12 things you must try in Kolkata

For all the people who really want to experience the City of Joy, this is a quick list of 12 things you must try. If you are one of those who believe that the best way to explore a city is to visit the best pubs, restaurants and malls only, this is certainly NOT for you. Also, this list is NOT exhaustive. It's just the first things that came to my mind one homesick night. :( Feel free to add on. I am sure Kolkata has much much more to offer.

1. Take a ferry ride across the Hooghly: This is one of the coolest, cheapest, fastest and efficient modes of transport available in the city. Especially if you want to come to the city from Howrah station and the Howrah Bridge is choked with traffic, take a Rs 4 ticket and hop on to a ferry to Babughat or Ahiritola. Do not sit. Stand on the deck. You will love to watch and photograph the Howrah Bridge and the three other hanging bridges in all their majestic splendour. The best time to take the ferry is during sunset when you get the sinking sun, the river and the bridges in a single frame
2. Visit College Street: It is THE book market of Kolkata. Some people believe that almost every book ever published by mankind is available here. Hunt well and you can discover books that are out of print now, or maybe even more than a century old. Bargain well, and you can take home a copy of the first edition of 'Oxford Short Stories' for Rs 5 (as I did a few years ago). While you're at it, do visit the Presidency College, have an 'Infusion' at the legendary Indian Coffee House and the really really awesome Daab Sherbet at Paramount, one of the old school sherbet shops
3. Shop at Gariahat: Much before Kolkata got all these big malls, Puja shopping invariably meant a trip to Gariahat, no matter in which corner of the city you lived in. The array of goods you get on the roadside there is mindboggling. From crockery to skirts, from handbags to electronics - you have it all. Just make it a point to hone up your bargaining skills before you go there. Also do visit Anandamela-the electronics store and the many famous saree shops there.
4. Photography at Princep Ghat: If you have seen Parineeta, you must be knowing how picturesque Princep Ghat is. It's cliched, but it's beautiful. It's real fun to take some pics among the pillars with those endless combinations. And with the river and the Second Hooghly Bridge in the background, it just looks out of the world. And while you are there, do not forget to check out SCOOP, the ice cream parlour with fun sundaes and an awesome view of the river.
5. Celebrate Christmas at Bow Barracks: Bow Barracks is the locality inhabited by the Anglo-Indian community of Kolkata. Christmas is the best time to spend here since a lot of the children who now live in more lucrative countries like Dubai or Australia come home. Every home spells out warmth through the mulled wines and the homemade cakes they make. But do not make a mistake. A lot of women on that street can make a decent 'macher jhol' too.
6. Watch sculptors at Kumortuli: Kumortuli is the little dingy place in North Kolkata which makes all the clay (and now fibreglass) idols for all of Kolkata and even elsewhere. Idols - of any deity and of course, Durga. Spend an afternoon there and watch the master sculptors at work. It's amazing as how some of the most little known artists bring life out of clay and create magic. They have always been my heroes. As a child, they were the people I thanked the most during the Pujas. They always, even now, make the goddess come alive for so many people and keep restoring faith in us.
7. Electronics at Chandni Chowk: THE electronics market of the city, this place, along with it's lanes and by lanes has given birth to many a Kolkata genius. From top notch original stuff to cheap home made knockoffs of every product and brand possible - you'll get it here. Repairs that your official service centre has given up on? Or something fun that costs you a bomb? Look well and you'll find a little genius hidden in one of these shops who will make magic with a soldering iron and a voltmeter.
8. Take a metro ride: I'd suggest, take an end-to-end metro ride. Kolkata metro has a stretch below the ground and one above. Make sure you cover both. The first metro of India, it's a sheer pleasure to ride. Fast, convenient and surprisingly cheap. Make sure to check out the names of the newer stations. It's kinda funny. 
9. Eat Chinese food at Tangra: The only Chinatown of India is located in Tangra, Kolkata. It also happens to be the place where you'll get the best EVER Chinese food. And mind you, it's not Indian Chinese. It's Chinese Chinese. The real stuff. Right from the mainland. If you eat there once, I'm sure you'll want to go back there many, many more times. And after that fabulous meal, make sure you visit the Chinese Kali Temple and the Chinese School there and also pick up a copy of the local Chinese newspaper. The best time to go there is of course, the Chinese New Year.
10. Park Street: Park Street has a life of it's own, which can not be described unless you take a walk down this very colourful, fabled and awesome street. Start at the Park Circus end. Have soem Biryani at Shiraz, some firni at Arsalan and come to Mallick Bazar. Buy some sevaiyan from there, check out the Assembly of God Church building, the Marwari saree shops, the 17 schools on Park Street, St.Xavier's College and some of the best restaurants in Kolkata. Drop by the antique store, the Oxford Bookstore, Hobby Centre, Giggles - the knick knack shop. Grab a drink at Olypub. Experience Park Street.
11. Explore New Market: New Market is another old favourite shopping destination. Here too, you'll find some of the most legendary stores of Old Calcutta. You will also find stores selling all sorts of imported cosmetics, pet food, clothes etc etc. Check out the Chinese leather stores where you can custom design your own genuine leather footwear. Buy silver trinkets form Chamba Lama and have cheese samosa made out of Jewish cheese at the Jewish bakery - Nahoum's. 
12. Take a tram ride: This is a mode of transport you will find in no other Indian city. It runs on rails in the heart of the city, often blamed for holding up traffic. But the unadulterated old world charm accompanied by the rock bottom fares starting at Rs 3.50 has created the Tram it's own fan base. Best suited for a leisurely morning, try to hop on to one of those new trams as well. A tram ride near Maidan on a rainy evening is the stuff dreams are made of.

So, explore. Have fun. Experience the city the way it's meant to be. Earthy, intense, passionate. And let me know what else I can add on.

Italian at Hushh, City Centre, Kolkata

I had been wanting to do this since a long time. A lot of people had told me you get Kolkata's best Italian at Hushh. So I had done a bit of research here and there and finally decided to visit the much talked about place in City Centre, Salt Lake. A lunch for two consisting of 2 starters, 1 portion of main course and 1 desert set us back by Rs 1875, a bit steep considering the decor or service or even some of the food is nothing much to write home about. However, there were a few good things here and there which were so worth it.

We started out with the 'Antipasti' or the starter course. I ordered the grilled mushroom said to be a 'healthy' option on the menu and couldn't resist ordering the seafood platter. Seafood never fails to make me happy and is usually considered to be a safe option. The grilled mushroom came with a vegetable and cheese stuffing and I could make out zucchini, tomatoes and potatoes in the stuffing. It was cooked to perfection. Juicy, flavourful, cheesy - just what I had expected there. And just like that, the platter that was about to come, seemed even more appetising. If these people could create such magic with mushrooms imagine what they can do with shrimps or squid. What a folly !!! The platter came with some grilled shrimps, grilled beckti, fried beckti and some fried squid. I started with the grilled shrimps first and it was really good. Hadn't had such nice shrimps in a long long time. Then tried the grilled beckti, it was soft and spicy. More Indian than Italian, I thought. It actually was marinated a whole lot of red chilli paste and barbecue sauce. I'm quite sure it's not half as Italian as they claim to be. Anyway, it was kinda yummy for the Bong palate. And then I tried the disaster - the fried squid. It was fried in a horrible horrible deep red batter that tasted half burnt and half bitter. I could not taste the meat at all. It was a big big big put off. That is the thing that made the whole platter so not-worth-it. Finally I reached the fried beckti. It was just a big chunk of fish fried in normal besan batter. It was dripping with oil and was more like something a Bong would make on a rainy day to have with his khichdi. And thus starters came to an end on a sad note.


Next up, for the main course I ordered a lamb lasagna. I was torn between an asparagus risotto, a gnocchi dish and the lasagna. I finally went for the lamb dish since it would be filling and one portion would suffice for two people. So it came with a big mass of lamb gravy, vegetables and sheet pasta covered with a crust of white sauce and cheese. Now, people who know me would know how happy cheese, especially grilled, melting cheese makes me feel. The cheese was wonderful, perfectly grilled and stringy and chewy and lovely. But after that came the big mixed up mass and I thought 'Hey, Isn't lasagna supposed to be a layered dish?
'. As far as I know, Lasagna is supposed to be baked with alternate layers of pasta, cheese and the meat gravy. keeping aside the technique, the dish tasted yummy. However, it veered heavily on the Indian side. In fact, it reeked of garam masala and a lot of dhania. The masala actually took away from meat's own flavour from the minced lamb. It was really filling though, and good value for money. More like a lamb gravy you can have with rotis, it was real comfort food :D


Finally came my Tiramisu. You do not go to an Italian place and order cheesecake or ice cream for heaven's sake. Sadly it was the only Italian desert there, but fortunately one of my favourite deserts. However, it too was a bit of a let down. Like in any other Indian restaurant it came with a cake base and not a biscotti base. The cake was dry and crumbly. Seemed a few days old actually. The coffee was really nice. Not too sweet, but a bit bitter and coffeish. But again, the cream used was not Tiramisu cream. It was just a cream cheese and whipped cream mix. However, it all came together quite nicely at the end - the coffee and the cream. It was an excellent desert by itself but a very poor tiramisu.

So go there if you want comfort food. But if you expect good Italian, it's not the right place to go to. Like the desert, it's good as a generic restaurant, but doesn't quite impress you as an Italian joint. But I'll still go back there to sample their risotto once which again, a lot of people recommend. But I'll know what not to order this time. Hope the next time will be a better experience.

MBA: through a foodie's eyes

The last two years have given me a host of memories, more experiences than ever before. As the graduation season approaches and I find graduating MBAs all around me blogging about their learnings and all, I too wanted to do something. But then, I'm not very good with coursework, or people skills. So decided to write about the one thing I know, and am good at too - food. This post enlists my foodie experiences throughout MBA. None of the entries feature here on the basis of any select criteria. They are just the first things that come to my mind when I think of the respective cities. Some are memorable for the taste, some for the hunger pangs they have satiated at odd hours and in lonely stretches, but most are here for the company I have had during the meals - the wonderful friends I have made here. :)

• Bhubaneswar
• Dalma at a roadside eatery 
• Idli and chenapoda at Priya Hotel, Kharvela Nagar
• Tropical Iceberg at a middle-of-nowhere CCD somewhere between Konark & Bhubaneswar

• Vizag
• Bamboo Chicken & Sampoorna Coffee with roasted coffee beans chocolates at ArakuValley
• Awesome Hyderabadi biryani & Tandoori Chicken at a restaurant above Ice Age in Siripuram

• Jamshedpur
• Cheese burst Domino's at Bistupur
• Litti-chokha at a station just outside Tatanagar station

• Kharagpur
• Reshmi kabab at Heritage 
• Baingan Bharta at Dreamland
• Vanilla lassi at Billoo's
• Cheese parathas at Veggies

• Kolkata
• Biryani, Rezala, Phirni, Kababs at Shiraz, Arsalan, Aminia etc
• Tuna footlongs at Subway
• Ghughni in the local trains

• Ahmedabad
• Street food at Law Garden
• Shrikhand here, there, everywhere
• Thali at Pakwan and some other little place near Kalupur
• Chocolate sundae at Chocolate Room, Vijay Char Rasta
• Kababs, Chicken Rezala, Roomali Roti at a muslim restaurant beyond Rani ka Hazira

• Pune
• Tacos, Burritos, Enchiladas, Lasagna & Anjeer ice cream at Shiv Sagar
• Joshi's Vada Pao
• A mistaken Happy Meal at McDonald's Aundh
• CadB

• Lonavla
• Chocolate fudge, chocolate walnut fudge
• Kaju chikki, pista chikki, mixed chikki

• Mumbai
• Cheese, chocolate and assorted donuts at M.O.D, Juhu Gymkhana
• Cocoberry
• Kacha mango chaat at Juhu Chowpatty
• Vada Pao lunch at Wadala station 
• Brown bread grilled vada pao with cheese at Jumbo King, Andheri
• Kulfi Falooda somewhere near Bandra Jama Masjid
• Every fruity flavour of Natural available
• A very filling and mindblowing plate of Pav Bhaji somewhere between Vashi & Ghansoli

• Gurgaon
• Slice of Italy, Domino's, Pizza Hut
• Office lunch
• All the world's junk at MG Road

• Delhi
• Mango milkshake at Sarojini Nagar
• Proper bengali fish meal at Annapurna, CR Park
• Midnight  butterscotch milkshake at Keventer's, CP
• Chandni Chowk
• Hot muffins with melted chocochips & my surprise birthday cake at IIT Delhi
• Pizza, cookies & donuts at Select Citywalk

• Nainital
• Maggi at 7500 ft
• Hot chocolate by the lake
• Weird homemade chocolate at a quaint little chocolate shop
• Prasad from the Naina Devi temple & the local Gurudwara

• Bangalore
• Rustic dinner at Grameen
• Chicken popcorn at Mantri Mall
• Fabulous home cooked mutton with friends
• My first tender coconut Natural ice cream :)

• Darjeeling
• The perfect English breakfast & takeaway cheese and chicken sandwiches from Glenary's
• Momos and momos everywhere

• Goa
• Fabulous tuna curry and rice at a shack off Baga beach
• Apple pie and rum & raisin brownies at Britto's
• Plenty of vada paos in the train

• Bhutan
• Ema datshi (cheese chilli) and rice in Paro
• Plenty of wai-wai
• Football chocolates
• Danish vegetable crackers in Thimphu

Apart from these, there were plenty of sandwiches, burgers etc during my early morning airport waits and even on the flights. I particularly recall the Malabar parathas and the Cheese-corn-spinach sandwich on the staple Indigo flights. But since I mostly travelled alone and at unearthly hours, I was too bored and sleepy to enjoy anything.
A special thanks to all the people who have accompanied me on these trips (although many of them were solo stints, I enjoy travelling in any form :) ) and given me a lifetime of memories to cherish. Hope to have many more such experiences with you all in the near future. Here's to food, travel, friends and life. :)