I am a passionate foodie and one of the questions I get asked the most is what my favourite food is. My answer is quite simple and always the same…. I love all kinds of food and I don’t have a particular favourite but if I delve deep then I would confess that I am a wee bit partial to Chinese Food possibly because my Mom loves it and we ate it often whenever we went out in my childhood.

Kolkata serves up some excellent Chinese and in fact it boasts of the only China Town in our country, our very own Tangra. Therefore I am rather picky about where I choose to dine when I crave Chinese. Ritesh Srivastava, the Chief Mentor of Wokaholic had invited me a number of times and finally we settled on a mutually comfortable date and I hopped across. I liked the sound of the concept a DIY Wok Box and I was eager to check it out.

Wokaholic has four young partners Srivar Harlalka, Bhavesh Aidasani, Rishi Kanoi and Akash Chatterjee. I met Srivar and Bhavesh along with Ritesh and we settled down for a chat and a very nice meal. I first went and examined the Menu …. It’s a sensible one with various choices but it does not go overboard on the variety. Loved the utilization of space and the open kitchen, a modern concept and a great QSR format. The packaging is good and it’s very portable so that is a huge plus.

We began dinner with Chicken Sui Mai and Kafir Lime Scented Shrimp and Chicken Dumplings …. enjoyed both though I liked the simple flavors of the Sui Mai better , I felt that the Kafir Lime flavor could be highlighted more in the Shrimp and Chicken Dumplings. The Honey Sesame Chicken that followed our dim sums was the dish of the day. Great flavors and loved the hit of spice that followed the sweet honey taste, this will be my repeat order here for sure. Vietnamese Grilled Eggplant which I was informed was a signature dish of theirs followed. I personally dislike Eggplant but had a bite and it was not bad. Quite liked the textures of the dish and would certainly recommend it to all those who like Eggplant! Next we were served Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce and this one is a crowd pleaser we polished it off in record time. The taste of the vegetarian dishes impressed me and we were served Black Pepper Paneer, Cream Cheese Rangoon and Thai Corn Fritters in tasting portions as we were already quite full. I enjoyed all of them but the Cream Cheese Rangoon Rolls are sinful and certainly what I will order again on my next visit. Cheese lovers don’t miss out on this one. (Please note that a number of the dishes are tasting portions as we wanted to explore the Menu on offer and the actual portion sizes are larger)

A special mention must be made for the various sauces and dips they serve their patrons. Nine different base sauces for the wok box and a number of others for the starters and dim sums. I actually requested for a taste of all of them once we finished our starters and they did not disappoint.

Now it was time for the star attraction, the Wok Box. Here is how it works, there are five steps each with various options and you get to choose exactly what you want in your wok box from A to Z! Step 1 – Begin with the Base – choose from two varieties of rice and three different kinds of noodles; Step 2 – Select your protein of choice from two vegetarian and three non-vegetarian options; Step 3 – Take your pick of 11 different vegetable options; Step 4 – Choose from 9 different sauces and believe me after tasting them all, it’s a tough choice to make. Step 5 – Finally the add-ons and you have 6 varieties to decide from. That order makes for a yummy Wok box to dig into. We selected Egg Noodles with Chicken, Corn, Baby corn, Pakchoi tossed in the Hot Crispy Garlic Sauce with no add-ons. What arrived was delicious and if you like noodles as much as I do then you must visit Wokaholic.

Stuffed I was ready to stagger home and call it a night but there was a surprise in store for us, they were introducing Brownies and Bubble Tea to commemorate completion of a successful 6 months and we were the first to sample 4 delicious varieties of mini-brownies and they were really good. In fact they surprised me as good brownies were the last thing I was expecting at Wokaholic. They will also have introduced Bubble Tea’s by the time this is published so you can drop by and check out the new additions.

Disclaimer: I was invited to dine as a guest of The Management but the views expressed are entirely my own.

Picture Credits: Suneha Saha

Wheel Chair Access is partial though it’s on the ground floor but one step above the ground level which will have to be managed by a person with restricted mobility.