‘C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E’ : These nine letters in that order are enough to bring a smile on faces of most people. It has long ceased being just the sweet treat for kids – reward for the well-behaved ones and bait for the bawling ones. Now with the food scene changing greatly in the country, chocolate bars have…
How I met our Melete!
I first met Anjee Bhatia over the cliched cup of coffee, at a regular coffee shop after a hectic day at office. And under 5 minutes, I knew I will have a good time working with this happy, curly-haired woman. She is the Head Chef and Partner at Melete, an online bakery in Kolkata. Not only do…
To Love or not to Love the new-age Ilish:
The much-famed Ilish (Hilsa, for the uninitiated), holds a special place in the heart of Bangalis worth their ‘Machh-Bhaat‘. Be it fellow commuters in the crowded bus, or colleagues at office, or even relatives meeting after years, the conversations held any time between May and September, has to, invariably, hover around the Ilish. “Ajkal shob…
Pour out Good Times@Pour House, Sector 5, Kolkata:
Strategically located at the Sector 5 of the city, Pour House, the humongous lounge-pub is surely to be a hit with the office-goers of the IT Hub. I dropped by at this place on a Monday night, after office. I generally do not prefer going to Sector 5, because it’s just too far off from…
Calcutta Continental at Silver Platter:
When I got an invitation from the Management of Silver Platter, a newly opened Continental joint in Kasba, Kolkata, I knew the dinner would be an interesting one. This was primarily because Kolkatans have been spoilt by Park Street and it is indeed very difficult to match up with to the standard already set in…
Crossroad Cafe -Where happiness isn’t Pricey:
I was intrigued by the pictures of their food on Instagram, and had it pretty high up on my wishlist for some time. The nice little cafe, has a bright, happy feel to it and the genial servers welcomed me with a beaming smile as I entered. I went there with friends old and new for…
Classic Pit-Stops at Park Street:
Park Street is the original food street of Calcutta. No matter how many new places open up at Sarat Bose Road, or Rajarhat, this is one basic fact which remains unchanged in the lives of us, the Calcuttans. Many of once-fancy restaurants of Park Street have now been closed down, or have been reduced to…
Ticket to Fuji
There has been a sudden spurt of new Japanese restaurants in the city and I was curious about this one for a long time. Fuji is a place that surely surprised me, in a very pleasant way that is. The entrance is not very noticeable and hence, if you don’t know of it, there is…
An Uber-Cool Friday:
A page from my Diary, dated 15th July, 2016: 8am: The alarm has been snoozed enough and I need to get going for the day, but something doesn’t feel right. My right eye is twitching, and it’s nowhere near mild. The skies are grey, and getting transport till office will certainly be a pain, I…
A Happy Me at the M Bar Kitchen:
One of the relatively new entrants in the Park Street food scene is the M Bar Kitchen. Notably, it is one of those places in the city which boast of serving food with Molecular Gastronomy tricks for the visual delight. Located well inside the Magma House, this place can be pretty tricky to locate, in…
On a Culinary Flight at Fly Kouzina:
What are your views about in-flight meals? I always found them not very like-able, with too few options and painstakingly slow service. How about an unending line of choices across cuisines, served steaming hot at your seat, minus any turbulence? That’s exactly what you get at Fly Kouzina, the city’s first aircraft themed restaurant, dishing out…
A Walk through the Food and Festivities of Eid
Eid-ul-Fitr, literally means the Feast or Festival of Breaking the Fast in Arabic. The smell of new clothes, the tinkle of colorful glass bangles, the joy of hugging fellow humans, and of course, the breaking of the rigorous month long fast, mark the day of Eid. Being a non-muslim, with few muslim friends, the entire…
The Mango Festival @ Advieh, Hotel Celesta:
What: Mango Festival Where: Advieh – the Multicuisine Restaurant, at Celesta, the boutique Hotel When: 15th June – 15th July Indians are a passionate lot of people. Our madness is fuelled by various things to which we are inherently entwined with, like cricket, lavish weddings, or the king of fruits – the glorious mangoes. No…
Tete-a-tete with Tea
Few things can be better than a rainy Saturday evening with a cup of tea. So when I was invited to Gallery Kolkata for a session of Tea Tasting & Auctioning, by Typhoo Tea, I was really excited. The session was conducted by the Ace Tea-Taster Mr. Arijit Dasgupta of J. Thomas Pvt. Ltd., the…
Ego Retro Lounge: To Sip & Unwind
Want to have a relaxed evening with some good food and good conversations? Or is glugging a beer and tapping your feet to live music, more of your thing? Either way, you must head up to Ego, the Retro Lounge Bar at the Peerless Inn. Located at the prime location of Esplanade, Peerless Inn has…
The Great Awadhi Biryani Festival at Oudh 1590: Handis of Pleasure –
What: The Great Awadhi Biryani Festival Where: Oudh 1590 at both their outlets, at Deshapriya Park and Salt Lake, Sector 1 When: From 3rd June, 2016 to 3rd July, 2016 Timings: Lunch: 12:00 hrs – 15:30 hrs & Dinner: 18.30 hrs – 22.30 hrs Cost for 2: Rs. 800/- plus taxes Awadhi cuisine, also referred…
The Vegan Workshop @Swissotel
I have always found it hypocritical that most Indian vegetarians, with their proud garb of being ‘animal lovers’, happily use every other animal product apart from just the meat. Be it leather shoes or silk sarees, honey or commercial cosmetics – they use it all. And let’s not even go into dairy products. The logic…
Hakuna Matata: Gaiety in the Air, Happiness in the Tummy
Don’t worry, be happy! And eat some amazingly good food while you are at it. That, in a nutshell, is the feeling one would get at Hakuna Matata, Park Street. The bright yellows all around is an instant mood-lifter, and it is evident that a lot of thought has gone into the decor of the…
Irish House: Hop into the Hype!
Went there some days back for a lunch with a friend. After seeing too many pictures and check-ins in Facebook, I gathered this must be one of the new ‘happening’ places in town and hard kept it in my wishlist for a long time. Well, it has a pretty big seating area and one can…
Au Bon Pain: Bite into Beautiful Bakes
Brilliant would be an understatement for the location of this bakery-cafe. And I have been here at least a dozen times, and every single time I have had a genuinely positive experience. I love the way the place looks, starting from the table layout, the wall murals, the menu and of course, their super comfortable…
Bite.Chomp.Gulp 