The first taste of London’s Michelin-star restaurant was an Orange and Chilli (orange juice, lemon grass, chilli and mint) and a Tokyo Cooler. “Even if the bar was serving alcohol, I’d still go with these mocktails,” said Swastika, taking sips from both the tall glasses. The 19ft-long bar occupies place of pride in the 151-seater Yauatcha on the fifth floor of Quest. “The decor is simple, not OTT. I like that the bar is bang in front overlooking the alfresco and not hidden away in a corner!” said the Tolly star.

Swastika picked up her chopsticks like a pro! “I learnt to use the chopsticks when I was pregnant with plenty of free time and nothing to do!” she laughed as she tucked into the Prawn Cheung Fun. Next up was the Truffle Edamame Dumpling which was her “favourite” (no surprise there!) and Chicken Char Sui Bun, soft dough filled with sweet chicken. The best part? “Usually starters fill you up but even after so many starters the stomach still feels light!” said the PYT who wore a sari from Khadi Niketan and blouse from Byloom on her date with t2!

Some of her favourite places for...

Breakfast: If it’s breakfast, it’s at Flurys over the Ham and Cheese Omelette; am yet to go to Au Bon Pain.

Easy-breezy brunch: Afraa Deli in City Centre Salt Lake.

Lunch with the girls: Cafe Mezzuna! I love the beer towers there, which remind me of Mumbai’s Leopold Cafe. They keep my favourite Hoegaarden beer and the Pepperoni Pizza is to die for!

Relaxed evening: Wise Owl because of its casual outdoor seating. I usually order the hamburger and Litchi Soda and when I’m not very hungry, Maggi.

Dinner date: Hushh because the Italian food there is nice and light. Or Fire and Ice on Russell Street where I usually go for the pasta with tuna and olives; I can eat that everyday for dinner and never get sick of it!

Tank up: Marco Polo on Sarat Bose Road.

Midnight meal after clubbing: Jai Hind Dhaba. It’s the only khabar dokan where I’ve had a khata!

Maach Mishti & More

Food TV shows: MasterChef US and Australia. I hate the Indian one! I like Gordon Ramsay, George Calombaris and Matt Preston. Mani (daughter) and I watch a lot of cake-making episodes on TLC too. It’s not possible to bake those cakes because some of the ingredients are difficult to get here but I ended up buying an oven, which my daughter uses more than me! I also took a baking class with Shradha Agarwalla of The Dessert Cart, who was in town from Mumbai last year.

Friend’s cooking I love: Ayan Paul, he stays in Rome and whenever he’s in Calcutta, I park myself at his house for two days. His mom cooks amazing Italian food and I just keep eating morning to night!

Swastika at a baking workshop last year

The last time I cooked: I can’t! I need to follow recipes that my mom writes down for me. But if the recipe portion is for two people and three are eating then I have to call and ask her what to do! The few times I have attempted to cook, I used a shield while tossing the vegetables into the kadhai because I’m petrified of hot oil! Once I had to drain out the rice water after making rice and that was scary!

Best meal outside Calcutta: Has to be in Dhaka. They make fish and meat equally well and their beef dishes are to die for! I had gone to Pondicherry recently for a shoot and I loved the French food there. There was this colony with run-down bamboo shacks with lanterns inside, not very appealing but great food! Another great meal I remember was in Montreal where my friend and I ate out of a huge plate and the roti itself was the size of the plate! They had some great house wines and bread too.

What mom makes best: A chicken preparation with milk that’s neither very rich nor a stew. She also makes some lovely shukto and during Puja she sometimes makes this awesome narkol chhacher tokti.

A food peeve: I’m allergic to lime. So every time I have to explain that to the chaat, phuchka and bhuttawallah, they just can’t get why I would want to have street food without lime!