An e-food-crawl!
I am surely not a food connoisseur or a seasoned chef but that does not stop me from being a food enthusiast. At times, I like cooking up recipes of dishes I really enjoy eating myself and I also love discovering new cuisines, but somehow the old favourites tend to remain unaltered! Calcutta,- my home town, needless to say is a food lover/aficionado's paradise. When you are in the city exploring its sights, sounds, culture and rich heritage, you cannot miss the delicious food which not only include the local Bengali cuisine, but also signature dishes across restaurants that have been prepared and served with much passion and love over the years. The flavours of Calcutta's food is very seamingly interwoven with its culture and people.
So to some of you this post might be familiar, to a few it may seem nostalgic but I am writing it specially for many who are yet to visit this city and spend some time here or for the ones who have tried a few of these but not all of it. I thought it would be interesting to carve out an e-food-crawl itinerary comprising some of my personal favourite preparations at specific eateries. I decided not to include Bengali dishes, specially because that is cooked up so well at every household. The popular ones to visit though, to relish Bengali cuisine would surely be Gol Bari and 6 Ballygunge Place!
So now begins our food crawl! Hope you enjoy it and yes the calorie controlled and regimented diet has to be kept aside for such crawls.
Begin with Breakfast
One would usually suggest an appetizing breakfast at the famous Flurys, but another interesting and different option, I thought would be a takeaway combination of some hot and crispy hing kachoris along with the perfectly fluffed up jalebis and a delightful cup of tea from a small but extremely busy outlet called Maharani. So head to Sarat Bose Road, near the Lake Market vicinity for an early breakfast. You can enjoy this lovely and extremely reasonable breakfast in the car or pack it and get it home/to your hotel/guest house, trust me you will not be disappointed.
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| Kachori and Jalebis: Pic courtesy Zomato |
Price: Hing Kachori - Rs. 7 per piece, Jalebi - Rs. 7 per piece and a cup of tea - Rs. 5.
After your breakfast, once you are ready to continue with the food crawl you can of course do some shopping before lunch. You can drop into this store called Byloom - to check out Bengali, traditional handloom and handicraft presented in a contemporary fashion. The sarees are indeed gorgeous.
Luscious Luncheon
Take a trip to Calcutta's China Town - Tangra. Indo-Chinese food is a Tangra creation that is now a sensation. Once filled with tanneries, now the narrow alleys of Tangra have innumerable Chinese restaurants lined up one after the other. The Tangra-style Chinese is delectable and not to be missed. The chilli-garlic aroma when you are waiting for your food is like an apt prelude. I would recommend one of my favourite restaurants - Beijing for a scrumptious lunch. A few of the dishes I would suggest are golden fried prawns, red garlic chicken and the crispy chicken, but mostly all dishes on the menu (even vegetarian) are delicious. Order for a pint of beer to relish your meal.
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| Beijing's crispy chicken and golden fried prawns |
Price: Rs. 1800 + taxes for two and a pint of beer - Rs. 160 (Approximately)
Sweet tooth?
If you have a sweet tooth and would love to add that touch to your palate, please pick up a small handi of the quintessential Mishti Doi and savour it. It is available almost across all local sweet shops in Calcutta. Some popular ones being Jadav, KC Das, Jugals etc.
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| Mishti Doi |
Price : Rs. 15 - 20 (Approximately for one small piece/handi )
You need some activity after all that eating, so drop into the city's age-old New Market , a complete shoppers delight. It is almost like a maze of about 2000 shops selling everything that one can never imagine. From apparels, footwear, fashion jewellery to crockeries, flower shops, décor items and much more. Please also drop into a quaint and beautiful silver jewellery store called Chamba Lamba. Once you are through with shopping you can get a feel of the majestic Hoogly river on a short boat ride. By now it's evening and been a while since you finished your awesome lunch.
Evening Snacking
I would recommend two options for this (either/or - not both). Momo Plaza - A small cosy eatery where you can devour variety of momos along with some inviting Thupka! The dishes loved by most are the steamed/pan fried chicken and pork momos along with chicken/veg thupka. It is not at all expensive and makes for an ideal place for some evening snacks
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Steamed momos with thupka
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Price: Rs. 300 - 350 plus taxes for two (Approximately)
The second option I would suggest is to try Calcutta street food and yes of course those Puchkas, the king of this variety of snacks, compared to its cousins like Golgappas or Panipuris. The filling is made by lightly mashing boiled potatoes with black salt, salt, some spices, a generous portion of tamarind pulp (made by mashing ripe tamarind in tamarind water), chilli (powder/chopped/pasted). The tamarind water is made by mixing tamarind and spices/salt and making a light liquid with water. A dry one with no tamarind water is served for free by most vendors, to add a tangy taste to the end of your session. You can eat as many as you can! Puchkas are available near almost every locality with local vendors preparing them behind their small set up.
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| Puchka |
Price: Puchkas - Rs 2:50 per piece and Dahi Puchka - Rs 40 per plate (6 pieces of Phuchka) - (Approximately)
It is time for you to get some rest and then freshening up at your hotel/home/guest house, before it's time to head out for dinner. It must be a slightly late dinner. Head to the popular Park Street and get yourself a seat at Mocambo .
Mocambo opened its doors in 1956 and since then has been serving some mouth-watering, signature continental dishes. The options are many but I believe, for starters the Devilled Crab is a must! It is an exquisite crabmeat speciality blended in cheese and mustard sauce served in the original shell. An excellent starter. The second dish, is a personal favourite here and though I have tasted it at other restaurants in India, it really is the best here time and again. Yes it's the Chicken A La Kiev. It is an old Russian favourite - A fillet of chicken stuffed with butter, then coated with eggs and bread crumbs and deep-fried. Other well-known dishes are Fish A La Diane, Fish Florentine, Chicken Cordon Bleu etc.
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| The Devilled Crab! |
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| Chicken A La Kiev |
Price Rs. 1100 plus taxes for two without alcohol (Approximately)
If you are not in a mood for continental cuisine but still want to enjoy a meal on Park Street, hop onto Peter Cat just on the opposite side and try out the undeniably best Chelo Kebab. Traditionally, kebabs are north Indian dishes and eaten with naan, but people in Calcutta love rice. So this is a delectable combination of rice with kebabs along with poached/fried egg and a blob of butter! A must-have!
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| Chelo Kebab |
Price: Chelo Kebab - Rs. 355 + taxes, Mutton Chelo Kebab - Rs.400 + taxes and Vegetable Chelo Kebab - Rs. 325 + taxes
This ends the day-long food crawl but as the saying goes that beginnings should be sweet we Bengalis or any Calcuttan surely also think alike for endings. If you cannot eat anymore for today please do not forget to pack some chocolate boat pastries from any of the outlets of again a signature and eminent bakery - Kookie Jar. There are other lip-smacking desserts as well. Enjoy them later!
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| Chocolate Boat Pastry |
Price: Chocolate Boat - Rs. - 55 + taxes
I hope you enjoyed this e-food-crawl which I tried to make informative and fun. I have specially written this for many of my friends and acquaintances who have not visited the city yet and is very eager to. I would love them to try this out and the old-timers can do it anytime they are back in the city.
While I was just finishing this blog post, I read the sad news of the death of Anthony Bourdain - one of the most awesome and unconventional storytellers, gifted chef, food and travel enthusiast and iconic television host. I watched some of his shows and he made one believe that food can be delicious even if it is not expensive, good-looking and even if it belongs to a remote city or small town/village.
“If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food. It's a plus for everybody." - Anthony Bourdain.
