East or west, street food is the best —  more than a lakh foodies gave a thumbs up to the three-day Chaat Festival, presented by t2 and City Centre as part of the Salt Lake mall’s 11th anniversary celebrations, ignoring the rains that lashed the city. A dozen street-food destinations of the city laid out a sweet-and-tangy spread. Apart from the different kinds of chaat, the highlight was a special stall serving phuchkas made by three famous stops — Rajendar Phuchka from Dakshinapan, Dhakuria; Bapi’s Phuchka from College More, Salt Lake Sector V; and Ananda’s Phuchka, near Jadavpur police station.

t2 bumped into Sabyasachi Mukherjee in the middle of the Kund area on Sunday, eyeing the phuchka stalls. “I came to watch Asha Jaoar Majhe with about 30 people from my workshop. And Calcutta is not Calcutta without having chaat and phuchka, so we are here having phuchkas,” said the fashion designer. 

(L-R) Friends Amrita, Pritam, Ivy and Monosij had a get-together at City Centre Salt Lake on Sunday, with lots of chaats and phuchkas to celebrate the reunion. “We have had the Tikia Chaat from Hedua Chaat, Vada Pav from Goli Vada Pav, and Mixed Chaat from Annaras,” said Pritam, sharing plates of Zappi from Chatar Patar.

Megan Liao was a picture of happiness with a phuchka filled with the “oh-so-delicious” tamarind water. “This is really very good,” said the Class V student of Calcutta International School.

They scanned the menu for five minutes, decided what to have in another five, but once the coupons were in hand, (l-r) Ritisha Mishra and Spriha Dhanuka were all over the place tasting yummy chaats and trying some new ones. “We love chaats. We had some phuchkas from Rajendar Phuchka (Dakshinapan) and Vada Pav from Goli Vada Pav,” said Spriha. “She studies in the US and I am studying in New Delhi. We’re here on a vacation and it feels great to get together and chat over chaat. I read about the festival in the newspaper and decided to come with her. These Pan Shots look interesting. We can’t wait to try them,” Ritisha added. 

It was a problem of plenty for Apoorv Singh, a Class IX student of St Mary’s School, Dum Dum. “We can’t get enough of the chaats here. In fact, with so many options, I am not sure which one to choose and which one to leave. Maybe, I will even pack some for home,” said Mridul, with younger cousin Mridul Sharma for company. After sampling Raj Kachori from Gupta Brothers and Cheese Garlic Phuchka from Chatar Patar, the Singh brothers binged on the hot and tangy Dhokla Chaat from Annaras. 

The Gandhi family from Bangur Avenue — Rajesh, daughter Akriti and wife Hema — relished rolls from Kusum Rolls at the festival. “My father is very fond of rolls, while I like phuchkas the most. We also had a chaat from Gupta Brothers,” said Akriti.

Forget umbrellas. Rakesh Shetty and his wife Aruna hopped from one stall to another in the rain. “We had Singara Chaat and Papri Chaat from Hedua Chaat Centre, and loved them. We’ve had chaats in Mumbai and the ones here taste very different. I also loved the Special Aloordam from Rajendar Phuchka. That’s a must-have,” Aruna said.

Pawan Beri, the Chicago boy who is visiting Calcutta on vacation, tried Dahi Phuchka and Papri Chaat. “We do get chaats in the US, thanks to the Indian community there, but they can’t beat the taste you get here,” said Beri.

t2 came across Balvir Chand from Punjab, a Sachin Tendulkar lookalike, in the Goli Vada Pav stall. “Everybody loves clicking photos with me,” said the Mumbai resident while trying a Cheese Finger.

Text: Sibendu Das, Trina Chaudhury and Rumela Sinha
Pictures: B. Halder, Arnab Mondal and Anindya Shankar Ray