Bibi of Taajas, Jodhpur Park, Kolkata

Bibi of Taajas is one of Kolkatas oldest restaurant dedicated to bringing world cuisine to the city. A noble attempt and I love the restaurant just for that fact alone. The restaurant also has the unfortunate history of shutting down and reopening atleast 3 times in my memory and at different places. So while I will tell you where the latest reincarnation is, do forgive me if you go and find out that the restaurant does not exist there any more. Taajas has a variety of delicacies from all over the world, I was first introduced to the Greek Moussaka and the Risotto through the restaurant and used to think that those two dishes were Gods gift to mankind. I have since however tasted the Moussaka in Athens and had Risottos in a variety of high quality Mumbai restaurants and am sad to realize that the preparations at Taajas are not authentic although to be fair to them the taste is reasonable good in anyway. Maybe they seek to tailor the cuisine to the Bengali taste and wallet size. Bibi is the name of the owner of the restaurant and I am not exactly sure why she has added her name to the restaurant. Anyway does not really matter and I hope it works well for the restaurants business.

The décor of the restaurant is very homely, the current avatar is actually in a house setting, complete with a bookshelf and a divan in the corner. The last time I was at Taajas I sampled some Chicken Dumplings, Paella and the Thora Sin Moo. The chicken dumplings were good to taste but the dough was slightly on the thicker side, the Paella which is a Spanish Pulao, cooked with sausages and prawns had very good quality prawns but to my mind lacked a bit on the aspect of taste. The Thora Sin Moo which was a Laos inspired preparation of Pork served on a bed of rice was however excellent and worth another visit on its own. The other interesting fact that you should be aware of is that Taajas serves food in huge quantities, the paella that we ordered was good enough to feed 4 people.

Overall I enjoyed my meal and I really hope that the restaurant does well. It is a great effort to bring world cuisine to Kolkata. However if you do go there, do steer clear of the dishes you know so as not to be disappointed on the authenticity aspect, chances are very high that you will find something interesting and chances are even higher that you will completely love what you are eating.

A meal for two at Bibi of Taajas will cost you approximately Rs 800/-

How to get there: The latest incarnation is located in a lane right opposite the Jodhpur Park Post Office in South Kolkata. The lane will fall to your left if you are driving from Golpark towards Jadavpur. Taajas is 30 m inside the lane on your right.

Mocambo, Park Street, Kolkata

Mocambo is easily one of Kolkata’s most famous restaurants serving old style, typically Kolkata, continental cuisine. It is the most popular place to go and enjoy a quasi British experience in the city that Job Charnok founded. Not that Mocambo does not have competition, Sky Room had a better brand, and was renowned for top quality food but the owners decided to not continue with the restaurant business almost two to three decades back and exists only in the memory of the Kolkatan. Peter Cat probably has better food but is done in by their world famous Chello Kebab, which effectively defines the restaurant. Mocambo has therefore emerged as the place to sample food from the mother country in the one time capital of British India.
The décor at Mocambo is typically British, grand turbaned doorman, waiters in white or black, rich carpeted floors and comfortable sofas which tend to envelope you while you sit. The service is not the fastest but is always polite. The food is good but the restaurant does have its share of disaster dishes as I found out. The last time I was there at Mocambo, I sampled the necessary Prawn Cocktail and Angels on Horseback. The Prawn Cocktail – Prawns in a mayo, tomato ketch up cocktail was good. The prawns were of the highest quality but the cocktail was blander and less spruced up than the version that Peter Cat offers. Very good but the prawn cocktail at Peter Cat is a personal favourite. The Angels on Horseback which sounded great, chicken wrapped in bacon and served on a bed of tomato and sausage rice was a disaster as it was too sweet for my palate which is actually saying a lot. I was reduced to really forcing myself to finish the dish. Because of my multiple previous visits however, I will still vouch for the food. Do go there for the Old Kolkata dining experience as well as the food! Order either the Chicken Cordon Bleu or the Chicken Tetrazzini as your main course.
A meal for two at Mocambo without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 600/-
How to get there: Mocambo is on Park Street, on one of the lefts just after the Park Hotel. Most people in the area should be able to help you with the location.

Peter Cat, Park Street, Kolkata

Having a dish that is world famous is usually good news for a restaurant. I am sure that is the case also for Peter Cat and the world famous Chello Kebab, but I feel it over powers the restaurant as I have never and I am being honest here, I have never tasted a dish in Peter Cat apart from the Chello Kebab. You might, if you go there often enough, but I have always entered the restaurant with my mind made up. I will be ordering the Chello Kebab as the main course.

Peter Cat is an old style Kolkata restaurant and the décor is typical. The influence of England is obvious. A grand turbaned waiter at the entrance, rich carpets on the floors, comfortable large sofas as seats and a purposefully dim lighting arrangement – just the kind of place you want to take your lady love or your colleagues out for a grand dinner. Another obvious attempt by the English to create a corner in Kolkata reminding them of their home and carried on by the present management, I actually love it and Kolkata would not be Kolkata without these colonial influences.

The last time I was there I sampled the Chello Kebab obviously and the Prawn Cocktail. The Prawn Cocktail is one of Kolkatas favorite starters and is essentially Prawns served in a cocktail made with mayonnaise, tomato ketchup and a mix of herbs and spices. A superb concoction and a definite order if you want to sample Kolkata Continental cuisine, the version at Peter Cat slightly overdoes the lime and the sweet but I tend to like it more than the slightly blander versions going around at most restaurants. The quality of the prawns – another key feature of the serving was of the highest quality. The cocktail was followed by the Chello Kebab. The dish is incredibly simple and maybe that is why it is so famous. Two Sheekh Kebabs and a skewer of Chicken Tikka with Capsicum and Tomato pieces line the two sides of a bed of rice. There is a fried omelet on the bed of rice and 4 to 5 cubes of butter. The rice is flavoured with herbs and is supposed to be Persian rice. That is pretty much it! Many disparate pieces put together and served in a British setting. What is even more amazing is that the combination really appeals to 90% of the people who have tasted it. World Famous and I am not joking in the least. So much so that the menu card has been advertising the preparation as a “World Heritage Preparation”. Do go to Peter Cat the next time you are in Kolkata, for the Chello Kebab and for the Old Kolkata restaurant experience!

A meal for two at Peter Cat without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 550/-

How to get there: Peter Cat is on Park Street. It is very near to the Park Hotel.

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.

Haka, Mani Square, Eastern Bypass, Kolkata

Haka is one of Kolkata’s newer buffet outlets. It is a new restaurant and is a part of new modern Kolkata and has a lot going for it. The location is great. The look and feel of the restaurant is young, bright and appealing. The décor is chic and uses the typically Chinese red and black colours rather well. The seating is smart and very comfortable and the waiters are smartly dressed and very attentive. They also do a pretty decent job of customer service as apparently they strike up a good rapport with customers and their families. A great job on the get up, seating comfort and customer service.

The food? OK I guess but not of the standard that Kolkata Chinese occupies in my mind space. The food is buffet, a – la – carte options are not available at the restaurant. The spread is decent. Two soups, three starters, a rice, a noodle and an option of four main dishes split down the middle in terms of vegetarian and non-vegetarian, plus a dessert of vanilla ice cream and an interesting milk dumpling. The food was not bad at all but not a single one of the dishes caught the imagination in the way it should. Overall the restaurant seemed like a decent option for a young family to go and have a meal after watching a movie or spending time at the mall. I would definitely not recommend it as an option if you are just looking for a good Chinese meal. Kolkata definitely has far better options!

A meal for two at Haka without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 500/-

How to get there: Haka is on the top floor of Mani Square Mall situated on the Eastern Bypass.

Casa Toscana, Chowringhee, Kolkata

Casa Toscana is a relatively recent addition to Kolkata's food supermarket and in a relatively short period of time has been able to create its niche in the fine dining options the city offers. The same is with good reason and not by accident.
Casa Toscana, has two seating areas, one outdoor and the other indoors. The seating is comfortable, yet exuding a casual homely ambiance allowing one to settle down and enjoy decently authentic Italian cuisine. The place is obviously run professionally and the service is prompt and polite. The waiters are well dressed, smart and try to go the extra way to help the customers.
The food that we sampled was good without being spectacular. The standard Olive Oil and Vinegar combination is there on each table, however they serve complimentary bread sticks instead of bread at the table. The bread sticks although individually tasty do not go well with the Olive Oil and Vinegar and I really think bread would work better. After a round of prawn and chicken starters which were all very tasty, we went on to the main course. Being a large group we had ordered quite a spread and we sampled The Mushroom Risotto, Spaghetti Bolgnese, Meat Lasagna and a Pepperoni Pizza. If I had to pick one dish out of the lot as the best it would have to be the Pepperoni Pizza - outstanding and ranking amongst the best Pizzas I have ever tasted.
However, that does not say much for the remaining dishes which were decent, (especially the Spaghetti Bolognese), but lacked that extra something. I am sorry to say this but Mumbai has far better Italian fare. The desserts were however better and they served a very good tiramisu and shortcake.
Overall, Casa Toscana serves as a good option if you fancy some Italian food in Kolkata. Great variety for Kolkatans I guess, but do not waste a meal if you are visiting the city for a short period. There are a lot better culinary options in the City of Joy.
A meal for two at Casa Toscana without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 1400/-
How to get there: Casa Toscana is at Chowringhee Square in Kolkata, just opposite the Nehru childrens museum.

Haryana Sweets, Kankurgachi, Kolkata

Kolkata is a Bengali city. Without doubt. But the Bengaliness of Kolkata does not mean in any way that the city does not welcome people from all across the country. The city welcomes hordes of people all over the country with arms wide open and imparts in all its residents certain values and characteristics which make them and the city inextricable Bengali in nature, and also largely in language spoken. There is no MNS equivalent enforcing the diktat in Kolkata but the people from the other states inevitably learn and start conversing in the language of the state. Kolkata belongs as much to the Marwaris, Biharis and Tamilians as it does to the Bengali, and the cosmopolitan nature is seen not only in the constitution of the population but also in the food habits of the residents.
If the roll and the 'phuchka' are Kolkata's most popular snack through the day, the morning belongs to the Kachori and the Aloo Subzi. Aloo Subzi called Aloo Tarkari, and the Kachori, pronounced Kach'oo'ri is easily the most popular breakfast in the city of Kolkata. The food is available at most street corners in Kolkata. The menu : Hot Kachoris, Aloo Subzi, some Samosas rounded off by Jalebi and a cup of tea. Positively brilliant and a great way to start the day.
Haryana Sweets in Kankurgachi is one of the more famous shops serving the Kachori - Aloo breakfast in North Kolkata. The claim to fame, the obvious quality and the effort to create the smallest Kachoris you will ever see, yet each piece cooked with better care and precision than the larger variety at most street corners. Haryana Sweets is a treat for the regular Kolkatan for the smaller variety of Kachori and to the visitor to begin the Kolkata day in trademark fashion. A great breakfast, if slightly unhealthy, but what the hell, when in Kolkata, you just cannot worry about health when it comes to food. Also, do please remember to have a Jalebi to end the meal. Food in Kolkata is never complete without a sweet to round of the meal. It is part of being Bengali!
A meal for two at Haryana sweets will cost you approximately Rs 40/-. The Kachoris come for Rs 2/- each
How to get there: Haryana Sweets is on the main road from Kankurgachi Mod towards Phul Bagan, it is a 50 m walk from the cross road. It will fall to your left.

Flurys, Park Street, Kolkata

Kolkata was a city founded by an Englishman and served at the capital of British India for a significant period of time and it is only apt therefore that one of the finest English Coffee houses outside of the British Isles be based there. If the Cricket fields of India served to be "a corner of a foreign field that would be forever England", then it is not reasonably daft to suppose that Flurys, founded by Mr and Mrs J. Flurys in 1928 was envisaged to be "a cafe in a foreign city that would be forever England".
Flurys in the middle of Kolkata's business district is easily one of the most popular all day cafes and break fast joints in Kolkata. In my childhood days, the get up, and the service was very grand and
fashionable slow. The prevailing colour was white and the waiters well decked up in bleached white clothes and head gear. The highlight used to be the trolley full of pastries they used to take from table to table asking guests to choose very similar to crabs and lobsters are paraded in todays sea food restaurants.
Flurys a few years ago has decided to go Pink. Fortunately however the quality of the food remains impeccably brilliant. The service has become more modern, the service levels are better although the bleached white has been replaced with contemporary black. The one miss is that the trolley laden with pastries has been replaced by a bar where one can go and choose, but if the owners are reading this, do please revert to the trolley. It was a one of a kind experience and you will definitely sell more of those beautiful pastries.
The last time I was at Flurys, I ordered the Chicken Mustard Sandwiches and Beans on Toast, both are truly must haves. The Beans on Toast is a Flurys speciality and is served with finely chopped onions and chilli. One has to sprinkle the onion and chilli on the serving of beans on toast as per ones taste, and eat away to glory. I particularly love the Chicken Mustard Sandwich and would recommend you order the Non Grilled version. The diced chicken, mustard and soft white bread are an unbeatable combination. Of course the meal was washed down with a glass of cold coffee. Other delights of Flurys are the Club Sandwich and Mushroom, the Chicken Ommelette and Chicken on Toast, all three are highly recommended from past experiences. Alas one is limited in appetite and cannot keep on eating. Sigh!
A meal for two at Flurys without drinks, will cost you approximately Rs 400/-
How to get there: Flurys is on Park Street right next to the Music World.

The Dhaba, Baghajatin, Kolkata

In 1984, when the first pogrom ensued in the history of independent India and Sikhs were mercilessly slaughtered all through the country, Kolkata was spared. The communist Government in one of its few moments of glory ensure that not a single Sikh was hurt. Kolkata became one of the favourite cities of the Khalsa outside of the land of five rivers and the culinary scape of the Kolkata was the winner for it.
There are a couple of Punjabi Dhabas famous in Kolkata and one of them most joyfully has decided to spread its wings. The Dhaba at Ballygunge Phari has decided to open a branch at Baghajatin mod towards Garia and was the place where I had a typically hearty Punjabi meal in my last visit to Kolkata.
The Dhaba has very simple, sparse decor. Clean but without any unnecessary pieces of art on the walls or on the floor. The focus is wholly and solely on food and jolly good food it is as well.
As is the case as with most restaurants in Kolkata, the menu was fixed in my mind even before I stepped in. The Naan is a must at The Dhaba, large, and very soft. With Naan, we ordered the Egg Tadka and the Chicken Bharta, two of Kolkata's great dishes and especially good at The Dhaba. The Egg Tadka is basically nothing but Daal Tadka cooked with a bit of egg scrambles with it. The taste of egg adds to the flavour but what really gets me is the slightly burnt taste you get with the Tadka of Kolkata. The burnt flavour gives a whole new twist to the taste buds and takes the Egg Tadka on a whole different plane of quality. Super and incredibly good!
The chicken Bharta is shredded chicken and a sliced boiled egg cooked in a sauce not very different from the standard butter masala. The taste is not exceptionally different but is as good as any butter chicken anywhere in the country. The fact that the Bharta is not usually available at restaurants outside of Kolkata makes the dish that much more special and a definite order in all visits to The Dhaba.
A meal for two at Tha Dhaba without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 450/-
How to get there: The Dhaba is right on Baghajatin Mod, where all the buses and autos stop to unboard passengers. If you are travelling from Jadavpur towards Garia, The Dhaba will fall towards your left.

Kusum Snack Bar, Park Street, Kolkata

In the minds of the Indian foodie, the Kati roll is as inextricably linked to Kolkata as Sarson da Saag is linked to the Punjab. Kolkata is pretty much Kati roll city, with outlets vending rolls to be found in almost every nook and corner. The kati roll shop along with the 'Phuchka' (the Kolkata version of the Gol Gappa) vendor are as symbolic of the city as the Vada Pav outlet and the local train is of Mumbai.
Kolkata is the city for dreamers and thinkers, to debate is to breathe and the Phuchka and the roll are often the fuel on which many hours are spent debating everything from Kurusawa to the Kolkata Knight Riders.
What is the Kati roll? Cooked meat, spice, fried onions and a bit of green chilli, wrapped inside a hot parantha and served hot. Tasty, simple and uncomplicated as some of the best things in life inevitable are. How something like this can taste so deliciously brilliant and yet not be found anywhere else in the country is down, I believe to simple economics. Something this simple cannot be priced too high, and in Kolkata, to an extent, at least, economics don't matter!
Kusum Snack Bar on park street is easily one of the most famous Kati roll outlet in Kolkata. Tough to say if it is the best, given the sheer number of roll outlets in Kolkata, but Kusum does serve a very decent mutton roll. Kusum is a shack and like other roll outlets does not have any seating. People stand outside munching on their rolls in their groups of friends or just take the roll and continue on their way.
Kusum has the standard options of Chicken, Mutton, Egg Chicken/ Mutton, Double Egg Chicken / Mutton and the obscene Double Egg, Double Chicken/ Mutton options. The Egg basically indicate the coating of egg on one side of the Paratha but the Double Chicken / Mutton options just have too much meat in them even for an obsessive carnivore like me! If you listen to me go for the simple Chicken/ Mutton roll. If you like egg you can try an Egg Chicken/ Mutton.
A meal for two at Kusum Snack Bar without drinks will cost you Rs 140/-
How to get there: Kusum is on Park Street just someway off from Park Hotel. You will see a steel gate on the left just after the Park Hotel and the famous Olympia bar. Kusum Snack bar is on your left as soon as you enter the gate.

Shiraz, Circus Avenue, Park Street, Kolkata

"What is your favourite food?", "What is your favourite restaurant?", two potentially tricky questions for foodies - after all we love most types of foods and adore most restaurants. For me, however, one of the two answers are relatively straightforward. My favourite cuisine is South East Asian, if the choice come down to a particular dish, it is undoubtedly the Biriyani, the Kolkata Biriyani.
My favourite restaurant however is undoubtedly Shiraz. Why Shiraz? Quite simply, it is because the restaurant began my love affair with food. Shiraz, the Golden Restaurant will always hold a special place in my heart. Shiraz in my mind, heart and tongue serves the best Calcutta style Biriyani and that is that. To me that statement is final and completely non - negotiable.

Shiraz has recently moved from one side of Park Street to the other and has opened a fine dining section along with the regular Non AC section of the restaurant. The fine dining section is the one I visited the last time I was in Kolkata. They have done a pretty decent job of retaining the essential slightly rustic feel of Shiraz, and making the place far more comfortable and amenable to a family outing than what it used to be. The service is very prompt without being overtly polite. If there are space constraints however, I noticed that they are still open to sharing tables with other ravenous eaters.

What to order in Shiraz, quite a lot actually. The essential dishes are the Mutton Biriyani and the Chicken Chaap. Go for the standard and not the special Biriyani, the egg in the special Biriyani, according to me is a pointless addition and does not add to any flavor whatsoever. The Mutton in the mutton biriyani will be the softest and most flavoured you will have tasted. The Chicken Chaap is the ideal foil to the Biriyani. If you are lucky, you will get a breast piece - I think the amount of chicken is far far more than a leg piece. The chaap is cooked in a slightly reddish masala and is very tasty. The highlight is the gravy. The dish is relatively dry, there isn't too much gravy, but every oily morsel of the gravy goes incredibly well with the Biriyani rice. You are obviously not supposed to think of Choleseterol and fat. You are having Biriyani! You are in Kolkata!

That would pretty much be a complete meal but I will ask you for two more add-ons, you may need to over eat but the add-ons are a must to round off the Shiraz experience. If you do not want to over eat please go in a group and taste everything I am talking about. Order the mutton rezala, not so much for the meat, but for the gravy. Ensure that you are generous with the gravy on the portion of rice you are having with it. The portion of gravy in the morsel should not be less than 35%. Sorry for the specifications and detail but it is Shiraz, it is my favorite restaurant, and if you follow my instructions, you will bless me while you are having one of the tastiest morsels of food in your life.

The 2nd add on would be the Mutton Shammi Kebab, it may not be in the menu, but order it all the same. You get mutton mince, mutton fat served in a delightfully oily kebab formation. The kebab breaks quite easily and it goes excellently with Biriyani rice or Rumali Roti.

Of course no meal is complete without dessert and what better than the Firni to round off the meal of a lifetime! Shiraz, the Golden Restaurant does not have a special place in my heart for nothing!

A meal for two at Shiraz without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 350/-.

How to get there: Shiraz is on Park Street at the Circus Avenue crossing. If you are going towards Park Circus, the new place falls on your left. Previously till just two years back it used to fall on your right. Do not get a shock and think like I did for some time that the restaurant has closed down. It is alive and well on the other side of the road. Any taxi driver/ Kolkata citizen worth his salt will know where Shiraz is.