The drums are ready to beat in Kolkata – as the city revs up for the mother of all festivals. I have never visited the city during the time of Durga Puja, and I am not sure I want to either – though a friend who spent a few years there says the experience is exhilarating. I'll take his word for it. When I visit Kolkata, which I did a couple of weeks ago, I shall do so when the city is calmer.
Of course, skeptics would say the city is never calm. But I am very fond of it – and there's good reason for that. Others go to Kolkata for various reasons – on business, to meet relatives and so on. I go there to eat. And every time I am there, I try and visit a place called Mocambo in the heart of the city.
This is one of the landmarks of Kolkata, quite like Dharmatala (where marchers meet) or Victoria Memorial (where lovers meet). Foodies meet at Mocambo, which is on Free School Street, just off Park Street. The restaurant is almost always packed. The décor is art deco, and you'll love it if you are nostalgic about the Raj. The carpet is red, as is the upholstery. Hanging lamps take you back into time, as do the servers in their belted uniforms and turbans.
Old favourites
The wonderful thing about the restaurant is its wide range of dishes. It includes a great many old favourites that have gone out of our lives – such as chicken a la Kiev – which is a most sinful dish of chicken stuffed with butter. You pierce it with your knife, and the butter oozes out like a mini fountain. I love it!
Usually, whenever I am there, I ask for a dish called Surf and Turf. That's a delicious mix of seafood and a juicy beef steak. The chateaubriand beef steak is topped with four prawns, and comes with fried potatoes, some boiled green peas and carrots, and a little helping of pasta in tomato sauce. This is for Rs.400. The menu includes such delicacies as fish a la Diana (bekti stuffed with prawns in a creamy sauce) and devilled crabs, or stuffed crabs.
The last time I was there, I had the much loved lobster thermidor. This time, I wanted something more substantial, so it had to be Surf and Turf. The steak was delicious, thought a bit too sinewy, so I had to exercise my jaws more than I wished to. I am going a bit easy on desserts these days, so I looked at somebody's baked Alaska with envy, but stopped myself from ordering one. I was tempted by something called soufflé a la surprise Mocambo – mainly because the name was intriguing. Another time, perhaps.
What I really like about Mocambo are its old-style dishes, and old-style prices as well. Nothing is too expensive. Most dishes range between Rs.250-450 which, by Delhi standards, is a real steal. And the food is always well cooked. So if you are planning to visit Kolkata for Durga Puja, take some time off from pandal hopping – an exercise that Bengalis love to do during these four days – and make your way to Mocambo, and step into another world.
