Travel Diaries

General nukkad-style discussions.
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Singha
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Singha » Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:10 am

Thanks 🙏 had no idea

Sridhar k
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Sridhar k » Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:43 am

For people visiting Chennai, list of temples here includes both old and the new.

https://shanthiraju.wordpress.com/templ ... hennai/

Raja
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Raja » Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:03 pm

Singha saar, have you eaten at the Moti Mahal in Daryaganj? As a nanha we used to go there. As a nanha my pitashree had lived in the owner's house when my grandpa was renting from them.

Singha
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Singha » Tue Oct 17, 2017 2:22 am

no i have passed through daryaganj only few times on road as i usually take metro to chandni chowk before going walkabout.
i have eaten in their now closed franchise in the sigma mall on cunningham road blr - the mall itself is closed now barring the cinemas i think.
lately a new franchise has opened in HSR layout and i am going there soon. its not far from my place.

i would imagine nothing surpasses the original store though.

Singha
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Singha » Tue Oct 17, 2017 2:32 am

more and more restaurants have moved away from clean good food in basic facility .... to ambience, style, high margin drinks menus, exotic dishes ....

Raja
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Raja » Tue Oct 17, 2017 3:01 am

It's not a store ji, it's a haveli.

jamwal
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by jamwal » Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:19 am

Moti Mahal has no franchises.

Javee
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Javee » Tue Oct 17, 2017 6:22 am

Moti mahal does exist in more than one location, infact there is one in Chennai and it taste like crap, not sure if its franchise or not, but the branding is the same.

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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by jamwal » Tue Oct 17, 2017 6:41 am

Original Moti Mahal is only in Darya Ganj. Other Moti Mahals are probably run by relatives or just stolen name. They don't have anything to do with the original one.

Singha
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Singha » Tue Oct 17, 2017 7:16 am

See their website they offer nine franchise models

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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by jamwal » Tue Oct 17, 2017 8:33 am

Their staff told a different story a few years back

Primus
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Primus » Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:02 pm

Singha wrote:
Mon Oct 16, 2017 8:09 am
the hygiene factor of parathe galli was such that my kids refused to eat there. my, wife and BIL hence ate a mix of 4 types of parathas.
the kids later ate in haldirams nearby! we had our own water and they fetched lassi from a shop across street. no tummy issues.

the prices are imo steep at 70 for a single small albeit thick paratha and you must order minimum 2. i do agree one gets many types of parathas that would not be possible in a regular restaurant like those with gur and sweet nut and rabri mixes.

but they need to spruce up the place and improve the hygiene and looks to attract the next generation of clients.

could not grab a few morsels at the 'old famous jalebiwalla' as it was quite early and he had not yet started his kadhai of hot oil

my bIL despite being in dilli for a decade+ does not know 5% of what I do about the place.
A couple of years ago I decided to do a tour of Chandni Chowk and surrounding areas, as I mentioned earlier in this thread. Went with a BIL from the extended family, he has a business establishment close by that has been in the family for three generations. He took me to all the choice eateries. we ate at Paranthe wali gali, the famous jalebi place, another Kalakand shop and then from a street vendor he bought me 'Daulat ki chaat' (a foamy milk concoction) and finally the famous dahi-bada from another well known street corner. I was sure I was going to fall sick, but nothing happened. At the paranthe-wali place, the guy sitting next to me was a desi from UK who said he ate there every time he came to India. I saw that the hygiene has improved from the past, the dishes are now washed in running water with soap (I examined this carefully). They even have disposable paper plates but we could not get those that day.

One of the delights on any trip to India (I am from Delhi so always stay there), is the sheer variety and luxury of good eats. I always make it a point to go eat at the Bukhara or Dum Pukht in Maurya - horribly expensive, but the dishes are truly wonderful.

I wonder if Kwality/Host/Ginza in CP are any good these days. SHQ and I used to hang out in the area in the 70's during our 'Romancing' years, before we got married. We had no money but there was no other place where you could sit quietly and talk without some curious onlookers stopping by and staring. United Coffee House was another go-to place.

Times are so different now. I am glad young people in love can find some privacy in Delhi. In my days it was almost impossible.

rsingh
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by rsingh » Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:10 pm

Can't believe you guys are so much in love with simple milk shake + caribou syrup. Saw this whole drama on Jaipur-Delhi midway stop. People were so exited about this. I mean are you guys for serious? No wonder..........everything goes in India.

That United cafe.....IIRC it was zholawala and leftists den.
Last edited by rsingh on Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Singha
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Singha » Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:15 pm

united coffee house seems to be a high end eatery these days with closed doors and a durwan.

i wuz expecting a cheap chalu fast moving darshini

Primus
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Primus » Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:57 pm

^
Times really have changed!

Raja
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Raja » Tue Oct 17, 2017 5:56 pm

What!! Paper plates at Parathe wali gali?! Philistines! :evil:

Frankly I have always felt that Parathe wali gali is overhyped.

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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by jamwal » Wed Oct 18, 2017 3:20 am

2 dozen paranthaa flavours, all deep fried in ghee. Go overhype yourself .
That jalebi waala is sure selling some overpriced overhyped halwaa though. It is extremely bad.


Daulat ki chaat is available only in winter season in streets of Old Delhi.

People should also try kulfi by Kuremal.

There is a small Padm chat corner in Kinari bazar. A very small shop in already crowded street. The old man is a lecher though, son is ok.

I have mentioned these in 1st page.


There is a good aaloo chaat in front of Jain Bhavan.

sbajwa
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by sbajwa » Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:59 pm

For non vegetarians.

Kundan Dhaba , Amritsar

check out this excellent Delhi to Amritsar Dhaba trail



Makhan Amritsari Fish



For vegetarians
Amritsari Kulcha


Bharavan da Dhaba for Kali daal with Paratha

Raja
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Raja » Thu Oct 19, 2017 5:40 am

Most of those 2 dozen or so flavours at Parathewali gali are not very flavourful unfortunately imho. Its more of a tourist trap I feel. We used to go there once in a while but our main go to place was Karim's near Jama Masjid. The original shop was one rickety establishment yet the food was awesome. Sometimes we would get a whole leg of lamb (raan) and a stack of naan and park ourselves in one of the hostel rooms with daaru.

I stay away from the "re branded" establishments they open in malls. Moti Mahal in a mall?! sacrilege!!! :evil: :evil:

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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by jamwal » Thu Oct 19, 2017 5:58 am

You're partially right. But a few like Mint, Green CHilli, Lemon, Khurchan are very good. You can actually taste the stuff instead of just spices.


I don't go to muslim meat places because of their halal meat. Last time I had some roast meat in kareem, the meat was burnt on outside and raw on inside. I still can't figure out how they managed to screw up so much. Even they have opened up franchises, but I don't think that people are liking them as much.
These days the place is full of wannabes roaming around with cameras, doing cringe worthy stuff all the time; In addition to the usual beggars, pick pockets and other riff-raff.

Singha
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Singha » Thu Oct 19, 2017 6:05 am

Talked to my wife we plan to visit chandigarh and amritsar on next round of the north along with jodhpur and jaisalmer. The food looks great. I love well made veg food and tall earth glasses of lassi

Singha
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Singha » Thu Oct 19, 2017 6:07 am

There is supposed to be a kheer specialist called bade mian deep in the lanes not geolocated so far

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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by jamwal » Thu Oct 19, 2017 6:24 am

That kheer wala is in Lal Kuaaan street, 2 minutes walk from Chawari BAzar metro station. Not worth the time and effort, IMO. The shop was closed for some years due to some family dispute and reopened again by a family member only 3-4 years back AFAIK.

Primus
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Primus » Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:30 am

Raja wrote:
Thu Oct 19, 2017 5:40 am
Most of those 2 dozen or so flavours at Parathewali gali are not very flavourful unfortunately imho. Its more of a tourist trap I feel. We used to go there once in a while but our main go to place was Karim's near Jama Masjid. The original shop was one rickety establishment yet the food was awesome. Sometimes we would get a whole leg of lamb (raan) and a stack of naan and park ourselves in one of the hostel rooms with daaru.

I stay away from the "re branded" establishments they open in malls. Moti Mahal in a mall?! sacrilege!!! :evil: :evil:
May indeed be a tourist trap, but the local people I spoke with (family and friends who live in CC) still eat there. Some tourist traps are worth visiting if you are careful about what you do there.

Years ago we went to Karim's in Nizamuddin with my family and another. There were four women in our group including two young girls. It was a difficult walk from the parking area to the restaurant, we were stared at by bearded young (and old) Malsis all the way. It was very uncomfortable. Vowed never to go back again. The food at Bukhara is much better (though pricier).

In a different lifetime I used to work at Minto Road and part of the job was visiting local schools in the Jama Masjid and nearby areas. Going through the narrow lanes in rickshaws was a very interesting experience. Even then, it was pretty much a ghetto and I believe still remains such. God help the poor outsider who picks a fight with the local Malsis.

I agree, franchises often kill the product.

Singha
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Re: Travel Diaries

Post by Singha » Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:42 pm

My sister and bil once took my mother to the karims in nizamuddin. She did not like the general mahaul.
A restaurant that serves too much meat tends to acquire a oily stale smell over the years unless kept surgically scrubbed

The uphostery of the AC biryani joints also smells

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