We were in a dilemma. How do we go about this post.  It was an invitation from Park Plaza, Kolkata for their ongoing Kolkata Street Food Festival.

I have grown up loving street food and like numerous Bengalis, very emotional and touchy about it . The street food festival started almost 10 days ago and will continue till the 14th of June .

Memorable experiences:

1. The ambiance was good and gives a warm cosy feeling . The spread was laid out in K19 – the all day dining of Park Plaza, Kolkata. The live kitchen added to the mood.

2.  The street food spread was good. I would not say excellent, however it covered most of the street food of Kolkata, from the hot kathi rolls to the begunis, phuluris, ghughni, chaats, phuchka, pav bhaji. It was quite a long menu.

3. The live chaat counter was noteworthy. Both Madhushree and I especially liked the crispy fried palak leaves in a light batter presented with loads of chutneys and shev. The chaat counter had everything from Phuchka to alu tikki chaat, dahi bhalla, deep fried idlis, radga patties and raj kachoris, other than the usual papdi chaats etc.

4. The mughlai parantha was presented with a typical alur tarkari  (potatoes mix), which was lip smacking.

5. Whatever the taste of the food may be, it was all hygienic compared to the actual street food. Hence for those of you who are finicky about hygiene, this would be a good place to try out some.

Park Plaza Kolkata phuchka

Phuchka

Park Plaza Kolkata chat making in process

Chat making in process

Things that did not work well with us:

1. The pav bhaji was nowhere close to any reasonable standard. We had to send it back to the kitchen.

2. The begunis and phuluris were a let down. So did the kathi rolls which felt more like diet rolls.

3. The main buffet counter had some tangra style hakka chow along and some mutton stew as a part of the multi cuisine menu. The mutton stew was good, but the hakka chow was too refined to be tangra styled. I guess, tangra style will be available in only tangra.

Park Plaza Kolkata mutton stew

Mutton Stew

Park Plaza Kolkata Pav Bhaji

The out of place Pav Bhaaji

The street food is part of the A la carte menu and is priced separately. However, it is not charged separately for guests who are having a lunch or dinner buffet.

Even if you miss this festival you wont miss much . I am sure Park Plaza Kolkata will have better food festivals in future .