Nolen Gur and Breakfast Trail

Located on Bidhan Sarani, Laxmi Narayan Shaw and Sons, established in 1918 by Khedu Shaw does brisk business throughout the day selling hot telebhaja or fritters. You will see a queue in front of the shop whenever you go, be it morning or evening. Locals call it Netaji-r Telebhaja-r Dokan or Netaji-r Pneyaji.

Let’s go back to mid-1800s today. The area now called Hatibagan is full of hogla trees. There are swamps and hardly any pakka roads. Nani lal Ghosh makes mishti every day, puts them in a trunk, carries the trunk on his head and walks through this area selling his mishti. In a few years, his mishti becomes famous and he gathers enough money to open a shop. Nani Lal Ghosh starts in 1883. People who live in the area sing praises of the mishti doi and Paritripti, their signature chanar mishti with a lining of shor. Tarun Ghosh, the current owner told us that the recipe of all the sweets have remain unchanged. He also mentioned that in their 140 yr old history, the shop has remained closed only once, on the death of Nani lal Ghosh. Even covid could not stop them. If you go to this Kolkata classic, you won’t just get good quality mishti but also impeccable hospitality. Full satisfaction guaranteed.

More than 100 years old. Mother India sandesh was created as a tribute to Mother Teresa in 1997 after she passed away.

The 19th century in Bengal was a time of extraordinary change. Termed as the Bengal Renaissance, this period was characterized by an awakening in the fields of art, culture, science, intellect, and society. It was also in the 19th century, that Calcutta witnessed the establishment and growth of sweet shops. Many of the moiras who set up shops came to the city from places like Bardhaman including the ancestors of Tapan Das, current owner of Nalin Chandra Das & Sons, one of the oldest sweet shops in the city. If you think that flavored Sandesh is a recent innovation, you are very wrong. Nalin Chandra Das can be credited for the introduction of flavors in Sandesh creating chocolate sandesh way back in 1900. The story goes that, Bishwajit Ghosh, a scion of one of the bonedi or aristrocratic families asked the then owner, Bhoot Nath Das, to create a new type of sandesh using cocoa powder that he had brought from England. Bhootnath came up with the chocolate sandesh which proved to be an instant hit. Chocolate Sandesh is still one of Nalin’s highest selling mishtis.

180 years old, Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandy on Ramdulal Sarkar Street is a legendary sweet shop in Kolkata. They have a wide variety of nolen gur mishti and nolen gur here is so revered that the first batch of mishti in the season appears on the counter only after it has been offered to Goddess Kali at various temples. Malai Roll, Gurer Jolbhora, Mousumi are some of the must try outs here.

Established in 1986, this shop’s connect to heritage fame is the fact that it was actually a part of another older establishment a few blocks ahead: Subhodh Chandra Mullick. With time, siblings went ahead with separate business plans and hence was born Sadhan Chandra Mullick in 1986.

Nearing 100 years old, this hole in the wall shop in Ramdulal Sarkar Street is the place for some savoury dose or Nonta as Bengalis call it. Dont miss out the large pan in which kochuri and koraishutir kochuri gets fried with elan.