I have no shame in admitting that I’m a carnivore to the core. Not that I don’t eat veggies at all. I do because I obviously have to take care of my health and we all know how nutritious vegetables are but that’s pretty much the only reason why I have them. And eating a pure vegetarian Oriental meal? Never in my life prior to our lunch meet at Stud!o, Novotel Kolkata’s newest Pan Asian restaurant. In fact, Stud!o is actually much more than a restaurant. It is more of a club with a youthful vibe, electric music, happening events and eclectic F&B offerings under the same roof. I had gone for the launch event of Stud!o and loved the food that was served so was really looking forward to trying out their Pan Asian specialties.
Stud!o is manned by chef Neelabh Sahay and he assured me that his vegetarian food would not make me miss the meats and fishes at all. Did he succeed? Pretty much!
We started off our meal with a refreshing lychee mocktail and then moved on to the starters – a tangy and spicy Thai Spiced Vegetables and Veg Tempura with a spicy sweet and sour sauce. Next came the Cucumber and Pickled Radish Maki followed by Vegetable Baoji and Water Chestnut and Chive Dumplings. There are very few places in Kolkata where you can get good sushi and Stud!o is definitely one of them. I found the Veg Baoji slightly bland for my taste. The soup was quite unique – Udon noodle broth. Chestnut flavored, light and comforting.
To me, the star of the meal was the Jasmine Rice with Thai Green Curry. I like Thai food and Thai Green Curry is a big favorite. I’ve never had a pure vegetarian green curry before and this one was beautiful with the addition of vegetables, peas, aubergine and sweet basil. The lightly scented Jasmine Rice went with it perfectly. There were other mains as well – Mapo Tofu, Stir Fried Greens with Yaki Meshi and Chilli Garlic Noodles. All of them very good but I will be slightly partial to the Jasmine Rice and Thai Green Curry.
For dessert, we had Tab tim samsee, a Thai dessert of sweet coconut milk served on a bed of crushed ice. I found it really sweet and since I’m not a fan of coconut based desserts, skipped having the entire bowl. I polished off the Galangal poached pear with mascarpone cream and chocolate soil within seconds though. It was pure bliss!
All the dishes we tasted that day are now part of Stud!o’s menu so you can go and try them for yourself. I’m still not a convert to veg food but I now do think that there are some really good vegetarian Oriental dishes out there and it is not always about the meats and fishes. Thanks Chef Neelabh for changing my opinion 🙂