Hongkong Express, Kolkata - Complimentary meal from Zomato!

Wanted to taste Thai at this place for a long time. After having local food at Thailand I always searched for some good place in my city where I can get that taste and aroma of those authentic Thai dishes. 

Hongkong Express somewhat fulfilled my expectations, hope to taste all their other Thai dishes as well sometime in near future. Yes, no price for guessing, we ordered Thai dishes at this place, like Jhad Thai Noodles, Kai Rue Moo Rue Koong Kratium Prik Thai and a Chinese dish - Chicken Taipei as starter. 

There was fresh lime soda along with these and couple of complementary dishes like the Chinese Salad and the dessert. 

We went in here for a Saturday lunch with my Zomato Gift Voucher, not sure if the complementary dishes were due to this voucher. But anyway, what I liked most about this place is the quantity served and the taste of the dishes. 

The Noodles ordered were rice noodles and they tasted really awesome. The Thai chicken side-dish with a rather long name had that unique aroma of lemon leaves and garlic, the chicken was super soft, just the way I like it. Just one thing - I would recommend some better crockery set. 

Location-wise the eatery is very well placed. Also the reception and hospitality were wonderful, well appreciated.

And now here is my granular rating that sums up to give the overall rating of 4/5 -

a) Location - 4/5

b) Food: 4.5/5

c) Hygiene: 4/5

d) Pricing: 4.5/5

e) Ambiance & decor: 3/5

f) Hospitality: 4/5

Cheers!

 

Frozen Treats at Pabrai's Naturelle Icecream

I was introduced to Pabrai’s few moths back with a gift coupon from Zomato, but that was for their Paddapukur branch. Ever since then I was eyeing for this outlet at Saltlake which is relatively closer to my place. And after this second visit of mine, I felt more in love with the brand that promises to give you a glimpse of the revelation they have been in this domain (of dessert parlors) with every bite of that ice cream.

LOCATION - - - - - Locating this branch of Pabrai’s is pretty easy. It is there inside the City Centre 1 complex quite close to an entry point near the INOX counters. It is a small kiosk here and maximum two-three persons can stand inside that kiosk. The kiosk is quite strategically placed since loads of movie goers tend to grab a cone before / after their movie. Car parking is obviously not an issue since City Centre has got its own parking area and provisions.

AMBIANCE - - - - - As said earlier, it is just a small humble kiosk with space to accommodate couple of servers. When I was there, two people were serving the scoops. You can stand and have your ice cream or sit at the nearby waiting areas close to the INOX ticket counters. The kiosk has got names of ice cream flavors written all over the place that makes selecting your flavor a bit easier. The servers are dressed in black Pabrai’s T-shirts and are very proficient.

FOOD - - - - - I already had an idea of Pabrai’s magical flavors, so this time I was well prepared for that explosion of glory after having their scoops of joy! They have got loads of unconventional flavors (like Wasabi, Anjeer, Bubblegum, Lemongrass, Apple Pie, Tender coconut, Green Tea, etc) most of which are not available anywhere else in the city. Apart from that they have popular ones like Nolen Gur, Paan, etc and also the conventional flavors like strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, etc. You will be spoilt for choices once you are at this place for sure, more so because all their flavors are so true to its name and extremely freshly prepared. On this visit of mine I tried their South Indian Filter Coffee, Anjeer, Lemongrass and Tender Coconut. The Filter coffee flavored scoop was extremely dark and intense in flavors yet very smooth from deep inside. Anjeer was a delight to to have, it was optimally sweet and had fresh chunks of anjeer or dried figs in every bite. Lemongrass flavored icecream was very uncommon in regular ice cream parlors to be very true (I've seen it in some Fine dine restaurants, etc), the bits of real lemongrass in the icecream with the awesome flavor was amazing as well as thrilling, for the first time I tasted lemongrass somewhere outside the Thai dishes! :) And then comes Tender Coconut which is one of my favorites at this place, it is very soothing on your tastebuds. The fresh creamy tender coconut flavor with soft bits of coconut in it makes it a real awesome treat. All these three flavors score full marks in terms of quality and taste, must try!

SERVICE - - - - - Service is extremely prompt and I found it a tad warmer than their Paddapukur branch maybe because of the less rush at this Saltlake outlet (when I was there). The billing process was pretty smooth and cash was accepted. The servers were well informed about the various ice cream flavors and were quite friendly.

SUMMARY - - - - - If you haven’t yet tried ice creams at Pabrai’s then you are surely missing out on something! It is a gem of a dessert parlor and extremely unique because of its unconventional flavors which when tried is surely an experience. Also the ice creams are priced reasonably and worth every penny. The creamy frozen treats with fresh premium quality ingredients comes in waffle cones or cups and is sure to satisfy your inner soul with their honest flavors. Do try them out at your nearest branch!

Cheers!

 

Chocolate Tasting at Sylph Chocolates, Saltlake

Chocolate tasting in itself is a skill and enjoying premium quality chocolate is a blissful experience like nothing else. Every chocolate has its unique set of flavor profiles and like we know, the flavor compounds found in a dark chocolate exceeds the ones present in a red wine. Talking about dark chocolates, recently I was contacted by social media marketing organization, Graphicsque who invited me for a chocolate tasting at the newly opened home confectionary called "Sylph Chocolates" at BK block, Saltlake. I received one lovely Chef special pack of sixteen assorted luxury chocolates, neatly packed with branded black colored ‘Sylph Chocolates’ ribbons. The packaging was wonderful and that attracts eyeballs for sure. 

It is also perfect to be gifted to your loved ones or friends. We all know that chocolate is best enjoyed when it is savored slowly and not quickly eaten. So I patiently clicked some pictures for my review before delving deep into the complex flavors of dark chocolates :)

Since cocoa bean is the source of all chocolates, its characteristics and hence the flavor of the chocolate varies from one geography to another, we often realize that dark chocolate bar of one brand tastes so different from that of another brand, there are several factors involved in this variance but surely the source plays a major role in deciding the flavor and the richness. Here the box (from Sylph Chocolates) in front of me had some really interesting soft home-made chocolates, that too in so many flavors. The pack had eight unique flavors and there were two pieces of each flavor, enough for my tasting purpose.  Now let us check out these eight flavored chocolates and run through some of their characteristics that I found worth sharing –

a) Coffee – First of all it looked solid and stunning, the best looking chocolate of the lot. It is coffee flavored dark chocolate, quite rich and smooth. It has got no filling inside. The flavor of coffee infused in the chocolate is pretty mild. The mildness is tad on the lower side and can be increased to an optimum level. 

  

b) Strawberry – It is again a dark chocolate with fillings of strawberry flavored pink colored chocolate and strawberry flavored jelly inside. Just put it in our mouth and let the flavors do the magic, the intense and complex flavors will surely take you by surprise. Recommended!

c) Caramel – It looks really nice and has a rich filling of caramel inside the dark chocolate covering. The caramel is mild flavored and gives overall depth to this piece. You can get the caramel filling inside by breaking the piece into half. When broken it resonates with a resounding snap and exhibit a fine gradient along the broken edge.

d) Paan – The aroma of paan masala hits you as soon as you unwrap this chocolate. The looks are pretty ordinary and predictable. There is a thin line where you can press gently with your teeth to break open the chocolate. The centre houses some not-so-hard, bit mushy chocolate with loads of paan essence and so it actually should not be broken into two halves before consuming! It should be consumed as a whole. The outer covering is of solid dark chocolate and overall the stuff tastes good.

e) Nuts – Though I am not fond of nutty chocolates but I went on to taste this variant of Sylph Chocolates. It had crushed nuts inside dark chocolate which I thought was pretty unique. Some portion of the nut was finely crushed was some had bigger pieces of crushed nuts and almonds. Here you won’t find any whole nut inside the chocolate occupying most of the spaces, here it is mostly rich and smooth chocolate mixed with crushed nuts, which is a better approach.

f) Cracker – I love Hershey’s chocolates with such crackers inside, so I was excited to try this one out. Here the chocolate looked nice and solid and when you take a bite you will realize you have got loads of crackers inside your mouth which are such fun to consume in dark chocolate. But here this stuff lacked mint chocolate chips which if added could have done wonders. The round buttery globules of crackers are fluffy and crack inside your mouth once you bite them. The entire stuff was fresh, rich and yummy!

g) Orange – Fresh orangey aroma hits you as soon as you unwrap the chocolate. It looks more or less like the strawberry chocolate but tastes very different, as expected. It has a mushy chocolate filling inside with tangy orange flavor. Size of the stuff is bit smaller though the dark chocolate and orange combo goes well, but I would suggest the orangish flavor can be made a tad stronger to make things even more exciting.

h) Nutella – The stuff looks pretty good. Beware; it cracks open if you press gently with your teeth and the sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread spills out. The dark chocolate covering is aptly quite thin. This is one of the best and thoughtful chocolates I have had in a long time. Best of the lot!

 

Overall, it was a lovely experience tasting all these silky home-made chocolates. Would surely try out their chocolate bars later and the brownies.  They are also reasonably priced apart from being freshly home-made, so it is a great option for gifting your loved ones. 

I wish the team all the best for their future endeavors and hope Sylph Chocolates climbs greater heights in the coming days. Do try them out if you already haven’t.

Cheers!

 

Satiate your meat cravings at Steak Factory

To satiate my meat cravings we decided to visit Steak Factory. And when we came out after that sumptuous meal we realized that it was one great decision to choose this place for our lunch. A foodie can ask for nothing else when courteous staff, warm ambiance and great food everything comes together at one single place. It is surely one hidden gem to many who do not frequent these places that much.

LOCATION - - - - -  The place is located at Southern Avenue quite close to Mudiali Club and Menoka Cinema, since it is very close to Menoka Cinema that direction worked good for me. But still I would say it might just be a bit tricky to reach the spot and hence you may use google maps to locate this place correctly.

AMBIANCE - - - - -  If you are very familiar with South Kolkata residential buildings then you would find this structure pretty familiar and homely. The ground floor of a house has been converted to this restaurant. But I would say the interiors have been done very well with Hollywood movie posters and Hollywood actors of bygone era adorning most of the walls, the place has got some Wild West feel to it with the cowboy hat placed on a shelf at the billing counter. The red brick wall finish of the interior has got an extremely good finish and just sets the mood right. 

The solid wood tables and sitting arrangements are perfect and quite comfortable. The place is not so big and it might be an issue if a large group plans to visit this place, but then they can surely make arrangements to accommodate them in the best possible way. The place is definitely bigger than their New Alipore branch and that is the biggest plus I guess. Also they play lovely English numbers starting from John Denver to Coldplay, which goes so well with the ambiance and sets the perfect mood for the meal.

FOOD - - - - -  We decided to go only for steaks, but then we ended up ordering for Barbeque Pork Ribs and Factory Special Beef Cheese Steak. Let us discuss a bit about these dishes now:

(a) FACTORY SPECIAL BEEF CHEESE STEAK – The plate had sautéed veggies like carrot, beans, cauliflower, bits of corn which were well prepared, along with these there were lovely onion rings which were lightly tossed with some herbs. Along with these, there was a small bowl of red wine sauce and some mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes could have been much better and they need to work on this, the proportion of cream and milk were not right in there, also quality of potatoes used can be better as it didn’t smell that good. Now comes the best and the most important part of this dish, the beef steak itself which was done Medium Rare. It was really well marinated with spice rub and nicely grilled, it had a coating of cheese on top of it which indicates the grilled steak was later baked with this cheese. As a result the overall steak was firm but it was quite juicy in the centre with soft fibers, not at all chewy; it was one of the best beef steaks I had in the city. The combination of the steak and the cheese atop it made it even more amazing. You can surely try this out!

(b) BARBEQUE PORK RIBS - It was kind of a melt-in-your-mouth dish. These dishes are best done if you are preparing it with baby back or regular pork ribs. The ribs were tender, moist and just slided off of the bone. We just loved them, had a bit too much fat according to me, but then that was acceptable since the overall dish was amazing! It was kinda smoky and had the cooked-on-the-grill flavor. It was very well marinated with the spice rub and prepared to perfection. The barbeque sauce all over the dish made it absolutely lip smacking. But one thing I didn’t like, we were served with French Fries and were never asked if we would like to have Mashed Potatoes instead! The dish also had sautéed veggies in it like carrot, beans, cauliflower and bits of corn. Again you can surely go for this dish, recommended!

SERVICE - - - - -  The person looking after our table was extremely polite, patient and helpful, he was also well aware of the dishes and the ingredients. The service was prompt and the billing process was speedy. Cards are accepted, no issues with that.

OVERALL - - - - -  Here are my granular ratings:

Food quantity: 3.7/5

Food quality: 4.3/5

Food presentation: 4.4/5

Value for money: 3.9/5

Ambiance: 4/5

Service: 4/5

As said earlier, the quality of food is a big plus point here. Only one thing – all the taxes charged make the dining experience a bit expensive and that is aided by the fact that the quantity of food served is not on the higher side, so you may tend to order more. But the steaks really will make you come back to this place and I’ll be back pretty soon to try out more from their menu which seems pretty inviting ad exciting to me! A big thumbs up from my side.

Cheers!

 

Homeflavour, Saltlake - Food Tasting Session

Homeflavour is one of the NEWLY OPENED thali joints for your regular consumption that is solely based on the home-delivery and take-away model. So you can enjoy these homemade delicacies sitting right at your home or office. I noticed that things are tried and kept simple here, the honest fresh ingredients are being used which always builds the backbone of a healthy meal and keeps you going in the long run. This place encourages healthy eating habits which is really nice to discover. For an ardent non-vegetarian like me it is really hard to be impressed with regular vegetarian meals, but this place sure has that Midas touch in the ‘flavour’ that surely reminds you of ‘home’ :)

Since I was invited to this place I won’t be able to comment on their delivery speed, packaging, etc; but I can surely vouch for their warmth and hospitality which is definitely a key in this industry. The owner, Mr. Vikaas Verma values this ‘service’ part very much, so I’m confident they will do their best in this department. You can order food from this place by simply giving them a call an hour in advance, the time that they demand is only for your good :) Because they try to prepare the meal freshly after the order is received and then the stuffs will be foil packed so that it reached you warm enough to consume. They can keep on delivering you food regularly if you opt for their monthly packages or you can go for weekly packages, whichever is convenient. Also the food comes at pretty reasonable rates considering the quality, hygiene and service.

FOOD - - - - - Let’s discuss the THALI STRUCTURE: Their thalis come at four different rates – you get the basic thali at INR 59 that comprises of four rotis or rice along with Dal or some veg gravy dish, along with this you’ll get some real home-made pickle. The next thali comes at INR 79 which has got both Rice and 4 rotis along with Dal and veg gravy side dish, home-made pickle and green salad. I believe this thali is an awesome one to have at such reasonable price. The next thali is for INR 99 that has everything the INR 79 thali has, additionally you get papad and one Veg dry side dish. 

The biggest thali that you can have at this place will cost you INR 149 that will surely give you more than one wholesome meal! It has got – 4 rotis, rice, dal, gravy side dish, dry side dish, pickle, green salad, papad, curd and sweets. Basically it has everything you can ask for and if I talk in terms of Set Theory it is definitely the Super Set of all the other three Thalis, i.e. there isn’t any item in those smaller three thalis which is not here included in this big INR 149 thali. So I mainly concentrated on this one big INR 149 thali :)

Now let’s discuss the individual FOOD ITEMS which were there in this big thali. I was blown away by the taste of their very basic Dal Fry. It is definitely the best Dal Fry I’ve ever had in my life, and yes I mean it. It had a flavorful intense aroma, bit sweet yet delicious, goes well with steamed rice or roti. The rotis were very fresh, fluffy and soft, they were not too thick so it’s easy to tear and consume. I would like to specially mention the missi roti which was amazing, bit moist and tender. The rice was well prepared and was not at all sticky, perfect to go with north Indian veg dishes. Now comes the side dishes, there were both gravy and dry side dishes. Among the dry dishes I liked the flavour of the Bhendi masala dish, though I prefer my Bhendis to be a bit more cooked so that they are tad too soft. The gravy dishes had two great dishes – the Sahi paneer was prepared with fresh, soft, bouncy paneer cubes drenched in sweetish creamy gravy, it has a very mild soothing flavor, so you need to clear your palate with some water before tasting this one. The star item was the Parwali Aloo sabji, this well prepared dish with an uniform, super tasty gravy will surely turn out to be one of their signature dishes in coming days. The sweets were awesome as well, the gulab jamuns, sandesh and baked rasagolla, all were amazing. In the end you will realize the food is extremely light on your stomach and easy to digest, kinda revolutionary realization by a devoted non-vegetarian like me! :)

IN DAYS TO COME - - - - - There are few points which can be discussed here so that they can be worked upon. As we were discussing with Mr. Verma they are thinking about bringing in non-veg options in their menu. Maybe they can introduce separate non-veg thalis with varied values just like the veg ones. In Kolkata with high Bengali population it is always advisable to keep non-veg dishes in your menu. One simple fish, chicken thali and mutton thali can do wonders to your business. Also egg can be kept in the menu since these days we find several eggetarians around. Also delivering the food hot should be one of the top-most priorities which I’m sure they do everytime.

SUMMARY - - - - - Here are my granular ratings:

Food quantity: 4/5

Food quality: 3.8/5

Food presentation: 3.8/5

Value for money: 4/5

Service: 4/5

For reasons mentioned above I couldn’t rate the packaging and delivery speed part right now. Anyway my overall rating comes close to 3.9 out of 5. No doubt home-made food is the best option for everyone, but if you are not having the same or you are far away from your home, then you can surely go for ‘Homeflavour’ to get your portion of home-made food!

Cheers!

 

Iconic Jewish bakery - Nahoum & Sons

This 113 years old Kolkata's iconic Swiss-style Jewish bakery was set up by Nahoum Israel, an emigrant from Baghdad. For more than a century this place still remains a holy spot for all the foodies craving for brownies, muffins, pastries, tarts, Christmas plum cake or fudge. After Nahoum Israel opened up this shop in the year 1902 it became an instant hit with the then British population and the Anglo-Indian community of old Calcutta. Then the local Bengali foodies also started warming up to these delicacies! 

After Israel, his son Elias took over and then David Nahoum took the reins. Recently David also passed away at the ripe age of 86 in March, 2013. But Nahoum's confectionery still remains the same, it is still synonymous to the old Calcutta. This Swiss patisserie inspired bakery never compromised with their quality and that is why it is still going strong after so many decades and through so many generations. The shop has got several famous customers in recent past as well, like Suchitra Sen, Manna De, Pearson Surita, Bob Wright, Aparna Sen, Usha Uthup, filmmaker Anjan Dutt, Geoffrey Fisher, etc. The place is one of the most visited spots of New Market, it is basically the place to do some 'tucking in' after or in-between shopping sessions at New Market area.

LOCATION ----- The legendary bakery is located inside Hogg Market, while entering the Hogg Market just ask anyone about Nahoum's and you will definitely get the directions from him/her :)

AMBIANCE ----- Today also the place maintains that same vintage look and feel like it was then in 1902. The interiors and the overall ambiance have never changed and till today it is all the same. When you enter this place you are in a time warp and for me this enigmatic sense of time travelling is extremely thrilling apart from the fact that this place in itself is a gastronomical wonderland. 

The place still has got all those age old teak wood furnitures and structures, high ceilings and old ceiling fans. The place is not just an over the counter kind-of shop. It has got huge area inside and is quite spacious. The food products are placed at several locations inside the shop and you can walk upto them and pick them according to your preference. It has got one old-fashioned glass showcase where various delicacies are displayed that will attract the passerby. All these old world charms put together this place turns out to be an absolute gem of a bakery.

FOOD ----- The food is definitely the strongest point of this place, the reason why it is still going strong and why people come back to this place even today when so many new-age bakeries and fancy cake shops are mushrooming in every part of the city. Even today old loyalists of Nahoum’s swear by their brownies, fruit cakes, tarts, plum cakes, macaroons, fudge, etc. Last week when I was again here at this place I tried out several products like:

a)  Brownies --- The brownie available at Nahoum’s is very typical of this place, sort of a trademark product. It tastes amazing but it is bit dry and brittle in nature, prices are extremely reasonable and one should try this out for sure.

b)  Chocolate Fudge & Vanilla Fudge --- On my special request a separate assorted packet of chocolate and vanilla fudge was prepared for me which I carried back home. It is small in size, one packet has got numerous fudges. I personally love the chocolate fudge over the vanilla fudge. Both are soft, smooth textured, extremely sweet and surely they do exude happiness and innocence. Loved by the kids.

c)  Heart Cake --- One simple muffin that is shaped like a heart symbol. It is so unadulterated and heavenly that you just can’t have one! It is super soft and fluffy and with every bite you will feel like you are on cloud-nine. And it costs just INR 20/- per piece.

d)  Choc-o-Nut Biscuits --- Yes, you will get various kinds of hand made biscuits here at this bakery that will surely entice your tastebuds. I decided to carry back home one packet of Choc-o-Nut biscuits which are actually very different to taste than regular chocolate biscuits available elsewhere today. It tastes subtle, not overtly sweet, a bit dry but has a lasting sense of chocolaty bliss once you take a bite. It has got desiccated coconut powder, maybe that causes the dryness. The shapes are in general square but shape and size varies since they are cut manually. One packet of these biscuits will just cost you INR 35/-.

SERVICE ----- I was really impressed by the enthusiasm of the people serving at this place, such legendary places rarely can boast of great service but this place is an exception. The person handling our order was patient, polite, helpful, well-informed and friendly. He seemed very dedicated to his job as well. The products were billed pretty swiftly and cash was accepted at the counter.

OVERALL ----- Here are my granular ratings:

Food quantity: 4/5

Food quality: 4/5

Value for money: 4.3/5

Ambiance: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

I seriously had an amazing experience each time I visited Nahoum’s. Apart from all these well known items, they have also got buns, breads, cookies, etc which taste way better than packaged buns, breads or cookies available at normal shops. Today after all these years the bakery is running in a much better way, it has been made more streamlined and efficient. So this vibrant place will spread more happiness and give us their signature bakery products for years to come. If you haven’t visited this place then please do pay a visit. And for tourists, a trip to Kolkata is still incomplete even today without one visit to Nahoum’s. Let the legend live long!

Cheers!

 

Relaxed dining experience at Tamara, Pipal Tree

After a long while I had a pleasant, unperturbed and sumptuous buffet experience. Tamara absolutely changed my perspective towards this format of dining that has been much polluted in recent times by few loud joints who try to serve everything from Mutton Roganjosh to hookah! :) Without any hint of doubt, Tamara is the next best place to have a buffet meal at reasonable rates in this part of the city after Barbeque Nation. This place gives an unparallel ambiance which is better and more comfortable than the best in the business. 

The optimum fusion of urbane infrastructure with a tranquil meditative environment sets this elegant restaurant a class apart! Dining at this place is an experience! It surely uplifts the mood of the guests with its amazing food, attentive service and calm atmosphere. Overall, it redefines simplicity. The word ‘Tamara’ means spice. The valiant spices and herbs of diverse cuisines from around the globe come home to meet at Tamara; this is sort of a melting pot of natural color, taste and texture of cuisines which are poles apart.

LOCATION - - - - - The place is located at first floor of Pipal Tree Hotel which is located close to City Centre 2 mall. If you are coming from Saltlake sector-5 then you need to cross City Centre 2 mall and go ahead, on the left you will then find Pipal Tree (with huge glass windows) much before you reach the Chinar Park crossing. You can park your car right in front of the Hotel without any hassle.

AMBIANCE - - - - - Pipal Tree Hotel in itself is quite classy and luxurious. The boutique hotel delivers class, excellent food, a touch of tradition and great hospitality with a breath of fresh air. Tamara is its 72-seater global cuisine restaurant; it serves Indian, Oriental, Italian, Continental and Mediterranean cuisine. It is one of the top romantic restaurants in town (specially if you are in for dinner). When you are here for lunch you will have a lovely time watching the city traffic though the huge glass windows (or rather walls) while having your food in the swanky couches. The unique dramatic ceiling décor will surely catch your attention when you first walk into this place; the special shamiana style fabric is gathered in billows across the ceiling within which you will find illuminated brass bowls emerging like pleasant stars. 

Stone table tops are quite fascinating though they are actually stone-finished sunmica pasted on wooden tables. Also to go with it, you get stonewares like heavy stone glasses for drinking water. The lovely pristine white crockery adds to the mood. The place has the buffet spread in a rather small section beautifully presented, that gets cluttered when loads of people try to take their food at the same time. The place is designed as a long alley which has got its pros and cons. The place is not very spacious due to this elongated structure but still the sitting area is not cramped up. The place has got loads of natural sunlight during the day for the huge glass walls on two sides that really sets a laid back mood which is best to enjoy a buffet lunch. The place has got a meditating Buddha statue, set of ‘diyas’, earthen pots with spices at the entrance that is beautifully presented and signifies the peaceful ambiance in there and exudes warmth and romanticism. 

The waiters are dressed in traditional wear that goes so well with the ambiance and they hand you aromatic wet towels to get fresh (the moment you settle down).

FOOD - - - - - The state-of-the-art infrastructure, gorgeous ambiance and warm service somehow increase the appetite the moment you get seated at this place. The buffet spread at this place is literally huge and it is almost impractical for an individual to have all the dishes in good quantity. I gave my best shot and tried each and every dish at this place in small quantities :) On that day, the fuchka was not there in the starters so that was kinda miss, but we didn’t miss it that much since the spread in itself was enormous.

<< SOUPS >>

I tried Veg Lemon Coriander Soup and Chicken Sweet Corn Soup to start with. The soups were rather bit too simple and soothing, but they could have been a bit tastier.

<< STARTERS >>

In the starters I tried Lasooni Paneer Tikka, Veg Croquette, Achari Tandoori Aloo, Bhatti ka Murgh, Masala Mutton Scotch Eggs, Murshidabadi Chingrir Piyaji, Pan Fried Hakka Chilli Fish. I would say the Masala Mutton Scotch Eggs looked very promising with half filling of minced mutton and another half of boiled egg, but they were pretty dry and tasted mediocre. The Murshidabadi Chingrir Piyaji (shrimp and minced onions fried in besan batter) was wonderful and I tried a couple of them, it tasted great. Lasooni Paneer Tikka and Bhatti ka Murgh (chicken tandoori) were nice and true to their names. Pan Fried Hakka Chilli Fish was again amazing to taste, the fish in there was fresh and well marinated. The Veg Croquette was nothing but Vegetable chop (Bengali street-food style) with mix of veggies and ground nuts in there, tastes pretty good.

<< SALADS >>

There were 8 kinds of salads and I tried a few, like the Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Greek Salad, Crispy Noodle Salad, Homegrown Sprout Salad, Dahi Wada Chaat, Egg Mayonnaise Salad, Russian chicken Salad. Among these, I absolutely loved the Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Greek Salad, Egg Mayonnaise Salad and Russian chicken Salad. Infact I overate the Egg Mayo Salad, it had boiled egg whites drenched in mayo and minced veggies and tasted fresh and heavenly. But I didn’t like the noodle salad that much, it was very dry with no real taste.

<< MAINS >>

The main course looked mouth-watering to be very true, so I actually tried most of them. Here I went for Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni, Aloo Shimla Mirch, Veg Diwani Handi, Amchuri Bhindi, Dal Maharani with Indian breads, Steamed rice, Burnt Garlic Noodles, Cottage Cheese Manchurian, Vegetables in Thai Green curry with Herbed rice, Mutton Kosha, Kerala Egg Roast, Bhopal Murgh Rezala, Char Siu Chilli Pork Sausages, Mixed Chilli Garlic Noodles and Grilled Fish in Lemon Butter Sauce. Now here in these dishes, there were several star dishes that can make you go weak at the knees :) I simply loved the Thai Green curry with Herbed rice. I overate the Char Siu Chilli Pork Sausages, they were prepared to perfection in lovely aromatic sauces along with bell peppers and onion rings. Then there were Mutton Kosha and Kerala Egg Roast, both were amazing to say the least. The Mutton Kosha goes well with steamed rice in an unbeatable Bengali dining style! The mutton pieces were extremely well marinated and cooked; they were spicy, so tender and juicy. The Murgh Rezala, Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni and Aloo Shimla Mirch were all good, if not great. Both the noodles were extremely disappointing, they lacked the flavors and were tad too dry. While I write this review I repent not having more of that Grilled Fish in Lemon Butter Sauce, oh it was awesome, it was divine, the fresh well marinated fish and that lovely preparation was somewhat unbeatable! Overall the mains will leave with super satisfied and extremely filled.

<< DESSERTS >>

The dessert counter was quite big with numerous mouth-watering options. I tried some of them like – White Forest Pastry, Hot Gulab Jamuns, Chocolate Tarts, 5 varieties of Ice Creams with numerous add-ons (in the Ice cream bar), Misti Doi and Rabri Shots, Shahi Tukra & Seasonal Fresh Fruit Truffle. I just loved the Chocolate Tarts for being so perfect and just hated the White Forest Pastry for being so tasteless. The Gulab Jamuns were super-soft and amazing, so was the Shahi Tukra but it was overtly sweet. The Misti Doi and Rabri Shot was the true gastronomical wonder, it had great Misti Doi with rabri mixed inside served in lucrative tequila shot glasses, and it was so good that I kept on having those though my stomach was fully stuffed :) The Ice Cream bar was my last stop for the day. 

I took my time in selecting the Ice Cream flavors and then the toppings. I went in for Chocolate and Mango flavors with toppings like crushed Oreo biscuits, chocolate wafers, chocolate sauce, dried fruit chips, crushed nuts, dried fruits, etc. The final outcome was just amazing! I finished that stuff in a jiffy :)

SERVICE - - - - - The service is again very prompt, attentive and courteous. They kept changing our soiled plates and we never had to ask them to get those cleaned. They kept on asking me about the food and asked for overall feedback of the place. The staffs and the in-charge were all very polite, graceful, well informed and warm. No negatives in terms of service.

CONCLUSION - - - - - Here are my granular ratings:

Food quality: 4.2/5

Food presentation: 3.8/5

Value for money: 4.1/5

Ambiance: 4.7/5

Service: 4.5/5

The restaurant has got an enchanting aura of romance in its beautiful ambience and scrumptious food. It is a perfect blend of modern and traditional elements. Like the sacred and legendary Bodhi tree, this Pipal Tree does a top notch job of providing a warm, relaxed, lovely dining experience. This place gives you the enlightenment and soul satisfaction in this domain of buffet meals. The diversified items on the food menu is sure to entice you, this is kinda paradise for all the food lovers. Big thumbs up from my end :)

Cheers!

 

Oudh 1590, Saltlake - Experience the bygone Nawabi era!

Until 1856, the Kingdom of Oudh was a state in Awadh region during the British Raj with its capital at Faizabad. The nawabs of Oudh once lived in supreme opulence and affluence which the East India Company noticed and started interfering in the internal matters of the then prosperous Oudh and the kingdom soon became a British colony. Down the line Oudh's territory was merged with the North Western Provinces and it formed the larger province of North Western Provinces and Oudh. This province was then known for its rich culture, art, etiquette, tradition and the rich Awadhi cuisine. As of today, legacy of the connoisseur cooks still follow the traditional style of cooking handed over to them by their ancestors who were then the Nawabi Master Chefs! This royal cuisine served here at the restaurant ‘Oudh 1590’ evokes nostalgia of its celebrated gastronome Nawabs like Asaf-ud-Daulah and Wajid Ali Shah, whose khansamas brought with them the taste of Lucknow to Kolkata :) 

This present-day restaurant is a result of long intense research on every infinitesimal detail of that bygone era to give this ultimate period dining experience that unless lived can’t be believed! The place infact has got the Nawabi cuisine expertise since they have brought in the Awadhi bawarchis working at the tunday wali gully (famous for the exquisite Galawati kababs served at the famous Tunday Kababi) in Lucknow which is hundreds of years old. And this lip-smacking range of Awadhi delicacies is one-of-a-kind in the city (along with its other branch at the Desapriya Park, South Kolkata).

LOCATION - - - - - The place is located close to City Center, Saltlake at CD block. If you are familiar with the location of 6 Ballygung Place restaurant at Saltlake then you should be having no issues locating this place. It is near 6BP and on its opposite lane. You can park your car right in front of the restaurant.

AMBIANCE - - - - - The place has made a permanent residence in the hearts of the Calcuttans with its out-of-the-world food and with the much talked about Nawabi ambiance which you won’t find anywhere else in the city. The place boasts a period look recreating a 16th century feel with ornate designs on wooden panels, Mughal-era paintings, bronze statues, solid wood furnitures, huge royal chandeliers with stained-glass paintings and mesmerizing enigmatic Begum Akhtar playing in the background. 

The bronze plated bell metal crockery and cutlery has been tailor-made for the eatery. Also you will find the waiters and the service team wearing lovely period costumes, not to forget the heavily mustached doorman at the entrance :) All in all, the place scores full marks in terms of ambiance and interior decor and teleports you hundreds of years back to the times of Nawabs and old Lucknow, everything is so perfect. It satisfies and soothes your inner soul not only though your tastebuds but also through your eyes and other aesthetic senses. All this plus points surely eclipse the bit noisy atmosphere which is often created once the place is crowded during the lunch/dinner hours, this is because the place has got all wooden panels and glasses and has got not-so-good acoustics treatment as a result, which can be improved by adding few thick curtains at some strategic points maybe.

FOOD - - - - - It clearly shows that the head chef with royal khansama lineage knows all the key spices, well guarded ingredients and the right proportions of zafran, cinnamon, ghee, cardamom, dried fruits and herbs. The dishes which are honest outcome of this expertise and experience are sure to steal your heart. Here you will experience the best ‘Dum Pukht’ style of cooking in the city where the playful bawarchis spell magic by sealing the steam and creating wonders with them. This style of preparing food involves cooking in big cauldrons filled with rice, meat, vegetables and spices, and then sealed with dough and cooked to perfection over a mild flame so that the sealed steam aids the cooking in an extremely slow pace. We had to wait a bit to get our food which is quite common at this place, at least we got the seats instantly since we were among the first customers for that day. They do not take reservations; you are served on First-come-First-serve basis or you can opt for take-aways. The food started coming in after some long wait but I would say it was worth waiting. Here are the items we had ordered for:

(a) Aam Khaas – Lovely green mango flavored refreshing drink to start with, it was such a relief with the scorching heat of the sun outside. Tasted nearly like Aam Panna or aam-pora sherbet (which anyway tastes great) and was served in modern day glasses which I think can be replaced with vintage copper glasses / mugs to be in perfect sync with the entire Nawabi ambiance and theme.

(b) Galawati Kabab (mutton) – It was an amazing creamy meat paste with a dash of zafran and secret spices shaped as flattened meat balls or rather kababs. I absolutely loved it, should taste even better with some thin layered Lucknowi paranthas. Add some pickled onions in every bite and you will feel the royal bliss. Must try!

(c) Kakori Kabab (mutton) – The crumbly minced meat Kakori kabab was again good but we felt it was not of that melt-in-your-mouth types, it had a strange smoky aroma to it that was not very pleasant and according to me it fell a little short of that amazing quotient. I have had better Kakori kababs elsewhere previously.

(d) Awadhi Handi biriyani – Biriyanis are served in earthen handis. When the seal is removed the aroma of the zafran and ghee is sure to hit your senses. This biriyani had two pieces of mutton and two hard boiled eggs in it. The dish was prepared to perfection in dum pukht style with a soothing aroma of ghee that will somehow compel you to over-eat :) But still you won’t feel uncomfortable due to all the high quality ingredients which are being used in these dishes. It is that light, yet delicious. Must try!

(e) Raan Biriyani – I personally liked this biriyani more since it had shredded mutton pieces and the lovely aroma of zafran and ghee. You will find mutton pieces in every bite of yours. It is very well-cooked and every rice nibble is so flavorful and aromatic that you can not simply waste any food here. Must try this dish!

(f) Murgh Mosallam – As we know, Murgh Mosallam actually means the whole chicken which was well appreciated by the royal Mughals. This whole chicken is in general marinated for hours or overnight and then stuffed with boiled eggs inside along with other spices. We were bit depressed since the whole chicken was cut to small pieces when served. But anyway apart from that, the dish tasted absolutely heavenly and nothing less than that! The thick gravy was amazing rich, yet light. The chicken pieces were succulent and extremely tender. The boiled eggs were going great along with this. The quantity served is huge and should be shared by 4-5 people. One Murgh Mosallam will cost you INR 800 exclusive taxes. Must try!

(g) Nehari Khaas (mutton) – Now I was tasting Nehari Khaas probably for the first time. I had heard a lot about it. It is one mutton side-dish served in small copper kadai. It is a stew kinda dish which is slow-cooked mutton along with the bone marrow. And believe me, it had an aroma which was simply amazing along with the super-soft mutton pieces. This dish is in general served after sunrise (for breakfast) since the word Nehar originates from Nahar which means ‘day’ in Arabic. But anyway here at Oudh 1590 we will get this dish all day long :) This is one dish which is often said to be cooked overnight in earthen pots, so the meat is bound to be very tender and well cooked. Must try this dish! After having all these, in the end we were so full that we could not order the Shahi Tukra as dessert :(

SERVICE - - - - - This was the part where I was totally disgusted, maybe because of the person who was initially looking after our table. The person was a very young guy totally unfit for such a fine-dine restaurant (named Arnab) and he was quite unprofessional. He came to us saying food will be served late to our table, when asked about the reason or by how many minutes it would be late he could not say a thing! We were among the first customers of the day but we found others have started having their lunch while we were still waiting, the basic kebabs were served so late that we had to cancel one order for some paranthas. When I asked him his name (which is quite a basic question) he said he has to think a bit and tell the name, we were awestruck seeing his audacity! :) In the end he only said his firstname and denied disclosing his surname. Then on request he was replaced and one senior well-versed polite person started looking after our table. He made sure our orders are served fast and he himself served our food with ultimate care and even told us bit of history of Oudh and Nawabs (which I have written in this review) while we were having our food. This was such an ultimate delight and we almost forgot the unpleasant episode with that upstart waiter in the beginning. Such inexperienced person should not be employed at such an excellent dining destination, very educated and courteous service personals should only be working at this grandiose place. Overall I will deduct 0.5 point from the final rating for this unprofessional customer handling in the beginning.

CONCLUSION - - - - - Here are my granular ratings:

Food quantity: 3.9/5

Food quality: 4.4/5

Food presentation: 3.7/5

Value for money: 3.8/5

Ambiance: 5/5

Service: 3/5

So to experience Nawabi cuisine at a royal banquet at Awadh you need to pay a visit to this place! The food served here is amazing and can not be found anywhere else in the city with such an awesome royal ambiance. It is worth every penny though I would say the tax component eats quite a bit of your royal dish. Though on the higher side but still I would say the dishes are quite rightly priced (excluding the taxes). The ambiance, food and Begum Akhtar put together churns out the ultimate bliss which you can feel from deep inside. So, do visit them and experience the bygone Nawabi era in a gastronome way!

Cheers!