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! :)

Club Foodie, Best Chinese Take-away in Tollygunge, Kolkata

That's an end to the year long wait to savor real tasty Chinese Cuisines. Yes, it's at your door step now in Tollygunge.

Club Foodie surely is the destination for people in Tollygunge seeking exclusive Chinese dishes. If you stay around the Tollywood, you are the one who can give it a try. It's next to Ajadgarh Post Office, on N. S. C. Bose Road.

It's probably the only take-away where you can find high quality Chowmein, Fried Rice, Chinese Side Dishes, Manchurians, Garlic Chicken and many more, which taste like any famous Multi-cuisine Restaurant. Not only the taste and quality but the method is also very neat and clean. You can see your food being prepared in front of you by the cook.

Now comes the price part. It's absolutely cheap. The Chilie Chicken (8 pcs of boneless chicken) costs only Rs.80/- and Chowmein starting from Rs.45/- which is really very cheap compared to any restaurant. Just a sitting arrangement could add another star but you can at least have high quality food at your home. They have started free home delivery on weekends as well for order over Rs.100/-

Have the best Chinese meal at Tollygunge for best price, while watching your favorite TV Show at home. :)

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.