BADSHAH @ BARRACKPORE

It was mid of April. The sun was burning everything it could and draining out the last drop of juice from our body. But his effort was not sufficient enough to stop us and we decided to test our survival skill in the tough situation. We started from Kolkata to Hooghly on our Motorcycle and pathetically at noon.

Food is second most important element for survival and we realized it pretty soon on the highway along with the most important one, I.e. Drinks. We found a halt near Barrackpore and parked the motorbike there. Badsah Bar & Restaurant was the savior and we just plunged into it.

What a peace we found there. The cool and ethnic ambiance was just waiting for us and it had two chairs at the right corner. We ordered Strong Beers with Chicken Kebab, the two most important survival elements. The Kebabs were superb.  6 Pcs of meat only for rs.80/- but sufficient enough to make you order for more. Though they mostly serve Chinese Cuisine but the Mughlai kebabs were ecstatic.

Now it was China’s (I mean the Chinese Cuisine) turn.We ordered Mixed Hakka Noodle. It was nice too. I really have not tasted such nice chinese anywhere outside Kolkata. This was exceptional. Price-worthy and good in quantity. The Noodle was for Rs.175/- only.

There was surprises waiting for us in the bill too. We discovered a 10% discount on beverage and that was special during the summer between 11AM to 7 PM. WoW! Cheers!

Catch the road someday (but don't make it in the summer) and enjoy the food at Badsah but not to survive. ;)

Brain Chop, Mitra Cafe, Shovabazar

No you do not need to be a Cannibal. A goat will sacrifice it's head to give you that cheesy taste. Yes, I am talking about Goat Brain, surrounded by some tasty filling and served in a crunchy upper crust available at Mitra Cafe, Shovabazar. One of the most awaited place for me.

It was my best friend Gopal's marriage. As he is from Shovabazar, I got the golden chance. On the next day of his marriage, the newly married couple returned to their home and I spend some more time with them during many other rituals. I had the lunch and decided to leave for my home. I had a view of Mitra Cafe while returning to Shovabazar and that very moment I decided to give it a short visit. When I reached Mitra Cafe it was 4.00 pm and I found it close. I asked the Panwala beside it and he told me that the cafe opens at 4.30 pm. I felt like a fool, I could have left the marriage house half an hour later!!

But I had to wait and I waited. Spend that 30 mins roaming here and there and then returned back right on 4.25 pm. There was a surprise waiting for again, the crowed. A decent crowed of 15-20 people was already waiting there for the cafe to open and finally the moment came. Let me tell you, it is a very small place with 4 narrow tables. An open counter which takes the order and serves the food as well.

There are lot of snacks available like Kabiraji varieties (chicken or fish fried, coated with crumbled egg), cutlet varieties including vary famous mutton breast cutlet (my next target) but I was determined to have Brain Chop. I heard about the Brain Chop a long time before but could not reach the right place at right time. I was actually feeling very full that day after having a huge traditional bengali lunch and so I decided to take it to home and enjoy with my family.

As I said before, the brain tastes like cheese, no foul smell or taste. Absolutely soft, juicy and tasty. The filling was superb and the amazing thing was the size of the chop. One such Chop weighs around 100 to 150gms approx. Unfortunately my wife could not enjoy it just because it had brain inside it but I just loved it. I am ready to have it any day and recommend it highly. Only fresh onion salad is enough with the dish and bingo! As of now the price is Rs.30/- a piece and I believe the dish worth much more than that!

Disaster at Dhakai Biriyani House, Sector V, Saltlake

When this new food centre opened in Saltlake, Sector 5 (near WEBEL bus stand) this month, a lot of locals must have expected to get quality biriyani and specially mutton delicacies, because the name “Dhakai Biriyani House” is legendary in Kolkata for its quality from numerous outlets across the city.

Soon after it was opened, I visited to taste the Biriyani and Mutton Kasha on a special occasion. And must say it was the worst meal I had experienced. 

The food was of poor quality in all aspect. When I started on the Biryani it wasn’t even enough hot and I couldn’t feel any kind of flavour at all. There was hardly any spice in it (may be they tried to make it healthy ;) ). Same with the Mutton Kasha obviously. However the quantity was the only parameter which satisfies.

Apart from the taste and quality, I was disappointed with their service too. The Service Crews were absolutely lazy to attend the customer. They even forgot to offer a glass of water and the complimentary salad.
 

The price was comparatively cheap. Mutton Biryani was priced Rs.120/-, Chicken Biryani at Rs.110/-, Mutton Chap was Rs.60/- and Chicken Chap Rs.50/- only and there was no extra variety  :( 

They have never focused on environment in any outlet and it was same here so the overall experience was damn bad. I can rate it only 3 out of 10 and they get 2 points for the price. So it is absolutely not recommended to have Biryani from Dhakai Biryani House.

The Oval, DLF IT Park I, Newtown, Rajarhat

After a long wait I made it to The Oval finally. Thanks to Shyamal Da for such a wonderful Lunch on his birthday. 25th June was his very special Birthday and he offered us the great lunch. Though we had a little confusion over too many options but Oval was the final one and probably the best one on this occasion.

We reached there around 2:30 pm and found it a lonely place. Except the service crews, we could not find anyone else. That was a thing to worry about!! Not only that but we also expected a buffet which we discovered as a Friday Special. But we made our mind and we could not decide anything else and took the table without any hesitation.

One of us suggested to go for Indian Cuisine but two of disagreed (we were 7 that day). So we ordered Chinese for them (it turned out to be a great decision as I got the chance to judge the Chinese Cuisine too) and Indian for 5 of us.

On the Chinese we ordered Mixed Hakka Chowmein and Devil's Chicken on the side. For us we ordered Lahsuni (garlic) Dal Tarka, Dal Oval (a special Yellow Dal), Mutton Do-Pyaza and Butter Naan.

Let's talk about Chinese first. The Chowmein was nice, good in taste, nice texture and looked healthy as well. Devil's Chicken was the Bombshell. tasty and Juicy Chicken balls in a tangy red sauce nicely flavoured with Garlic. I would surely try that dish someday with my family.

Among the Indian Dishes I liked the Lahsuni Dal Tarka the most and disliked the Mutton Do-Pyaza. The Dal Tarka was rich with Desi Ghee. It was normal Black Dal (Kali Dal) with lots of Lahsun or Garlic. It was tasty with the Butter Naan. The Dal Oval was pretty ordinary but can't complain but being the only Non-Veg dish the Mutton Do-Pyaza really disappointed me. It was dull with both flavour and Taste. The meat part were rear though it was the costliest dish on our table.

Now lets talk about cost. I must say it's a bit costly but worthy for sure. for e.g. the Dal's were for Rs.135/- each, Chowmein was for Rs.200/-, Devil's chicken was priced Rs.260/- a plate, Moutton Do-Pyaza costs Rs.325/- a Plate, and the Naans were for Rs.55/- each. Quantity was ok I'd say.

Overall experience was nice and I enjoyed being there. The ambiance was nice.  7 on 10 so far. Will visit once again for sure.

A Chinese Experience at Chinhua, Chandni Chowk

So some how after my spate of 45 hours works week, I managed to go for a dinner. There was a nip in the air…and the mind was ready to embrace the season..While finding  for something different,  we got “Chinhua”.  An original Chinese restaurant with a two storied domicile in Chandni Chowk. Chinhua is the restaurant with a good rating on various parameters comprising décor, cleanliness, service, taste and value of money. And I must say that I was impressed with the awesome food quality.

We ordered for mixed chow-min (Hakka) and Pork fry (A special item of Chinhua).The price is quite reasonable. The full plate (a larger quantity of chow-min) of chow-min was for Rs 170 and the plate of pork fry (6 pieces) was about Rs. 80. These all items were cooked in sesame oil and a lovely smell and touch was there from the dishes.

Interior was all over decorated with Chinese themes. And I astonished that all the staffs were speaking in Chinese. An old lady was supervising every thing. And they are quite friendly. I was amazed with their co operation and behavior.

My greedy stomach felt really happy with the golden grace of Chinhua.

 The Mixed Chowmein

Great Rasomalai @ VIP (or V. I. P.) Sweets, Baguihati, Joramandir

While going towards Airport through VIP Road, there is a crossing after Baguihati Bust Stop called Jora Mandir Bus Stop. Right at the crossing you will see a huge outlet, VIP Sweets and Confectioneries.

They have a lot of varieties in different desserts, mostly Bengali desserts like Rasogolla, Kara Paker Sandesh, Cham Cham, various other Sandesh in different flavours, shapes and colors. I found interest in two particular Items, i.e. Gulab Jamun and Rasomalai.

They have two variety of Rosomalai, small chhena (cottage cheese) balls in plain white malai flavoued with cardamom and the other one is large balls in yummy Kesar (Saffron) flavoured and colored thick malai. For obvious reason I like the second one the most. Whenever I visit them, I have at least two of them. Very very soft, soaked in the delicious creamy malai. In fact my mouth is watering while writing this piece. If possible, give it a try someday.

Will upload images soon. Enjoy :)

Picture Courtesy Bharatiya Khana Khazana

Sip of Soda @Loknath Soda Shop, Baguihati

I was a kid when I loved Soda drinks. It could be any soda drink. No matter what flavour it is, no matter how cold it is. But after a certain time I only prefer such drink on two occasions. When I feel really thirsty and do not find some good drinking water and on the table with alcohol (that too is very rare nowadays).

Back in 2008-09 I enjoyed soda drinks again but not those bottled and labeled with a huge brand name that every celebrity pretend to drink on TV Ad. It was nice fruit flavours with soda available at YES SIR, Hindmotor.

What I had this evening is a superior version of that. It is in Baguihati, attached to Baguhati Super Market. Loknath Soda Shop, Cold soda drinks with a huge variety of flavours. You won't belive that they have flavours like Grape, Kiwi, Blue Berry and even RUM, Fruit Whiskey and Fruit Beer. 120 ml of drink costs only Rs.6/- and the 300 ml is just for Rs.10/-. That's amazing. May be the price is promotional but this is first time I saw such a wide variety of soda drinks available in my neighborhood. I believe these are available at the heart of the city like Esplanade or the fancy malls at a much costlier price but what I had here for 10 bucks would be my first preference anytime. Believe me people are crazy for a sip (I could not even had a good snap).

The summer is here, what are you waiting for??

                                                               Crowd seeking their turn!

                                                          
                                                             The Long List of Flavours!!