Mother's Day special: Brunch with your mom at Novotel Kolkata's all-day diner, The Square

Mother's day is only a couple of days away, and if you are planning to take your mother out for a brunch that is not a run of the mill affair, then Novotel Kolkata might fit into your scheme of things. The five-star hotel in Rajarhat is organising a Mum Will Eat Free brunch, which has some of the best dishes on offer. As we checked in to get a taste of some of the savouries and sweets that will be on the Mother’s Day platter, Neelabh Sahay, executive chef of Novotel, took us through their special fare, which has been drawn up keeping the summer in mind. Not too heavy, yet high on taste, this brunch at the city’s largest all-day diner, The Square, will surely spoil mums for choice. 

We began our gastronomic journey at the cheerfully swank 184-seater café with a very creamy mango milkshake, garnished with mint and basil, and nothing could have been a better option on a sweltering summer afternoon. To make us feel better about the calories gained, Chef Neelabh was quick to point out that the curd and honey in the shake would help us digest the spicy food faster. The first dish to arrive was the Crispy Lotus Stem. Tossed in chilli sauce and Sriracha sauce, and laced with honey and black pepper, the fried lotus stems were scrumptious and spicy. The P r a w n Tempura Sushi comprising vinegar rice, panko crumbs and prawn nori sheets, which followed the fritters, was bland and went down well with some gari (pickled ginger) and Kikkoman Soy sauce.

 While we cleansed our palates with a Greek salad of iceberg lettuce, bell peppers, olives, feat cheese and cucumber tossed in vinegar and olive oil, Chef Neelabh informed us that to make the mums feel special, there will also be a live grill counter, a chaat station, a salad counter, and a popup mini bar with the best spirits on display. “The buffet spread will have a wide array of delicacies, covering almost all types of cuisine, besides the specially curated dishes of the day,” he adds. Next up were the Chicken Bharta Parantha and Chicken tikka. The parantha, with shreds of chicken stuffed inside, struck all the right notes on our tastebuds. The last dish to arrive at our table was a traditional Kosha Mutton along with heavenly, round fluffy balls of flour that Bengalis lovingly call luchis. 

As the conversation veered towards how such a dish must be followed by sound slumber, the advent of gurer sandesh (a Bengali sweet dish made with jaggery and cottage cheese) and mango pudding amplified our laments manifold. The dessert offerings including sandesh, rasogollas and mishti doi are all made in-house, we were told. Apart from these, you can also taste tofu and mushroom in black bean sauce, Bhutte and Matar ki Shammi kebab, burnt garlic noodles and homemade fettucini — all of which are equally lip-smacking. 

Rs 1,449 all inclusive, per person. 

sharmishtha.g @newindianexpress.com @sharmidas 

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