Tag: travel

Some Of The Must Visit Cafes In India!


When you have lived In a city like Mumbai for a long time and have had the opportunity to enjoy some of the best Yum food in the city and also get equally good food at home, It
becomes difficult to find food that tastes just as good in the city or town you travel for vacation or Work.
While travelling around the country, there have been some amazing cafes for Food, Coffee or The View and occasionally all three elements.
Here are some of them I have visited and recommend

Goa: The La Plage Cafe in Goa.
The beach view is amazing, The Coffee is good too and the seafood options are Yum.
Babka in Anjuna has the best Eclairs, Coffee and Pasta.

Kolkata: The Roastery House location, The White & Yellow colours on the walls Definitely make you feel you are in Kolkata the cold brew options In coffee and the Baked fish in mustard is amazing!

Bengaluru: Araku’s Orange Cold Brew and the savoury Waffles have been two of the best things from the cafe. The Roastery within the cafe, The Mod Bar Espresso machines, and the Coffee table Books at the cafe does not make you get enough of the cafe.

Lavonee Cafe’sAcademy has been the Foundation for many patisseries and Pastry chefs in the city and in India and no wonder the Cafe Gets the Bake and the coffee right! The breakfast menu has been one of the most beautifully presented and filled with Taste and texture in the Bengaluru city.

Conoor: The Culinarium cafe en route to Ooty has one of the most breathtaking views. The coffee option, The Bakes( Lemon Cake) was one of the perfect ones I have had not too sweet or not too sour.
The pizzas were amazing too!

Dharamshala:
Moonspeak Deli Cafe – A tiny cafe near the main market is a hidden gem!
The coffee Ricotta Cake has been one of the most delicious Tea-cakes I have ever had!
The coffee was also well-balanced and the Ham and Bacon sandwich was very good too!
The Cliffs In Palampur is a cute little cafe that’s like a cottage in the woods, with a small corner filled with books.
The Marble Cake, Filter Coffee, and Mutton Kheema Dosa were the highlight of our meal

The Other Space: There wasn’t any other space like this one in Dharamshala!
The day we visited this space, we witnessed Hail and Rain from the balcony of the cafe while sipping our Coffee and enjoying Spaghetti at this cafe.
You just can’t miss this for the view!

Varanasi:
Vatika – A cafe Overlooking the Ghats of Varanasi and you are enjoying the most delicious pizza, you could not imagine you could get here! For desserts, you must have Apple Pie with Ice Cream and try their Saffron Milk and Paan Stuffed With Rose Petal Milk.

UK Flashback 2023!

The Memories, come flashing back!

The vivid details, the signages, The bustling streets, the hop on and hop off buses,

The Lego store, Leicester Square and Times Square coming together in my memory!

The M&M World! Piccadilly Circle written faintly!

And the huge square, Trafalgar Square with the lion roaring.

The London Bridge! All that meets the London eye!

The erratic weather changing, like mood swings for humans in the city!

Brexit has happened from the last time we visited,

Still trying to figure things out here! 

UK! LONDON! Seems …

Can’t get over it it’s been a decade since I visited London!

The memories seem crystal clear, walking up the bridge and witnessing the Thames…

Felt like a Lord! After taking them through the cricket ring that has so much history in the sport and St.John Woods Brownish, Beige rooftops and homes with a little redness never felt the same again!

Walking through the dining room and changing room of the Lord’s Stadium was a Kodak tour in so many ways! The sport that I couldn’t breathe & sleep without in childhood is a distant reality in my adulthood!

The Marketspace CAMDEN! IN Yellowish brown BOLD Font, was an interesting space of shops and cafes!

The London Tube and the Big Red Bus! Through Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Notting Hill!

The Tourist’s ness was rubbing on our shoulders, Afternoon tea and scones at Claridge’s was one splurge we did on our trip!

Oh! The now famous Pret A Manager that has India sipping and eating was one of our hangout spots after we strolled through Oxford Street!

Oh! We passed through Covent Garden which years later became a hub for Contemporary interiors and places to eat! Like the BKC In Mumbai.

London, The UK! Hadn’t seemed to have changed much! But, what had changed was it had become expensive to live and holiday here! Transport fares had doubled, and the pricing of basic goods & services too had doubled. And on the other side, Ireland was thriving with tourism, and had seemed a better bet for the UK Locals to move there! Irish Cream was a nice country with beautiful bookstores and odd-looking people with colourful hair. The Vibe & energy in Ireland felt more for youngsters and youth. With Good food options and not just 90 minutes by Air from London City Ireland indeed became a good option for UK residents to shift.

Galway & Cork were two small towns, each having their charm & differences.

The Bars were hangout spots to enjoy the Guinness Beer or have a cup of Irish coffee.

A pizzeria in Galway was also not just in Ireland but had been accoladed with the 16th best pizzeria in Europe in 2022 and 37th best in the world in 2022.

Well! Ireland is also well known for Bailey’s liqueur – A popular coffee-based alcohol and Butlers chocolates. A bar of chocolate that melts away!

And last but not least the Jameson whiskey outlet – The Secret ingredient behind the Irish Coffee.

The last highlight, An 18th-century Century Church that was restored over seven years in the late nineties until mid two thousands was opened in 2005 and still has the rustiness and architecture of the 18th Century.
Information:

Ireland 

Cities: Galway, Cork, Dublin and Belfast. 

Enter through Dublin and travel through trains to the other cities.

 Stay: 

Ashkings Hotel Dublin

Buy a leap card from the station. You could use this across public transport (Trams, Trains, Buses)

Goa Foodie Weekend!

North Goa:

Is another city altogether. With quite a few hotel options and so many restaurants and places to choose from.

Goa has tried balancing the two sides very well!

Even the MOPA airport has been done up so well! With shopping options and food options available at the airport.

On my recent visit from Nashik to North Goa.

I was impressed with Goa. It had been years since I visited as a tourist. And being a complete foodie! I did not miss any of the restaurants that were on the other side of Goa.

I had a completely new list of places to explore in north Goa.

Some of the places, that we managed to explore and enjoy in our 48 Hrs In Goa.

Hosa: A Coastal cuisine restaurant in Goa that

is beautifully done up in a 100-year-old Portuguese Villa that was restored by the same hospitality group that also has Indian Accent and Comorin under them. Two very popular restaurants they have been listed as one of the best places to Eat & drink annually in the world best.

The Muttonpepper Ghee Roast and coconut Shrimp were the two things we tasted and enjoyed from the menu.

A sure shot must visit during your visit to Goa.

Assa House: 

A French restaurant in North Goa that shouldn’t be missed by any foodie!

The menu is done by French Chef Alexis Gielbaum who was the chef at Souffle & Slink & Bardot.

Both of the restaurants that I had visited and had meals too.

The Onion French soup at Soufle and the interiors of Slink & Bardot would remind you a lot of it at Assa House. The Baked Alaska, The Clams in Pesto Butter Sauce, The Sea Bass and the Pork Belly were so good! A perfect recommendation for a light meal with a great ambience.

Sakana Goa: A Japanese Restaurant that has been opened by an Israeli-Israeli-Japanese couple is a must-visit for Japanese food. The interiors can be enjoyed during the day as well as at night with green gardens and trees around as you walk in. The Miso Calamari was a different palate but a great combination. The Pork belly Zucchini roll wais s soft & smooth they just melted right away. The Sea Bass in Teriyaki sauce two combinations that we couldn’t get enough of.

These are all not to be missed.
Burger Factory: Juicy meaty or leafy burgers. Burger Factory Burger will remind you of the typical American burgers and fries. The Zucchini fries were crispy and yummy! The Pork Cheddar bacon burger, Avocado and truffle and BBQ Pork Bacon were so well made!

Babka: A cafe that was tiny, but packed with surprises. The Tiramisu & the Salted Eclaris were so Good! Only if we were not dripping in the heat! We would have had more!
G-Shot: A coffee space more than bakes! The Vegan Vietnamese Coffee with Cashew Butter! Had heard so much about the space! And with coffee, it did not fail.

Stay: In North Goa 

  • W Hotel 
  • JW Marriott Goa 
  • Westin Hotel

Bookstore to Visit:

Champaca Bookstore

Hampiness – An adventure in the waiting!

Virupaksha Temple

A journey that had been on the bucket list for the last few years.

And having explored India from the north and west.

South had a been little unexplored and was waiting to be explored.

Hampi is a city full of temples that have references not just mythology ( Ramayan) Hanuman’s Birthplace. But, also with Shiva- A single monolith statue that’s one of the most visited sights of the city. To the Dynasties battles Kilji, Chanayaka and later the British coming to existence.

No Wonder a city filled with so much history and mythology feels like one place with many world heritage references that the The Ministry of Tourism, on 29th September, declared Karnataka’s iconic destination as the Best Tourism Village of India-2023.

Hampi was selected one among the 795 applications received from 31 states and UTs.

Some bits of Hampi feel like you are in Macchi- Picchu to some feel like you are in Greece. While some truly belong to India.

The city has many world heritage sites.Think your ₹50 currency and you will observe the chariot stone. Hampi is also referred to as India’s Rome with so many ruins and history to the sights.

The historians at Hampi, also mentioned to explore the whole of Hampi that has 80 monuments worth exploring would take you an ideal 45 days here! So much history!

And if you would like to travel to Hampi some of the most important sites are Vitthala temple, that’s full of interpretations of history and the home to the stone Chariot. To the Virupaksha temple an active temple that has rituals performed daily including feeding of elephants as an experience of lifetime.

Elephant Stables a monument that was built for the kings elephant many centuries ago is another site worth visiting.

At times Hampi makes you believe you are In Stonehenge with the rocks here beautifully placed naturally or makes you believe you are In Grand Canyon with trekking around on rocks that are placed with boulders for support.

The sunset and sunrise view points of the city, give you an overview of the lush green landscapes covered with sugarcane’s and Banana plantations.

With so much to offer for history & nature buffs.Hampi still has the rawness and beauty of India.

Hampi is still not considered a tourist destination, with only one flight to Mumbai! And limited advertising for tourism in Hampi.

Stay: Evolve Back Resort

Did You Know?

Karnataka once served as the capital of one of the largest kingdoms of India the Vijayanagara Empire around the 1500 AD. And during that time it was known to be one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world.

The Virupaksha temple dates back to 7th-century, which makes it one of the oldest functional temple in the country is dedicated to Virupaksha, an incarnation of Lord Shiva, built with a pillared hall, three.

One of the must things to do before you leave the temple take blessings from Lakshmi elephant

The pillars in the Vittahla temple would also be used as musical instruments by the locals. Each pillar would have a different sound and rhythm.

Elephant Stables
Vitthala temple

Aeropress championship India!

I had been wanting an Aeropress. And for my 27th Birthday got it as a gift. Ever since then, I have been thinking of participating in the Indian edition and last year! It was my first time.

Aeropress is so versatile you can use the ratio of coffee to water the way you would like to have your cup of coffee. Espresso Style, French Press or a Pour over style.

Aeropress was founded by Alan Adler in 2005 in the united states who was a toy manufacturer.

It wasn’t until 2008 when A friendly competition of who can brew the best Cup of Aeropress Coffee Began as a joke in 2008 in Oslo, Norway.

Three Friends competed and two of them then founded the Tim Wendelboe by Tim Varney & Tim Williams.

It became a global phenomenon with more than 60 Countries hosting the Aeropress Championship.

In 2017 Mithlesh from Nagpur who owns a cafe Now “Corridor Seven” Became the 1st Aeropress Champion from India.

The championship begins with A country hosting regional rounds in a state or city.

Each State/City will have participants who would be participating in four rounds.

First would be like an Elimination round, then a Quater, Semi-Final and Final. Depending on the number of participants.

Each Participant gets 3 minutes for preparation. Where one can heat water, Weigh the coffee beans maximum of 18 gms, and setup the Aeropress.

Each participant then gets 5 minutes to brew his cup of Coffee on the day of the competition. You could preferably carry your own Aeropress. Or could borrow another competitor at the venue. Other equipment is available and provided by the organisers at the venue

As a Participant, you would also get the coffee as part of the registration that would be used on the day of the competition to try your recipes at your residence, a couple of days before the main day!

On the day of the competition, there were 100+ participants each competing against 3 brewers and each time one winner would be chosen to compete in the next round.

So I was competing with one home brewer & a barista from a popular cafe in Bombay. And couldn’t qualify for any of the rounds.

Cut to a year later 2023!

I participated again this year! And hadn’t tried the coffee that would be used for the championship even once! But, having Practised for over a year, With a lot of different coffees from India and my travels around I figured out the coffee recipe and participated and Qualified 3 Rounds #Top13

It was a huge improvement from the past year! Hopefully, 2024 Will be better!!!

Just keep brewing & explore the equipment.

A fun experience for coffee enthusiasts and professionals.