hmmm, i was in jaipur most of this week. and that visit threw up a number of nice food-type surprises. so here goes:
5.
radomly bought kachori. one word: excellent!
i was told later, to go to Rawat's and try the kachori there. they serve gol gappa too! which i SO miss in mumbai. and DON'T tell me mumbai does paani puri which the same thing; cause it ISN'T, you dumbass!!
the tragedy of it all though, was that when we did get around to going there, we were too full to even want to get out of the car!
sigh, i think the loss will haunt me forever. or, at least till i can go there again and remedy that bit of stoopidity! but seriously peeps, the street kachori rocks!
6.
radomly bought kulfi.
mmmm... milk... stupefying... creamy... bigger... better... than any i've had before.
i'm told ALL milk sweets in rajasthan are great. well, if the kalakand i picked up for friends atLNB Sweets later on in the trip are an indicator, that's SUPER TRUE!
7.
Chokhi Dhani!
yep, i managed a trip to THE place that pretty much everyone i mentioned my jaipur trip to insisted i visit.
it's a kitschy, resort'y place near sanganer about a half-hour drive from the city. they've created a faux village, with a bunch of stalls and open-air stages for dancers, a bhavishyavaani (those kooky machines), a palm reader, mehndi artist, maalishwala (tempting), puppet theatre, yada yada yada (you get the picture)
plastered mud, artfully painted walls, everyone's cheerful, the whole place is super-touristy... but the food!
at a 250/- cover charge (you need only pay a teeny fee for playing the stall games) it's a very worth-it experience.
eat sensibly. if you can. i dare you. 'nuff said!
8.
back in mumbai, the hunt for good food/better times continues... (yes, that was sad :p)
and we found it! ystdy, kalpu and i decided to check out Ivy, the Indage-owned wine bar at Worli on Annie Besant road.
the food's reasonably priced, and they do have an extensive menu. but who are we kidding? we went there to drink, and drink we did.
instead of chicken-shit'edly ordering by the glass, and then spending a lot more money in trying to reach our buzz-limits, we dove right in and ordered by the bottle (highly recommended, way more paisa-vasool)
now, neither of us know squat about wine. other than the fact that we like it, and we're willing to learn; by trying as much of it as we can. hah! or should i say hic!?
sure we could try and find someone who knows their shit, or at least pretends better than we do; but it's so much more fun with a chaddi-buddy :)
we went for a riviera pinot noir. i have NO CLUE whether it was good, or utter crap! we didn't hate it, it was very dry (which i'm fine with) and by the end of it, we were beautifully buzzed. which is THE spot you're aiming for on a sunday evening.
so as not to be total tankards, and get more wasted than we wanted to be, there were bites ordered too (lest you think we're complete lushes)
a couple of quiches, decent enough. a chicken & mayo sandwich, hefty and satisfying and a chocolate truffle (goopy, and therefore, good)
saap joined us in a bit, ordered a glassful of chantilli chenin blanc, sweet and served in a chilled glass. very pretty.
i've read other reivews praising the food at Ivy, and the table next to us had a bunch of owner/partner-types standing about sampling dish after dish, so i guess they do take stock of what they're shoving into our nose bags.
which can't be a bad thing, ever. do visit. it's a delight.
signing off. my posts invariably get too long for even me to read later. must learn the art of precis.
bye bye darlings, south-indian sastha-tikkau lunch awaits with friends in a short while.
long live the weekend!
and oh yeah,
Ivy: Annie Besant Road, Worli
snacks n tipple for 2 (and-a-half, cause saap joined late): Rs 900/-
