The Calcutta Club,Andheri:Great Bengali Food---A post Diwali Dinner(Pujor Khawa Dawa 2)

We were pleasantly surprised when Mrs.Roy suggested that a good sit downdinner was required to close the Pujo season and the Sunday after Kali Pujo was fixed for the dine-together.On the eve of the date for dinner, suggestions were sought and I suggested trying out Kashmiri food at Kong Poush.It was a suggestion well liked until she chanced upon a blog telling that the place had downed its shutters for good.

Seeing is believing was our motto on Sunday evening and the Roy's and Mitra's landed up at Best Colony,Oshiwara only to learn that Kong Poush had indeed shut shop.Quite a shock to me who feels eateries can never fail in Mumbai.That evening our group of five was literally "Unputdownable".We were out on a mission.Mrs.Roy who spent the better half of her Sunday researching eateries around Oshiwara quickly pulled out the list of stand by's and the unanimous decision was The Calcutta Club, a little restaurant that serves Bengali food.

The place was small but neat and had lovely black and white pictures of eminent Bengalis up on the walls.It had a very warm and informal feel to it.

We were pretty early there and having seated ourselves comfortably placed our order pretty soon.We called for Fish Fry(my personal favourite),Mutton cutlet(Mr.Roy is a mutton afficionado,who had "mangsho" for six consecutive days of the Puja Vacation that he spent in West Bengal.Point to note is that his doc has forbidden it and therefore he lusts after it) and Fish Finger.

As we waited for the starters we pored over the menu card and decided on our Main Course.We wanted aam tel diye chingri but were told that it was not available so we settled for Bhetki Paturi to accompany Steamed Rice,Jhoori Alu bhaja,Mochar ghonto.We also called for Luchi,Kosha Mangsho and Bengali Pulao.

The starters arrived and we started our feast happily biting into the delicious Fish fry,a hint of lime and a dash of mustard did wonders to it.The fish fingers were scrumptious and quickly flew off the plate.The mutton cutlet proved to be the black sheep of the starters with very little mutton detected in it.Now I was worried how the Kosha Mangsho would be?

The main course was ready by the time we finished our starters and the service was prompt.

Again we were a bit let down by the mochar ghonto which was overspiced and did not exude the aroma of ghee and gorom moshla as we had expected.Guess we ( Mr. Roy and I) have to tone down our expectations,we start comparing such items with our mother's cooking.

The paturi was good and paired well with the rice.The pulao was excellent and the Kosha Mangsho was just fab,succulent pieces in a very tasty balanced gravy and went very well with the luchi and the pulao.The alu bhaja was a great favourite of little Mitra.The Kosha Mangsho  at The Calcutta Club was the winner hands down and I reminisced how about a month or two back we had to put up with an almost burnt Kosha Mangsho dish at a very upmarket bengali food place in Tardeo.

This 'bhoj ' would be incomplete without the 'mistimukh' and we ordered Kheerer Patisapta and Malpua.They were ok but failed to match up to 'what Ma makes'.

The end of the story is that we were pretty satisfied with the food and will be dining at The Calcutta Club more often.The best thing about the place is that the food is served quite fast and the prices are very reasonable.

As we were moving out we noticed that the place had filled in and people were happily savouring the Bengali food served at their table.The place deserved a 7.5 on 10 for the food we had on Sunday and we sure will be back for more.

We decided to walk down a bit to help the food go down as we were stuffed to the neck but our walk wasn't as long as we would have liked it to be as we actually walked into Top 'N Town....Now that will be another story:)

Pujor Khawa-dawa @ Bijoli Grill,Powai:Sumptuous start to Pujo 2011 in Mumbai

It was the same group who relished Parsi khana in Mumbai but this time it was a Bengali food outlet they headed to.Yes, a group of food loving Bengalis descended upon the Bijoli Grill Restaurant @ Powai,on Shosti afternoon.

Pandal Hopping in Mumbai called for fuelled tummies and Shosti being a Sunday was ideal for us to meet the Sen paribar and go Durga Puja touring in Mumbai and suburbs.The best part was that they decided to treat us for lunch at Bijoli Grill.

Yes,it is the same Bijoli Grill that is a catering heavyweight in Kolkata,and whoever has Bijoli Grill arranging the food at their social do's are assured of lip smacking food and guests leaving with a smile.I am an ardent admirer of their Fish Fry ,though others swear by the Fish Orley that comes out of their kitchen.

In Mumbai, however they have  a small outlet at Powai which opened its shutters during Durga Pujo 2010.Since then ,many a time we thought of visiting the place...but the plans never materialized.So,Soshti 2011 was the destined day. We did pay obeisance to the Goddess @ the Powai Bengali Association Pujo before we reached the grub stop.
Bijoli Grill was serving a set menu for the Pujo days and when we reached the place was filled with people relishing their meals. They told us that the 25 items were on the menu and that made us opt to wait till the ac section had space for the six of us.

The first item Lebu Jal/ Doi er Ghol was served as we were waiting outside. A cool thirty minutes later we were ushered in and seated at a table with a view of the playzone  outside. The 25(veg+ non veg) items were not displayed as in a buffet,but were served at the table much like in a biye baari.This arrangement was made ,I believe because of the paucity of space inside the restaurant.

The starters started rolling in Fish Fry, Chicken Kobiraji, Prawn Pakora.All of us being non vegetarians gave the veg starters which included Doi Vada,Paneer Finger a pass.

The Fish Fry was delicious and the Prawn Pakora a damp squib but the queen of starters that day was the Chicken Kobiraji.It was too good ,golden and crispy on the outside with a mouth watering chicken mince filling inside,not too bland nor too spicy it was flavored just right.
The starters were repeated but we were being careful as we wanted to sample the other dishes too.

The Phulko Luchi,Aloo Dum and Sorshey Narkol Phulkopi were all good and we liked the Dhokar dalna too.Steamed rice came in next and we had the rest of the dishes with this.
The Shukto  was ok and could have been better.We moved on to the fish delicacies and all of us relished the Pabda Jhal which merited a five star. The Chingri Malaikari was average and we felt the chingri were a tad small in size for such a festive affair.The Murgi Kosha was around but we opted to taste the Kochi Pathar Bangla...but sorry to say it was a bit bland for our taste.The sweet and tangy kancha aamer Chatni with Papor Bhaja was an instant hit.
(We skipped the mooger dal,Chachra ,Veg.Pulao to accomodate the other dishes...eating at a 25 item sit -down buffet is no mean feat!;)
By this time we were happily filled and were bursting at the seams...but Bengalis cannot resist the sweet temptations and we did have a rossogolla and Kalo jaam,followed by ice cream.


As we were eating merrily there were many people who went out with satisfied smiles and many more came in and others waited in the waiting area outside for their turn to sample good Bengali food.And another noticeable aspect was the sizeable number of non bengalis in the crowd.What a smug feeling to know so many love Bengali Khana! All of us agreed that The lunch merited a 7 on a scale of 10 and the service was reasonably good ;but my personal choice is always a-la-carte.


This long, leisurely lunch was a lovely start to our Pujo celebrations....

The Smile says it all!

PS: Will be back at Bijoli Grill to savour the Kobiraji & Mochar chop soon:P