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Take a culinary roller coaster ride

Take a culinary roller coaster ride
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After getting married, the first place I relocated to in Bengal was Darjeeling. The misty hills, beautiful colonial properties and soul-satisfying food was all love at first sight. My college education was in Sikkim and this place felt so homelike. Momos and green tea

was like a staple evening snack on most days. What we got made at our bungalow were momos of whole wheat, which we used to eat in monstrous quantities.

After many years of being in Kolkata and unable to go to the hills for more than 2 years due to the COVID lockdown and precautions, I craved to try the best hill food in the city. The choice was not tough. When it comes to authentic Nepali or Tibetan food in Kolkata, veterans swore by 'Doma Wang's Blue Poppy Thakali'! I thought it may be overhyped so I had to go and see it for myself.

FIRST IMP RESSION

The 'Blue Poppy Thakali' located at 4/1 Middleton Street at Kolkata offers authentic Nepalese, Tibetan, Bhutanese and Chinese dishes. The place is simple. The menu is authentic and reasonable.

THE ORDER

Sel Roti platter (Rs 250), Chicken Phaley (Rs 190), Mushroom Cheese Kothay (Rs 250), Ema Datchi (Rs 220), Thenthuk (Rs 320 - addon chicken: Rs 20, eggs: Rs 20, prawns: Rs 30), Nepali Chicken Thali (Rs 330), Chicken Thukpa (Rs 190), Japanese Cheesecake (Rs 350), Custard filled Choux (Rs 100).

AFTER TASTE

I started with the Chicken Thukpa. It was a heartwarming dish containing noodles in a chicken broth with shredded pieces of chicken, onions, cabbage, carrots and greens. It was authentic!

This was followed by Mushroom Cheese Kothay. It is a signature Nepali dish in which steamed momos are fried on one side. The Kothay was soft and super fresh and the cheese, paneer and thinly sliced mushroom filling was to die for. As for the sauce, it was Dalle chilli sauce, which can bring out best in the tangy pot-sticker Kothay flavours like a loving spouse. The Dalle chilli is usually grown in Sikkim and North Bengal is one of the hottest chilies in the world. It is not for the faint-hearted but it is so flavourful that you yearn for more in every bite.

Sel Roti is a traditional Nepali sweet ring shaped fried rice bread. This fennel seeds infused sel roti was served hot with super spicy Aloo dum and Mullo Ka Achaar (radish pickle). Spot on!

The Sha Phaley is a Tibetan dish that looks like a pie. The Chicken Sha Phaley I tried had well-seasoned minced chicken and cabbage stuffed in a pie shaped refined flour covering that was deep-fried, sliced and served with the Dalle chilli sauce. I was told that the Dalle chilli sauce is made fresh every few hours. The Sha Phaley was crisp and flaky on the outside, tender gooey on the inside.

The Nepali Thali consisted of rice, kali dal and a very flavourful chicken curry served with the mullo ka achaar, peanut chutney, curd, salad, papad and some fermented greens. Though the Thali was good, I missed the Gundruk which I believe is the heart of Nepalese cuisine and should have been a part of the Thali.

I also ordered the Bhutanese national dish Ema Dachi or Ema Datshi with the Thali. It is a hot chilli peppers and cheese dish but this one did not have as many whole chilies as I had in the authentic dish in Bhutan. However, it went well with the steamed rice.

The Tibetan main course that I tried was the dry mixed non-veg Thenthuk. It consisted of hand-rolled wheat flour-based flattened squares that had been cooked in boiling water and after straining were stir-fried with chicken, eggs, prawns, shredded carrots, spring onions and cabbage with mild spices. It is like Italian pasta or Kothu paratha of South India in terms of texture.

For the desserts, I had the Japanese cheesecake. It was served warm and had a very fluffy texture when compared to the usual European cheesecake. This was followed by the custard topped and filled Choux. The choux (pronounced Choo like in Jimmy Choo) was actually out of the world. It was airy, light and crispy salted pastry and the sweet cold creamy custard filling made it truly divine. It was however a little more crispy than the Korean Choux I have tried earlier, but was a delicious dessert.

WHAT I LOVED

Everything. Very few mistakes, if any.

VERDICT

So next time if you want to fly to Bagdogra just for the food, save some effort and head to Blue Poppy Thakali for genuine and delicious Eastern Himalayan cuisine.

(The columnist is a food connoisseur who loves experimenting with culinary delights and a career bureaucrat in the IRS Income Tax)

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