Looks can be deceptive and this restaurant fits the bill perfectly. We chanced upon this place while driving on the Wind Tunnel Road. From the outside, it looks like one of those middle class places that are known more for their lip-smacking fare rather than for fancy presentation/innovative dishes or an artsy ambiance. And at a reasonable price.
Regional preferences for comfort food ensure that we turn to Bengali cuisine when Odia cuisine is not available ( and I am in no mood to cook ). So, we entered the restaurant hoping for a good and wholesome meal (dinner). The interiors are quite drab but do have that old city kind of feel. It was a bit hot and we had to ask one of the waiters to turn on the AC. Apart from us, there was just one guy and the lady of the establishment was helping him out with the menu.
One look at the menu and the prices came as a bit of a shocker !! But we persisted thinking that the food might me good. We settled for a Chicken Kosha, Mutton Curry (Mangshor Jhol), luchi and white rice ( a meal that added up to Rs 610/- ).
The food arrived with 15 mins. They served the Chicken Kosha along with the luchi first. The chicken was good, not too spicy and quite similar to the one I make at home. The quantity (4 pieces) was good for the price. Out of the 4 luchi's ( maida puri ), 2 had been over-fried.
Then came the disaster. The Mutton curry which refuses to get out of my head. The gravy smelled of raw masalas. The mutton was just too chewy. And the meat did not take on the distinctive aroma of the spices (which can only mean that it was first boiled separately and then added to the curry). When we called the owner and told her about it, she gave a lame excuse like "since you have had the spicier Chicken kosha first, this tastes a little bland. Bengali mutton curry is like that only" . But she agreed to cook it some more. So, the dish went off the table and came back 10 mins later, with only a marginal improvement. I guess the lady had no idea that with Odia and Bengali dishes, it is the 'kasha' or stir frying ( more like braising ) process of the masalas along with the meat, that actually plays the major role in the final taste of the dish.
The mutton remained untouched (except for one piece that I had served on my plate) and we finished the rice with whatever was left of the Chicken Kosha. And sadly, the establishment did not bother with niceties like refilling the water glasses or asking for a feedback on the food.
A terrible experience !! Save your money and show some mercy to those taste-buds .....a must avoid experience !!
Rating - 1/5 .
Regional preferences for comfort food ensure that we turn to Bengali cuisine when Odia cuisine is not available ( and I am in no mood to cook ). So, we entered the restaurant hoping for a good and wholesome meal (dinner). The interiors are quite drab but do have that old city kind of feel. It was a bit hot and we had to ask one of the waiters to turn on the AC. Apart from us, there was just one guy and the lady of the establishment was helping him out with the menu.
One look at the menu and the prices came as a bit of a shocker !! But we persisted thinking that the food might me good. We settled for a Chicken Kosha, Mutton Curry (Mangshor Jhol), luchi and white rice ( a meal that added up to Rs 610/- ).
The food arrived with 15 mins. They served the Chicken Kosha along with the luchi first. The chicken was good, not too spicy and quite similar to the one I make at home. The quantity (4 pieces) was good for the price. Out of the 4 luchi's ( maida puri ), 2 had been over-fried.
Then came the disaster. The Mutton curry which refuses to get out of my head. The gravy smelled of raw masalas. The mutton was just too chewy. And the meat did not take on the distinctive aroma of the spices (which can only mean that it was first boiled separately and then added to the curry). When we called the owner and told her about it, she gave a lame excuse like "since you have had the spicier Chicken kosha first, this tastes a little bland. Bengali mutton curry is like that only" . But she agreed to cook it some more. So, the dish went off the table and came back 10 mins later, with only a marginal improvement. I guess the lady had no idea that with Odia and Bengali dishes, it is the 'kasha' or stir frying ( more like braising ) process of the masalas along with the meat, that actually plays the major role in the final taste of the dish.
The mutton remained untouched (except for one piece that I had served on my plate) and we finished the rice with whatever was left of the Chicken Kosha. And sadly, the establishment did not bother with niceties like refilling the water glasses or asking for a feedback on the food.
A terrible experience !! Save your money and show some mercy to those taste-buds .....a must avoid experience !!
Rating - 1/5 .