The Sonnet 

Where: DD Block

Duration: October 7 to 10

Pocket pinch: Rs 1700 

Taste case: The food festival Bora Yaari stays true to its name by offering 10 to 12 varieties of fritters with every buffet meal, fried live and served hot. And such is the variety! Paat shaaker or notey shaaker bora and gimey shaaker chop sound so novel for the young and so nostalgic for the not-so-young that they seem to be straight out of fairy tales. For the health-conscious wanting to avoid fries, there would be steamed momos. Guests invited at the tasting session also picked Kalo Bhuna Mangsho for special mention. A little spicy, this melt-in-the-mouth mutton dish is a speciality from Bangladesh and is done by cooking on slow fire for over two hours. But the desset section deserves special mention with the Mango Patishapta and Ksheer Maloncho being stars in their own right.

Restospeak: “The festival was born out of a political inspiration — the chief minister’s reference to chop shilpa. Why do we crave for McDonald’s Fried Chicken when we have such a delectable spread of fries in our cuisine? And isn’t the patty in a burger an adaptation of our chop?” asks general manager Rajib Roy Choudhury. 

Oval Lounge 

Where: DLF IT Park, New Town 

Duration: October 7 to 10

Pocket pinch: Rs 799 plus tax 

Taste case: The theme this year is not Bengali but north Indian. Try Arbi Mutton, a fusion experiment on an Arabic dish. With Kashmiri chilli, garlic, cinnamon and cardamom, the dish reminds one of the Kashmiri Rogan Josh but has a thicker gravy. Fish Begum Bahar is bekti fried cooked in a golden-yellow gravy of cashew and char magaz and Banjara Chicken Kebab is marinated with cheese, curd, besan and the like to make it extra tender. 

The Dal Panchmela is a thick blend of mug, musur, arhad, chana and black dal and has a completely new taste of its own. Also, don’t miss Khuska Pulao, which is like biriyani except with fresh pineapple juice and khoa kheer for a sweet tinge. 

Restospeak: “We had served Bengali cuisine during the last Pujas  but realised that our clientele prefers north Indian,” said senior operations manager Subhasis Majumder. 

The Fern Residency

Where: Main Arterial Road, Noapara, New Town

Duration: October 7 to 9

Pocket pinch: Rs 752

Taste case: The buffet starts with eight kinds of shaak and digs deeper into tradition with every subsequent dish — Kharkol Bata and Kochu Bata to Choi diye Desi Murgir Jhaal. Thakurbarir Mangsho served on Saptami follows a special recipe that women of the Tagore household followed — meat minus onion and garlic. Do not get mislead by Rosogollar Dalna. It is chhanar kofta. Yes, they use Chhana and not its bland substitute, Paneer. 

Restospeak: “We are also offering an unlimited biryani platter at a more economic than our nearby competition,” Bilash Das, the operations manager.

Bakstage 

Where: Sector V

Duration: October 2 to 10

Pocket pinch: Fish thali costs Rs 999 plus tax

Taste case: Meals have been clubbed into thalis and the highlight of the fish thali would be Ilish Paturi or Doi Ilish. Under the mutton thali option is Kochi Pathar Mangsho, Bengali style Seekh Kebab and the chicken thali serves Rajbari Murgi Koshar and Chicken Kabiraji.

Executive chef Sachin Verma says the fish thali is his favourite. “Fish is an integral component of Bengali cuisine and so it had to be featured in the menu. Since the occasion is Durga Puja we haven”t experimented much and stuck to time-tested favourites like Dhokar Dalna, Chicken Kabiraji and Doi Ilish,” he said. There will also be starters like Chingri Cutlet, Machcher Teler Bora and Phuluri.

Restospeak: “On Puja days we are so crowded that we need bouncers,” says director of Bakstage Sudhir Ahuja. “This year the Pujas coincide with the weekend and the number of dry days has been reduced. So I’m sure there won’t be a single dull day.”

Bon Appetit

Where: AD Block 

Duration: Oct 1 to 28

Pocket pinch: Between Rs 105 and 145 per item

Taste case: It's pancakes all the way, as sweets and savouries. The must-have is the Hasher Dimer Pancake, which has a sunny side-up of a duck egg on a pancake smeared with achaari mayonnaise. Smear the yolk on the base before taking a bite and it blends deliciously with the mayo. The spicy Kosha Keema Pancake and tangy Chilli Cheese Pancake are noteworthy too. 

Chocolate and cheese addicts can binge on Black Forest Pancake and Red Velvet ’n’ Cream Cheese Pancake but make sure you try the Gur ’n’ Narkel Pancake. 

Restospeak: “All the pancakes are eggless. This was difficult to pull off as usually it’s the eggs that give the base its fluffiness,” says  chef and proprietor Rahul Arora. “But we needed to do it as a lot of our clientele go vegetarian for Navratri.”