House Of Dimsums, Ballygunge, Kolkata

Restaurant Name: House Of Dimsums, Ballygunge, Kolkata
Phone: +919830320077, +919836620777
Address: 14, Bright St, Park Circus, Ballygunge, Kolkata 700019 West Bengal India
Time: 12 Noon – 10:30 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 450
Cuisines: Chinese, Thai
Facilities: Delivery Only, No Seating Available

The city that comes closest to my mind, known for its “culture of congestion” after New York, is erstwhile Calcutta, today’s Kolkata — a city that has seen growth and transplants in attitudinal seedlings. Reeling under a constant state of renewal, it undergoes fascinating transformation and feverish creative grinds to churn out something extraordinary.

Its culinary cauldron is no exception. Kolkata’s love for Chinese cuisine was born from the oldest Chinese settlement in the country. Now it is as much a sensibility as is its topography. And with time, temperaments, expectations, this is exaggerated to this dense pack of experiences that are idiosyncratic and stylish with an avant-garde appeal. So when a vegetarian friend suggested I try the House of Dimsums, a modern day Thai & Chinese cloud kitchen, I was not surprised.

House Of Dimsums, Ballygunge, Kolkata: Food

The menu raises unconventional hope. They range from an array of dim sum, steamed savory rice dumplings from classic crystal, Sui Mai, Hargao with turnof-the-century techniques and precision from ancient Chinese kitchens to an urban mandate of utterly contemporary, chic assembly of eclectic ingredients heralded as bastions of cool. Of course there’s no tea service or variety of buns or bao and rolls. And yes, the non vegetarian selection seems a little handicapped with only chicken and prawn options.

The sides and the mains make up with ample choice, criss-crossing between mainland China and fragrant Thailand curries. And the staples of rice and noodles are jigsaws of permutations and combinations in style, technique and tastes.

We are skewed to the vegetarian exuberance for once, choosing a Veg dim sum platter (₹475), Spicy braised bamboo shoot (₹350), Stir-fried French beans (₹300), Veg meal for one (₹350) and a Seafood meal for one (₹450).

Plus & Minus:

The delivery has no complaints, except that an over-72-minute delivery time for a toss up meal is a bit much. We blame it on the steaming dumplings, even when our choice was not complicated. The plastic packaging is industrial and nothing fancy, with no hygiene markers to note. The first peek into the colour coded vegetarian dim sum box is worthy of eye-rolls; a set of six, two each of crunchy water chestnut, carrots, black fungus and coriander bits in the translucent crystal cover, flashy green skin with the fragrant chive and celery, water chestnut and carrots filling and the inky blue outside gooey cream cheese drizzled with truffle oil and tiny bites of Shiitake – all make a boisterous start, with a perky chilli oil and soy dipping sauce.

Both our vegetable stir-fries of sliced bamboo shoot and blanched French beans coincidentally come in pungent Sichuanstyle chilli and fermented bean, Toban sauce, perhaps would have been delightful without being doused in the umami of too much sauce.

The concepts meal-for-one come in convenient and fuss-free plastic trays and are excellent combination choices for a single diner at relatable pricing. Our veg meal consisted of Shanghai style celery and water chestnut Mantou potstickers, silken diced tofu claypot and smooth soft Fujian pan fried noodles with vegetables. For the seafood meal for one, we chose chef’s special Spicy prawn hargao, prawn bites in zesty Mahlak sauce in light dim sum casing, steamed beckti in fermented black bean sauce and a spice laced Shiitake and Edamame fried rice.