I insist /request / plead to you (in that order 🙂 )to read about our earlier post on the old restaurant of cup e bong here – kalikapur

In a nutshell:

A cafe conceptualised by one man & fully run by himself as a one man army initially, now a full fledged café with cooks & café staff, nice décor, great location, we had some really unforgettable, artisanal, small batch, hand crafted meats & other food items , cooked just right, with great attention to detail. Loved the beverages.

Address & other details: Cup e bong (58 E, Ground Floor, beside Byloom, Hindustan Park, Gariahat, Kolkata, West Bengal 700029)

Meal for 2: ₹1000 onwards

Cuisine type :  vegetarian & non vegetarian

Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.

 

YUMMRAJ rates all the food items & then gives a final overall rating, which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster

Short description- in case u r in a hurry 

Like I mentioned above, reading part 1 will give you perspective about this post. From a small café near bypass, the café has shifted to a large spacious, high ceiling, natural light lit café at the hub of the coolest cafes in town – Hindustan park, Gariahat.

The interiors had a stronger character in the earlier set up. There was ‘one man army’ feel in that café & in everything that was in it. The earlier one could be passed off as someone’s home also. The new one looks like any other café, sans the quirks & surprises of the past.

The décor elements still have a Darjeeling-ish feel, placed on much cleaner & modern walls.

The book shelf had some interesting books. Would be great to know how many people read them.

A load bearing pillar in the center of the café acts as a blind spot for the staff to see all the tables from their station. So at times we had to wave hands & verbally call the service staff. Maybe a Japanese restaurant style bell (to call the service staff) at the table might help.

The indoor furniture is sturdy, nice & functional. The outdoor furniture has a quirk element & is fun.

The bar area has a huge display of different kinds of tea leaves & water stores in old monk bottles.

We ordered different food. The food was served in a strange Sequence. Omelets came in the end, Shepherd’s pie came earlier. I guess the new staff are yet to learn the nuances of sequence of food based on relative subtle-ness & complexity.

After seeing the menu we realized that the earlier Kalikapur café menu was pork heavy. In the new menu there is a lot more chicken. The pork classics stay intact.

Like I mentioned in the earlier post, Amit, the founder of the café is hands on person. So on a Sunday morning when we were having breakfast at the café, he was selecting the best ingredients in New Market. He walked in before we were leaving & like last time, we broke into a long enjoyable adda.

Unlike before, there are paid staff & cooks to run the café. Amit is no more the ‘almost one man army’.

‘The guy is a rockstar. What amazing food!!! I hope Delhi NCR had even one café of this level’, I wrote to a friend after leaving the café. Mean every word of it.

Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:

Darjeeling chicken platter

• Handcrafted chicken sausages – These had texture, they meat inside was lumpy, juicy, the outer layer was slightly hard (had a bite), exactly how a great sausage should be!!! Not like those millions of industrial chicken parts paste with no taste, pretending to be chicken sausages that appear on most tables in cafes in India. What a relief, Cup e bong. Rate it 4.75/5

• Sunny side up was as good as it could get. Loved the runny sunny yolk. Rate it 4.5/5
• Salami was very good. Robust, rough. Nice. Rate it 4.25/5

• Ham was smooth & nice. Perfect. Rate it 4.5/5
• Dumplings were outstanding. Thin cover throughout. Juicy meat inside. Just the right amount of seasoning. Just the right dumpling. Rate it 4.75/5

• Chicken pepperoni was very good again. Just the right spicy. Rate it 4.25/5

• Meatloaf was very good. Rate it 4.25/5

Shepherd’s pie – This was Pure joy. The mince was probably hand minced, hence uneven, not like grainy smooth mince that are available in most places, the flavours were robust & rustic, the texture was superb. Taste was just right. Rate it 4.75/5

Chicken cheese omelette was really good. The center of the omelette was juicy & had large chunks of juicy chicken. Loved every bit of the soft omelette with thin layers. Rate it 4.5/5

Meat lovers omelette was as good as above. Rate it 4.5/5

Mutton doi bora was suggested by the boy serving us. We would have never ordered this. We were pleasantly shocked after eating it. It was a chaat with something like a mutton galawati at the base (in place of aloo tikki). Unlike classic Galawati, the spice flavours were less & that allowed the meat flavours to rule. La-jawaab.  Rate it 4.75/5

Steamed pork momo was outstanding again. Thin cover throughout. Juicy meat inside. Just the right amount of seasoning. Just the right dumpling. Rate it 4.75/5

French press coffee was better than in most cafes & 5 star hotels due to use of artisanal Indian beans & the skill & knowledge of brewing. Rate it 4.5/5

Gourmet hot chocolate was thick, gooey, intense, robust. Low on sweet & just outstanding. Rate it 4.75/5

Café Mocha was very good. Rate it 4/5

Gondhoraj Mojito was very good to taste but gondhoraj flavour was lost Rate it 3.5/5

Overall rating averages out to 4.45/5.

We also got to taste the following that are not yet on the menu, while chatting with Amit. These were just tasting portions & not on the bill. So not adding the rating of these to the main rating.

Hungarian sausage was really good. I don’t have a reference point of Kalman  who was the pioneer in this. Really loved the ones that we had a cup e bong. Handmade sausages with a tight skin that had a bite, meaty, spice-ful & somewhat juicy (after biting juices ooze out). I would have rated it 4/5

Cold brew silver tips tea from rimpocha was a revelation. Shocking good. Never imagined this was possible. For the uninitiated, silver tips tea is plucked at midnight only on full moon nights.

The right temperature of the brew ensured that the taste buds do not numb. The right brewing time ensured astringency or bitterness do not creep in. Loved the subtle, fabulous flavours with layers. Would have rated this 4.95/5 if I were to rate.

Overall, an outstanding café with 100% attention to great food unlike many newcomers who pay excessive attention to interiors & insta-friendliness & forget to invest in good chefs.