Tag: cafes

The Modern Jaipur!

Rajasthan! A side of India! That makes you feel Royal and Rich! A state that has the best Indian food and every hotel is a palace in its on way having an Modern or an old-world charm. This was a trip to Jaipur after a decade. And while the city did not seem to have changed much. The City surprising had quite a few cafes and restaurants opened up. The Patrika Gate, The Palace and the Hawa Mahal we’re so royal. The hotels we stayed at Raas Rajmahal were a modern luxury palace with interiors and architecture just like a palace.
While on our Visit we visited some of the cafes & restaurants that had their specialities.
Spice Court was our only stop for Laal Maas. Steam at Rambagh was an experience. Seated on a first-class coach in a train-shaped restaurant. The Indian platter were very good. They are also known for their pizzas.
We visited The Johri at the Johri Bazaar. They are a pure Veg restaurant with amazing food and interiors. They are also a boutique hotel with about five Suites rooms each named after a gem stone.

Manak (ruby) is hues of pink, Moti (pearl) is white, Sona (gold) is yellow, Neelam (sapphire) is light blue, and Panna (emerald) is pale greenThe Johri is managed by Honawar Hospitality group that has cafes like Pantry & woodside inn that are popular in Mumbai.
We also visited Bar Palladio & Shikaar Bagh restaurant & Bar that’s part of Naraian Niwas Palace an Instagramable destination and in recent times has gained popularity through web series. The interiors have been done up by Dutch designer Marie-Anne Oudejans has kept the essence of Rajasthan and Jaipur in the interiors. The space also has a few interesting designer stores in them that have a lot of Rajasthani elements to it.

Cafes that we enjoyed on our visit were The Curious Life Roasters, Half light Coffee Roaster and Town Coffee. Town Coffee also had a nice gourmet store to satisfy and to experience your home chefs skills.

Curious breakfast and coffee experience was something totally unexpected for Jaipur. Over the next two days we realised Coffee & cafe culture

Is huge here! Something that isn’t read or spoken about so much when you think about Jaipur! 

Another thing that was good to observe was the cafes & restaurants had plenty of books on their shelves to read Curious life Roaster by the owner has an interesting story Neeraj Sheoran the owner & roster While working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was introduced to coffee roasting and in 2015 began the Curious life Roaster in Jaipur. Half light by is a family-run neighbourhood coffee shop in Jaipur that has been there for the last couple of years..

Kolkata – Durga Puja Festival!

Four Years ago… The First time we visited Kolkata for a Bengali wedding….In the heart of kolkata Park Street. We spent two days doing the most obvious kolkata things… Having the Kolkata Paan, Puchka and visiting the tourist attraction like Victoria museum besides attending the Punjabi- Bengali wedding… we visited Flurys one of the oldest Cafes in Kolkata almost 100 years old today.
To visiting a Chinese restaurant and having Indian Chinese since … Hakka Noodles we’re first discovered here in Kolkata. We also had the Rolls from Kusum .. Kolkata is popularly known for their Rolls!
While we had meals! How could we miss out on the desserts… Misthi Doi from Balaram Mullick one of the oldest sweet shop now has multiple outlets across kolkata. To having the Nolen Gur Ice cream & Paan ice cream from Pabrai to enjoying an Bengali-French meal at 6th Ballygunge restaurant.
Four years later…
We tried most of these things again … But visited places that we had missed Peter Cat & Mocambo known for their Chelo Kebab & Crab meat In Mustard Sauce & Pork Nuggets Both of these places are owned by the same owners, have same interiors but both offer a different menu… Besides the regular meal break we took.. we visited the Roastery House Cafe in Hindustan Park… A cafe done in an old bungalow with mustard colour walls and simple interiors.. Any place we visited Kolkata without booking we had a waiting for about forty minutes… but, Wait!
We did not just Eat & Sleep.
We also attended grand Bengali ceremony Durga Puja! One day we toured across the city visiting Durga Puja Pandal, that were beautifully designed keeping a theme & idea behind and with such creativity and deadlines…From Library, to the lockdown life to Football & Bollywood were some of the pandal we visited.
You keep wondering why isn’t Kolkata visited by Tourist or why don’t people from other states come here!! And why don’t travel magazines promote Kolkata as a destination… why just Rajasthan, Goa, Mumbai and Bangalore?
The visit couldn’t be more kolkata, when we met the Superstar of Bengali Cinema Parambrata Chatterjee who is a very popular face in Bengali Cinema and someone who acted in a Bollywood movie Kahaani! The film made me first want to visit Kolkata….

So Yes! I believe I have been lucky to have seen Kolkata like a local both times!!

Durga puja Pandal

Lonesome!

I often go to coffee shops and sit by myself on a table. But,Whenever I have visited and just sat at a coffee shop,the waiters and service people keep asking me if anyone is coming or for that matter the other people out there wondering if anyone would be coming before they could grab the chairs for their friends or business meets.Go into any Starbucks, and you’ll probably see two kinds of tables: round tables and rectangular tables. There’s a reason for the round tables. According to Reader’s Digest, the round tables are supposed to make you feel more at home when you’re by yourself.Then why do the service people question,When you are by yourself at coffee shops or for that matter restaurants.Why can’t I go to restaurant and occupy a table and have a meal by myself. I mean,Where in The rule book is it written,That you need company to enjoy a meal? I completely understand it’s considered logically that meals are eaten together,But haven’t you heard or experienced teenagers eating meals by themselves when watching television or streaming online websites ?Is it to difficult to accept and welcome people who are loners.Is this a reason why a huge number of people around are preferring to order food online and be socially isolated rather than going out and enjoying a meal at the restaurant or cafe and experience a meal with all their sense being involved ? The Visual appeal,The fragrance,The taste and the feel of the meal with the freshness sizzling around. I completely understand occasionally this would not make sense commercially,But you don’t have to be rude to the one’s who would be having meals by themselves.

Coffee !!!

coffee

“A lot can happen over a cup of coffee”

“Coffee switches on the best in you”

“Wake up and smell the coffee”

Are just some of the popular slogans relating to coffee and if you actually understand the slogan they are completely true.

Think about it .Wake up and smell the coffee is not just a slogan,But a understanding of what coffee does.It helps you in activating  your senses ,the  smell of coffee gives you a high like no other thing may be alcohol can be the closest to coffee .

“Coffee switches on the best in you “is just another tagline/slogan telling you  coffee helps you in being more alert and more aware of your surrounding,Because of the caffeine that stronger in coffee than in any other drink that contains caffeine including energy drinks.

But wait a minute,This is not a thesis or a boring post of coffee,Rather its a post of the concept of coffee shops,Coffeehouses or Café that would help people connect with one another.

Think about it. Coffee-houses,Coffee shops are places where one can easily pass ones time enjoying a cup of coffee and at the same time have company of strangers/Friends or employees. Coffee shops are  one of the original places to socialise and connect with like minded people. 

You can just walk into a coffee shop read a book.Write your stories,articles make your presentation and have conversation with strangers, and if you regularly visit the cafe regular who were once strangers can become your friends.

You are alone,Yet you are with a lot of other people.

Are we loosing this culture of spending time in coffee shops ? 

Not really we are seeing it coming back with a lot of people using it to the fullest  by Debating,having conversation  connecting  with people from different backgrounds and culture to interacting with national and international tourist.Or for that matter of listening to music, or being absorbed in oneself in surrounding where there is so much happening.

There is one table discussing the issues they are facing at workplace.Another is finding it difficult to balance its relationship, a bunch of friends trying to study and understand the solution of the problem.

Coffee shop is the place where we are in touch with so much happening in oneself that hardly makes it on our Social networking sites where we realise,everybody is fighting a battle to be won.Its the place where human interact face to face.

Coffeeshop are surely one of the best places to hangout .