It's that time of year when the City of Joy leisurely gets into its hibernal mode with foggy mornings, dudh chai, warm blankets and people looking for some comforting food. And a bowl of soulful soup or a plate of hot steamed momo does the instant magic. To enjoy the winter vibe, you straightaway head towards Popo’s.
Image Credit: Saborni Saha
Stepping into Popo's by Blue Poppy at Sikkim House, Kolkata, is an immersive experience rooted in a rich family legacy. This is a third-generation venture by Chef Sachiko Seth. Sachiko, with her immense passion for food, beautifully continues the culinary journey started by her grandfather, Popo's, and championed by her mother, Chef Doma Wang—Kolkata's Momo Queen.
Image Credit: Saborni Saha
The restaurant, named as a tribute to her Popo (Her Grandfather), blends her Tibetan heritage and Kalimpong traditions with modern Asian dining. From the moment the Slurrp team arrived, it was a genuinely warm welcome and utmost care by Sachiko and her team. The menu for the day was set by the Chef, following a perfect taste and a connection to a cherished, premium heritage. People often mix up North Bengal food and North East Indian food; it’s not always about momo or thukpa. The varied menu at Popo’s comes with a detailed description of each food you choose.
Also Read: Slurrp Great Indian Cookout 4.0 Kolkata Chapter: Home Chefs Redefine Kolkata's Culinary Tradition
At Popo's, Sachiko Pays Tribute To Her Grandfather’s Love And Legacy
Image Credit: Popo's by Blue Poppy
The sheer dedication with which Sachiko Seth has conceptualised Popo’s is immediately apparent. The restaurant is a heartfelt homage, translating her childhood memories and her grandfather’s legacy into a tangible, sensory experience. The colourful paper posters on the walls you see when entering the restaurant are actually a concept Sachiko brought from her childhood memories. They created a collage of vibrant papers that she used to add to her childhood home.
Following her Tibetan origin and her childhood spent in Kalimpong, Sachiko grew up witnessing her mother, Chef Doma Wang, keeping her tradition alive with authentic Himalayan food. As Sachiko explains,
“Blue Poppy Thakali has always been known to people for its authentic traditional food that my Mum has been serving for years. With Popo's, we wanted to take it to a premium level.”
The Menu At Popo's: A Narrative Of History, Tradition And Heart
Image Credit: Saborni Saha
Sachiko Seth’s curated menu at Popo's is a thoughtful blend of stories, heritage, and global inspiration, drawing from her Tibetan roots and childhood memories to elevate the flavours of Himalayan cuisine.
Small Plates
Sachiko's childhood is reflected in these small plates. Crispy Prawn Toast, with a lot of prawns, chopped green chillies, and a topping of seeds and grains for extra crunch, make it the Chef's special. The Yak & Churpi Spring Rolls are a great way to combine earthy Himalayan flavours with a modern twist.
Soul Food
The Mushroom Thukpa and Pork Mince Noodle Broth celebrate the love and care put into home-cooked meals, with rich broths and soulful spices. The Aloo Thukpa and Chicken Thenthuk feature Popo's handmade noodles, minimal spices, and chef’s expertise.. The Sesame Chilli Lepphing, a reimagined famous Tibetan street food, combines cold mungbean rolls, mock meat, and sesame chilli oil to create a dish that is sour, flavourful, and has a hint of chilli.
Image Credit: Saborni Saha
Momos
At Popo's, momo is made with love and care, paying homage to their cultural origins while introducing a modern twist. The Pork Momo here are delicate dumplings that burst with flavour, accompanied by Sachiko’s signature dips. The Chutney Quartet, which includes spicy Dalle chutney, Badam ka Achaar, Momo Sepen, sweet chilli sauce, and Raja Mircha Sepen, ensures that the momos can be enjoyed by everyone, from kids to adults.
Curries
Popo's curries honour Asian home kitchens and generations of slow-cooked meals. Shamu Datsi, a creamy, spicy stew with mushrooms, cheese, and green chillies, is served with Tingmo (traditional Tibetan steamed bread) or rice for a filling meal. Rich heat, spice, and sweetness make the Spicy Braised Mutton and Aubergine with Sauce a tasty twist on traditional recipes.
Image Credit: Popo's by Blue Poppy
Rice & Noodles
At Popo's, rice speaks of flavour, tradition, and innovation, while noodles are a soul-soothing comfort food. The Rice Dishes include Steamed Gobindo Bhog rice and Bacon & Egg Fried Rice. The Noodle Dishes, such as chilli Garlic Noodles and Prawn & Bacon Noodles, celebrate classic techniques with fusion flavours.
Image Credit: Popo's by Blue Poppy
Desserts and Drinks
Sachiko's desserts combine nostalgia and modern flavours. Ice cream, sponge cake, and coconut liqueur make up the White Rabbit dessert, inspired by Chinese candy. Adding Dalle and dark chocolate ganache gives it a surprising twist. Chuya Biskut and Bakcha Moku modernise Tibetan butter tea, barley biscuits, and mochi.
The drink menu at Popo's brings back the simple joys of childhood. The Preserved Plum Mojito, made with khattu (a dried plum Sachiko remembers from her childhood), is a zesty and forget-me-not drink. Other options include the Iced Honey Lemon Refresher, Chilled Grapefruit Jasmine Tea, and Banana Cola, which have refreshing flavours as well. For tea lovers, Popo's offers a selection of aromatic teas, such as the Himalayan Butter Tea and Aromatic Jasmine Tea and more.
Image Credit: Saborni Saha
A Feast Of Perfect Taste: Slurrp’s Unforgettable Brunch
The brunch was a delightful experience, shared with Chef Doma Wang, the visionary Sachiko Seth, and Manisha (who handles Popo's social media marketing).
Image Credit: Popo's by Blue Poppy
Slurrp tried the Crispy Prawn Toast that Sachiko created, inspired by her childhood love for prawn toasts with "not-so-satisfying" pieces. "I was never happy with the thin prawns they used to put on top of the bread, so I decided to create a Prawn Chilli Toast that has loads of prawns on it, with chopped green chillies. To make it more sumptuous, we added seeds and grains on top for a crispier texture," Sachiko Seth shared the thought behind the dish.
Image Credit: Saborni Saha
The sauces, chutneys, and achaars are not your regular garlic-chilli mix. It brings in a variety of ingredients, chillies, and fermenting techniques to create the perfect balance for each dish. From spicy Dalle chutney, Badam ka Achaar, Momo Sepen, sweet chilli sauce, to Raja Mircha Sepen, Sachiko has crafted four different chutneys to suit every taste bud.
Image Credit: Saborni Saha
The drink selection was equally impressive. All of this is washed down with a non-alcoholic preserved plum mojito, one of the many iced beverages and teas on the menu that make zero-proof drinking a creative experience. The taste of the plum was quite different from the regular variety. “It’s khattu in the drink that we use for this mojito. It’s a dried plum we used to chew in our school days,” Sachiko shared.
Image Credit: Popo's by Blue Poppy
The pork momos Sachiko serves at Popo's are juicy, succulent, and filling. With just one bite, the flavours burst immediately in your mouth. You can have them with any of the spicy Dalle chutney, Badam ka Achaar, Momo Sepen, sweet chilli sauce, or Raja Mircha Sepen.
“These dips are made to ensure that everyone, from kids to adults, can enjoy our momo,” she mentioned.
For Chicken Thenthuk, they feature handmade noodles, minimal spices, delicious soup and loads of love. Every time you take a bite of soup and noodles, it feels like a cosy hug from your mum.
Image Credit: Popo's by Blue Poppy
Next on the table was Sesame Chilli Lepphing, a famous Tibetan street food reimagined by the chef. The heavenly combination of cold mungbean rolls, mock meat, and sesame chilli oil makes it a must-have for those who love Asian flavours. It's sour, flavourful, and has a hint of chilli, making it a standout dish at Popo's.
Image Credit: Saborni Saha
Among the curries, Slurrp tried the Shamu Datsi, a creamy, spicy stew made from mushrooms, cheese, and green chillies. This creamy curry was served with either Tingmo (traditional Tibetan steamed bread) or rice, and you can pick either option. It was so comforting and satisfying that it was hard to stop at just one bowl. The flavour and taste made it a wholesome dish.
Image Credit: Saborni Saha
While Tibetan and Northeastern cuisines largely eschew desserts, Sachiko has crafted a sweet section on the menu that plays on traditional ingredients, nostalgia, and seasonal flavours. One such dessert is the White Rabbit, which uses the popular Chinese White Rabbit candy as the base for an ice cream, combined with a melt-in-your-mouth cake. The dessert was delicious, with a hint of Dalle and dark chocolate ganache.
Image Credit: Saborni Saha
Slurrp Got A Chance To Have A Word With Sachiko Seth
Slurrp: So, how did this idea of Popo's come to you?
Sachiko: Actually, we always wanted to do something exclusive because with Blue Poppy Thakali, we were getting so much crowd, which was a good thing, but I couldn't experiment in the kitchen anymore. I wasn't getting space. There were so many dishes yet to be discovered. We really wanted to create a space where we could maybe do a summer or winter menu and just get our produce more forward to the people of Calcutta.
Slurrp: Tell me about the experiments you are doing here that are not exactly traditional food but are connected deeply to the traditional food itself.
Sachiko Seth: As I travel, and we source ingredients from North Bengal and Northeast areas, I'm trying to work on concepts like pork with bamboo shoot. I want to make the pork into a cutlet and serve it as a katsu curry sort of thing. We are also developing desserts, such as Batsamoku, which is a modern take on Bakcha Moku—traditionally, a stir-fried pasta with churpi (Tibetan cheese) and sugar. Here, we are making the pasta with rice to achieve a chewier flavour, and we are serving it with cream cheese ice cream instead of churpi. We substitute ingredients with similar flavour profiles, which makes it more interesting for me to create and for consumers to eat.
Slurrp: How are you coping with the people here when it comes to Himalayan or Tibetan food, where they hardly understand the difference between Darjeeling and Tibet?
Sachiko Seth: I think thanks to Blue Poppy being there, people already have this notion of not expecting the same from us. We've already broken a lot of misconceptions because we keep the food as you are supposed to eat it; we don't want to please the customer so much that we forget our roots. We are trying to do something similar here, but this is a little premium. We try and explain to the guests what they are getting on the plate, where the ingredients are coming from—like we get smoked pork from Dimapur, Nagaland. We are all here trying very hard to educate the customer.
Popo's by Blue Poppy is a triumphant expression of heritage, flavour, and passionate dining. Sachiko Seth has created a premium space where every detail, from the paper posters to the nuanced chutneys, tells a story of love and tradition. Go for the food, stay for the story.
- Restaurant Name: Popo's by Blue Poppy
- Address: Sikkim House, Park Street area, Kolkata, West Bengal 700071, India
- Contact Number: +91 824-0801340
- Opening Hours: 12 noon–4 pm for lunch and 6 pm–10 pm for dinner