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Vashi2Panvel.Com: Navi Mumbai: March 1: With nothing but food on my mind I entered this vitalizing restaurant at City Mall with a painting of a Bengali lady in a welcoming pose greeting me. I smiled back at the lady and entered Tangra, Tangra not the China Town in Bengal but the Chinese restaurant of Flavour of Kolkata, an authentic restaurant serving Bengali food--yes even the famous Chinese Bengali so popular in Tangra--that has come up in Vashi recently.

As I entered I was welcomed with a pleasant smile by Sayantani Dhar, a charming Bengali lady, daughter of Mr. Swapan Dhar, owner of Flavour of Kolkata. The Chinese restaurant, one of the five beautifully planned and creatively thought of restaurants of Flavour of Kolkata was a pleasure to enter. With the picture of the Chinese dragon on the wall and the beautiful lanterns hanging from the ceiling, the whole feel of the restaurant was so Chinese that all I could think of was to sit on one of those comfortable sofas and binge into a lovely crispy vegetable. Before I could get over the thought of pan fried chilli prawns and burnt ginger rice, Sayantani offered to take me around the restaurant. Just a few steps and I felt I entered a completely new restaurant and so it was the Chouringhee, the authentic Bengali restaurant.

Traditional Bengali doors and jute finish walls, a perfect ambience to have the delicious Bhetki fish of Bengal made with spiced gravy. As the picture of the delicious daab chingi and kausha mangsho floated in my mind I was awakened by the sweet voice of Sayantani who offered me to have a seat in their family room attached to Chouringhee. As soft music and the aroma of delicious food dominated my senses Sayantani explained about how they thought of this innovative project. “We wanted to offer to our customers a different experience and a variety that would suit every mood of theirs. One has the option of four different cuisines besides fast food and can choose what he feels like having according to his mood”, she said. Well I too accept that with the variety Flavour of Kolkata offered it would be difficult to get bored of the place. However there was one thing that was constantly popping up in my mind and that was why did they choose to open such a beautiful restaurant in such a secluded area? But Sayantani had a reply even before I completed the question. “It’s the parking. Here there is ample parking and I believe that one would prefer driving down a little more than struggling for parking in a busy area”. Well I couldn’t argue for what she said for it so much sense to me and anyway how does it matter what the location is as far as the food is tasty and the experience is refreshing.

While we ordered the food I insisting on having a taste of all the dishes so there I was, we had Bhetki fish fry, crispy baby corn and the Mughlai Paratha. While the food kept the cooks busy we decided to take a trip to Dalhousie, where though we didn’t find the writers building in real, we surely had a picture of it. But why name a banquet Dalhousie was what I asked Sayantani and she patiently acquainted me with the history of the city. It was the Writers’ building in Dalhousie the British administered from in the times Bengal was the capital of India. So that made sense, what would be a better place to have official gatherings or even social parties than where the British did? Leaving behind the huge hall with embracing interiors, we moved on to the Shahi Darbar. The loud ambience of the Indian restaurant was sure the apt place for a Tandoori Chicken or Lasooni Jhinga. While admiration ran through my mind it was time for me to indulge in the most awaited, dinner!

The spicy but luscious fish fry undoubtedly illustrated the effort that goes in Bengali cooking. The chutney and the aam poda sharbat that accompanied the dish had nothing to beat it when the well trained waiters offered me the crispy babycorn. While Chinese is my favourite cuisine, I had my taste buds at their best to be able to make out the difference in the regular Indian Chinese and Bengali Chinese offered here. So what is that made this Chinese different from the regular Chinese we get in the rest of the restaurants? The answer to this could be given only by the chef himself, Kanhaiya Singh. “We cook the chilli sauce that we use and make all the sauces that we use fresh as per the order of the customer. Nothing is kept ready. It is this fresh taste alongwith other spices that makes the Chinese here different from other restaurants”, he says. Well what could be better than getting a delectable change in taste sitting in your own city?

When one goes to an authentic Bengali restaurant he is sure to ask for fish and to ones delight, Flavour of Kolkatta keeping in mind the desire of their customers to have authentic Bengali food, serves only fresh water fish, brought all the way from Kolkata on almost daily basis. While I was done with treating my taste buds with the scrumptious appetizers, it was time for the Mughlai Paratha from the Aadda downstairs. Aadda, Sayantani told me means gossip in Bengali and is a regular timepass in Bengal. While my stomach was almost full I couldn’t resist the temptation of having a bite of this lovely maida roti with mutton filling accompanied with aloo ki sabzi. Bite by bite I enjoyed the food and the friendly conversation with Sayantani. While I didn’t realize it was time to leave the beautiful reflection of Bengal and its cuisine and get back to the regular routine work. So I bid goodbye to my new friend Sayantani and left the restaurant with satisfied taste buds and a delighted heart!

By Sumisha Arora