Nearest Metro Station – Girish Park

Timings: 6:00 am till 10:00 pm (7 days open)

Makhan Lal Das & Sons at Natun Bazar sells Rs. 2 Sandesh only between 6:00 am till 10:00 am. They also have Rs. 150 Sandesh (per piece).

Upon our arrival, we were served Chocolate Jalbhara (Rs. 25), Dilkhush (Rs. 10), and Mango Dahi (Rs. 30) by the owner – Swapan Das. When I offered him the total cost of the sweets, he simply refused.

Reason: We – The Guest.

He also enhanced our knowledge about Mithun Chakraborty – An Indian Actor teenage residence nearby, next to Jorabagan Police Station.

Swapan Das is a man with a golden heart – all I can say.

Click to know more about Makhan Lal Das & Sons.

Mohan Bhandar at SN Banerjee Road, Opposite Regal Cinema & Bar was established by Mohanlal Saha in the year 1925.

It is famous for Hinger (asafoetida) Kachuri – with green chill and aloo sabzi/chatni, Singhara, Cold Lassi & Sweets.

It is the same place where Indian Film Actor – Amitabh Bachchan visited on a bicycle to buy kachoris & Jalebis in the movie ‘Piku‘ – directed by Shoojit Sircar. Photo and newspaper articles about Amitabh Bachchan’s visit are pasted on the shop’s walls as their proud guest.

Timings: 6:00 am – 10:00 pm (Closed on Holi – festival of colors)

Nearest Metro Station: Esplanade

As we were coming from Dacres Lane after having Egg Devil and Chicken Stew with butter-toast at Chitto Babur Dokan, we at Mohan Bhandar only had Singhara which was awesome in taste.

You – The readers should also visit once if you are going to the Esplanade area.

Maharaj Tea & Snacks is situated opposite Monalisa Guest House (Vidya Balan – Indian Actress Kahaani movie was shot here) at Sarat Bose Road, Lake Market, Kalighat, Kolkata.

Vinod Prasad – the current owner’s grandfather established this tea & snacks outlet more than 50 years ago.

They are originally from Muzaffarpur, Bihar.

Timings: 7:00 am – 12 Noon / 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm (Holi, festival of colors – closed).

We had Hing (asafoetida) Kachori, Jalebi, and Kesar Chai (served in a clay pot).

The piping hot Hing kachori along with Aloo Tarkari was lip-smacking.

Impeccable taste, scrumptious with excellent quality.

The tea within the clay pot was refreshing and too good.

Polite staff. The service – fast. The cost – super cheap. Great to be here.

In short, Maharaj is a treat for kachori lovers. Good place for a quick bite at a reasonable price. One of the best street food centers of South Kolkata. Maybe one of the best Kachori with Aloo Tarkari and Tea sellers in the city. A perfect iconic crowded place to have delicious snacks with varieties of tea. Highly recommended at least once.

It accepts Paytm and even delivers via Swiggy.

If you are in Kolkata and have not visited Maharaj – you have missed something. A must-visit outlet for all foodies.

Maharaj – a nice place to have snacks & tea with family and friends.

I personally would love to visit Maharaj again & again.

Karapak Jalbhara & Nolen Gur (Rs. 25 each)

Timings: 7:00 am till 10:00 pm (7 days open)

Nearest Metro Station: Netaji Bhawan

Click to learn morer about Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick.

Nearest Metro Station: Shovabazar Sutanuti

After visiting Swami Vivekananda’s Ancestral House, we reached nearby Laxmi Narayan Shaw & Sons.

Upon request to enhance our knowledge about this historic shop, Keshto Kumar Gupta – the current owner narrated the history as follows:

Khedu Shaw – Grandfather was originally from Gaya (Bihar), opened this shop in 1918 in the name of his son Laxmi Narayan Shaw.

Khedu Shaw used to supply telebhajas (fritters) and tea in the secret meetings of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose during the pre-independence era.

Telebhaja is a crispy, salty, finger-licking Bengali morning/evening snack consisting of potato, onion, and vegetables, coated in gram flour batter, and then deep-fried in oil, best eaten with puffed rice.

Telebhaja was Netaji’s favorite. Netaji studied at Scottish Church College. While returning he used to stop at our shop to have telebhaja.

Since 23 January 1942 on Netaji’s birthday till date, as a mark of respect, we started distributing telebhaja for free to children (2 pcs.) and adults (4 pcs.).

Timings: 8 M – 12 Noon / 4 pm – 8 pm (7 Days Open except Holi and Dussehra holidays).

Wonderful shared knowledge. Thank you – said I.

We requested piping hot telebhajas.

The best was – Though it is deep-fried in oil still you won’t find it oily with no smell of oil. This place has its own charm.

In short: pocket-friendly/very cheap and the owner a very nice human. Fantastic place to have fresh & hot morning/evening snacks.

A must-visit place for fritters aficionados. Good, we visited too.

T-Shirt Quote About Being Nut – This photo was taken near Sharma Tea House at Bhowanipore, Kolkata.

The person in the picture is Mahendra, who has 30 years of driving experience, but is nowadays a little paralyzed.

Upon request, he happily agreed to click his t-shirt photo.

A small amount of donation was offered to him for his generosity.