100 Years of Taste

[From 1844] Bengalees without desserts is unimaginable. Especially when it is Kolkatan’s very favourite sandesh what else is wanted! Nothing can match the taste of sandesh, the dry dessert of Bengal. Those who have a sweet tooth may have an account of the famous confectioneries in Kolkata. Among all those few are a century old still maintaining the heritage and glory. Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandi belongs to the oldest sweatmeat shop list satisfying the taste buds of thousands of people for 174years. Here we can find some of the finest sandesh of Kolkata which is delicate and creamy with a minute grain that melts gradually in mouth. The speciality and uniqueness of the shop is it only deals with one item- Sandesh. Girish Ch. Dey the famous confectioner initiated the business in 1844, later his son-in-law Nakur Ch. Nandy who came from Hoogly joined the business as a partner. Such joint venture of the in-laws flourished with time. The taste and name both

[From 1905] Opposite the Nakhoda Masjid at M.G. Road there lies the two storied Royal Indian Hotel first floor being little expensive. The pure Mughlai cuisine is pure bliss here. There is a short history stuffed in the biryani. It is said when Nawab Wazid Ali Shah came to Kolkata he used to have a large group of assistants. In Nawab’s kitchen there were two types of cooks- Khansama and Rakhabdar. The former one used to cook for everyone and the rakhabdars were to make meals for nawab and his family members. Nawab was allotted with a yearly stipend of 12L per annum, though the amount was quite enough that time but not for the Nawab as he had a large group of assistants to take care of them. Naturally it was getting a little problematic for the Khansama to prepare biryani with much meat. So he introduced the use of potato and boiled egg in order to increase the quantity but it was never attempted by the rakhabdars. Later the khansamas introduced the Kolkata Biry

[From 1910] The culture of the city is best manifested by its flavours and Kolkata is no exception to that. It is renowned for a rich gastronomic heritage with influences as varied as Portuguese and British to Chinese and nawabi. From the various roll corners to mughlai, from phuchkawallas to Prak Street restaurants all stand a ‘Testimony’ to this. Bengali is incomplete without the adda sessions, and their adda is incomplete without good food. North Kolkata is the best witness of such adda culture.  Our next desti nation in the list of 100 years old eateries is a cafe which has been built dedicating the friends for which it had been named the Mitra Cafe. Though the name of this cafe has many controversial descriptions. Around 1910 Mitra Cafe was founded by Ganesh Mitra and it is said that he kept the name of the cafe “Mitra” according to his surname. Later his friend Sushil Roy took over the responsibility of the cafe as an owner. He kept the name same like b

[From 1918] Kolkata is famous for many things which have been originated here. If we talk about food Rosogolla and Misti Doi are the patent food items of Kolkata. It would be very unfair if we miss out one delicious snack item which is also very significant item of the city- Chop. Chop is a well demanded street food in Kolkata. Among many famous shops the 100 year Laxmi Narayan Shaw is famous for its heritage.  The shop was started by Late Khedu Shaw in the year 1918. At that time a budding youngster, a student of Scottish Church College used to visit their shop frequently. His sparkling presence had some factor which made the owner notice him. This young man was none but Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Later the shop was also called by Netajir Chop er dokan.  Whenever there a meeting was held mainly for the Swadeshi Movement snacks was ordered from Laxmi Narayan Shaw. From the primitive days this shop offers telebhaja free of cost on the occasio

[From 1902] A confectionary probably the last vestige of Jewish Heritage in Kolkata still shimmers with their glorious presentation. The decoration of the shop, the same teakwood furniture sprinkles the nostalgia of traditional values whenever we visit the place. It is none other than Nahoum & Sons- the internationally known Jewish bakery serving the citizens with its lip-smacking items.  This bakery was established by Nahoum Israel Mordecai, a Baghdadi Jew in the year 1902. The 116 years old confectionary is presently run by Isaac Nahoum- the descendant of the founder. In 2013 David Nahoum, the third generation owner of the bakery passed away and as he had no children his brother Isaac Nahoum took the noble responsibility to conserve the heritage. Once Kolkata used to be a residence for the Jewish community; though it was much less – around 4000. Their existence was prominent in between the late 18 th and mid 20 th century. At present this reduced to a handf

[From around  1910] Amidst the packed schedules of our daily life we also get stuffed with duties, works and responsibilities. Our monotonous life sometimes makes us planless, our life loses its essence and eventually we fail to get the taste of life. A little outing, meeting with friends and testing delicious tastes is the best way of refreshment for us. When it comes about refreshness, enjoyment and taste what can match the Dilkhusha Cabin. ‘Dilkhusha’ is a Bengali word which means ‘heart-pleasing’. Located at 88, Mahatma Gandhi Rad, College Square the Dilkhusha Cabin is serving the city dwellers for more than a century. Utpal Basu is in charge of Dilkhusha Cabin presently. This 108 years old multi-cuisine bistro when was opened also has six other cabins scattered in the city. But except the college square cabin others did not survive and was closed by 2011. Dilkhusha Cabin is famous for its authentic Kabiraji and Cutlet. The heritage value and the atmosphere is very uniqu

[From 1918] The journey was not easy enough. Even the iconic sherbet centre the 21st century people are getting could have been closed in the sheer past. Right you are! I am talking about the legendary sherbet joint of Kolkata- Paramount, that completed their 100 in this year. After roving around the desserts, starters, starters and spices now we are heading towards the refreshing sips of Sherbets. The Paramount- the heritage is located at the College Street and easily recognizable. It is an institution on quality sherbets and their varying range is bound to refresh the customers. Interesingly, the customers vary from youngsters to mid-age to oldies. This menu includes Green Mango, Cream Vanilla, Coco Malai, Rose Malai, Passion Fruit, Grape Crush, Strawberry Malai, Mango Mania, Tamarind and Litchi other than the famous and refreshingly delicious Daaber Sherbet. Daab Sherber is a mutual endeavour of the founder and Acharya P. C. Roy as the idea as the idea of this she

[From around 1900] We started from a food that is a part of Bengali culture, that signifies Kolkata – Rosogolla and that to from the inventor Nabinchandra Das’s shop. Next we headed to enjoy some adda sipping the hot coffee with onion pakora. Now let’s move to another one, let’s dip our apetite into something spicy. What else can meet the need with such heritage than Golbari. The place is famous for its spice-rich dishes mainly Kosha Mangsho with Parota. Besides Chicken Masala, Mutton Keema, Fishfry, Cutlet all these authentic dishes are there. Let’s check the menu- The Golbari is one of our heritage eateries successfully running from  120- 125 stated by Damu Giri who has been working there since last 12 years.. The eatery is popularly called Golbari because of the semi-circular facade of the building – started not by a Bengali but by a Punjabi, Kishan Arora’s father Ratan Arora,  and now taken over his son. The authenticity of the dishes is still same according to the