Saturday, September 25, 2010

A tale of two restaurants – Part II

In the words of the legendary Amrish Puri from the timeless 1987 classic Mr. India - मोकाम्बो खुश हुआ (Mocambo khush hua) . I cannot remember when was the last time I dined at Mocambo. I am told though, it has topped the charts of Calcutta restaurants that specialize in continental cuisine, for decades together.

One fine Saturday evening, the wife and son had an invite at her friends’ and the husband was not invited. So the husband and a buddy decided to explore the uncharted territory called Mocambo on Park Street.

280820101190

As you can see in the picture, this place is frequented by a lot of fair-skinned people from foreign shores. I am sure by now they are tired of eating curries and want some food as they remember it from back home.  The two brown-sahibs were early bird and were able to squeeze in, without having to wait for a table.  Most were in groups of 5-6, requiring longer waits for their table. Initially the steward offered us a table just by the door. The brown-sahibs were not very happy at being treated unequally. They saw a table just adjacent to it becoming empty, facing the big French windows. They grabbed it and settled down after all, this is Calcutta. You need to fight for every inch of  your space. Did not make us look like very graceful guests, but then again we were here for the food not to exhibit graciousness ;-)

280820101162

280820101167

 280820101168

It was Saturday evening and the crowds were beginning to swell, with not another empty table in sight. We started browsing the menu. The place smelled good and the service was prompt. Our steward came up to us and handed over the menu, with an interesting preface.

280820101164

I agree with the Englishman on the menu - ‘There is no love greater than the love of eating’ and I have a figure to prove it. :) . We were about to begin our culinary journey on a pleasant evening. Deciding to start off, with an icy cold beer (yes yet again). Skipped the starters to maintain the budget. The beer in most restaurants come with a side of nuts, or चनाचूर, চানাচুর (a medley of nuts, fried potato sticks, pulses and spices – that is the best translation I can do). The refills are free – No not for the beer but for the ‘Chanachur’. This stuff does a good job of filling you up prior to the dinner entrees, saves you money – a precious commodity in rare supply !

280820101166 A leaf from the menu, blame the bad photo on a cheap camera phone and dimly lit interiors @ Mocambo

I suggested to my dining partner to skip chicken and go for the fresh catch (fish). He acquiesced. Ordering himself  Fish Sizzler while I got was was called – ‘Want a neat fish ?’, it promised to be Fish N Chips, sans the chips. It had a nice warm and fuzzy description that I cannot recall in it’s entirety but it went like this - ‘The fisherman went to sea and returned with a fresh catch and asked his wife to cook it; who cooked it with the flour that was on her hands something something …’. I tried to imagine myself as the fisherman and my wife as his wife. After some deliberation we decided, while we were at it, might as well get a  ‘Cream of Asparagus’ soup in 1  * 2 mode. The steward okayed it, he might have labeled us as cheapskates who could not afford one soup each. But life goes on.

280820101170

280820101179

The beer is served stylishly in heavy silver mugs, with the words ‘Mocambo Restaurant’ embossed on it. If you look hard enough, you can see part of it in the picture above. And no don’t even think about it, these mugs are NOT souvenirs you could keep or take them with you.

280820101171

The ‘Cream of Asparagus’ was the best part of the Mocambo experience. It was silky smooth with small diced chunks of Asparagus, not aplenty, but just right. It had a very subtle taste that I had not experienced in a while. Needless to say I was grinning, the joy of eating was taking over. The soup came in silver bowls, with lids on top. The lids were removed promptly by the waiter serving us, even before I could say ‘Asparagus’. So no pictures. Oh and the soup was piping hot, just how I like it.

280820101174 

While I drank the last drop of the soup, I was wondering if it was a smart idea to go Dutch on the soup. We could have had one each. But then again. It was now time for the main course to arrive. Wait was over and the spread looked pretty darn good.

280820101177

280820101183

280820101186 280820101185

The sizzler did do all the talking. The ‘Neat Fish Fillet’ looked sexy !  It came with home made tar-tar sauce in a sort of a longish cup with a spout vaguely resembling the magic lamp from ‘Aladdin and the Genie’.

280820101187

It would have been a shame, if I had no complaints to make. So here it is. The steamed vegetables and the cheesy pasta that was served along with my fried fish filet was stone cold. They did not even care to toss it into the microwave for 20 seconds. The steward got called and the complaint was lodged. He did offer to give me some warm vegetables. Just to uncomplicate matters and take it a little easy, I told him nevermind. He nodded apologetically and disappeared into the crowd. I was never to see him again that evening.

The total damage was about Rs. 800 (1 beer, 1 * 2 soup and 2 entrees plus taxes). We had a smile on our face. So the verdict in the match-up Amber vs. Mocambo ? Mocambo is the winner hands down ! Unless you are crazy about skewered Tandoori potatoes.

The phone rang , it was the wife. She was ready to be picked up from her friends’.

9 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hmm... d pics n d name itself stirred too many images 4m d past... i remember going to Mocambo wid my friends with a lot of expectation ( i loveeeeeeee conti). n d biggest smile i had on my face after finding "baked alaska" on the menu which i never had again after our bakery class in college...

    but 1 very unbiased comment.. though Mocambo has a long history to it, doesn’t do justice to the elaborate menu it has.. Check out One step up sometime if u r interested in continental.. u would see the difference yourself…
    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Akansha for your comments. Love the 'Baked Alaska' had it one and only one time at a cousin's marriage reception. The hosts took pride in serving it, I swallowed three servings of it. Missed it on the Mocambo menu, blame it on the dimly lit interiors. Have heard good things about One-Step-Up, it is just across the street from Barbecue. Will give it a shot, now that an IIHM grad. is recommending it. Will live to tell a story on it too !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice ... really loved that Silver mug for a drink. Makes drinking a pleasure. But sadly the new restaurants are taking over it seems and these old haunts are a hark these days. So good to see you cover Mocambo and that its still flourishing.

    Hey for all your nice coverage, how about Mocambo treat you to a nice dinner and dinks on the house ?

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Baul - Thanks for your kind words. People still throng some old haunts, and Mocambo remains to be one of them. Peter Cat is another. Now with Rahul Gandhi visiting it, it has quadrupled it's stock !

    Will work towards coaxing the Mocambo for free drinks, if not dinner ! Let my blog gain popularity, may be I need to get it endorsed by Madam Queen Bee (Rajmata - Sonia Gandhi) :))

    Stay tuned it and don't change the dial, for more fun coverage right here !

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is by far one of the most fabulous blogs I have read! So contemporary intermingled with the right proportion of nostalgia! So glad, I bumped into it.... lovely coverage on my favourite food, fish n chips & Mocambo. Try their Pork Sizzler if you do have pork that is...only during winter for stomach;s safety! :P :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. @Nabanita - Thank you so much for your kind words. I am glad you like. Will continue to chime in. After all writing is one of my less dangerous vices :) Will try their Pork Sizzler on my next trip downtown. I am also told by one of the readers, they have a red-wine-doused sizzlers. Gotta try that too ! After all it would be nice to get 'drunk' on a sizzler :)).

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is by far my fav restaurant in kolkata.
    Chicken tetrazzini...and Ala Kiev love them!
    Even the fish florentine is very good.
    I eat there always whenever i go to kolkata.My partner in crime is my mom.We both do the rounds of the hotels during the entire holiday!

    Nice cozy ambience..and not pocket burning dishes unlike the continental in star hotels.Lovely.

    Father,son and the holy food.Amen.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Avishar - You bet. I need to go there more often. And yes I do need to try their Chicken Ala Kiev as well. I hear they make a mean Baked Alaska as well ! For the food they serve, it is reasonably priced. However was disappointed with the cold vegetables, served with my fish !

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails