Tung Nam

DH and I have been eating out at a lot more new (and out of the way) places these days. This time it was to a place we've seen photos and heard about the food, but never been to before. It's called Tung Nam, and its located in Tiretti Bazaar, or Old China Town. It's just off the Central Metro station and to the Tiretti Bazaar side. Once you come out, just cross the statue of a man on a horse, and go straight down the road where the cars are coming in and you'll spot this little joint. The only thing is, it closes between 3 and 6pm. Don't be discouraged by the lack of decoration, the food is amazing! It is also very cheap. For 3 bowls of wonton soup you will pay around Rs 280, seeing as they are Rs 90 a bowl.

My favorite, won ton soup

This is all that you will see.

This is their amazing wonton soup. I love this stuff. This is a meal in itself. Add a bit of soy sauce,
their chili vinegar sauce and some chili sauce and it's amazing!

Steamed pork rice!

Steamed Noodles, I didn't try this, so I don't know how it is,
but looks a little bland to me.

Pork Hamie, this was had with the noodles (for DH and a friend) and the
Pork itself was good, and I can imagine it went well with the steamed noodles.

Hotel Raj Homely Restaurant

Today DH and I decided to go out for lunch. We didn't want any meat because there is both mutton and chicken cooked at home and we would eat that for dinner. So, we decided to go for something veg, or some other meat. We also wanted to try a new place. So we landed up at Hotel Raj Homely Restaurant today. This is located at 10/2, Manohar Pukur Rd, Kalighat, Kolkata. Incidentally, this is a Southern Indian restaurant!

Today we had some pizza, as another friend posted about it here. We went and sat in the AC section and soon had decided what we wanted. Here are photos of our food. 

Papdi Chat Rs 52

We ordered the Al Fungi pizza (Rs 152) and added Fresh Tomatoes (Rs 15 extra) and Black Olives (Rs 60 extra)

I loved the pizza. I'm definitely going to go back and get it again!

 

Fares

Oh, for those of you who take auto's around Kolkata be aware that the fares are going up.

The new fares (I've experienced recently) are :

Gariahat to Ruby (or vice versa) is now Rs 10, but if you get down on the Bijon Setu (at the train station) it's only Rs 8, and to Fern Road is Rs 9. This raise is from Rs 7...so a bit steep. I still remember when it would cost me Rs 5 to get to Gariahat.

Also, now from Ruby to Jadavpur Thana it's Rs 10 from Rs 9.

Also, for taxi's the fare has gone up (quite some time back though...) and the calculation is quite complicated. The formula is Amount on Meter  multiplied by 2.4 and then you add Rs 1. So if the meter says Rs 24, the formula is 24 x 2.4 = Rs 57.6 + Rs 1 = 57.6, so rounded up it's Rs 58. Complicated I know...

Ah, and a few times I've taken taxi's that have their meters recalibrated. Meaning, the meter will read Rs 25 when they turn it on and then you just pay what is shown at the end of the trip. It's kinda trippy, I've only taken these 2 times (both times with DH, thank god, because I didn't know about the recalibration thingy) and I'm always thinking "The taxi driver needs to reset his meter" until I remember and then I'm like what an idiot! LOL

Sowwy

Okay, yeah I really really suck at this whole blog writing thing...I really should write more, I know. The problem is I keep thinking I need to blog about this, but then I totally forget. I need to start writing down my ideas.

Nothing new is going on...just with the weather going from warm and humid to rainy and cold I've been stuck with a cold pretty much non-stop for the last few weeks. Not. Cool!

They Love Me Here...I think?

Okay, you know you go to some places way too often when these sorts of things happen. 

I love Banana Leaf, a small south indian food joint, within walking distance from Rashbehari metro (towards Gariahat). When I go I normally order 1 or 2 plates of rasam idli, depending on how hungry I am, and if I want some filter coffee. This is how it normally goes when I walk in after I sit down.

The waiter normally hands me a menu, and I look at him, and tell him I don't need it. If it's one of my normal waiters they just ask me "rasam idli?" and I smile and nod. They even know to give me extra rasam instead of the coconut chutney. They give good, fast service. :-)

The other place that DH and I go to a lot is Oly Pub, on Park Street. Now here, see we go a lot. Here we get amazing service. So here are the ways you know we go there too often

1 - we order a plate of chicken sandwiches, which is 3 sandwiches cut diagonally, normally served on one big plate. Well, one of our waiters will give 2 small plates with 3 pieces on each. This must mean he pays attention to how we share our food...or he just splits them up evenly. 

2 - I, well both of us can really but it's easier for me, can bypass the entire line (especially on the busy weekends) and normally get a table instantly or after a short wait. Normally this only works if we find a waiter who serves us or we go upstairs and into the back.

3 - The door guy (we normally give him Rs 10-20 when we leave) will tell either me or DH (whoever comes later if we come separately) where the other is sitting. Awesome! This means I don't have to search everywhere for DH.

4 - We also give the guy who cleans the tables, gives ice, and whatnot Rs 20 when we leave. We do this for a reason. If he sees us come in and knows there is going to be an empty table he will tell others that the table is not empty and give it to me. Also, I know he will watch out for me if I'm waiting for others.

5 - We normally don't have to tell them our drink order. They normally bring us Old Monk and pour us our standard large pegs. This happens unless we specify we want beer. Then they bring it.

6 - Sometimes we sit downstairs, and some guys get rowdy we go upstairs. When we tell them what happens they sort of get irritated.

7 - They aren't intimidated by my Bengali and just talk to me, :-)

I love Oly! Those are the 2 places we go to a lot...so we get good service :-)

Trolling at a friend's wedding

Saturday night, DH, P and I went to a friend's wedding. We didn't plan to stay long seeing as how we were already late. We meant to pick up DH around 8, but managed to pick him up around 830pm...so off we went.

We went said hello to the bride and groom, and then decided to eat. There was a plethora of foods...biriyani, jeera rice, daal makhani, naan, and lots of other things to eat. My problem with wedding food is that it's normally pure bengali food and it's hard to eat my fill. So, thinking I'd enjoy it, I took some jeera rice (the flavour was a bit overwhelming for me...) and some butter masala paneer. Then I spied some chicken florentine (YES! Some continental food =D)

Well...I went to the counter where they were serving the chicken and they gave me a bit. I asked for more, they said "This is chicken, non-veg" to which I replied "Aaro din" (give me more) and they again replied "But it's chicken." Slightly frustrated at this point I said, "Jaani, aami porte pari, Chicken Florentine lekha achhe" (I know, I can read. It's written Chicken Florentine.)

Then we had more food and left...I ended up coming home and having a maggi at 1am. :-)

Yep, highlight of my night was trolling at a wedding =D

Love - Hate Relationship

I now have a love hate relationship with the restaurant Momo I Am! While the food is good...I ate there both Sunday and Tuesday, I now have my very first stomach infection from eating out in India.

I've eaten phucka, and all sorts of other foods at restaurants that are more run-down looking. And this happens at one of my favorite places.

Here's to getting tests done and feeling better soon. :-)

Raj's Spanish Cafe, 7 Sudder Street

I heard about this place, called Raj's Spanish Cafe, a long while back from a friend. I had been wanting to go and one day DH wanted to go and we looked up the directions, but then decided he would eat something at home, so we never went.

Then one day I went out with my friend, P, to New Market to buy a few things and we ended up here. The first time I didn't take any photos, but the food was amazing. I ordered a Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni (Rs 125 or $2.29), while P ordered the Pollo (chicken) platter (for Rs 150 or $2.75). The cannelloni weren't the best. It was a square of about 4-5 inches by 3-4 inches. There was hardly any ricotta cheese, it basically was a bit mixed in with the spinach and blocking the ends, and there wasn't enough sauce. Hardly worth the 125 rupees I paid. P got her chicken, it was 2 long thin strips of chicken, with a small salad on the side (lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, capsicum) and a good amount of french fries. I can't remember what coffee drink she had, but she loved it, while I ordered a iced tea. The ice tea was made with a tea bag (Twinnings Breakfast tea) and was quite sour (even for me...) and after I added 2 small packages of sugar it was palatable. Since I was still hungry I also ordered the mediteranean salad (Rs 80 or $1.47) which was AMAZING. It was this big plate of lettuce, with capsicum, tomato, carrot, black olives and a dollop of feta cheese on top. They had some oil and vinegar on the side and I poured that stuff on like there was no tomorrow! Loved it! The customer service is pretty good...Also I think here you can get internet for like Rs 25 ($0.46) an hour (seeing as some lady told the guy at the register 2 hours and gave him a Rs 50 note.)

Now, I went with a friend on Saturday and ordered a bowl of hot and sour soup (Rs 40 or $0.73) and the mediteranean salad, and a iced tea (this time made with twinnings lemon tea) while my friend, A, ordered the chicken salad (Rs 120 or $2.20) and the tuna sandwich (Rs 70 or $1.28), which was basically just 3 slices of wheat bread with a slight layer of tuna on it.

The soup was ok, it was a from a Knorr's package, I saw them pouring it in the pot, but it came with 2 slices of bread, slightly soft and hard, so perfect! The salad came, and I noticed they gave me a bigger dollop of feta cheese today, so that made me super happy! A got his salad and was happy (he'd never had so much of lettuce before!) and also some iced mocha cafe (Rs 70, or $1.28) which he said was pretty good. All in all, I was happy and it only cost me Rs 425 ($7.79).

Here are some photos :

My hot and sour soup

My mediteranean salad

chicken salad

My iced tea

A's Iced Mocha Cafe

Changes

I've decided to start blogging more (I promise!) and about different things. I'm gonna start blogging about places I visit (like salons and that...), where you can get cheap things on the road, and BEST OF ALL THE FOOD I EAT!

update

Lately, there has been a lot going on in our lives.

The bank has lost a considerable amount that was deposited by me via check, but thankfully we have found out where the check went (wrongly deposited to someone else's account...) and we are working on getting it fixed. :-) Plus work drama as DH will likely lose 2 of his clients this year due to people changing jobs and retiring. *sigh* Guess it really is time to get going on my visa conversions.

We've had a lot of yummy food these days, chinese food and all...still have yet to try Amigo's, the newest mexican food restaurant in Kolkata...we went to go on Sunday with a friend, and arrived at 215pm, and there were no free tables, so made a reservation (courtesy...) for 3pm and they said when a table gets empty they would call us, so we went to go sit at a Barista nearby to await the phone call. Well...at 3pm, nothing...330 rolls around and they call us and said they had expected us by 3 and should they hold the table for us? Now...if you look at their Facebook page they say they are open from 11am-11pm (last time I looked it said 11am-3pm, and 7pm-11pm, so they must have just changed their hours recently) so thinking that they closed at 3 we chose to go somewhere else, Tung Fong (off of Park Street) because I didn't want rushed food. Needless to say I was disappointed since this is the 2nd time we have planned to go (first time got cancelled because DH wasn't feeling well...). Now we will have a bigger group when we actually go because so many people want to go.

"Madam, Madam"

One day I went out with a friend and she wanted to buy a towel, so I took her to the place I normally buy mine from (also recommended by MIL).

While we were walking to the place we were crossing one of the roadside stores that sells sheets, pillow covers, and bed covers. All of a sudden I hear "Madam, madam, come here. Pillow covers, bed sheets..." I know they are talking to me because they normally talk in bengali and they only ever talk in English to me (this is a normal thing...) so I ignore them.

We are walking back the same way when the same thing happens...all of a sudden I got very annoyed and turned back and said "Jodi dorkar chillo aami aapnake boltam" (If I had needed them I would have told you) and walked on.

Needless to say, I probably shocked my friend.

First "aashirbaad" (blessing)

Up until last month all the family weddings that I have gone to were for the groom. Last month I got to experience what it was like being from the bride's side of the family.

It all started with a lunch the day before the wedding, called Aeiburo Bhaat (literally Feasting of the Bride) I went with MIL and SIL, since it was pretty much all girls. When we arrived the bride was sitting in the middle of the room and people were blessing her. This meant that the person who was doing the blessing was holding a golden plate with a lit lamp (and a few other things...) while standing up. The process was to take some dhurba ghass (a special sort of grass) and some dhaan (rice that had the husk and everything on) and place it on her head, and wait for a second while they took a picture then feed her a small spoonful of paesh (a sweet dish made of rice, milk, cashew, cardamon and raisins, and can be made with or without nolen gur - the date palm jaggery) and then hand it off to the next person. This was my first time, and had to follow the MIL, so I watched closely. This was how it happened...

Me : Are you ready for this?

S : Yep 

Me : I hope you are, because this is my first time. 

Done! It was funny the whole interaction because I was the only foreigner, and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. 

Then we had the typical Bengali meal of rice, daal, shukto (I like this stuff, and this lady's blog rocks!), chingri maach (big huge prawns), doi maach (fish cooked in yogurt, normally my favorite, but since I had fish the night before I declined...)