A late-night delivery joint takes us back to our years of relishing unpretentious food in Calcutta with its affordable grub
Butter garlic prawns. Pics/Satej Shinde
A large part of our adolescence was spent in the alleys of South Calcutta. We remember loitering in the viridescent locality with our friends, sharing greasy noodles — or what the neighbourhood stall owner-lady would endearingly call "noodoolz" — dunking piping hot pieces of momo into our mouth and even indulging in delicacies from the North East, like shaphaley, gyathuk and tie pao that were available at a hole-in-the-wall joint called Denzong, which became a favourite among youngsters back then. It continues to thrive, we are told.
So, years after acquiescing to the drudgery of adult life, when we find ourselves lingering in the by-lanes of Juhu with a friend from those treasured years, the mood is surreal. The pleasant weather bestows upon us a soft breeze — the kind that makes leaves rustle, not fall. We are both guilty of indulging in nostalgia. Winter does that to you. We chance upon Red Pepper Co, a late-night delivery joint that opened last year.
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Outside, in cars and on bikes, patrons wait absent-mindedly for their orders, engrossed in conversation. Some enjoy a piece or two from the appetisers that have been served on the bonnets of parked cars, the owners of which don't seem to mind.
Fish in black bean sauce
We call for butter garlic prawns (Rs 330) and a chef's special chicken appetiser (Rs 250) to begin with. The order takes 20 minutes, but we don't care to notice. Contrary to our expectations of a buttery and tart helping of prawns (perhaps garnished with chopped parsley or dill), which is what "butter garlic" suggests, we are served a rather desi variant. Perfectly cooked pieces of the favoured seafood are tossed in a red-hot sauce with a strong punch of garlic. We enjoy the dish, despite the misnomer. The chef's special chicken, too, is a fiery brand of shredded chilli chicken. We don't love it, but our friend laps it up.
Thai basil fried rice
For the mains, we order the Thai basil fried rice (Rs 200) and fish in black bean sauce (Rs 345) and upon learning that they will take a while too, we drift away for a walk. It's easy to relive the memories we shared growing up in this setting — the casual vibe around the eatery, customers munching on their food on the streets, the in-authentic-but-palatable food, is a tad unlike the razzle-dazzle Mumbai we have known and is closer to Calcutta, our home.
We are done sauntering around the same time that the food is prepared and we choose to eat straight out of the plastic containers, irrespective of how messy the proposition sounds. We enjoy the unctuous rice redolent with chopped basil.
In hindsight, we realise that they could have perhaps turned it down a notch. The fish in black bean sauce is missing the faint bitterness typical to the dish, and is closer to maybe a manchurian sans the spiciness. I guess it's safe to say that we had a good time. And you wouldn't be wrong to say that that's perhaps because we were already in a good mood. But we all know how quickly unappetising food can change that. Don't we?
TIME 7 pm to 4 am
AT G 29, AB Nair Road, Juhu Church Road, Juhu.
CALL 33126863 (open all days)
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Red Pepper Co didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals
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