Only Alibaba Gold, Park Circus the Royal Feast

I have always been a Alibaba Mutton Biryani fan. Whenever I feel hungry for good mutton biryani, I look for Only Alibaba (the DLF-I Newtown outlet made my life real easy :D ). When I came to know about Only Alibaba Gold, I could instantaneously imagine the royalty and could dream satisfying my savoury with all the Nawabi and Mughal dishes.

Unfortunately Park Circus does not come across any of my way and my dream started fading away until that very afternoon when I was around Park Circus and looking for a place for lunch. When I searched on Zomato, I noticed Only Alibaba Gold top of the list. I made my mind and headed for a ecstatic lunch.

The Empty restaurant was just waiting for me. At first I was bit surprised with the loneliness of the place but recovered quickly with glimpse at my watch. It was 2 pm and Kolkata people can go out for dinner but not lunch. It was a warm welcome for me and all of them were ready to serve me. However the ambience is not so royal except some large pictures. Who cares the Ambience if the food is mouth watering. I was accompanied by one of close friend and we ordered a plate of Mutton Boti Kebab to start with. They took a little extra time for the dish since it was mutton and the dish came with six large piece of boneless mutton well garnished and filled the whole place with a charismatic aroma. Our hunger doubled and we controlled our basic instinct to jump on the food until it was served by the restaurant crew.

We were struck with awesomeness. Aromatic mutton was lucrative with bell peppers. Choice of spices was just excellent. The price was around Rs.300/- which I believe is quite worthy. Then the same Mutton Biryani from Alibaba and we were filled upto our throat leaving no space for a dessert (I had a plan for Baked Rabri with Kulfi).

Overall a very nice experience, 4 out of 5 I would rate. Just avoid to have lunch there if possible. Since they don't expect you at lunch, you may not find the mutton as tender as the same at dinner. ;)

Spice up life with Chili's Grill & Bar, Quest Mall

Do you love Beer?

If you say Yes! Hurrah! Chili's is the best place so far I have found in Kolkata.

They serve Drought Beer!

Yes! You heard me right! I had a chilled pilsner (500 ml) of drought beer along with Smoked Chicken Wings. It was heavenly! Trust me! I love beer and tried many of the bottled one but the fresh beer I had in Chili's was absolutely stunning. It was tasty, it was strong, it was fresh and it was chilled. for past few years I was loosing interest in beer and preferring Rum or Whiskey over it. But if I am in Chili's again I'll have a pitcher for sure. Here is a snap! ;)

Every sip worth it!

Now! if you say you do not like beer, no problemo! Plenty of food choices are there to make (mostly non-veg). A very wide range starting from Dippers, soups, salads and then Mexican, Italian, Steaks, Ribs...I must stop here. Though for the first visit I had smoked wings only as we were running out of time. The wings were fabulous. It made a perfect couple with the pilnser (as you can see peeking wings behind the bubbling beer). I hope the steaks and ribs will be equally tasty and I am eager to visit again with my friends.

Place was nice and cozy. The ambiance was lively, full of cheerful people. Music was good, made a perfect mood to enjoy your food and beverages. Believe me, it is not a costly place. The Pilsner of Drought Beer was Rs.225/- and the bucket of wings was Rs.355/- only and as I said before, every bit of it worth it.

Give it a try, you will love it. Don't go alone! A company would make you enjoy more. Feel free to contact me, if you are running out of a friend! ;)

Hatari, Rashbehari Avenue, Enjoy the Queue!

Hatari is quite a known place in South Calcutta and quite known to me by the address. I have heard a lot about the good quality of food and of course witnessed the surprisingly long queue for table in from of Hatari. For no reason, I could not make it to Hatari till last month.

Finally it was a pleasant Saturday afternoon and I was quite hungry. I was with one of my close friend and after lot of discussion we decided to visit Hatari. We actually thought we would find a table for two easily but to all our surprise there was a queue of around 10 people waiting for table. We registered our name and requested for a table for two. after 30 mins, we were asked to went inside and we got our table.

1000 watt Hatari expectations suddenly dimmed like 25 watt. The ambiance was very old and not up to the mark. A bit of disappointment for both of us and judgment by then was all upon the food. The order was taken quite quickly and we ordered Crispy Chillie Baby Corn as starter, followed by mixed Hakka Noodle and Hunan Chicken. I tried Hunan Chicken before in Bar-b-Que, Park Street and it was Hot and Spicy. I ordered it with the same expectations.

Here comes our food now. First the Crispy Baby Corn. It was okay I can say. I have tasted better snack than this. The noodle was really good. Good in both taste and quantity. We really enjoyed it. What about the Hunan Chicken? What was that? A white, semi-clear, soup-like course with bell-peppers and shredded chicken for a Jaundice Patient? My liver even rejected it after having a little portion. I really do not know, who is right. Is it Hot and Spicy BBQ one or this broth for stomach upset? I have never been to Hunan Province, China however Wiki says BBQ was quite right about Hunan Cuisine. So don't be sure about the food, better ask them than being surprised.

Now if you want me to rate it, there are different components, Ambiance 2.5 out of 5, food 3 out of 5 and for price and service 3.5 out of 5. I must mention about the prolonged queue while leaving the place.

Here are glimpse of food we had...

The Cookshop, Maltepe Park, Istanbul

I hope I have already proven my love for food and there is no doubt about it. If you get a chance to express your love while on work, that’s the best part I believe. I have always liked to rub shoulder with people from different culture and it was another such opportunity for me.

It was during my Istanbul visit and I was invited for lunch by my Turkish colleagues. I had no reason to deny the invitation and gladly accepted the hospitality. The place I was living was Maltepe which is a quite big place and the office was in Hastane which is quite close to Maltepe (only 4 stations from Maltepe over metro toward Kartal). I was accompanied by one of my colleague in his BMW to Maltepe Park where The Cookshop was located. We were around 10 people and the restaurant was happy to have us there. The colorful cozy environment was quite attractive, I believe it looks more attractive after dark.

I had the menu book and was asked to choose my dish. There was a English version of the menu on the same book but I preferred my beautiful lady colleague to choose on my behalf since she was quite familiar to the place and knew the food much better than me. She ordered for Steak with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and since I like spicy food a bit, she ordered Steak with Three Pepper sauce for me. Initially my understanding about 3 pepper sauce was stuck with bell peppers only but when I had the dish in front of me it was a sauce made of 3 kinds of pepper corn. The peppers had different flavors and none them was hot. I was even asked to make choice about the tenderness of the steak and I was surprised to see my colleagues making choice for semi-cooked steak whereas I couldn’t imagine anything other than well cooked meat. Finally it was a real soft and juicy steak with a tangy sauce.

We also ordered for some red wine which is a perfect match with red meat and having a sip of red wine with the steak was truly awesome. After finishing the dish we had a lovely ice cream which was a combination of three flavour with real fresh fruit. I should also mention the hospitality of the staff. Overall it was a splendid experience and I really had spent a quality time.

Sekerji Cafer Erol (Şekerci Cafer Erol), Istanbul, Turkey

The moment my Istanbul trip was confirmed, I started dreaming about having delicious Turkish Delight or Lokum (in Turkish). I started searching on internet about the best source of this exotic delicacy and I came to know about Haji Bekir (Hacı Bekir) which is an age old confectionery who has brought the international fame to this Local dessert.

From the very next day I landed on Istanbul, I started looking for Haji Bekir shop. I would like to take the opportunity to share a bit of my experience about Istanbul in this context. Istanbul is a beautiful city. I loved it. It was my first abroad tour and how fortunate I was to start with Istanbul. I have heard a lot about many European cities, their glory, their history, their architecture, culture and people. Some from friends, some from the television and much from the internet. I bet, this Eurasian city is no less than any European city in any aspect. Magnificent sea sores, beautiful and warm people, excellent Mediterranean weather, wonderful food and most importantly a huge glorious past. I was overwhelmed to live such wonderful 30 days in the city of Istanbul.

Back to Turkish Delight, finally I found the famous Haji Bekir in Takshim Square (Taksim Meydanı). It was another great place to explore but I don’t want to make it long with all those lovely experience which all deserves a good amount of space on the page for each of them. The day I visited Takshim was the first weekend there and I had plan to buy Lokum on the final weekend so that I can bring all those lovely flavours to India and share with family and friends.

Meanwhile something really bad happened. A bomb blast killed 11 people, some place near Takshim and I was alerted to visit such crowded place. Though I can visit LOC or Syria if a mouth watering dish waits for me there. But still I started looking for some other branch of Haji Bekir or any such store and there I found Sekerji Cafer Erol.

It was a lovely sunny afternoon in Kadikoy sea sore (Kadıköy Sahili). The sea breeze had made the place splendidly romantic along with golden rays from sun over the sea. Exploring the narrow stone lanes packed with loads of aromatic food from the cafes, full of food lovers making me feel excited from inside. On a busy corner I found Sekerji Cafer Erol (Şekerci Cafer Erol). A dessert shop which I felt no less than a jewellery shop. Starting from the Baklavas, Tulumbas, Akide Candies, Chocolates and Turkish Delights. I could not count the number of verities they had for each of the item. My pictures explains a bit (yes! A bit only. It can’t express the feeling I had while taking the pictures). For a little introduction of Turkish Delight, it is a Gelatin made sweet with variant flavors and contain good amount of nuts and also coated with icing sugar, rose petals, saffron, nuts to prevent sticking. If you order a Kg of Lokum, they will stuff the packet with all of the kind in proportion to give a supreme look and utmost attraction. I ordered 3 Kgs of such Turkish (sounds a lot to you but I tasted a few only after sharing with everyone L ). I had Mint with Pistachio, Pomegranate with Pistachio, Orange with Hazel Nuts, Rose with Pistachio, Saffron with Hazel Nuts and Coffee with Pistachio in a box. I must be honest to say that I cannot share the feeling of having any of this delicious piece in my mouth, I must try yourself. I can share the pictures only if that can complement.

If you are in Istanbul, just don’t miss it. Given another chance, I may have a separate luggage bag for Lokum and I am not going to share with you! ;)

Delicious Candies

Mouth Watering Baked Desserts

Flavor Blast Turkish Delights

Best Indian Beef Item in Kolkata, Nafeel, Park Circus

There can be a lot of Beef delicacy around Park Street or many high profile Restaurants, but when it comes to our very Indian dishes like Beef Biryani, Beef Chaap, Beef Bhuna or Beef Tikiya, you can surely give a visit to Nafeel, Park Circus.

Opposite to Jeesun and Park Circus Tram Depot, Nafeel shines in the corner with 3.5 Rating from Zomato, including my 4.5.

I visited Nafeel quite a few time and mostly for the Biryani. Surprisingly the biryani costs just around Rs.50/- and the sides around Rs.25/-. Too cheap to trust, is'nt it?

Anyway it's not a place to have food in their facility as the ambience is not good at all and that is why I considered it as a take away.

Let me tell you about the Biryani I had. It was quite good at the quantity and tastes reasonably good. And the meat? It was just awesome. As soft and tender as mutton, full of flavor. For such a cheap price it was like heaven.

If you are looking for good Indian beef dishes, you should not waist time and get there quickly. Enjoy the meat! :)