Pardon me, but that's the only phrase (or gibberish) I (maybe wrongly) know of Orissa. The other few things I know are as follows. It has a gorgeous & dangerously rough waved sea beach named Puri, which is 'the' go-to honeymoon destination for most of the newly-wed bengali couple. It has a Sun temple at Konark, a zoo at nandan kanan, & a Asoka pillar somewhere in the forest.
Ohh & the people sound mostly like bengalis from the southernmost part of Bengal except from the fact that they add a 'aW' after every word spoken. So 'Maach bhaat khaabo' becomes somewhat like 'MaachaW bhaataW khaaboW' or something like that.& that netaji was born in Cuttack . & most recently that they have claimed to be the inventors of rosogolla. dude it's 'kolkatar rosogolla'! not bhubaneswar er rosogolla!

Anyway.

Recently came across this restaurant on zomato which claimed to serve authentic Oriya cuisine.Got excited as my taste buds have been bored of all the Mughlai, Chinese, Continental & South Indian cuisines I have been trying lately.

So gave it a try on 06.12.15.

Located near Webel more, Sector 5 it was quite easy to find.

First let me clear a confusion: This is NOT a 'Oriya-themed' restaurant, it is actually a outlet which serves standard Oriya food. So I don't think it will be appropriate to compare it with the bengali themed restaurants like 6 Ballygunge Place/ Bhojohori Manna or even Koshe Kosha.

The interiors are decorated as a tribute to the Oriya film Industry. Posters of Oriya films adorn the walls, which i as a non-familiar bong could not connect with. Seating is ample, however i have been told that it does get crowded during weekday lunch hours. They have a open-type kitchen, which allows you to watch as the food is being cooked.

Coming to the food.

I ordered Dalma special Veg. Thali along with Kankada Tarkari. Finishing it all off with Chhena Poda.

1. Dalma Special Veg Thali

I was told the 'special' differs from the normal in the no. of veg accompaniments served, & the rice being jeera rice. so I cancelled my normal thali and ordered the special, a decision to shell out extra 60 rs which i regretted afterwards.

Although the thali did come with around 9-10 items along with the rice, most if not all were cold. I understand the payes being cold, but I did not get the point why the jeera rice needs to be cold! I was wondering whether ordering 'pakhal' or panta bhaat would have been a better choice. The boiled potato, curries, daal , papad , chutney & payes were pretty average. I mean for the price, i have had better thalis at other places. One fried mashed thing was served which I could not make out, smelled quite bad & I had to leave it mostly untouched.

2. Kankada Tarkari

Being a bong, & growing up in Midnapore most of my childhood, crabs are not unfamiliar to me. But for the rs 150 paid for it, the crabs were small. i didn't expect king crabs, but the least they could serve was decent sized crabs with claws which could be chewed upon. The two crabs they served hardly had any flesh in the claws. Also the crabs had been cooked without cracking the shells properly, so the flavors had not made their way inside the claw flesh. I was hugely disappointed. I am used to better cooked crabs at home, be it salt water or fresh water.

3. Chhena poda

Nothing special. For the price paid (35 rs) I think quantity was less. & the taste being average, I didn't find it any different from the tom dick harry sweetmeat shops selling it.

Overall I was quite disappointed. Most probably not visiting again.

Ciao,

Deep