When Monkey Bar opened in Kolkata a year back, chef Manu Chandra had come down and I remember, at the bloggers preview meet, one question that practically all of us asked him was “When are you bringing The Fatty Bao to Kolkata’? His answer was “Hopefully soon’. One year down the line, The Fatty Bao, opens its doors on December 4th. Located on the 8th floor of Fort Knox, Camac Street, the 75-seater restaurant promises a vibrant izakaya or Japanese gastropub experience along with a noodle-shop inspired menu. 

The Fatty Bao is credited for giving a mouth-watering makeover to the humble steamed bun or Bao with modern flavours and fillings. The menu however has a lot more than just Baos. Think sushi rolls, dim sums, salads, hearty bowls of ramen, robatayaki, asian curries etc. 

Raise The Bao

We started off our tasting session with sushi rolls, dim sums, four varieties of Baos and salads. The Char Siu Bao, filled with pork belly and green apple kimchi, and flavoured with BBQ sauce was my favorite followed by the spicy Grilled Sambal Chicken Bao which has a sambal, soy, lemongrass and scallion filling. 

For those that love spicy food, the Yum Nua or Thai Beef Salad – a mix of cherry tomatoes, bird’s-eye chillies, cucumbers and herbs tossed with flash-seared fillet is a must try. I also loved the Duck Nachos and fried Wasabi Prawns. Vegetarians will love the Wild Mushrooms and Truffle Oil Dim Sum, Baked Wanton Cups filled with stir fried corn kernels, water-chestnut, edamame and scallion, Brie Tempura, Exotic Mushroom Ramen and Lotus Root in Thai Green Curry. 

Pork lovers, visit for the PB & J – four twice-cooked slices of pork belly, rendered down to the perfect ratio of meat to fat, glazed with a hint of sweet and savoury miso. And perfect for this season is a hot bowl of comforting Chasu Ramen with slow cooked pork stock, bacon, soy and fresh garlic. 

The dessert selection at The Fatty Bao will make all the fatties and non-fatties very happy. Zen Forest is an exotic presentation of yuzu parfait, black sesame sponge, green tea moss, beetroot and black pepper sorbet, sesame nougatine, chocolate twigs and microgreens, while the Japanese Cheesecake is a light, fluffy, soft cake with sour cherries and vanilla ice cream. And if you’re a chocolate lover, have the Cocoa Caramel – a mix of milk chocolate cream, hazelnut praline crisps, flourless chocolate cake, toasted meringue, salted caramel gel and salted caramel ice cream that will take you straight to chocolate heaven. 

The Fatty Bao opens on 4th Dec, 2017

8^th Floor, 901A, Fort Knox Building, Camac Street, Kolkata.