A Divine Fusion @ Pot O' Noodles, Lavelle
Asian food has always been my top pick ever since I decided to develop a taste for diverse trends and spices from status quo. Being a Bengali and hailing from Kolkata, the advent of Indo Chinese culture in the business districts has had a strong influence on our cuisine since the last few decades. Bangalore, off late has seen many a new entrant in the genre of Asian food, but not very has been able to capture the true essence of the Indo-Chinese food from the Chinese neighbourhoods of Kolkata or anything quite similar to other varieties of Asian food available in the city.
Pot O Noodles is not very new to the Bangalore culinary scene. With already an outlet in Indiranagar for almost a year now, the Lavelle Road outlet is their new entrant in the Central Business District. The food is Asian Fusion and very reminiscent of the Indo-Asian food I used to eat every day in Kolkata. There are unique experiments with Ramen in the form of a Ramen Burger which is yet to be explored by me, but I am quite confident will exceed my expectations like the dishes I tried here last week.
Two stalwarts in the hospitality industry-Himesh Arora and Shubhankar Dhar (from Esplanade fame and an acclaimed Chef himself) form the backbone of Pot O. The food here is unique and risky, and especially the Ramen and Noodles option is quite extensive. Flaunting an open sit-out from the corners with well-furnished Cabanas along the sides makes this place look like a contemporary Asian Shop house with bright and vibrant colours to add to its opulence.
We started with an Appetiser in Pork and an additional Sui Mai. The Roast Chilli Pork and the Prawn Sui Mai with Mushrooms set our path for the Pan Asian sojourn for the evening. I admired the way the fat of the Pork complimented the seasoning and added extra flavour to the dish. I did not need to use the Chilly Oil with the Sui Mai at all.
The Rou Jia Mos or the Chinese equivalent of a Hamburger was up next and we decided to go with the Pork Belly and the Panco Fried Mahi options. Being a sucker for red meat, I embellished on the Pork Belly Rou almost by myself. It was quite succulent and filling as a dish and can easily be ordered over for a quick lunch.
For Mains, we decided to stick to our Kolkata roots and order a very authentic Sir Fried Roast Pork with Broccoli, Bamboo Shoots and Bean Sprouts along with a generous serving of Mix Meat Fried Rice. We also ordered a Sea Food Ramen with Rice Noodles and Mushrooms in spicy broth. The Fried Rice took me back down memory lane to the street food of Kolkata and I relished every bite of it. We ended our meal with Apple and Cinnamon Roll with Ice Cream which was so delectable that I forgot to take pictures of the dish. I will visit them real soon to have a taste of their unique Ramen Burger and Donburi. They are available on platforms like Swiggy for home delivery around the CBD as well. Whenever you are craving Indo-Asian, Pot O is your destination to be.