As a continuation of our North Kolkata Food trail that started from Chittaranjan Mistanna Bhandar and was followed by College Street, in this episode we are taking our explorations further to the historic lanes of Hedua, Bidhan Sarani, and Shyambazar in North Kolkata that boasts of some iconic go-to dishes that have been tickling our taste buds since eons. We were super eager to try a gamut of traditional street food that is popular not just for its phenomenal taste but also for its glorious legacy. To guide us in this quest of ours we have our gracious host Pamela Das a food enthusiast who knows these areas thoroughly.
While passing through the footpath of the busy thoroughfare of College Street, we stopped by a vendor selling another hot favourite, quintessential Bengali snack called Jhal Muri. This potpourri of puffed rice, potatoes, spices, and mustard oil was as zesty, joyful and endearing, and vibrant as the city.
From there we took a tram ride to reach Bidhan Sarani. Our destination here was the famous sweet shop Ghosh and Co. Pamela recommended their chocolate sandesh that are deemed as the best in the city. We were pretty surprised by this innovative sweet whose balanced chocolaty taste was a delight.
The next place was again a sweet shop that is an institution when it comes to the traditional Bengali sweet called Sandesh. A visit to the land of sweets is incomplete without paying a visit to Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandi who have been selling just sandesh since 1918. A morsel of their coveted Jalbhara was enough to cement this claim of their indisputable reputation as the city's best sandesh maker. We also loved their Mohini Sandesh, coffee sandesh.
From there we went to try some chaat from 80-year-old Hedua Chaat Corner. Their Singhara and tikkiya chaat were hearty and fun. Soon it was time to try another popular evening time Bengali snack called chop or vegetable fritters at the celebrated Lakshmi Narayan Shaw and Sons shop. The Aam Choop and Beguni were delicious.
After such deep-fried savoury treats we arrived at Allen's Kitchen to relish their special prawn cutlet. This greasy prawn fritter made with humble ingredients was truly indulgent.
Our penultimate stop was this iconic eatery named Mitra Cafe. We loved their best-selling dish fish fry and chicken cutlet. It was soon time to wrap up this gratifying food trail that was full of flavours and stories. Stay tuned for more.