Starling Coffee Shop

I went in here trying to get a bhel puri, not realizing that this is a Bangali restaurant and the menu is similar but different from Indian/​Pakistani food. The owner was really kind, she let me try a lot of things, everything was good but I had an aching for chaat, she tried to make me a dahi vada in yougurt but it came out too salty because I think the other lady added salt to the yougurt, but if she didn’t it would have been fine. I had the paani puri and it was nice but I prefer my puri to be very thin and crispy. This is a quiet place not too many seats but the owner was very accommodating, yes I will go here again. Plus the had the best chai ever!

This is one of the most exciting ethnic eateries I’ve been to lately. Not one to pause outside a place with a generic name, AND not having read anything about it, I stopped here on my way back from Neerob. As I peered at the display case to make sense of the dessert offering, the lady behind the counter asked me; «Spicy or Sweet?» Upon hearing my preference for sweet, she proceeded to sell me five different boxes featuring Payesh (rice pudding), Booter Halwa (cubes of halva made from chickpeas), custard (with vermicelli and raisins), Cham Cham, and Semolina pudding (not the halwa).
Seeing my interest in all things new, she inquired whether I had eaten Pitha before. I hadn’t, but reading the long list (twelve different kinds) behind her, I consented to trying one. «Most popular sweet in Bangladesh,» she added haltingly,” people eat hot pitha in winter”. So, even though she labeled them as «cake», it would be more accurate to describe them as crepes made from rice flour that are stuffed with a filling made from coconut, milk powder, and jaggery. Pitha is a simple, light dessert that goes well with hot tea, and I can understand its popularity during winter.
On my next visit, I was determined to try something spicy. Starling Coffee Shop also carries Bengali Chaats. Remembering that Jhampa Lahiri’s novel Namesake featured a craving for Jhal Muri, I opted for the Bengali equivalent of the street food popular in Mumbai: Bhel Puri. While both are based on puffed rice, the two taste completely different with pungent mustard oil thoroughly dominating any other ingredient in the Jhal Muri including onions, cilantro, and fresh green chilies.
Even though I liked Jhal Muri, my favorite item on the menu would be the hot and sour Chotpoti, which reminded me of the best chaats I’ve ever eaten! Chotpoti is a mix of potatoes and chickpeas cooked with tomatoes, green chilies, coriander, onions, and tamarind juice. Slices of hard-​boiled egg are added and the final presentation includes broken shells of Pani Puri which top the mixture. If you’re looking for spicy heat, and something unique from the menus of Indian restaurants, definitely go for the Chotpoti. It may lack in presentation, but is street food at its best.
While I am thoroughly impressed by the cooking skills and commercial savvy of the owner, and the business model of making items to order as much as possible (to avoid spoilage and serve fresh products), the one complaint I have relates to the discernible taste of citric acid (used as natural preservative) in the milk based Payesh (rice pudding). Still, I understand that there needs to be a balance between product selection/​availability and cooking to order, and so carrying off a «home cooking» style in this line of business earns them some slack (4.5 stars).