Breakfast at Glenary's - Darjeeling

There are three main reasons I always always dreamt of visiting Darjeeling:

1. My mom grew up in the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong. So I wanted to experience a part of the wonderful, dreamy growing-up stories she always told me.
2. Loreto Darjeeling, as any Loreto girl would agree is nothing short of a pilgrimage for us. Being a Loreto girls from the plains, I had always tried to imagine what life would be at the convent in Darjeeling, nestled in the clouds, with stone buildings and a legacy of Mother Teresa, Vivien Leigh(yes, the Gone With the Wind icon is a Loreto alumnus), Leila Seth and who not. A steady girlhood diet of Enid Blyton's Malory Towers just kept fueling our imagination.
3. Glenary's.

 So when the opportunity presented itself to visit Darjeeling earlier this year, following an exhilarating trek to Rishyop nearby, I didn't have second thoughts. On a cold, cloudy morning I hiked down from my hotel to visit Loreto Convent. Quite a walk, since I was staying near Mall Road and took a few circuitous routes before discovering the school. This is what it looked like:

It looked every bit as majestic and fun filled as I had imagined it to be. The first thought that struck me as I arrived was "Hey, This IS Malory Towers". I could almost see Darrell and Gwendoline and Irene. On a more basic level, it also did remind me of Main Hoon Na, a part of which was actually shot here. That morning they were having a special holiday mass in their chapel, a glimpse of which I  got through their huge glass windows. It reminded me of school, and first friday masses and easter and ash wednesday prayers.



After that I walked quite a bit uphill to reach the fabled Glenary's for breakfast. At times the climb was pretty steep. So that made it a lot more tiring for my used-to-plains leg muscles. And I suddenly knew why I did not see many fat people in the hills. So anyway, the climb had whetted up a ravenous appetite, just right to do justice to the breakfast that was waiting. It didn't take me long to order. I had thought of it for hours before that. I wanted a simple assortment of toast, baked beans and eggs.

The others did order sandwiches - cheese, ham, ham n cheese, chicken n cheese, club..what not. And how could our array be incomplete without sausages? So there we were. A typical English breakfast accompanied with the best of Darjeeling Teas. And we sat by their huge full length glass windows. So we could have a slow, leisurely meal overlooking the rolling hills and the clear blue August skies and the silvery snowy peaks in the distance. It was bliss. The only kink in the experience was the Tropicana guava juice that accompanied my meal. You would have expected an eatery of this stature to have given fresh juice for breakfast. But then, the cheese in the sandwiches more than compensated for it. So much so that I had a couple of plain cheese sandwiches packed for lunch. It was nice..thick aromatic dense slices of cheese from some wonderful country fromagerie...

The rest of the breakfast was wonderful too. The baked beans rightly tempered, the eggs just crisp enough and the toast just perfect. On the way out I also bought some handmade chocolate coins, consisting of dark chocolate with a host of dry fruits to get for home. But alas, like Vizag, these chocolates too were consumed before we could reach the plains. Anyway, if you are in Darjeeling or North Bengal or Bengal at all, it's a must visit - for the legacy, the food, the ambience and the service.

Goa doodles !!!

This recent trip to Goa was one of the most fun and 'event'ful trips I've ever had. With a total of 72 hrs of train journey intercepted by fun bike rides in the rain, it was magical. Goa was ethereal in the rains..absolutely fresh and green, rolling hills and fun beaches. As usual, I went armed with a list of the 'where-to-eat' joints. However, given the time and other constraints, there are only two I could manage. So here they go:


Walk Inn-It did not feature in my to-eat list. But there are reasons. This is a quaint little restaurant tucked away on the road adjoining Baga beach just adjacent to Britto's. Initially we had gone to Britto's for lunch, post our beach frolic. However, a certain group of college students on a budget found it difficult to afford and we moved out to this one. We ordered fish curry meals, a chicken curry meal and a chicken vindaloo. What's Goa without vindaloo ?? I was really curious to try it out.

First came the fish curry, lovely tender fish doused in coconut milk and a little kokum. It was beautiful. Btw, I hate fish. But this was adorable. The coconut was amazing and the mild  tempering was so inviting, we finished the rice in no time.

The chicken curry, I must admit was just about average. In fact, it was a tad bit disappointing. However, when I tried the vindaloo, all my worries about chicken vanished. It was tangy, spicy, exciting. 'Tangy' was the predominant feeling. After the soothing slumber of the coconut milk, the tatsebuds suddenly jump started. It was worth polishing off every last grain of rice.

We were so happy with the food that we ordered another dish. This time a tandoori fish. Tuna it was. It took a long time to come, but worth the wait. It looked splendid when it arrived at the table. However, a couple of bites revealed that I had had tinned tuna for so long that, the freshness actually assaulted my tastebuds. Sadly, tuna extracted from brine and baked into my sandwich is more my type than fresh, crispy, yummy tuna. However, overall it was great experience and I think we had a mindblowing glimpse of Goan cuisine. Highly recommended restaurant - Do drop in if you visit Baga beach. It's cheap and oh-so-yummy.




Britto's - Ah well !!! Who doesn't know about Britto's ?? That's what I thought before I conversed with the three non-foodies who went with me on the trip. I still have hope that at least the foodies who have been to Goa know about it. One of the highlights of my first Goa trip is definitely this one. As I mentioned before, we couldn't afford lunch there. However, we did in fact come back for desert. And thank God we did !!! When we were choosing the deserts from the ones kept at the display there, I actually felt like Alice in Wonderland. :) I wanted a bit of this, a bit of that and a lot of everything.

Finally, we did manage to narrow it down to 4, one for each one of us. Ratan wanted a coffee desert, so I made him take a tiramisu. Swarnabha took the walnut-chocolate mousse and Sachin took the more chocolatey Alpine chocolate mousse. However, somewhere I felt that a it would be injustice to have a cold desert at a place known for its sweet nothings since 1965. So I went for an apple pie slice with whipped cream. When the orders came, it looked something like this:

Corner left upper - Tiramisu
Corner left lower - Walnut chocolate mousse
Centre - Apple pie with whipped cream
Rightmost - Alpine chocolate mousse

Now for the reviews:
Tiramisu - As coffee-ish as it can get. The perfect balance of coffee liquor and cream, not too bitter or nauseating. However, I prefer my tiramisu the traditional way - with a biscotti base rather than a sponge cake base. That was the only hitch in this otherwise flawless desert. Even the garnishing was awesome. The problem, sometimes in tiramisu is, when you sprinkle the coffee on top of the last cream layer, the specks smudge a bit, losing the sharpness. I do not know how they managed it, maybe it was correct cooling. But there was zero smudging and the tiramisu looked sensational.

Walnut chocolate mousse - Anything with walnuts and chocolate cannot go wrong, can it? It had cake, cream and chips - all in chocolate. The mousse layers was fluffy, dark and sinful. It was just fine, although it could have been a tad more light. It's just a matter of beating the egg whites a bit more. Otherwise, perfect.

Alpine chocolate mousse - Same as above, but with an additional chocolate layer substituting the walnnut one. Personally I preferred the former, since the walnut offset the overdose of chocolate.

Apple pie with whipped cream - The only warm desert on the table, it was my favourite. The rest didn't like it as much, but since I am a huge apple pie fan, I loved it. To begin with, the serving temperature was perfect. The pie just warm enough and the cream just chilled enough. Next, the consistency was correct. One of the greatest challenges in a fruit pie is the consistency. The fruit should just lose the crispness, but should not turn into mulch. It was perfect in this aspect. the apples were soft, flavourful and yet retained their shape and firmness. The pie crust was thin and yummy. And along with that, the cream was fresh and airy. Kinda reminded of Wimbledon, the strawberries and cream we see there. The slight sweetness of the cream went very well with the light tang of the fruitiness of the apple.

On the way out we took a couple of sticks of rum-n-raisin and chocolate brownies. The chocolate one was good, but usual. But the real rum in the other one reminded me of christmas. :)

I'm gonna go back there some day, in winter, just to try their world famous strawberry tart. Do not miss it for anything.

Foodie joints in KGP - Part 2

It's been more than a month since I last wrote. This summer internship thing is quite a time grabber. But since I did learn a lot and had quite a bit of fun in Delhi, I don't complain. I'll just continue with listing the foodie joints in Kgp. The part 1 can be found here .


6. Anima Juice Centre, TechM - This is the only juice shop in TechM and you can find it easily. Do not refer to it by name, instead search for juicewallah. It's the shop adjacent to Image Computers and bears no sign board. It is a trip to this shop that triggered my post today. It has the usual juices and lassis, but the speciality of the store lies in a mocktail known as K.A.G.E. This is a drink created by an IIT Kgp student Gautam Korlam. You may learn more about the drink at it's Facebook page. It's a mix of a glass of pomegranate and grape juice mixed with sugar and a bottle of any sparkling clear carbonated beverage, preferably 7UP or Sprite. However, today the shop ran out of both variants and I had to settle for Mountain Dew. The taste is not exactly out of the world. But it was refreshingly different. The grape juice goes wonderfully well with the soda fizz and the pomegranate juice offsets the sweetness of the grape. It is anyday a better choice than a cola or those silly Tetra-Pak juices. It's worth a try at least once. Also, do keep in mind that it is available only is measures of 2 glasses. So either take a friend along or be prepared to chug down two glasses.

7. Chatterjee Tea stall, TechM - This is located near the rear gate of the market, towards the vegetables zone. It's a stationery shop that sells knick knacks and a wide variety of snacks. However, the reason why teachers and students alike flock to this and you can rarely find a place to sit in the evenings is its amazing tea. I have had tea of different sorts - with milk, without milk, lemon, ginger, green, mint, chamomile etc etc. But there is something about this tea that makes it a thirst quencher even on hot summer days. It's a normal tea liquor, with lemon, rock salt, pepper and something else that I haven't quite been able to figure out yet. It looks beautiful against light when served in cut glasses. You take a sip and find it delightful. It's not too spicy. Nor is it too lemony, like some lemon teas are, making them very sour. Even it's not too sweet. The sweeter a beverage, the lesser refreshing and quenching it is, It's just perfect, beautiful. The shop ios run by twin brothers who are very friendly, open to suggestions and full of stories to tell. Do drop in on a lazy morning or evening and be prepared to spend quite some time there.

I know, there's so much more to write about Kgp food, but I have an assignment to be submitted tomorrow that I plan to try myself, for a change. Till then happy eating !!!

P.S - There's news that Baskin Robbins is coming to campus in September. There go my dieting plans down the drain. Can't wait to have some great ice-cream though. Got loads to write about - Ahmedabad, Delhi etc. Wait and watch,.

Foodie joints in KGP - Part 1

It's been a few months that I started on this blog and it's been a year that I have been at KGP. So this post was kinda inevitable, and running along nature's course, here I am, with a list of the awesome and the not-so-awesome food joints in Kgp each of whom has in a different way contributed to my memories and experience of the awesome campus I live in. And here it goes:

1. Dulal Nandi a.k.a Tikka's - Just outside our hostel gate, it had indeed become an extended mess for most of the MT girls. It was almost a routine withus to go to the mess, check out the menu, nod our heads in dissapointment and head out to Tikka's for a quick bite. This place serves awesome and most importantly cheap but not so hygenic (but who cares) food. For the after class 5 pm hunger pangs, we have awesome dosas, vadas, chowmein etc. For those mornings we woke up late and missed the morning breakfast, there was puri-sabzi and idlis and really nice double egg omlettes. They also have samosas and gulab jamuns. And this is the only place which stocks Melto chocolates - some Karnataka cocoa beans cooperative or something makes them. They are different, but nice and cheap. And the most important item on the menu that has sustained generations of students, teachers and employees is undoubtedly the Rs 3 chai. It has been the drug of choice for many during exams, between classes and for a quick pick-me-up during the day.
2. Vegies - As the name suggests, it's a veg place, but it does turn into eggies at night. Not too popular, but happens to be one of my favourite places on campus. It's a fun quirky place that serves a large variety of eatables. They serve the usual juices and milkshakes, but their grape juice made with fresh crushed grapes wins hands down. But what I like most is their range of chaats. The dahi papdi is incredible and their pani poori is nice too, but loses out to the fuchka, at least for me. They have the regular fried rice-roti-sabzi menu too, but you should ideally go there for the chaats, juices, milkshakes and sundaes. One thing I forgot is the really nice mom like cheese parathas they make. Try one w/o oil. You'll love it. They also happen to keep a wide variety of those funny imported chocolates and candies. P.S.- they have recently introduced daal-bati-churma as a weekly delicacy. Do try that out.
3. Bimala Sweets, TechM - Bimala Sweets is the only sweet shop at Tech Market. They make good, really really good sweets. And this is coming from a Bong, who has experienced amazing sweets on both sides of the border. The milk based sweets are to die for. Even the simple norom paker sandesh (the soft sandesh) they make melts into the mouth and has the right sweetness and the perfect texture. This is their simplest creation and easily their best. They have several mouthwatering variants of this. One of their unique sweets is the one made of lotsa nuts with date and gur. It looks like a chikki, but is a much softer version of the same. The other stuff including jalebis, samosas, kachoris, dahi etc are impeccable. Try going there in the evening to have the nice hot savoury stuff.
4. Phuchka wala, TechM - This is again, the sole phuchka shop in Tech Market, and one of my favourite places on campus. When the late afternoon hunger strikes, I often start dreaming about lovely fuchkas, the perfect not-too-spicy alu mix, that perfect slightly lemon scented tamarind water, the yummy crispy fuchkas. By 5 pm I am usually there. But he has just started his preparation. I check back every 5 mins till around 30-40 mins later he is ready. And then I go on and on..Oh !! The thing about Kgp I miss most. :(
5. Pakoda wala, TechM - This place is just outside the smaller TechM gate, towards the sabzi market. It opens in the evenings and serves really hot heavenly fries of all sorts. The good thing is that the oil is fresh and so are all the other ingredients. You can actually feel the freshness when you eat it. The mirchi bhajji is very popular there and it costs only 1 Re. However, it is not my type and somehow I still haven't acquired the taste for it. The dimer chop is extremely filling, with boiled egg and potato filling coated in crumbs and fried. It has the regular Bengali telebhajas like beguni (brinjal slices dipped in besan and fried), mochar chop, peyaji (onion bhajji) etc. It also serves really hot jalebis and I get them without the sugar syrup on special request. Everything here is fried right infront of you and served right from the kadai to your plate. On many a rainy evening, this has served as a comforter to students and profs alike. Btw, do not forget the green chutney they make. It gives a whole new dimension to the fries.

Well, it seems the list is too big to fit into one post. So I shall be carrying it over to my next post. Till then, happy eating !!!

Vizag diaries part 2: Bamboo chicken

This is in continuum with my previous post about a certain coffee shop in Araku Valley . As I wrote there, we were very very hungry and on the lookout for some breakfast. Our driver, on the other hand decided to dump us all to the tribal museum there as a customary visit. Now, the night before, I had seen a sign in our 'resort' proclaiming that they make bamboo chicken. It seemed intriguing, but I never really got around to have it then. So imagine my delight when I got to know that they were making bamboo chicken right in the museum premises. It was marketed as some sort of a tribal delicacy.

Gauging by the crowd there, it seemed a huge hit with the tourists. Now, what they do is that, they marinate the chicken and then put them into hollow bamboo stems and cook it over an open fire. They DO NOT cook the chicken with bamboo shoots (something I was scared of due to my disastrous experiment with bamboo shoot soup at Peiping previously, well that's another story). The bamboo is almost completely charred at the end of it, when they just take it out and tap the contents over little paper plates. The chicken is then served with wedges of lemon and slices of onion, on a bamboo tray and it is supposed to be eaten with a toothpick :).

Owing to the awesome marinade they had used, it was pleasantly spicy. And the lemon with it added just the right tang. We also had bought some local bread from a small shop nearby, and coupled with the chicken it was a heavenly breakfast. The chicken made the bread taste almost sweet. It was so spicy that it made your lazy tastebuds almost jump to life, but it wasn't so spicy that it made your eyes water or your mouth burn. I really don't get it with people who enjoy eyes watering spices, like some of my north Indian friends who love mirchi ka achaar and all..doesn't it kill the taste and spoil the fun? Anyway, each of us finished our plate in less than 5 minutes. Oh yes, and one more thing, if you expect any specific modification in taste due to the bamboo factor, you will be disappointed. I could not discern any different flavour. I presume the bamboo just adds to the novelty factor and nothing else.

After the satisfying meal, some of us also did try out some archery, but I soon discovered that the high tension bow strings were not my cup of tea and I went back for some more chicken. :)

Last year I learnt a lot

Last year, I learnt a lot. Maybe more than the rest of my life put together. In a span of less than 24 hours in the month of April, I learnt a lot.

I learnt how not to care about how late it is when you get a call that your friend is not well. I learnt to rush out of my home in 5 mins fully aware that I wouldn't be home before morning. I learnt seamless coordination with friends to reach a certain hospital on time. I learnt to make and take a zillion phone calls in a span of 20 mins. I learnt that nothing is shocking enough in life. I learnt how the simple twitch of a little finger is enough to spark flames of hope in so many people. I learnt to celebrate the little flicker of life in a body on life support. I learnt ow comforting midnight maggi is even in the middle of everything. I suddenly learnt what to say, what to wear, how to conduct myself in that atmosphere. We all learnt how to put aside the grief for a moment and make a speakerphone midnight 'Happy Birthday' call to wish a friend sitting miles away wondering whether to celebrate her birthday or not.

I learnt to wake up early, really early to go to the hospital. I learnt to defy diktats to take a decision. I learnt how weird breakfast really feels in such a situation. I learnt the corridors and doors and reception areas of a certain building very well. I learnt to make continuous calls to Manipal, Bangalore and Ahmedabad, each time with worse news. I learnt to sweeten the pill for friends sitting miles away wishing each moment they could be here. I learnt to recognise someone just by her hair. I learnt to pray, pray hard, really really hard. I learnt to read that heartbeat machine, hoping each minute that the count would rise. I learnt how dignified grief can be. I learnt how one silent tear can represent 18 years of togetherness and how loud wailing talks of 2 months of troubled relationships. I suddenly appreciated the maturity of my friends. I learnt restraint. I learnt to listen to parents without questioning them. I learnt what a great equaliser death is. I learnt to watch her go. I learnt to leave the change at the flower seller and come rushing back before they took her away. I learnt to walk home, quiet, alone. I learnt to talk to a mother who has lost her only child. I learnt to move on, while still holding on. I learnt that life goes on, but that doesn't mean you don't treasure and cherish the past.

I learnt a lot last year.

Vizag diaries part 1: Sampoorna coffee

A bunch of us had decided to visit Vizag for new year this time. Nothing big, just an impromptu 3 days affair. And as we all know, no trip to that wonderful seaside city is complete without a stopover at the famous Araku Valley nearby. We too had a night stop there at a really cute little resort and the next morning we woke up with an intent to return to the city via Borra Caves but absolutely no idea where to have our breakfast. We were all starving and desperately looking for food. Our driver took us to see an ethnic tribal museum and as we were roaming about trying to see what we could get for breakfast, we chanced upon a quiet little coffee shop tucked away in a little dent in the slope. It was barely visible from the main road and had it not been for my friends who pointed it out, we would have missed it.

The fun part was that it was named after me- Sampoorna Coffee. The name, along with the colonial look immediately drew us in. The place serves coffee, only coffee and nothing else. There was a whole range of lattes and cappuccinos and cold coffees. Although some of them went for the cold ones, I opted for a simple cappuccino, since I feel that the best way to taste coffee is hot, and simple. It was, as I expected, intense and really good. And the best thing was, it cost just 15 bucks. :) Then we saw a stash of chocolates on the counter. It said, 'coffee chocolates'. The whole place smelled so good, of fresh roasted coffee beans that I found it difficult to stop myself from buying a pack. It was a 10-blister pack and it cost 80 bucks. The chocolates looked something like this:

I immediately popped one into my mouth and the taste came in many layers. There was the smoothness of the chocolate with the occasional crunch of the ground and roasted coffee beans. The best thing about these were that the aroma of the coffee never overpowered the chocolate flavour. Both the flavours came together and complemented each other beautifully. You could actually discern the coffinness and the chocolatiness - both at the same time. After the first one, I immediately bought two more packs with the very noble intent of taking them home. It's another story how they could never find their way home despite my best intentions. 

I also bought two 200 grams packs of fresh roasted coffee- Peaberry and Arabica, both of whom still retain that impeccable aroma inspite of my carelessly keeping the packs open since then, and make for really flavourful and aromatic cuppas every now and then.As soon as we were back, I had a little tasting session in my hostel room and the girls loved it. The only problem is that you need to filter the coffee at the end to get rid of those little husk like granules that come with nature's best coffee beans. 

Now, this place also had a 'Sampoorna coffee gallery' where they had all sorts of ancient coffee making machines and exhibits telling us about the history of coffee and various variants of the brew across the world. The coolest thing about this gallery was that you had to buy a 15 rs ticket to get inside, and with it they gave a pack of 2 of those chocolates I was talking about earlier. Real value for money I must say..For those of you who might visit that region in near or far future, the address is:

Araku Valley Coffee House,

Near RTC Bus complex, Araku Valley - 531 149,

Vishakhapatanam Dist., AP

phone - 08936208089

email: arakuvalleycoffeehouse@gmail.com

For the really eager ones, you can actually call them/ mail them and find out whether they deliver it by post or not. But I must warn you, the chocolates are highly addictive.

P.S: Special thanks to Amu for suggesting I write this, and to Mayank for providing the much elusive pics.

Fried Ice cream and filter coffee at Madras Restaurant

Madras restaurant, also known as Madras Cafe is a quaint little eatery tucked into a little corner on Central Avenue in Kolkata. It is near the E-Mall and is just outside the Chandni Chowk Metro station. At first look it doesn't look anything impressive and usually people go there by recommendation. I had been a regular there since my early days of engineering because it is near Chandni Chowk(yes, there is a Chandni Chowk in Kolkata also), a haven for engineering students. My friend Abhay had first shown me the place and I was hooked ever since for its authentic South Indian food and the amazing filter coffee served there (point to be noted: not many places in the city serve filter coffee).

A couple of days before I had to come to Kgp for my admissions, I was in the area to buy some extensions and all and I decided to drop in for a quick bite. It was late afternoon and I didn't have my lunch. I noticed the new menu but wasn't expecting what I'd see in the deserts section. A new addition was 'Fried Ice-Cream'. I had read about it, heard about it, watched it on TLC(my favourite TV channel :D), but had never seen it in any city restaurant. So it came as a surprise to discover it in this little place, that too at such a reasonable price. Deciding to give it a shot, I ordered one with filter coffee (just to wait till it arrives). Looking around, I saw several other people discussing the new dish and ordering it. It was fun to watch their reactions.

Now, they serve the filter coffee the original way, with a little stainless steel tumbler and a bowl. For the uninitiated, you are supposed to pour the coffee back and forth in the two vessels in order to cool it and then have it. The good thing about Madras Cafe is the personalised attention they give to each customer. An attendant kept a tab on my coffee and as soon as I was halfway through, he came up to the table and asked me if I wanted the ice cream after the coffee. As I said yes, he went inside to get my order.

And then it came. A sizzling golden ball shaped dumpling with some red jam on the side, which later turned out to be strawberry jam. The sizzling exterior makes it hard to guess there is ice cream inside for first timers. As I cut in with a spoon, I saw the scoop of vanilla ice cream a little removed from the shell. I wanted to check out the shell alone and it reminded me of the dough made with the ready made gulab jamun mixes we get. Surprisingly, the ice cream was still intact with only very slight traces of softening. I took in a spoonful of the ice cream with the shell and the jam with it. The explosion of flavours and the textures on my palate was interesting. There was this cold, firm vanilla taste with the hot, crunchy dough and the strawberry flavour mixing with both. It felt good, very very good. It was time to dig in and it was gone before I even knew it. For 30 bucks (as far as I remember), it was an awesome experience. I haven't been to Chandni Chowk since July but I know for sure, if ever I am in the area, I'll stop by for another scoop.