Khow Suey

If you thought sushi is made for fine dining, a kiosk named Wok Anthem in City Centre’s kund area begs to differ. “Sushi is street food is Japan,” says Barnik Bardhan, one of the founders of Wok Anthem, who has tried to make east and south east Asian delicacies available at their counters at affordable prices.

The salmon in the sushi they serve here not raw but smoked to suit the Indian palate and they come in compact “bento boxes” that are the Japanese equivalent of thalis. The Seafood Bento comes with helpings of salmon, crabstick, prawn, basa and Japanese omelette. “The omelette, made with the Japanese cooking wine Sake, is a dessert in Japan,” says Sunny Lyngdoh, a co-partner. The boxes are available in two sizes at Rs 179 and Rs 299.

The bentos also come in meat options where the salmon is replaced by chicken. In the vegetarian bento, the sushi is made of out of cucumber, eggplant, mushroom, capsicum and paneer. “The vegetarian bento has become quite popular. Since the ingredients taste bland we do them up with teriyaki, szechuan and sweet-chilli sauces,” says Bardhan. The items are served with the pungent wasabi sauce and first-timers are advised to dip their portion into the sauce with caution.

Satay. Pictures by Mayukh Sengupta)

Besides Japan, the counter sells items from Thailand, Indonesia, Burma, China and Malaysia. The usual suspects — Pad Thai (a noodle dish), Panggang (a Chinese paturi, where szechuan sauce is added to basa fillet, wrapped in banana leaf and deep fried) and the Cambodian noodle soup Khow Suey — are favourites. “The Khow Suey, priced at Rs 130 and Rs 150, is named Mum’s Khow Suey, after a customised recipe that Bardhan’s mother makes. Customers can pick their own toppings too to make it spicy, tangy or otherwise.

Most of the food is served in “oyster pail” paperboard containers that open into a dish, can be shut securely and eaten out of directly too. “This is on-the-go food so we’ve focussed on convenience. And prices are pocket-friendly so we hope the street food culture spreads here,” says Lyngdoh.

Know your sushi

Maki: Sushis rolled-up like discs with a height and wrapped on the outside in seaweed.

California rolls: Box-shaped sushis but inside out. The seaweed is on the inside and rice on the outside.

Nigiri: Long sushis, typically with a piece of salmon topped over rice short-grained, sticky rice