19th March'16 -India vs Pak, Eden gardens..While watching the match the husband asks.. "For the upcoming long weekend .. You want go to Kolkata as your birthday trip?"
Me.. "Ofcourse ..Yeah!!" .. Kolkata has been in my must-go-to places list for a long time.
& that's it Tickets booked.. & while having yummy Achija Pav Bhaji, watching a fantastic match I started day dreaming about Rasgullas,the old houses & what a puchka would taste like. This trip was the best gift to this inherent foodie!
So through the week..I troubled everyone I knew connected to Kolkata.. Friends & acquaintances.. & they all sweetly wrote back to me with the must haves !!
The husband's friends in Cal wondered..why were we visiting Cal! Are we stopping by enroute elsewhere.. Nope, 3 days just Cal!
We are vegetarian yet there was a good ground to be covered..luckily they all recommended the same stuff from the same specific street/restaurant.. So the taste was vetted for us :)
Thursday morn we landed at Cal.. most people we saw had evidence of how well they had played Holi the previous day :)
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| You know you are in Cal when.. |
Checked into Park hotel, Park street which was the best decision given the accessibility to all areas around.Threw the bags & rushed for brunch to the iconic Flury's which is just a five min walk from Park.
Had to wait for fifteen mins before being shown a seat. It is a charming place for sure, the decorated easter egg just added to the decor.
Ordered croissant (very nice), omelette (good). Coffee Sprungi a chilled coffee drink (simply heavenly for a coffee addict), baked beans on toast (did not fancy it much), creamy garlic & mushroom on toast (yumm). Chocolate torte ( a lovely airy pastry with just the right amount of sweetness)
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| Flury's fabulousness |
Having filled ourselves up we went back to the hotel & just crashed for a blissful nap
A short nap later we left towards Victoria Memorial around 5:15. The museum closed by 4 so we wandered by the gardens marvelling at the fine White structure in front of us.. beautifully landscaped, loved this open space. The gardens close by 6:15 & 30 mins just didn't do justice to the place ,so we decided to come again the next morning (if I managed an early morning :)
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| Victoria Memorial |
Our dear friends Gagan & Priti picked us up from Victoria Memorial & then started the food trail at Russell street..which also reminded me of a dear friend Russel who would've relished the street food.
We started with Jhal Muri..a more spicy & chatpata version of Sukha Bhel .. It was nice
Thn Puchka ..so unlike Bombay Pani Puri Cal vendors put only the tangy water ,it's mixed with sweet only when asked..it was good but I wasn't wowed by it..I guess am too loyal to my boondi Pani puri :)
But yeah over the course of next two days I was wowed by the humble Puchka.. & while writing this my mouth is already watering with the image of Pani puri & Puchka both ;)
We skipped Gugni &had masala thumbs up..
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| Glorious food |
Next in line Gur (jaggery) ice cream..really liked it ..unlike any flavour of ice cream I've ever had..
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| Birla Temple |
From there the most important part of food trail.. Sweet shop!! We tucked into the melt in the mouth Rasgullas, Kumkum, tried Sandesh (not a fan) & Mishti doi at a shop called Mithai .Yumm Mishti doi..thought of another friend Dreamy who would've relished it :)
Packed In some Rasgullas for midnight snacks & then went to have paan.. Now I never have paan in Bombay..but I had to taste it here after the husband assured I'd like it..so I tasted a Gundi paan (baby betel leaf)
Oh my ! It melted into a sweetness I can't describe..fell in love with it right away..
Then we went to 4 by 1 cafe..a vibrant cafe serving food with a twist..after having all that street food all I could manage was a drink called Chatka Mary. The way it was served was impressive- A cynlindrical ice cube infused with flavours & spicy guava drink in a bottle.
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| Chatka Mary at 4by 1 cafe |
Then back in the hotel,heard some great rock numbers belted out by a band called Span-excellent lead vocals & retired for the day. Yeah yeah only after tucking in the take away Rasgullas ;)
Day 2:
Long morning walk in Victoria gardens. It was so peaceful & the green expanse was just the perfect start to the day.I guess we were the only morning walkers with a camera :)
I'll let the pictures do the talking as to how beautiful a morning in Victoria Gardens is !
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After walking for more than an hour, the stomach called ut loud.
Time for kachori sabzi in Gangaur, Russell street
Oh my God, I simply loved it from the first mouthful.Simply spiced potato curry with hing kachoris -a match made in heaven. Infact of all the savouries we had in Cal this ones my fav!
Kachoris were followed by jalebis. Cal jalebis are thin like north Indian jalebis but not tangy they are sweet like south Indian ones (jhangiri)
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| Russell Street |
Superb breakfast & a short nap later started another much sought after activity -shopping
We started with the handloom house on Lindsay street which has a nice collection of fabrics. Something about Cal made me fall back into love with Indian weaves
From there we went to New Market which is actually a very old market nestled in a beautiful red heritage structure.The shops are lined up by the goods they sell.For those familiar with Bombay this is like Mangaldas Market.
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| New Market |
Bought some dress materials,walking out we spotted Puchka,so obviously we had to have. I liked it much much more than the previous day.
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| Puchka cart |
The heat totally killed my enthusiasm to shop so we decided to just grab a chilled coffee sprungi from Flury's & head to the hotel.
We had booked for a two hour boat ride excursion to Bellur Math from Vivada cruise at 4 p.m. Gagan & Priti joined us too with their gems ..two super cute full of life daughters.
It started off as a nice boat ride but it was too hot at 4. Fortunately they had an ac room in the lower deck so that provided some respite.
It was very nice to watch the city along the banks of Hooghly.Fishing nets..people washing clothes,bathing,some religious structures, the wonder that is Howrah Bridge more than made up for interesting sights.
Howrah bridge was simply captivating.
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| Howrah Bridge |
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| Cantilever Howrah Bridge |
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| Bellur Math -first glimpse |
We reached Bellur Math by sunset. Bellur Math is the headquarters of Ramkrishna Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda. We spent about half an hour there. It was pretty crowded since it was a long weekend. Being here early morning would've been really serene.
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| Bellur Math |
Since the sun had set, the ride back was breezy & beautiful. Now lit up,Howrah bridge was in its full glory.
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| Beautiful Howrah Bridge |
After the boat ride, we went for a drive by Eden Gardens, the cantonment area-lovely architecture & saw a tram too :) I wonder if they have a tour of Eden Gardens. We have been to the Lords tour & it was really interesting & exciting.
Dinner time, more friends joined in -this time BBQ at Park street . Again a highly recommended place by many friends with 3 out of 5 saying its the place they celebrated most of their birthday parties in.
When we entered there was a long queue which showed the popularity of this restaurant. Thankfully our friends Sid & Sneha had reached earlier & grabbed a place.
Amazing chinese food, then a stop for waffles at Piccadilly square, the now mandatory paan stop & we got back to the Park hotel.
Again Some place else had a great band playing.
Day 3:
Day 3 started with yummy kachori sabzi & doodh cola at Balwant Singh's dhaba. I assumed it must be out of the city since its a dhaba. Infact a cabbie outside Park told us Rs 300 with waiting time of an hour there. He really made it sound like it was far off. Google maps to the rescue. We got a regular metered taxi. It was just a ten mins drive!
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| Sazi kachori+ Milk cola |
Got back packed & checked out of Park. Went for a quick 20 mins shopping to Vardaan market & had puchka outside too. The rest of the day was reserved for spending time with friends & picking up sweets for home.
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| Pretty shop decor |
Had a super delicious meal at our friends place, then went to Mithai & got 90 ..yes 90 !! rasgullas packed, met another friend for coffee & started for the airport.
Got a mini shock at the airport, only tinned Rasgullas allowed to be checked in. Our was in good plastic containers, wrapped with layers of tape & double bagged.The lady suggested we unpack, throw away the liquid & repack with bubble wrap. There was no time. they were right that the plastic can burst & lead to spillage. We were ok with the spillage. We had an extra bag just for sweets :) We convinced them saying the sweet shop had specially packed this for air travel, they can check for leakage etc.finally it went through. It was like that scene from Jab we met " Bhai saab aap convince ho gaye ya main aur bolu ":)
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| No place like home- Mumbai!! |
Thanks to our friends we made the most of our three days here.
The wonderful sugar & spice trip came to an end. The next day went in dropping off Rasgullas to friends & in the evening we enjoyed the sweets & paan with our friends during India vs Australia match :)
Truly a City of Joy,a lot is yet to be seen in this old worldly charming city..awaiting the next trip!
Here is a quick list:
Must eat - Jhal muri, Puchka,Bread chat,Daal chilla, Masala thumbs up, daal pakodas (Vardaan market/Russell street)
Sabzi kachori - Balwant Singh/Gangaur
Doodh cola & chai - Balwant Singh
Malai toast-Stock Exchange
Paan at Lansdowne
Chinese at BBQ - chinese salad, chilli paneer, crispy babycorn
4/1 -fusion food
Sightseeing:
Victoria Memorial & gardens
St Pauls Cathedral
Eco Park - Near Airport
Kali Temple
Bellur Math by boat
Shopping:
Gariahat market, New Market, Vardaan Market, Handloom house on Lindsay Street, Sidha Point for sarees.
Stay
Park Hotel,Park Street
Transport:
Yellow Ambassador taxis ferry you everywhere.Else there is Uber.
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