The new hotspot in Salt Lake brings dishes from 14 Asian countries to Kolkata

A non-vegetarian dine-in in Salt Lake always excites us, no matter what, and if it is a Pan-Asian diner, it is even better. This new restaurant, Soy Joy, from the house of Babu Culture, serves dishes from not one or two but 14 Asian countries. Some of the dishes are rarely found in Kolkata, let alone be savoured.

Why Salt Lake's newest Pan-Asian diner Soy Joy will stand out amond the foodies?

This is exactly what Sumanta Chakrabarti, the restaurant’s consultant chef, kept in mind while curating the menu — give Kolkata a taste of something new. “I have curated very comforting Burmese dishes and introduced items steamed in banana leaf, pandan leaf, and lotus leaf. There are quite a few teppanyaki items too, which have a mix of Japanese and Korean flavours.” We asked co-owner Mridula Das Mazumder about their decision to venture into a Pan-Asian diner after their very successful chain of Bengali restaurants. She says, “We always wanted to bring something for the younger generations, keeping in mind my children and what they like.”

Starting with a fresh salad, Kani kama, boasting sweet crabsticks, crunchy cucumber, carrots and greens, was a great decision. The popping texture of tobiko was unmissable. The Blue pea spicy asparagus is a must-try here. The creamy dim sums taste best with a dash of the chef’s special chilli oil. One cannot ever go wrong with Asparagus tempura cream cheese uramaki. The tang and sweetness of the cream cheese, along with the crunch of asparagus and tempura bits, create a blissful blast of flavours.

But the real stars of the show are the teppanyaki, and we tried the chicken and fish variants. Dak galbi featured a gochujang sauce-spiced melt-in-the-mouth chicken skewer, with a side of fresh salad, exotic veggies, and a delectable fried rice with sticky rice. The Indonesian Otak otak had a similar plating and sides, except that the protein came in the form of bhetki wrapped in banana leaves. Marinated in lemongrass and lemon leaves, the delectable fish was served with a side of tangy, sweet and spicy chilli oil.

We always find succour in soupy noodles, and the Grilled chicken teriyaki ramen bowl was definitely a comfort item. The bowl of ramen boasting thick, flavourful broth, veggies, and slices of egg provided great relief in the scorching heat.

But if you ask which item was our favourite, it had to be the Cantonese lotus leaf wrapped fried rice. The insanely fragrant jasmine fried rice, flavoured with soy and oyster sauces, Shaoxing cooking wine and sesame oil, is cooked twice over. Once the fried rice is cooked, it is wrapped tightly in lotus leaves and steamed, letting the rice soak up all the flavours. You can savour it on its own or pair it with your favourite veggies, fish, chicken, or pork.

We ended on a sweet note with the evergreen Thai coconut-palm sugar custard served with a scoop of tender coconut ice cream.

Meal for two: INR 700+

From 12 pm to 10.30 pm

At Soy Joy, Sector-II, Salt Lake

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