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Delicacies abound

A multi-cuisine spread, Grand Trunck Road buffet of We. Desi restaurant can be a great option in wintery Kolkata.

Delicacies abound

Celebrations and outings, along with food, shape Kolkata’s winters for everyone. Whether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner or brunch, everyone sets out to eat ala-carte in different restaurants. But when it comes to unlimited buffet, the city of joy has few options with expensive rates.

Fathoming the dilemma of foodies, We. Desi — a buffet joint in the heart of the city at Camac Street — is providing a delicious variety of unlimited food in its “Grand Trunk Road Buffet”. As the name suggests, the buffet is based on the mapping of the Grand Trunk Road from Afghanistan to Bangladesh.  Serving from Pashtuni to Kashmiri, Awadhi, Punjabi, Bengali, and other cuisines, the buffet’s menu is no less than a reflection of the place it passes through. Every week a particular state is in focus and for the next seven days, there is an array of dishes on the menu from that neck of the woods.

The week I dropped by was dedicated to Kashmiri cuisine, where food from rogan josh to pulav, was manifested with the rich flavours and bright colours of traditional Kashmiri gastronomy. Balancing the menu between vegetarian and non-vegetarian, the buffet served an equal number of items in both the types. Following the Kashmiri delicacy on the menu they served six starters, among which the ones that excelled were the kesri chicken tikka and chogander munji tikka. A mixture of spices made the red juicy chicken a blast of flavours but the latter was equally competent, as it was cooked with a not-so-favourite vegetable, beetroot. The tiny flat balls were a proper blend of ingredients and I have never come across something so delicious made of beetroot!

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Adding to the starters, the main course had quite a few vegetable dishes, but complementing each other with rich colours and aromatic flavours, the non- vegetarian preparations — kashmiri pulav with kashmiri chicken qorma and fish masala dal lake — were the best on the buffet.

Depending on the choice of food, one can ask for Indian breads and plain rice as well. Except the non- vegetarian options, the only vegetable dish that confused the taste buds was dahi aloo rogni. Little potatoes cooked in a thick yellow gravy, enters the mouth with just simple flavours, but with a longer bite, it had a sour kick, confusing the taste buds. Ending is always imperfect without the desserts, and the best end to this buffet was the makhana kheer. Served in a clay pot, the kheer was full of dry fruits. But in comparison to the earlier courses, the desserts were a bit disappointing not in terms of taste but the number of options.

The buffet also includes a live chaat centre, where anyone can have unlimited mouth watering chaats. In addition, one also gets a free drink from a variety of choices.

With the friendly rates on offer, We.Desi’s buffet is undeniably a great one for celebrating occasions with family, friends and colleagues this winter.

Pocket pinch: Rs 545 plus taxes (on weekdays), Rs 645 plus taxes (on weekends)

Address: We.Desi, Block D, 5th Floor, 22 Camac Street, Kokata 700016

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