Amai, We Meet Again… Or Rather, I’ve Been Driving Past You!

We were on our way back home on Sunday evening after some shopping when my wife suddenly decided that what we really needed was a coffee.

Now, this is hardly an unusual occurrence.

My wife has a remarkable ability to discover new cafés, particularly the ones that I have somehow managed to drive past numerous times without ever noticing properly.

And this time was no different.

She had spotted a new place a couple of times and, with the help of Google Maps, proceeded to take me through the lanes and bylanes of Jodhpur Park.

We twisted, turned, negotiated the sort of roads where you begin wondering whether Google Maps actually knows where it is going, and eventually arrived at AMAI – Asian Bakes and Brews.

I looked at the place.

Then I looked at my wife.

And said something along the lines of:

“You could have just told me this was the place. I've seen this several times over the last couple of weeks while driving past!”

Apparently, recognising a place while driving past it and actually knowing that it is a café are two entirely different skills.

Anyway, we parked ourselves inside.

The café was pretty much empty, which suited us perfectly. We weren't in any hurry and could take our time looking around.

My wife, naturally, didn't need much time to decide what she wanted.

Strawberry Matcha Latte.

Of course.

At this point, I think I would be genuinely surprised if we walked into a café and she didn't find Matcha somewhere on the menu.

I, on the other hand, went through the usual process of deliberation.

Coffee.

Something different.

Maybe this.

Maybe that.

Finally, I settled on a Salted Caramel Cafe Latte.

A rather more conventional choice than Strawberry Matcha, but I was quite happy with it.

While we sat there enjoying our respective brews, I started looking around.

And that's when I noticed the little details.

There were quite a few quirky decorative items scattered around the café, the sort of things that make a new place more interesting than simply four walls, tables and chairs.

Since we were the only ones there, I could wander around with my camera—or, more accurately, my phone—without worrying about getting in anyone's way.

So naturally, I clicked a few pictures.

Because what's the point of discovering a new place if you can't photograph the interesting bits?

And once again, we discovered that we had stumbled upon another brand-new Kolkata café.

AMAI too is only about a month old.

It seems that new cafés and restaurants are popping up all over Kolkata these days, and somehow my wife has appointed herself as our very own Café Discovery Department.

My role is apparently to drive her there, drink coffee, eat whatever she orders, and take photographs.

Not a bad job description, really.

And so, after a quiet Sunday evening coffee in the lanes of Jodhpur Park, we got back into the car and headed home.

Another new café discovered.

Another coffee sampled.

Another Matcha successfully consumed.

And another little corner of Kolkata added to our growing list of places we've found along the way.