You do not have to travel to South East Asia for the best of Asian street food. You can simply drive to Vintage Asia, the signature Pan Asian restaurant of JW Marriott Kolkata to savour the same.
What can you expect from this limited period Asian Street Food festival?
Streets of South East Asia are very popular for tropical fruits (some very exotic ones) and they are the best palate cleansers and energy boosters while you are walking through the lanes in the sweltering heat.
Sweet Chilli Cashew Nut Salad
Sweet Chilli Cashew Nut Salad is just that. Served in a martini glass, it has melon balls, dragon fruit balls and a medley of other fruits with cashew nuts and all beautifully macerated in a soy chilli and palm sugar syrup.
Chiang Mai is a city in Northern Thailand and many dishes from this region have found its way in the streets of all of South East Asia, especially Bangkok.
Chiang Mai Crispy Prawns
Try the Chiang Mai Crispy Prawns and you will not be disappointed. The sweetest and the softest prawns ever, they are crispy fried in a thin batter and they literally melt in the mouth. This dish is the kind that you would want a repeat over and over again. Grilled Pineapple Tofu, Isan Spiced Tossed Sausages, Vietnamese rice Rolls and many more quick finger food style dishes are on the offer.
When you talk about Asian street food, you cannot miss soups. A variety of noodle soups, clear soups, meaty soups and ramens form the backbone of this Asian street food festival.
Flat Noodle Soup
Singaporean Bakuteh
Vintage Asia is known to serve very flavourful soups and living up to their reputation, the Flat Noodle Soup and the Singaporean Bakuteh are must tries. The latter is a staple in Singapore and some parts of mainland China in the winters. The Bakuteh comes with meaty mushrooms and pork belly and the stock is made by soaking some dried herbs, roots and berries (which quite taste like our gooseberry). But what gives the stock its true depth is the Dried Scallops. Just chewing on those Dried Scallops creates such strong umami in the mouth and that flavour hits all your senses. The same flavour comes out subtly in the stock of the Bakuteh. Vegetarians can go for a Pumpkin Coconut Soup or Vegetarian Flat Noodle Soup.
Ramen Noodle Soup
The main course has a number of sensational dishes. The Ramen Noodle Soup has the typical 24 hours soaked boiled egg, which gives it a strong flavour from within and then the stock of the ramen has an intense smokiness from the thinly sliced turkey ham. Lon Tong Sayur comes from the streets of Indonesia, which is essentially a rice cake curry. Thick slices of rice cake is served with a thin Coconut Curry and vegetables. This fragrant Coconut Curry is the best bet for a vegetarian diner, and, even if one prefers non-vegetarian. Singaporean Prawn Laksa, Sukhumvit Stir Fried Rice, Chicken with Mushroom and Lemongrass and many more from the main course is there for your choice.
Nasi Goreng
The Indonesian Nasi Goreng is a must try amongst the main course. Served with a prawn cracker, this rice dish packs a punch.
Beijing Roasted Duck
There are two showstoppers in this festival. One is the Beijing Roasted Duck. Crispy skin duck is shredded and then served with paper think pancakes. It is an interesting DIY like most Peking ducks and you can make your own rolls with cucumber and spring rolls, some shredded duck and a generous spoonful of the sweet plum sauce. It is crispy and tender, sweet and sour and everything together in one dish. What a joyful jumble of flavours!
Bhekti in Chilli Tamarind
The second one is Bhekti in Chilli Tamarind. Kolkata Bhekti, cut into thin fingers is brought together with a spicy tangy tamarind sauce and the crispy batter of the fish along with that sauce is lip-smacking delicious.
Sticky Mango Rice
End your meal with sticky rice served with sweet mangoes or Escendol, a very common dessert from the streets of Southeast Asia.
A meal for 2 would cost approximately INR 3000 plus tax. The festival is from the 8th June until the 17th of June 2019.
For someone who's run two restaurants, being a baker and cook par excellence comes easily to Madhushree . When she's not eating out, she's organizing her own pop ups or experimenting with regional recipes. Her experiments with food and her recipes are part of Pikturenama , where she's a co founder.
