Eat Street

Saptami,Ashtami,Navamithe days will pass in a haze. Our unaccustomed legs will revolt against the incessant pandal-hopping with blisters.

Written by EXPRESS FEATURES SERVICE

September 19, 2009 02:02 AM IST

4 min read

Saptami,Ashtami,Navamithe days will pass in a haze. Our unaccustomed legs will revolt against the incessant pandal-hopping with blisters. And our stomachs,ruined by rivers of hard-boiled tea we have drunk from roadside stalls in a desperate attempt to kill hunger,will rumble in protest. Then,we will drag our weary,tired bodies to the air-conditioned confines of a Chinese restaurant and nurse it back to health with some chicken sweet corn soup and hakka noodles.

Thus goes the story of a quintessential Kolkata Puja. Food in varying degrees of poshness street food,bhog,restaurant food (Shasti),posh restaurant food (Saptami) and the poshest restaurant food (Ashtami). This Puja too you probably have every intention to indulge in some rampant restaurant-hopping. Let us help you find your way through the maze of offerings at citys best eateries.

The Park
Dimer devil and gondoraj lebu diye tossed salad. Sounds good? How about some kucho chingri bora to go with that? Maybe some doi channa papri chat too for that extra zing? The eateries at The Park,it seems,have decided to play around with some quintessential Bengali favourites. So,lobsters (golda chingri) find themselves in an unfamiliar sorba,instead of the patent coconut gravy. As long as its chingri,we are not complaining.

The Puja Food Festival is on at Atrium and Saffron. A meal for two will cost around Rs 1000. For Details contact – 2249 9000

Charcoal Grill
The special Puja buffet at Charcoal Grill sticks to the basics chana pindi,paneer tikka butter masala,veg Mangalorian,mutton sheik kebab and chilly chicken. But there is one very good reason why you may choose this Park Circus eatery over others. They offer unlimited beer for just Rs 100. Hic,Hic,Hurray!

A meal for two will cost around Rs 900.

Wall
No Puja outing is complete without a Chinese meal. Chow Mein,is after all our comfort food. Wall has a special Chinese buffet this Puja and the menu sounds quite promising. Exotic dishes like Torino teriyaki,soft shell crab in butter garlic sauce and aubergine in curry sauce jostle for attention alongside staples like fried wantons and hakka noodles.

A meal for two will cost Rs 900

6 Ballygunge Place
Ashtami demands tradition and 6 Ballygunge has exactly that on offer this Puja. A leisurely meal comprising luchi,alu dum,beguni,moong dal,potoler dolma,topshe fry,chital muitha,chingri malai curry and khejur chutney is will satisfy even the most militant traditionalist.

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A meal for two will cost around Rs 1000. For details contact 9903975614

ITC Sonar
The Eden Pavilion restaurant of ITC Sonar has decided to pay an homage to Kolkatas own distinctive cuisine in a celebratory buffet. Prawn cocktails,terazinis and kabiraji cutlets abound as do generous measures of BAllantines fine scotch. Meanwhile,Dum Phukt will host a special Bengali buffet which boasts of usual suspects like ghee bhaat and kosha mangsho. But its Peshawari,the North-West Frontier restaurant ,that probably boasts of the piece de resistance,especially for the fish-loving BongThe Samudari Khazana ,An array chefs catch of the day resh from the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman seas,literally laid out on a platter for you.

A meal for two will cost you around Rs 3000