Golbari, Shyambazar, Kolkata

There are dishes that define restaurants. The opposite however is rarely true. Golbari is however one such restaurant. Golbari – a hole in the wall eatery in North Kolkata defines the Kosha Mangsho which is basically nothing but your regular meat curry, the curry is slightly reduced more than usual, hence “Kosha”. Why I say Golbari defines the dish, is that it serves as the benchmark for the mutton curry and serves as the comparison point of what is the weekly gastronomical highlight in the regular Bengali middle class – the meat curry. Non Bengalis might be surprised to read this but the highlight in the Bengali’s food week is the mutton curry eaten on Sundays. You must realize that fish is eaten everyday and hence is not a highlight. Golbari serves if not the best, easily the most famous Kosha Mangsho in Kolkata – and that is reason enough to go and sample the preparation.

Golbari is a hole in the wall eatery. It is named so, because of the circular façade of the building that hosts the restaurant (Gol in Bengali means round) and would not be more than 400 sq ft including cooking area. The tables at the restaurant are no more than pieces of wood jutting at the sides where you have to sit side by side and eat. It is also not very hygienic as you essentially have waiters and customers almost walking over you in the tiny space. However, the food is good and you will often find a queue outside the eatery waiting for a chance to enter the restaurant. The smart thing they have done to manage the crowd is that you have to pre-order and prepay before entering the restaurant. Not that you cant order more, but the essential order has to be placed prior to entering the restaurant.

The food is legendary and does not disappoint. It will be possibly the richest meat curry you will have in your life. Almost too dark and too oily for most palates, I think it tastes good but you must be careful that you do not have too much if you are not used to rich food. The quality of meat however is not the greatest and when I go there I usually go for the Mutton Kheema which is cooked in the same gravy. The other highlight of the restaurant which is not talked about that often is the quality of the roti which is had with the meat. There is a layering of ghee which makes the rotis very soft and fantastic to taste. Apart from the meat, the restaurant also has a whole range of chops and cutlets which are apparently good but that is second hand feedback. Overall a must visit purely from the point of view of tasting the benchmark of the ubiquitous mutton curry. Go and order the mutton kheema and 2 rotis.

A meal for two at Golbari without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 200/-

How to get there: Golbari is right of the 5 point crossing at Shyambazar. It is the main crossing in the area and is easy to locate. It in on a point where the statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on horseback faces you!

6 Ballygunj Place, Ballygunj Place, Kolkata

6 Ballygunj place is part of a relatively recent trend that is being seen in Kolkata of traditional Bengali eateries. The evolution of Bengali eateries being seen in Kolkata is rather interesting as the Bengali usually tends to have a certain disdain on authentic Bengali style fish, and other dishes being cooked outside of his, or his aunt’s home. I believe it is due to the increasing cosmopolitanisation of the city and the increased nuclearisation of the Bengali family that is leading to the increase and demand of such restaurant due to the paucity of time that is essential in the cooking of these Bengali delicacies. I guess modernization does have its drawbacks, the women of the Bengali household are increasingly spending time at office rather than in the kitchen and a new niche of restaurants has been created. “6 Ballygunj place” is among the finer options of authentic Bengali cuisine in Kolkata.

The last time I was at 6 Ballygunj place we ordered quite a spread, given the choice available, keeping the order down to just four dishes was an exercise in restraint. We ordered the Gondhoraj Chicken for starters, and for main course we had the Bengali “Mishti” or sweet pulao, Daab Chingri and Chitol Maachher Muittha.

The Gondhoraj Chicken is an innovation of the restaurant, it is essentially boneless chicken cooked with a strong essence of lemon rind and coriander leaves. It is an experiment that has worked very well. The taste was exceptional and left us almost hoping for an extra stomach. The Sweet Pulao is one of Bengals favorites, essentially a fried rice with cashew and kishmish (a dried sweet raisin), the rice was slightly grubby than ideal but then, the pulao went excellently with the other dishes that we sampled. The other slight downer was a little bit extra salt than ideal on the pulao.

The Daab Chingri and the Chitol Maachher Muittha were the two highlights of the meal. The Daab Chingri is one of the most visibly alluring dishes you can order. The presentation is one of the highlights with the prawn cooked with mustard and coconut presented inside a cut coconut (daab) and served from it. I believe that the dish is steamed in the coconut shell which imparts the flavor for the dish. The Daab Chingri at 6 Ballygunj Place was very tasty without making the mistake of erring in being sweeter than essential.

The chitol maachher muittha which is basically a fish goshtaba and is easily a highlight of the restaurant as well as in all Bengali cuisine. The dish is also incredibly difficulty to cook at home and is highly recommended for Bengalis and non-Bengalis alike. It is also an excellent way to enter into the delicious world of fresh water fish for people who are not used to the taste or have problems with the texture. The fish tastes almost line a meat kofta and serves as a great way to break the ice with fish. The gravy was also mildly spicy and contrasted excellently with the sweetness of the pulao.

A Bengali Meal is incomplete without something sweet and the restaurant excelled in that department also. It combined modern cooking techniques and Bengal food by creating the Notun Gurer Ice Cream, Notun Gur is a particular delicacy of Bengal and is essentially the raw material from which rasagullas and Sandesh are made in the winters. The notun gur is easily one of the most wondrous ice creams I have had in my life. They also add a bit of melted Gur to add an even greater flavour to the ice cream. The Ice Cream is so good that it merits visiting the restaurant on its own. An absolutely brilliant meal and highly recommended.

A meal for two at 6 Ballygunj Place without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 800/-

How to get there: 6 BallyGunj place is located at Ballygunj place in Kolkata, the address is actually 6 Ballygunj Place. If you are driving from Park Circus towards Gariahat, you have to take the left past Kwality restaurant in Ballygunj Phari. The road is narrow and will emerge after crossing Blue Chip guest house. You have to take the right after the guest house hits a T junction. The restaurant will fall immediately on your left after taking the right at the T junction.

Hangla's, Galleria, Powai

Hangla’s is probably the best name possible for a Bengali, restaurant that serves primarily snacks, and that is what Hangla’s is. “Hangla” is the Bengali word for greedy and I think it makes for a great name for a snack joint. Most people, on seeing the sign, break into a smirk and are immediately curious about the kind of food on offer at the restaurant. Gluttony after all is one of the most popular and safe of the seven sins, and along with lust, probably the Bengali's favourite!

Hangla;s is situated on the food court at Galleria, Powai. It is no more than a hole in the wall and shares rather unattractive seating with 5 or 6 other restaurants, all operating on a primarily home delivery based business model. The service is almost non existent with dishes arriving at their own sweet time. You will be lucky to get what you order and it’s about a one in a million chance that you will be served on time, if you have ordered anything outside a chicken roll.

The last time I was there at Hanglas, I sampled some chicken Rezala with Paratha and some mutton biriyani. I had actually ordered Mutton Rezala and Chicken Biriyani but was served the opposite. It was also served rather late so we went along with what was brought before us. Excellence in operations is obviously not one of the restaurants strengths. The Chicken Rezala tasted ok, but seemed to be more like a Chicken Kassa rather than a Rezala, if it was indeed the Rezala then it was the most curd-free Rezala that I have had in my life. The Biriyani was decent without setting the world alight, but Kolkata Biriyani always tastes good as the same is infrequently available outside Kolkata. What was brilliant though, were the Parathas which were served with the chicken. Soft, tender and going excellently with the chicken that was served! Although brilliant, the parathas could not completely salvage the meal as the service really sucks. Placing an order at the restaurant seems to be rather pointless. It is advisable to stick to the rolls which are tasty, if slightly expensive.

A meal for two at Hangla’s without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 450/-

How to get there: Hangla’s is on the Galleria food court in Powai. The food court is on the first floor.

Howrah, Crawford Market, Mumbai

Howrah is the Bengali restaurant of the New Bengal Hotel near Crawford Market. The restaurant and the hotel are one of the oldest Bengali joints in Mumbai. The objective is to recreate a corner of Mumbai that is the city of joy. The effort works to a large extent. The signboard is half English and half Bengali. I do not know about you but being a "Probashi Bangali" the heart particularly warms to the sight of the script and specially when it has to do with food.

The decor is typically Old Calcutta. Largish, oldish sofas suffice as seats. The feel is very similar to what you get in a slightly upmarket Calcutta outlet. The light is dim and not too bright, the A/C slightly on the chillier side. The walls are adorned with pictures of Calcutta of yore, as is the menu card. There are some really nice pictures of Howrah bridge and what was there before the present day structure existed. The waiters are well dressed in black uniforms but are delightfully not the most effective. The day we went the patrons were also reminiscent of old Kolkata, Bengali families of all shapes and sizes as well as one quintessential Bihari/ Marwari family. Howrah of all the restaurants in Mumbai was the most successful in transporting me back to Kolkata.

Maybe we went on a particularly bad day but the food in Howrah was surprisingly devoid of salt (or maybe that is how they serve their food and customers are expected to use the salt at the table). We had Daab Chingri (Prawns served in a White Coconut curry and served from inside the coconut shell), and Murgir Jhol (Chichen Curry). As I had mentioned, both the dishes were short on the salt and were disappointing. The chicken curry was also boneless, which I guess is hygienic but not the style that should be served in a Bengali restaurant. The menu however was one of the most varied I have seen in a Bengali restaurant and maybe they will not forget the salt the day you plan to visit. I was also not at my hungriest best and hence did not go for the interesting meal option that Howrah serves replete with Luchi, Chholar Daal, Rui Maach, and Mangsho or Chingri as per choice. The portions are limited but I am hopeful that the fare should be good. The highlight of the meal that we had was the sweet dish - we ordered a plate of Chhanar payesh, (smalll rasagullas in kheer). Completely authentic and very very delicious!
A meal for two at Howrah without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 700/-

How to get there: Howrah is the restaurant of the New Bengal Hotel, near Crawford market. From VT you have to drive towards Crawford market. Howrah will fall before the Crawford market alongside the J J Flyover on the right. It is slightly difficult to locate from the road. The more visible signage is that of Zaafraan which is the other Mughlai/ Chinese restaurant of the hotel.

Bijoli Grill, Powai

Yes, I was overjoyed when I heard that Bijoli Grill had opened in Mumbai. Yes, I was overjoyed that it had opened in Powai. And yes, I went to Bijoli Grill salivating at the thought of Prawn Cutlets, Fish Fry and Kosha Mangsho. The food was good and was authentic Bengali cuisine. But, No, I will not recommend it unless one desperately wants to try out good Bengali cuisine in Mumbai and does not want to go to Andheri West. Bijoli Grill food, the little that I had tasted does not get you the quality or the variety served up at Oh! Calcutta. Nor is it the decent value for money fare that you sample at Calcutta Club. To me it seemed like Bijoli Grill was trying to cash in on the brand that it has built in Kolkata but it seems to me that erosion is all that will happen to the brand value unless they get their act right and that too very quickly.

I went to Bijoli Grill during the Puja's for a relatively light lunch due to the amount of snacks that had been devoured during a quintessential Pujo morning. Given the potency of Bengali food however we landed up sampling a bit of Prawn Cutlet, Shaada Bhaat and Kosha Mangsho. The Prawn Cutlet was good, it was prepared with the bit of the prawn tail sticking out; which to me is definitely the way to set the saliva racing. The taste was OK without being exceptional. The Kosha Mangsho was not too spicy but seemed to be in the middle without anything in the preparation to make it memorable, the mutton itself was soft and well cooked. The shaada bhaat was good as per standards at most high end restaurants. In case you are thinking why the review of the food is at a disconnect from what I said in the first part of the blog, it is because I really crave and love Bengali food. It is not that the food is not tasty. It is, but Bijoli Grill charges a premium and as a customer I would demand a value for that premium which I did not get. For this type of food, I would choose a Calcutta Club any day.

A meal for two at Bijoli Grill without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 1500/-

How to get there: Bijoli Grill is at Hakone, in Powai. It is situated right at the mouth of the entertainment park. In case you are unfamiliar with Powai, travel down the JVLR and enter the Hiranandani Gardens through the Pizza Hut entry. Hakone falls to your left before any turn can confuse you. Bijoli Grill is on the entrance slightly to the left.

Calcutta Club, Andheri West, Mumbai

Calcutta Club in Oshiwara, Andheri West is one of my most favourite restaurants in Mumbai. It serves decent Bangali food, not as good as what you get in Oh! Calcutta, however the outlet serves what according to me is the best Calcutta Biriyani you get in Mumbai.
Replete with a full hardboiled egg and a large half potato - ingredients which might make a Hyderabadi and Lucknaowi cringe makes a Calcuttan salivate. The version that you get in Calcutta club although slightly heavy on the oil is exactly what I like and makes me feel almost at home. I also love the decor at Calcutta club and the pictures of Old Calcutta are really nice and gives the place a nice feel. The only issue is how cramped the place is and I hope that they soon open another larger branch closer to Powai.
Last time we were at Calcutta Club, we ordered the Biriyani obvously and preceded that with some Luchi , Cholar Daal and Aloor Dom. The Luchi and Cholar daal is just an unbeatable combination and was great, however the Aloor Dom was really bad and all of you would be strongly advised to steer clear of the preparation when and if you decide to frequent the place.
A meal for two at Calcutta Club will cost you approximately Rs 300/-
How to get there: Calcutta Club is in Oshiwara Andheri West. It is a bit difficult to spot alhough you will not really get lost. If you are driving from Bandra via linking road. You will have Fame Adlabs to your left. You have to drive straight on past Cinemax mall and crossing two further signals. Calcutta Club will be towards your right. You will know that you have missed it if you come to a T junction. In case you do take a U turn and keep an eye on your left.