Girish Ch. Dey & Nakur Ch. Nandy

Sweet Shop take away window

Cadbury Chocolate Sandesh

COFFEE sandesh

Chocolate Sorer-naru

Chocolate Malai Roll

This is one of the oldest sweet shops of Kolkata and almost a part of the city's heritage and culture. Older generations still swear by it's superb taste and quality. From a two-item menu consisting of Kada Pak and Monda back in 1844, till today where Chocolate Sandesh can compete for the number one spot, Nakur has come a long way. Walking distance from both Girish Park Metro Station and Hedua Park; 'korapak' or 'kacha golla', this bengali sweet shop is carrying tradition for more than a century. Established in 1844, this 'mishty' (sweet) shop will enthrall you all the way. Hooghly, located on the opposite bank of Ganges River that passes through Kolkata was famous for Sandesh sweets during the 18^th century. Mahesh Ch. Dey came to Kolkata from Hooghly in search of jobs, but as the economy was not good that time, he started this sweet business on the corner of a broken room on Maniktola Street where he was living for the time being. After his death, his son Girish Ch. Dey took over this small sweet business and made it famous in Kolkata as we know now. As he only had one daughter, he chose his only son-in-law, Nakur Ch. Nandy, his business partner. They became experts in the art of sweet and sandesh making. And from that time onwards, this shop has been serving Kolkata with the best of sweets for over 168 years. Girish & Nakur sweet shop is famous for different kinds of "sandesh" especially their authentic liquid Nolen Gur (a special kind of molasses made out of date tree extract) items. These sweets will melt in the mouth in no time but will leave its essence for an hour. All varities that are being displayed there have an individual characteristic of their own. The common sweets are monohora, mousumi, chandrapuli, dilkhush, parijat, Cadbury sandesh, choco roll, kancha golla, jolbhora, chocolate rice balls. Don't miss the 'anaras' (pineapple) flavoured sandesh, Mango sandesh, black currant and many more. One of their very new item is nolen gur ice-cream. The entire list of items & Menu is provided below. The prices are in the range of Rs. 10 – 30 per piece. It is so popular in North Kolkata, that during the festive season of bijoya dasami (durga puja) and Bhaiphota (festival of brother sister bonding), this shop has huge number of footfalls and remains open till 1 am at night. There is no place to sit, so be prepared to stand outside on the footpath outside their small take-away window or pack them for home. Bring your own bottle of water if you want to try them at the shop. However For packing, different sweets remain for different time. There are some sweets (Parijat sandesh, Different varieties of Roll sandesh, etc.), which must be consumed on the same day. So it is advisable to ask the shop employee (before purchasing) that how many days that particular sweet will remain.

Toofan sandesh

nolen gurer BARFI
with Patali gur

Chocolate Rice Balls

Nolen gurer Mousumi

Timings: 7 am - 10:30 pm
Website: http://www.girishnakur.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/girishnakur
Location: 56, Ramdulal Sarkar Street.

Contact No.: (91)(33) 2241-0048, (+91) 9432494423

Sweets on display

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Menu (Food Items with Price – Tax Inclusive):

Parijat - Rs. 10

Dilkhush - Rs. 10

Jalbhara - Rs. 20

Kulfi - Rs. 30

Mango mousumi - Rs. 10

Amrapali - Rs. 20

Guti monohara - Rs. 15

Monopuli - Rs. 15

Chandrapuli - Rs. 10

Black forest - Rs. 10

Rice ball - Rs. 10

Kiwi - Rs. 20

Black current - Rs. 20

Choco chips - Rs. 10

Green apple - Rs. 20

Mulberry - Rs. 20

Strawberry - Rs. 20

Babu - Rs. 10

Sourav - Rs. 10

Pineapple - Rs. 20

Malai roll (chocolate, strawberry, gurer, plain, butterscotch) - Rs. 15

Butterscotch - Rs. 20

Rose - Rs. 10

Golden pineapple - Rs. 20

Choco chocolate - Rs. 20

3star - Rs. 10

Korapaker talsash - Rs. 10 / 20 rupees

Monohara - Rs. 10

Sarpuria - Rs. 10

Sandwich - Rs. 10

Ratabi - Rs. 10

Sugarfree - Rs. 10

Sachin - Rs. 10

Coffee sandesh - Rs. 20
Kulfi - Rs. 30

Gourmet Dinner with French Michelin Star Chef Baptiste at ITC Sonar & Four Seasons Wine

Last night I was invited to a formal sit down five course gourmet dinner at the wonderful Pool Side of ITC Sonar, located off EM Bypass organized by Four Seasons and ITC.

Invitation Card

 It featured Michelin Star Chef Baptiste.

Voted as one of the top 6 young chefs in France by the famed Gault Millau Guide, Baptiste took over as the executive chef of his family owned restaurant, La Tour at the age of 29 and received his Michelin Star in 2011. Having worked with three-star Michelin chefs including Guy Savoy, Pourcel Brothers and also with one of the best chefs in Paris, Alain Passard, Baptiste garnered extensive experience. He also travelled around the world to Vietnam, Malaysia, Nepal and other countries discovering new flavors. Baptiste has taken the food scene in Sancerre (France) by storm with his cutting edge style and use of fresh ingredients.

The event started at 7:30 pm and took place in open air with soulful live music and a nice wine bar. Being early winter evening, the weather was cool and perfect. The dinner tables were beautifully arranged and the ambience was great. We were welcomed by cool champagne as soon as we entered. Abhay Kewadkar, Director of Four Seasons Wine and Zubin S Songadwala, General Manager, ITC Sonar, gave a welcome speech. We were served the following food and wines:

• Fresh Eggplant and crunchy vegetables with shrimps SERVED with Four Seasons Chenin Blanc

• Artichoke Risotto with Black Truffle SERVED with Four Seasons Sauvignon Blanc

(The melted buttery cheese present in it was awesome)

• Steamed Fresh Water Perch on Spinach with Lime Court Bouillon SERVED with Four Season Sauvignon Blanc

(Spinach was flavorful and well done, the fish soft and succulent. It tasted like the Bhetki)

• Roast Saddle of Lamb with Zucchini, Asparagus and Panjus SERVED with Four Seasons Barrique Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Red Wine)

(Juicy tender meat that comes from quick searing from all sides and then roasting till it is just done. Loved every element in this dish)

• Fresh French Surprise

(Scoop of basil sorbet and thin slice of dehydrated pineapple flanked by pineapple ravioli, which could have been easily a dessert in itself )

• Hazelnut and White Chocolate, Ice and crispy cappuccino SERVED with Bouvet Brut

(Perfectly roasted crisp hazel nuts, a strong whiff of cappuccino and mild white chocolate)

They also gave complimentary red wine bottle and box of chocolates to all the guests when the event finally ended at 11:30 pm.

Overall, it was a pleasurable and memorable evening.

Shiraz Golden Restaurant - Park Circus

Shiraz Main Entrance

Biriyani

Shiraz is one of the most renowned restaurants in Kolkata that is well-known for its exceptional biryani. That is not to say that it’s not known for chaaps, kebabs and Tandoori Chicken; they are as famous as the Kolkata Biryani that they make. Kolkata's biriyani is different from its Lucknowi or Hyderabadi cousins! But as a hard-core food addict, I swear by Kolkata's Biriyani to be the tastiest amongst the 3 cousins. Blame it on my palate or partiality towards Kolkata - but for biriyani, I would rather wait for a seat at Shiraz Kolkata than at Abid's or Paradise at Hyderabad. A very contentious topic in Kolkata "where to get the best BIRIYANI?". Kolkata Food lovers swear by their favourite joints and very often, this becomes a topic for a heated argument. I know many other Kolkatans would instantly think of some of its closest competitors like Arsalan, Nizam’s or Aminia being better that Shiraz, but I am a die-hard fan of Shiraz when it comes to biriyani! The rice used in Shiraz's biriyani is slender, smooth and unbroken. And then when you take a spoonful of its mutton or chicken biriyani, it almost melts in your mouth! Legend has it that biriyani was never made with chicken - only recently has the modern Bong demanded the "lesser evil" chicken over mutton - and hence we have chicken biriyani.

Golden City - Saltlake

Main Entrance

Mixed Fried Rice

Chicken Munchurian

Situated in the posh FD block, which is now mostly famous for the innovative Durga puja pandals that they design each year, this 160-seater air-conditioned bar-cum-restaurant, divided in 2 floors, is quite popular in Saltlake. Though the interior décor is ordinary with round wooden tables without table cloth and black cushioned metallic chairs, with dim lighting and no fancy curtains even, still this place becomes very crowded on weekends and evening time. The main reasons for this are because the restaurant is located in close proximity to both City Centre and the IT hub of Sector V, it serves delicious Chinese fare & Thai specialties and for possessing a liquor license so that is serves drinks to commoners at a pretty moderate rate. Chicken Pakora (Rs. 160 - 10 pcs) is a nice starter along with drinks. The foods which one must give a try are Cantonese Noodles, Shrimp Wanton Soup, Boneless Chili Garlic Chicken, American Chop Suey, Golden-fried Prawns and Kung Pao Chicken. Families troop into the ground floor section, while the first floor turns into a noisy bar: liquor, Prawn Chips, chili pork and Chili Chicken do the rounds. Parking Space is easy to find. Toilet may not be very clean at busy hours, but has normal facilities. The average food price for a group of three persons is Rs. 500- 600 including taxes. Beer costs around Rs. 150 (without taxes) and Indian Whiskeys in the range of Rs. 110-200. Overall this is a nice hangout place for a group of friends or even for family dining.

Golden City Interiors

Mixed Hakka Chowmein

Top: Sweet And Sour Chicken :: Bottom: Chicken Pakora

Location: FD-30-A/2, Sector-III, Salt Lake, Kolkata, 700064

Contact No.: (+91) 33 23598185, 23598184, 23376840

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Prices Updated on Feb 2013