which had juicy chicken thigh pieces stacked on a wooden skewer, in between crunchy grilled pieces of leek. The yakitori arrived on a live grill and the charr added flavours.

For the mains, we had the comforting, Boo-Tang seafood tempura ramen, a special dish from Muskan. The steaming hot bowl of udon noodles dunked in a lemongrass infused broth, felt like a warm hug, with additional crunch lent by tempura fried prawns, calamari and chunks of bekti. Among the hosts of shoyu and miso ramen available at most places, this was indeed a very refreshing flavour, especially on a rainy afternoon.

Although we felt full, the wholesome lunch called for a dessert, and lo and behold! The chilli crisp ice cream, made its way to us. The sweet vanilla ice paired with homemade chilli crisps and a bit of chilli oil, gave us that perfect fiery kick.

Meal for two: INR 1,500 onwards (without alcohol), INR 2,500 onwards (with alcohol)