A beefy lunch at Shim Shim

I first read about this new kid on the block in a social media post by food blogger friend Indrajit Lahiri as the only known place serving beef momo in the city. Beef momo! That's interesting, I thought. To me, momo equals steamed pork momo. So another kind of it with red meat should be good.

An opportunity came up to have it and many more beefy delights when Indrajit arranged for a meet-up with friend and well-known food blogger Yummraj (with his rani) and another friend and noted food blogger Sabyasachi Raychaudhuri over lunch last Saturday. I knew Sabyasachida through social media and met him for the first time. And man, what a fabulous beef fest it was over endless food talk!

It's a moderate-sized, tastefully decorated restaurant on Tibetan theme with contrasting brick-coloured and white walls with functional, iron chairs and wall-side sofa seating. It serves Tibetan and Chinese Cuisine with a bit of Mongolian and Nepali thrown in. The staff is young and soft-spoken.

We started off with Beef Kothay (Momo with a roasted bottom). Juicy and delicately spicy mincemeat inside a soft skin got it a thumbs up!

Beef Kothay

Yummraj ordered the Oxtail Clear Soup after he curiously found it on the menu. But it didn't impress us. The only disappointment in our memorable lunch.

Oxtail Clear Soup

Up next was the Beef Thukpa. The flavourful broth with strips of beef, noodles and veggies set the palate right. In fact one of the reasons why we didn't like the Oxtail soup was that it tasted like the thukpa. The last starter was Beef Phalay which is like a kachori stuffed with mincemeat. Crunchy outside, moist inside, it  scored with us effortlessly.

Beef Phalay

Moving on to main course, we ordered Chilli Beef and Mongolian Beef to go with steamed Gobindobhog rice. The Chilli Beef was cooked to perfection. It was dry with the heat of a generous amount of slit chilli and the goodness of spices. There were various shapes of beef. Before you have it, squeeze a bit of lime on it and it will be irresistible!

Chilli Beef 

We loved the Mongolian beef too which was low on hotness. The hint of sweetness made it stand out.

Mongolian Beef

An interesting thing came up in our food talk. The habit of people to mean 'Hot' by the word 'Spicy'. As it is, 'Spicy' means it will give the feel of being well-cooked with spices and may not actually be hot at all. In fact, a lightly-cooked dish can also be spicy (Shukto, the Bengali appetizer, is one).

We finished the main course with the scrumptious Beef Kofta. The crunchy exterior loaded with juicy mince beef inside won us over! It can be a damn good starter as well.

Beef Kofta

We were feeling full and content and rounded it off with Crispy Pancake with Banana and Nutella. The look was inviting and Nutella oozed out of it as I held a piece. A fitting end of a thoroughly pleasing meal!

Crispy Pancake with Banana and Nutella

The prices are pocket-friendly. Our bill came to around Rs 2200 after eating to our heart's content and repeating a few dishes. A great afternoon spent over delectable food and good company.

I have to come back, especially if I have a beef craving.


#Beef #BeefDishes #Tibetan #KolkataFood


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Chaats of ISKCON #1

Due to hygiene issues I cannot have phuchka on the street as per clinical advice. I haven't had it for long despite a weakness for it. So after I spotted it being served in the ISKCON temple premises at Albert Road, a much unlikely place for it, after we shifted our office to Camac Street, I went for the phuchka one evening as I was feeling like a snack break from work. 

The phuchkas were finger-licking good and the tamarind water was perfectly strong! They were more or less uniformly sized, crisp, with adequate filling and the tamarind water with chopped coriander leaves was served in a full glass. So, you pour the water in the phuchka just as you like it before putting it inside the mouth. The filling had boiled potato, boiled chickpea, boiled moong mixed with spices. The man at the counter asks how hot the customer would like it- normal (moderate) or very hot. He uses chilli powder/ green chilli/ both accordingly in the filling. Thankfully, like it happens in central Kolkata and with phuchka-sellers having mostly non-Bengali customers, the tamarind water did not have a strong taste of cumin powder. It was pure tamarind water like they serve it in north Kolkata and actually a better version of that. Also, considering tamarind water is the most sought after ingredient of phuchka and customers often ask for a free refill after their serving, a glassful of this just for you is tempting! 

The phuchkas are made in-house and are better than roadside ones which are not of uniform size, are sometimes overfried and invariably fried in cheap cooking medium which gets burnt in the process. These phuchkas untick all these points. At Rs 38 for eight pieces, it is definitely at a premium than its roadside cousin but worth it because of the hygiene, overall quality and taste.

There are iron benches and tables to have your food in a serene setting on Albert Road, with the Victoria Square park opposite it.

I am definitely going back for the dahi phuchka, papdi chaat and dahi vada. Watch this space for the series to continue.

#Phuchka #KolkataFood #StreetFood #IndianStreetFood

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