Kolkata gets a taste of ‘Bizarre’ at Salt Lake’s Primarc Square

Love tasting local food while travelling? Now, you can try the street food of Asian countries in one place! And for this, you certainly won’t need a visa! As a New Year gift, Speciality Restaurants, which owns and operates the Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta chains, launched Bizarre in Salt Lake’s Primarc Square, bringing the street food of Asian markets to Kolkata. Ahead of the launch, My Kolkata took a walkthrough and sampled some dishes from the menu. Here’s what to expect

Though the menu is all about Asian street food, the decor takes you to a world of colourful chaos just like one would experience in the markets of Thailand, Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam

The interiors of the 172-seater dine den spread across 10,000sq ft features elements like murals and lanterns representing the cultures of Asian countries

The chain has launched Bizarre as a buffet-only restaurant, offering Asian cuisine through multiple live kitchens. Highlights include a sushi bar, dim sum station, dedicated counters for bao and Mongolian food, dessert section and walk-in bottle bar

Guests can enjoy an array of dishes from the buffet spread while watching the food being freshly prepared in the live counters. The restaurant boasts specialised chefs for every cuisine. In pics (right), the Veg Rainbow Roll, which is as delightful to eat as it is to admire. The sushi rice gets it blue shade from the butterfly pea flower while the colourful veggies add vibrant hues

The tasting began with Vietnamese Pho soup, considered to be Vietnam’s national dish. Next on the menu was (right) a Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad, that brought together the perfect balance of sweet, savoury, and tangy notes. A sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds enhance the texture

We moved on to a (right) tangy and smoky Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Prawn made with lemongrass oil, chilli and lemons and and (left) Indonesian Cottage Cheese Satay marinated and grilled in spices

For the mains, we headed to the buffet counter to try (bottom left) the chewy Japanese noodles, Yaki Udon, stir-fried with chicken and veggies. The (top right) Japanese Blue Pea Butter Garlic Fried Rice with Edamame was a visual delight. Among the curries, the (top left) Asian Greens in a spicy Guilin Chilli Sauce, and the (bottom right) Prawns in coconut milk Balinese Curry won our hearts

From the dessert spread, we opted for Matcha Frosted Eclairs. The eclair is topped with a mildly sweet matcha cream with caramel oozing from the centre with each bite. The caramel surprise after the crunch, replacing the chocolate, elevated the classic dessert

On the opening of the first outlet of Bizarre Asia, Anjan Chatterjee, founder and chairman-managing director, Speciality Restaurants said: ‘Bizarre Asia will come up in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. But before any new launch, I like to start with Kolkata. This is a new format and the idea is to go bizarre! We want to serve the best of Asian street markets and give the feel of the local food in a buffet restaurant under one roof. This is Speciality Restaurants’ gift to the City of Joy for the New Year’

Chef Rajesh Dubey heads the kitchen of this Asian multi-cuisine restaurant. Throwing light on the offerings, the chef said: ‘We have chefs who specialise in the Asian cuisine we serve, and each dish is prepared to maintain the authentic taste. To achieve this, we import various ingredients. Our goal is to transport diners to local eateries of these countries through our food. However, some modifications have been made to cater to the Indian palate, as certain dishes, especially Japanese ones, might feel a bit mild to us. But we can make the dish in the authentic style if the diner prefers’

Bizarre Asia is located on the third floor of Primarc Square in Salt Lake Sector 3, Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700098. Open daily for lunch and dinner, the buffet begins at Rs 745 (plus taxes)