My first memory of The Wall dates back to 2011. On Shashthi afternoon, my friend A and I decided to head to this Pan-Asian boutique restaurant for lunch. We went in at 2.30 and came out at 4.45. And I didn’t eat for the whole of Saptami and a large chunk of Ashtami, I kid you not! That is what The Wall does to you. I find their food exceptionally brilliant and that is one place where I can head to again and again. So when I was invited as a part of the Kolkata Food Bloggers to sample the menu for their upcoming Japanese food festival, my excitement knew no bounds.
Since I have extremely high regards for The Wall and the standard of food they have set, my expectations as a reviewer (and not just as a diner) from them was also sky high. And they did deliver, didn’t they! The concept of a Japanese festival in Kolkata, if not novel, is a very very rare initiative and as an ardent Japanese food lover I was oh-so-eager to take a glance at all those items that would form an integral part of the menu during this festival.
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| Crabstick Salad |
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| Miso Ramen Noodles Broth |
The items on offer are Ebi Kimuchi (Prawn with Japanese homemade sauce, 575/-), Ekkaa Yakumi (Dice Squid cooked with pickled vegetables and Japanese seasoning, 495/-), Kaisen Kushiyaki (Grilled Seagood skewers with a plum dip and salad, 495/-), Kushikatsu (Stuffed white fish in skewers served with a bulldog sauce, 575/-), Mushi Tori No Kurosu an Kake (Steamed Chicken with a tangy veg sauce, 425/-), Yasai no Nikumaki (Veg and Mushroom wrapped in thin pork fillet, 425/-), Lamb Buttayaki (Sliced Lamb cooked with Japanese Soy, Butter and Mushroom, 425/-) and the list is quite endless.
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| Kushi Katsu |
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| Yasai no Nikumaki |
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| Kaisen Kushiyaki |
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| Mushi Tori no Kurosu an Kake |
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| Ekkaa Yakumi |
But what the focus is on is the concept of Bento Box with special ones designed for kids keeping their tastes and portion sizes in mind. A traditional vegetarian bento box comprises of Salad, Sushi, Tofu Kimchi. Yasai Miso and Veg Chahan (725/-) whereas the non-vegetarian one comes with the first two, Yakitori, Ebi Kimchi and Non-veg Chahan (975/-)
A tête-à-tête with Chef Sushanta Sengupta, whose brainchild this festival is, revealed his understanding of the pulse of a Bengali food-lover. “Bengalis are the most culinarily adventurous community of India and they have all the reasons to like Jap food as its main ingredients are rice and fish! But of course, such an alien taste doesn’t develop overnight but Japanese food has that wow factor that can slowly and steadily make people warm up to it.”
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| Photograph provided by The Wall |
Well, I don’t need time to warm up to Japanese food. It had me the day I put the my first Sushi in my mouth some 8 years back. And that is why I’ll be the first one to head to this festival when they open it on the 14th of this month. You too book your dates because it’s not something you’d want to give a miss at any cost.
Venue: The Wall, Sarat Bose Road
Timing: 12-3.30 pm (Lunch), 7.30-10.30 pm (Dinner)
Meal for two: 1,500/- + taxes (approximately)
PS: This was an invited review and the post is completely a personal account of the
blogger based on her experience. No monetary compensation was involved.