Get set for a culinary tour through the streets of North, West, East and South India, said the invite. Yet, we weren`t prepared for such a spread!

From the sharbatwala to bade miyan and the kaiyendi bhavan to misthan bhandar, a mind-boggling array of stalls awaits you at the Copper Point.

The colourfully decorated stalls are stocked with varieties of chaat - bhel puri, pani puri, dahi papdi, tenga manga pattani sundal, palak pakodi and more. The khakra is turned into a delectable masala papad with a spicy chickpea and potato topping, and dressed with a tastefully carved slice of raw mango. The soup stall serves only vegetarian soups and we get to taste a very hardy corn and garlic soup flavoured with hand-pound spices. The papdi chat and the pani puris are just rightly spiced and laced with sweet, cool dahi.

The stalls are done up carefully with attention to the minutest details - don`t miss the cloth tea-filter and glasses in the chaiwala`s and the plastic spoons in the chat shop!

Kaiyendi Bhavan is a live counter that serves everything from plain dosa to ragi idli. The kothu parotta - which Chef Haneef says has been added on demand - is a tad dry and we wish the chef had added a dollop of ghee to soften it!

The other live counter serves the popular katti rolls - an inspiration from Calcutta`s inimitable streetfood stalls. The tangdi kebab, the eraal vadai, the urulai bonda and the hariyali sheekh - with a strong whiff of cardamom - are served by way of appetisers.

The main course is served out of Bade Miyan. The vegetarian fare includes the kaikari sadam - a twist from the traditional biryani; avarakkai pattani poriyal - a stir fry made of fresh broad beans and green peas laced with grated coconut; dum aloo raseela with the endearing aroma of cinammon and clove from slow cooking; the vendakkai mochai peratal - the delicate aroma of ground masala taking you back to grandma`s kitchen; the sabzi hare pyazwali which smacks of fresh bean flavour and the paneer lababdar - tender paneer cooked in tomato base.

The non-vegetarian delicacies include the adraki bhuna gosht, the kozhi varutha aracha curry, attu kal paya and mughlai gosht biryani to name a few.

We are heading for dessert when the floor manager stops us in our tracks - he`s ordered a paneer katti roll for us, he says and we can`t deny him the pleasure of serving us one of the best dishes we had that day. Tender paneer, naturally flavoured with shavings of carrot and capsicum, is wrapped in delicately made whole wheat roti is brought in chopped in three and it disappears in a jiffy!

The dessert has been calling for our attention all this while so we make a beeline for that section. The variety is not so familiar and we decide to taste a little of everything. There`s melt-in-the-mouth chitragupt amde of deep-fried chenna soaked in sugar and saffron syrup, mango rasmalai - smelling of delightfully fresh mangoes, mughlai phirnee in earthern pots, peda, gulab jamun and khoya samosa that`s made of mawa and nuts stuffed in a sweet covering. The moong dal halwa, grainy and floating in a tub of ghee, slides down your throat leaving you longing for more.

Chef Haneef insists we try their kuchi kulfi and in spite of being stuffed to the hilt, the nutty, creamy kulfis are a welcome end to this elaborate meal.

Galli festival is sure to be a success every time it`s in GRT.

Lakshmi Krishnamoorthy