It's actually a tough job to decide what do Bengalis like better, discuss politics of cricket or dig into their maccher jhol and sandesh. Each trip to Kolkatta is a gastronomic experience. You could try out various kinds of cuisines in most parts of Kolkatta, from dhabbas, to on the street roll places, to proper fine dine outlets and by far you could rank the food in Kolkatta as one of the best you've had. There is so much of variety for the hungry taste buds.

A distinct cuisine which Kolkata can claim as its very own is what can only be described as "Kolkata-Mughlai". Traced to the entourage brought along by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, it has influences of Awadhi, Mughlai, Deccani and Murshidabad cuisines, which have given rise to biryanis, chaanps, and rezalas. Try these mouthwatering yummy dishes at Rahmania, or Shiraz, two really small hole in the wall kind joints, that may not look very appetizing, but the food is awesome here. You might just pack some on your journey homewards. For the unadventurous, some safe bets to try Mughlai are Tandoor on Park Street, Amber on Waterloo Street or Saffron at The Park.

If we talk of food and Kolkata, the second most important meal to talk about is puchkas in Kolkata they make it with a difference, the puri's are full of potato mash with chillie, masala and little onion, and its dipped into real spicy pani. That's Bengali pani-puri for you, the best place to have any of the chaat's is at Southern Avenue.

You know chaat is incomplete without the chai that comes in kullars (small earthern pots). Try it, its different, or if you wish finish of your evening snack or poochcas and alu dum with nembu chai (a concoction of masala, lemon juice and black tea) and not to forget the shikanji (limbu pani with masala).

Talking of chai, you must take go to the Chai walla at the gurudwara at Elgin road, he has been shot by international TV crew for a documentary of tea making.

Now lets talk about the dhaba that makes M F Hussain go weak in his knees. This tiny hole in the wall, Azad hind dhaba on Baligunge cirle road has Hussain's famous horses prancing all about their walls, painted straight on to the walls!. The food is great no doubt, when you're here do not miss the sweet lassi.

Authentic Bengali food is now a part of many restaurant menus. The Peerless Inn and Suruchi on Elliot Road dish out ladlefuls of aloo-poshto, shorshe maach, muri-ghonto and shukto, to name a few. But I personally prefer to walk into the small home grown food places for authentic Bengali khanna where you have an old masi (aunt) who does all the cooking from home and brings it to her restaurant to sell, there are a lot of these all over Kolkatta. Kewpie's (off elgin road) is fantastic for authentic Bengali food, while Baan thai at The Oberoi Grand is great for Thai food.

A lot of people talk of how Tangra or Chinatown are the best places to dig into noodles and rice, but on a tip off from a local you could visit these other Chinese place around teritti bazaar in north kolkata and for the first time ever experienced what it would be like to wake up in china with a Chinese breakfast no jokes, they serve you dumplings and soup for breakfast a healthy way to start the day. But then you can also head to Chung Wah and Lily's, and Chinoiserie at Taj Bengal.

Then there's the world famous in India chello kebab, head only to Peter Cat for these awesome kebabs served on a sheet of rice that's glistening with butter. Forget the calories here.

Not to miss are the rolls of Nizam, there are a few guys outside Nizam that still serve you the rolls but it lacks the Nizams touch.

The local snack shingars (samosa) are quiet a meal in itself. You get them both in sweet and savoury. A hot favourite is the spicy potato mix. We leave you to figure out what is your's.
And last but not the least, the momos and other tibetian flair served here is too good. Try it out at hamro momo, off lee road, the chicken steamed momos with momo soup are to die for, the sauces add their bit to make dying quite heavenly.