That Calcutta......Those Bongs: Food festival for a Salesman

Food, Yes Food is what propels Calcutta (I like the older names of illustrious cities). It’s not money, it’s not greed it’s not power. Landing in Calcutta is like shaking hands with an old friend. With my many voyages in the past and stays ranging from Hotel Lindsay, Lytton , Fairlawn (where part of City of Joy was shot and the cast stayed there) to The Park, The Oberoi Grand and this time at HHI. The predominant encouragement is the food and more often than not street food and affordable local exotica. So before boarding the flight I bought a book of short stories by Dipanwita Mukerjee called That Calcutta… Those Bongs. Allowing me to immerse in dreams of Illish, Gandharaaj lime, pithe, luchis and Patturi and of course Buro. Get eady.Calcutta looks like a city from the smoke stack era without the smokestacks, except of course if you are in Rajarhaat… you could feel you are in Gurgaon. My story is more about the smokestack Calcutta.

Arsalan : Mughlai Food

The choices were Shiraaz, Rahmania, Arsalan and a late entrant Royal came highly recommended by Sandip Ghose the high priest of food in Calcutta. The driver Alam knew where Royal at Chitpur road was located, however decided to go to Arsalan as it was already late for dinner. Arsalan (named after the animal the Lion) has Bihari ownership , launched in Calcutta in 2002 (makes it 8 years old), has made more than made a mark for itself in the gourmet’s heart. Imagine going past heavyweights like Shiraaz and Rahmaniya and the yet to be explored Royal.
Alam the driver parked at the swanky Arsalan air conditioned et al. I said basic and the first one ever set up and we are at Arsalan at Park Circus. There is a festivity around the place, or is it madness or perhaps mass hysteria, people at the cash counter behaving as if someone is distributing free food tickets in pre Prestroika Russia. We seat ourselves an old midget in a shirt and tie , Aziim takes our order. We are in Non Ac Hall. I believe that’s where the action is. On the right is a muslim Family having a conservative dinner .Further, three drunk Bengalis, one of them threatening Azim, food should be hot, muttion should be nice. Alam the driver joins us, Shantanu (my partner in crime)is a vegetarian today. We order a mutton biryani, a chicken biryani, a mutton champ, a vegetable biryani, a paneer dish, a dal and one roti. The Biryanis were flavorful but oily, with an enormous half potato, which was quite honestly bland. The expectation was greater than the delivery. The experience was nice. The food was anything but delicately flavored, I guess it’s the scale and volumes Arsalan deals with. We chase it with small squat Thums Up , the cold cinnamon flavor hits the spot after a heavy mughlai meal. We paid Rs 440/- for this nearly enormous meal.

Chitta Da: Differentaiated Snack at Dacres Lane : My friend and old colleague Sanjay Das promised to take me to Chitta da at Dacres lane while corresponding with me on this blog. Apoorva a current colleague made a similar promise. I also saw a segment on The Travel and Living Channel with the anchor a funny one, at Chitta da. I had to go there, I began to think of the stew and toast in a pedestrian district more known for the magazine market and the surrounding Government offices, (usually called Bhabans, for Bhawans).

We reached at mid morning at 11 am, and there was a row of patrons already imbibing the goodies. I asked the cook and server, what can you offer, fish finger, chicken stew and ghoogni (chick peas) all served with chunky toasts lightly buttered. We have the fish fingers nice chunky pieces of fresh fish in fingers like that of a goblin knotted and brown, umm but tasty inside with a light salad and mustard paste. I joked with Shantanu, Bengalis will just about anything with mustard. Next Ghoogni same format, delicious, it’s a channa curry with the same accompaniments. Now for the fried fish, a chunky piece of extremely fresh fish bite the crust into the odourless white flesh with the steam emanating. Oh yeah ! Followed, by tea as a beverage. Interesting format. We gave the chicken stew a pass, though it is the signature dish. Have to leave something for the next time.

Now for the maths, this truly a salesman’s outing in the Tiffin Gali (Dacres Lane now called as Jimmy Hitch Sarani)and eaters paradise. Rs 27/- for the fish fingers, Rs 25/- for the fried fish, Rs 6/- for the Channa/ Ghugni and Rs 18/- for four coarse bread toast slightly buttered and three chais in kullar (earthen cup) for Rs 12/-. In all a wonderful snack for Rs 82/- That’s the owner now, probably Chitta Da’s son Nararayan Chandra Roy.

Suruchi : Bangla Homefood

Sudarshan Saha a colleague of, dearest Praveen, asked me, about the color of the walls, when I described my first visit to Suruchi in the 90s. Only an intense Bengali can ask about the hue and color of the walls when the subject under discussion is FOOD. Intense he is , and intense I am, he photographs and I eat and write.

This was my second visit to Suruchi, I remember the last visit, where I perceived it as a widows and needy women NGO who could cook up some mean Bangla food. Now I know it’s the All Bengal Women Union, apart from all the activities they run this wonderful Bangla home food restaurant. There were four of us, two dyed in wool Bengalis ( Sudipto and Swarup), one semi dyed in wool Bengali (Shantanu) and one honorary Bengali (for the cuisine, Me) And yes, Sudarshan the walls were yellow. The place looked sleepy at ten past one with lights all off. Got seriously activated by half past one, with five groups of diners.

We ordered four thalis with addons of Bhappa Ilish (steamed mustard Illish), bhekti paturi (steamed in a banana leaves and mustard), fried bhekti and a dish of a fish kofta and mocher jingha (shrimps cooked with banana flowers. Very nice, interesting and delicious. With waiter ladies called Didi and food brimming on our table. Even the dyed in wool Bengalis smiled, reminiscing of their days at Burdwaan and Nadiad. We, half dyed and honorary bongs relished the meal and gave it a Thumbs Up. I asked for the Gandharaaj Lime with newly acquired knowledge og Bangla food. The dyed wool colleagues were aghast and their jaws dropped.
Lastly the misthti doi and pithes, more than pefect, Ate fish like fish (sorry its drink like fish) and the total bill with mineral water was Rs 735/- for all four of us and the Thalis were great as well with Dal, sukto, aloo bhaja. Nice, You have to be there.

Dinner at Kimling

Erstwhile Chinatown, then leather town and now eating town, Tangra. I do not remember ever having gone there during the day. It’s always been at night. With shadows lurking, strong smell of a tannery, a Chinese sauce factory (Sing Cheung Chinese sauces, oh, how much I want to buy the sauce brand as a business), smell of green chilli sauce and soy in the air mixed with overhanging gutter smell. It has the eerie feeling of the 70’s Bruce lee films with a mega restaurant named after his film Big Boss. The restaurants I have been to are Kimling, Chinahaus, Goden Joy and yet again Kimling many times.

It does have the old world charm, it an old fashioned fare and approach to the whole experience. They actually put in bright fresh tomatoes in their Hot and Sour Soup. I love their unpretentious fried snacks. We ordered, chili garlic chicken a chili onion fish, prawn crackers, chicken wantons and some medium to large golden fried prawns (all fried you see) with their exotic green unbranded sauce. Chased with Director’ special Black for the honorary bong and Vodka a Gorbachow (yes spelt with W), for the half dyed in wool and full dyed in wool bong. The experience exhilarating, the food crisp and atmosphere ,a lot of fun with conversation and jokes with a bunch of guys on the neighboring table. They were serious foodies and drinkers (Jaideep Raha, Tilak and Amit Bhatacharjee). The whole evening a wholesome one with all sodas and mixers thrown in was Rs 1500/- Great Fun.

The morning after : Maharani Snacks

A highly recommended place by Sudipto in tow with Shantanu c for breakfast, the Up bhaiyya influence for Kachoris, Samosas, Jalebis and Gulab Jamuns with Chai. The Kachoris, are more like slightly thick Puris. This the pucca khana (in other words fried food of Uttar Pradesh). It is a nice place, especially, the taste and the prices. Fits into precisely a salesman budget, four plates of Kachori, one samosa one jalebi, two chais all for Rs 45/- its on A C Bose Road close 85 Lansdowne (the designer boutique), near Gariahat.

In all we spent Rs 3000/- for all the above. Stupendous for USD 63, Calcutta is truly remarkable. Oh Calcutta…… Those Bongs

Finally, we did got to Terretty Bazaar on Sun yat Sen Road near the Old Lal Bazzar Police Station for the morning Chinese breakfast market at Old Chinatown. There were six odd stalls, selling, momos (dimsum), noodle soup and Chinese sausage. All made of mystery meat . I realized, I was not a complete convert to eat anything at anytime and for the first time I backed off with a timid hot cross chinese sweet bun to come back another day. I believe there is better action here on a Sunday.
So Long

China to Chandni Chowk : Indian Chinese food

Indians will eat anything fried, spicy and sour, said Sanjay Khanna, my mentor at Discovery Channel. He introduced me to both, eating better Chinese food in most continents of the world . Also, eating Indian Chinese food with pride and not feeling hesitant to order sweet corn soup and manchurian anything (only Indians will understand this) in its various forms. Albeit , we did it with an eggdrop and canned asparagus (to renforce ,we had more evolved tastes).

My first experience with Chinese food as a child, was at this quaint Chinese restaurant called Shinkows at Ootacamund on cold and damp winter afternoon. I was on a day trip with my Dad, a travelling salesman , who had then become manager. We had noodles, sweet and sour pork and lots of chilli chicken (I thought for a few years that all sweet and sour was pork) As a teenager, I made an ass of myself, asking for sweet and sour at a family gathering at The Host (a restaurant in New Delhi). My sister in law said sweet and sour what. I then understood the style or the gravy is sweet and sour with a choice of vegetables and meats rather than a dish by itself.

For many years, we understood Chinese food as something you got from a van parked in South Extension , at New Delhi with an obscene name like Hungry Hop. Extravagance and more money meant, going to Chungwa (then at Defence Colony), Aka Saka, Faley (again at Defence Colony), Daichi (at South Extension). My taste buds and exposure to the cuisine improved with the highs and low of Chinese food at Pearls (the Chinese restaurant at the swanky Hyatt Regency in the 80’s with my bro Sanjiv and wife Poonam) to the Tibetan Dhaba and generically called Tib Tabs at Ladakh Budha Vihar opposite the Bus Terminal near Delhi University to Chopsticks at Churchgate in Mumbai (experienced the birds nest soup for the first time). While at Mumbai ordered from Chinese room at Kemps corner and ate at Nelson Wang's (High priest of Indian Chinese)China garden.

So many persons contributed to my evolution in Chinese food, father, brother his wife, friends and of course my mother who will try anything for the experience . So when I met my dear wife , Praveen, and on our first lunch date at Fujiya in Diplomatic enclave at New Delhi, I was kind of equipped to order a Chinese meal. We both enjoyed it, we grew and so did our taste buds, with more guidance, travel, experiences, we understood Chinese food to in its entire glory from provinces to style of cooking with travels in Asia, and US.

The real art of ordering a good Chinese meal is what I learnt from boss and now friend (hopefully) , Sanjay. The Chinese tea, the soup, the steamed rice and chinese greens and especially pakchoy. We had been to every Oriental (Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Burmese restaurant, that was worth visiting in South and South Asia). Mean while Praveen’s taste buds and Chinese food affinity had evolved with innumerable vists to Taipan, Fa-hian, Larry’s China and with her immense travel and lo behold our daughter at 4, was a Dim Sum fiend and enjoyed paper wrapped anything and, adept at chopsticks and enjoyed greens, everything was going fine until ……………

One winter evening, Praveen’s friend Shilpa (working and living in South Asia for 14 years) meets us. We invite her out for dinner. She requests for real hard core Punjabi Chinese (Indian Chinese) and we go to Fujiya. All our learning and delicate development of our palette to distinguish between, Cantonese, Sechwan, Hunan, Haka, Mongolian subtleties is lost and we un learn and immerse into. Hot and Sour soup, Veg Spring rolls, Veg Manchurian, American Chopsuey and what not. Basically, lots of Soya sauce, cornflour, vinegar, chillies ghotala. Prophetic words…. Indian s will eat anything fried, spicy and sour……

However, Shilpa really surprised us with her fondness for this cuisine. Now every winter we have to find and line up the meanest Indian Chinese joint for her visit and shamelessly enjoy Indian Chinese.

Though Wikipedia defines Indian Chinese as the adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to Indian tastes. It is said to have been developed by the tiny Chinese community that has lived in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) for over a century. Immensely popular with Indians, it is widespread in major Indian metropolitan cites such as Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata; and is also enjoyed by Indian and Chinese communities in Malaysia, Singapore and North America. Indeed, in a curious twist, Indian Chinese has followed the mainstream Indian expatriate community as they have spread across the world, providing expatriate Indians with a taste of authentic Indian Chinese.

True , Tangra in Kolkata is where each one of us have their favourites, Kimling, Kimfa, China Haus and my recent favourite Golden Joy (introduced my Manjeet Narwan), contributed to this amazing cuisine .Which has legends like Nelson Wang, Camelia Punjabi and many unsung heroes and improvisers all over India, Nepal and Bangladesh to develop this Chinese chaat which is strangely appealing and perhaps addictive as yet again another Praveen’s friend Tina would say lets order Dirty Chow…….. Cheers to Dirty Chow, Chinese Chaat, Chinjabi, Chindian, Sino Ludhianvi cuisine. I am loving it.

Pal check out Indian Chinese !

Parting shots:
Whats your favourite Tangra restaurant ?
Whats your Indian Chinese food story ?
Where have you had the dirtiest Chow ?

So Long !