The name Mrs. Magpie reminded me of Mrs. Kaur’s in Delhi’s Khan Market; both being pretty little patisseries with personified names. I had long waited for some of my lady friends to visit Kolkata so that I could make a girlie trip to this place. But as luck would have it, I finally happened to visit the dainty pink cafe with a bunch of boys, straight from watching a car racing action movie. Hungry as hell, orders were placed pronto for individual club sandwiches (chicken, bacon and veg varieties), an assortment of hot and cold beverages, and a humble ham and cheese quiche for me. We looked around in amazement as we waited for the food to arrive. Some of the guys did grumble that the place was “too pink” for them and “the chairs may be cute but not very comfortable”. I, on the other hand, was mesmerized by the menu and the pretty cakes in the display window. There was a Gangnam-styled cake, a Harley Davidson cake (which obviously the guys admitted to liking), a couple of pretty hand painted ones, a bus filled with passengers, a house, a forest, and so on.
Once the food started arriving, the first thing that struck us was the portions. Individual portions of club sandwiches meant four humungus layered sandwiches, plus chips. The fact that the sandwiches were generously stuffed added to the intimidating effect it had on the machismo. I tasted the bacon club sandwich and the smoked bacon was extremely flavourful and predominant amongst all the layers in the sandwich. My ham and cheese quiche was thin, soft, melting in my mouth, not eggy at all. I had it, like a lady, with a flavorful Darjeeling tea that came in a transparent kettle (not the cup and a tea bag that I often dread) and there was enough to share it with another tea lover. A plum sorbet was ordered, which got licked clean as the bowl was passed around the table. The verdict, again, was very positive. The flavourful sorbet had bits of plum in it, adding to the texture.
But it took a sip of the gooey, thick, hot chocolate to melt any male ego that may have existed at the table that day. The hot chocolate was actually molten dark chocolate which may have only slightly been thinned with creamy milk, as against the standard instant chocolate drinks cafes serve in the name of hot chocolate. We liked it so much, we ordered for another cup that was soon passed around the table. I ordered for a toffee cupcake in the end – it was way too pretty to be eaten but then am really glad I did! These are mini-cupcakes and the size of the topping is almost equal to the size of the actual cupcake. While I had presumed this would make it too sweet, it was actually just right and the toffee topping was superlative.
And thus came the end to one of the most memorable afternoons I have had in a long time. I have my eye on the afternoon tea (a set menu of scones, cupcakes, finger sandwiches along with tea) that they have on their menu, that I will try next time. I now know where to take my friends who fly in and ask to be taken to a quaint place. Well done, Mrs Magpie!