Food has become fashionable. It is big-time business too. Restaurants are coming up all over the place. Sometimes businessmen who don't know the difference between asparagus and artichokes are hiring chefs and kitchen staff and setting up eateries, and those who have the right acumen are making a success of their ventures as well. And some are not.

In this scenario, it is refreshing to come across a place that has been set up by a Bengali couple who lived for 33 years in South-East Asia, fell in love with the cuisine, experimented with it at home, and on their return to Calcutta, decided to start a small place serving this cuisine to Calcuttans. Situated at C 302 City Centre, Salt Lake, it's called Dash of This, Dash of That. The compact menu has dishes from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and, of course, China.

The 22-cover restaurant opened in late January this year. It is the brainchild of Dipak Guha Thakurta and his wife Arundhati — actually more her baby than his. In the introduction of the menu, she says: "From my kitchen to yours, I have collected my favourite recipes that I hope you will enjoy" There is no denying the personal touch.

For starters, I had Thai Fish Cakes. Bekti fillets are pounded and the flesh is thoroughly mixed with fish sauce, soya sauce, a pinch of corn starch for binding, chopped chillies, kafir lime leaves and seasoning. The deep-fried cakes are served with a hot and sweet sauce, which makes a great combination. Another curtain-raiser/accompaniment I ordered was Green Mango and Cashew Nut Salad, a cleansing dish with a nice, piquant taste.

For the main course, there was Pork with Guam Sauce, which is a sauce made by grinding sesame seeds and cooking this in coconutmilk with ginger, garlic and a dash of capsico sauce. This sauce has the consistency of the peanut sauce so common in Indonesian cuisine.
There was also Fish in Tamarind and Mint Sauce, which is pan-fried bekti fillets served in a sauce prepared by simmering chopped coriander, mint and green chillies, ginger and garlic in tamarind juice, soya sauce and a little water.

The vegetable item was Pak Choy, the typical Chinese green with juicy stems and abundant leaves with its inimitable taste, stir fried with soya and oyster sauce. I was also asked to try the Tofu in Chilli Garlic Sauce, and it made me wonder for the umpteenth time why this soya bean curd, a real health food, is substituted by paneer which doesn't exist in Chinese or South East Asian cuisine anyway.

Thankfully, they don't use paneer at Dash of This and in other ways too, they have authenticity. It is a no-alcohol, no-smoking restaurant. It is a serious eating place and although not many people know of it, it's a matter of time before it becomes a popular destination.

What's your favourite small restaurant in town? Tell t2@abpmail.com