Probably the best ever food (and restaurant) in Kolkata.
We've dined at some of the best Asian restaurants across the world – Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Toronto, San Francisco, Dubai, and of course, Kolkata. And after a rather long hard look at our experience, Vintage Asia ranks right up there in the Top 5 in the world (and I mean Michelin star places, top gastropubs, and impossible to get into places like Zuma in Dubai included). Hands down. Because of the food. Awesome. And more so, the service, which was world standard, no, gold standard anywhere. And a bit of ambiance and the rest of it thrown in. Overall? Magic.
We booked a table for five for a special occasion – my father in law's 75th birthday. And, in deed, Vintage Asia did make it special. We don't live in Kolkata, so this is an expat opinion...
The place/ambiance: The hotel is so Dubai, or let's say, Florida, or Sao Paulo, or anywhere. Glitzy, glam, typical JWM. (The JWM Marquis in Dubai is a lot less glam, and there's nothing wrong with that. And the JWM in Hong Kong is just right. The way a good flagship should be). JWM Kolkata seemed a bit over the top I would say... But I guess they're targeting a certain audience...
The restaurant is quiet, sophisticated, almost understated, compared to the bright outside. So, yes, rather a welcoming place. Tables nicely set apart, a feeling of privacy, rather good.
We started with:
A couple of orders each of Har Gow and Chicken Shitake Shumai. We did want the Pak Choi wrapped chicken but were told the chef was advising against it for that night (didn't understand why, though?). Anyways, the Har Gow shrimp dumpling was simply fantastic. A tasty morsel of wonderfully flavored shrimp in a soft, translucent wrapper.
The Chicken Shumai (worldwide it is called Shiu Mai) was also very good. The soft and tender chicken with the melt in your mouth mushroom was amazing. Looking back over our dinner, perhaps, we should have had more dimsums…
The dim-sums come with four different dips or sauces – each one different, each one memorable and amazingly tasty. We hung on to those for throughout our meal.
For mains we had:
Gai young – roast chicken from northern Thailand. This was really nice tender bbq chicken dish, mildly spiced, with hints of basil, coriander and more. Gai Young ir originally thai street food, but here at Vintage Asia, they took it to another level.
Maps tofu: is tofu with young corn, celery, and flavored with peppercorn – was OK, an energetic attempt at making tofu seem interesting. The tofu was set in a nice little curry of sorts, and made tangy, mildly spicy and quite delicious. Great dish for vegetarians.
The chilly prawn: cantonese butter milk prawn, with birds eye chili, and laced with the energy of curry leaf was outstanding. Large, luscious, lovely to look at, this was a seductive dish that stood apart and led the way. If you like prawns, do order this. This was recommended by Suvankar, and we appreciate his word on this.
We had our mains with Wok tossed noodles with carrots, beans, and spring onion. Ordinary sounding anywhere else. Nicely above the rest here. Lightly tossed, beautifully flavoured, the mix was perfect.
And the 'Burnt garlic spring onion' fried rice? Magic. Hard to describe, this fried rice was a perfect companion to the rest of the meal. The rice was done perfect, and the burnt garlic added a zing to it.
Finally – the Pork belly - spiced, caramelised, with pineapple, crispy garlic. Dozens of people have praised the pork belly dish at Asia Vintage as the best they’ve had, the best in all of India etc. This was our weakest link. It was too sweet, too clawing, too trying to please every one, and sadly, not 'trimmed' enough – meaning, more fat, almost than meat. Don’t get me wrong – the pork was cooked to a goodness that is rare, but it got killed by sugar, like a poor diabetes patient. We liked it, the quality of the cooking, the base spices, the texture was great. Except for the overdose of sugar. For us, for me, this was a bit of a let down, particularly, after I had read dozens of hugely positive reviews. But perhaps, having lived outside Calcutta for so many years, I have lost my rosogolla tooth.
And the tea, throughout the meal, is just a nice accompaniment, washing down the separate flavors, clearing the way for the next wonderful surprise.
The service was fantastic. I mean, really, fantastic. Aniruddha and Suvankar take a bow. You guys rocked, and Aniruddha, do come back for an encore round of cheers. The tea guy? Cool. Everyone else, including the people who welcome and usher you in, every one – just fantastic. I’d go back there just to see that quality of smooth jazz-like service unfold before our eyes and transport us to a wonderful place yet again. If I would give a 5/5 for food, surely, Zomato, let’s do a 7/5 or like a 150% for service!
The restaurant team were kind enough to bring out a special cake for my father in law's 75th, and what was even more wonderful was that how guests from neighboring tables came over to wish him. Overall, it just made his day!
If you do imbibe, this food goes rather well with a very chilled beer. And they do have that handy.
Vintage Asia isn’t cheap at all. But worth every penny, cent or paisa. Or HK$. Their menu on Zomato, for example, has no prices, is poor on describing the food, but these are rather small niggles.
Go there. If you live in Kolkata, it’s your chance to experience one of the best restaurants in the world without buying a ticket on Emirates. Three, no, four out of five of us said it was the best ever restaurant meal they've had in Kolakata. Ever. And these folks are rather well experienced at the top places anywhere.
If you are visiting, do try it. It’s world class food. The resentations are great, the atmosphere dignified, and If you just want to see for yourself how amazing food+fantastic service = absolute magic, grab a reservation now. And grab a first class experience at Vintage Asia. Like a good vintage of wine, Vintage Asia is a treasure in the city of joy.
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