With the winters setting in Kolkata, steaming bowls of soup and Asian fare, to keep one warm
and cosy, are the need of the hour. Anticipating the chilly weather, Yauatcha in Kolkata has rolled
out a new menu called Taste Of Yauatcha, which offers a mix of signature dishes as well as
several new entrants. The menu, focused on lunch, pays tribute to the Chinese culture of drinking
tea while eating dim sums, and it is exactly how we are welcomed. Sipping on a full-bodied tea from the Ging Tea House in Darjeeling, we start simply with a bowl of pickled kimchi and sweet chilli sauce.
Get some dim sum
Primarily focusing on modern Cantonese food, the menu has a five-course meal with all kinds of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes on offer. After munching on some kimchi, the new wholesome bowl of Asian green soup comes to the table. Loaded with tofu, pak choy, Chinese cabbage, bamboo shoots and chicken, we cannot help but take a few spoonfuls of the broth. The colourful mixed salad with lotus root comes next, and even though it looks really simple, offers a burst of flavours. Iceberg lettuce and pomelo is tossed with lotus roots in vinegar to make it slightly sour, as it tantalises our taste buds.
An Asian meal is incomplete without dim sums and just like a grand feast, the dumplings in green, purple and white arrive in three different boxes. Encased in perfectly steamed dough, while the open green dumpling is made of vegetable chives and garnished pomegranate seeds, the purple cover is made from purple cabbage, and has a subtle spicy mix of chicken and coriander. The third is a crystal har gau dumpling, which is simply a mix of prawns and bamboo shoots. The Chicken Char Sui bao is irresistible, served as a fluffy steamed bun, stuffed with roasted chicken marinated in BBQsauce — two bites in a serving easily fills you up.
Authentic Chinese cuisine has all kinds of sweet and spicy food, and the flavour depends on the province. However, for the main course, Yauatcha has retained some of its signature dishes. Served with Steamed Jasmine rice, the Schezwan Mabo Tofu, Braised chicken with mushroom in claypot and Stir-fry Kam Heyong Lamb make a complete meal. While the tofu preparation is a spicy curry variant, the braised chicken with mushroom is dry, and has a smoky flavour — both are Sichuan preparations; on the other hand, the perfectly cooked lamb is mildly spiced, and is best had with the rice.
Fruity fromage
If Yauatcha is known for its Asian fare, there are many diners who also rave about their desserts. And we aren’t surprised, because as soon as we taste the Chocolate pebble and the Red fruit fromage, we love them. The decadent chocolate dessert is the restaurant’s version of the classic mud pie, served with vanilla ice cream. The fromage was visually appealing, and it tastes even better, served in two variants. While one was a semi-liquid combination of strawberries and raspberries, the other was a frozen preparation with mascarpone — and together, they made for a heavenly combination.
Available from noon to 4 pm.
The vegetarian menu is priced at Rs 988+ taxes per person.
The non-vegetarian menu is priced at Rs 1,088 + taxes per person.