Tag: travel

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.

Morocco 2023!

If you can travel to someplace once it’s a privilege and if you travel to the same place again, you should be lucky!

Five Years ago, when I visited Marrakesh for the 1st time, I wasn’t sure! How the place would be. But, today! It was different!

I could notice what had changed in the last few years. Some of the restaurants we dined at were no more, rather a fine dining restaurant and hotel had now opened at the same spot!

The hotel that was our wedding venue for the event, had now renovated its bar and the Classic vintage feel was replaced by the modern bar design that in some way lost the vibe of the place. The other rooftop space too had another modern bar that was set up in what looked like the banquet space the last time I visited.

The City otherwise hadn’t really changed much! It was the neighbourhood that had a few changes.

Morocco: 

A country in northern Africa, that’s very close to Spain. A country that you wouldn’t think about travelling to!

But, having explored most of Europe, America, India and Asia. Africa was something we had not explored.

A nearly seventeen hour journey to reach our destination. 

Marrakech: 

Driving through the mountains in shades of green to browns, and visiting the sight of black and white mosaic tiles to colourful pillars of the medrasa and detailed work on the walls and in the roofs. This was a city that’s seemed like the most popular tourist city with luxurious hotels. 

The most beautiful sights were the hotel’s La Mamounia & Royal Mansour the gardens with orange and olive trees and cactus and coconut trees on the sides.

Bacha Coffee shop. Right in the Bacha palace is a sight on it’s own, with over 200 varieties of coffee from around the world! This is a coffee heaven for all the coffee lovers with aesthetics you wouldn’t get enough of.

And if driving through the mountains is something you enjoy. You should drive the atlas mountains. An hour and a half journey from the city.

Tangier

A small town two hours away from Casablanca is worth a visit to catch the beauty of the two seas meeting each other Meditteran and Atlantic sea from the Kasbah view point where you would notice the two shades of blue. To be closer to the sea you can visit Cafe Hafa to enjoy the view with a glass of tangerine juice.

Visit salon Bleu for a Moroccan meal overlooking the Mediterranean sea. 

Casablanca

The film “Casablanca” made not just the city popular but the cafe Ricks too!

Which was recreated after the success of the Hollywood film in Casablanca and opened in 2004 by an American.

The film too was entirely shot in a Hollywood studio and released in 1940.

A film that was based on a play “Everybody goes to Ricks. “

The Hasan II Mosque is one of the largest and most beautiful mosque in the world.

The Granduer is visible from a distance, but only when you are at the mosques you can enjoy the detailing done in the early 1800s 

Fes 

An old city charm!

An old city with one of the oldest running library in the world  al-Qarawiyyinin thats part of a university Since 859 AD.

A city, that lies right in the centre of the Medina. With lanes reminding of the Grand bazaar of Turkey.

The luggage here is carried in a lorry between the hotels. 

Our hotel Riad Fes was right within the Medina, a palace setting overlooking the whole city of Fes.

Here the trains tracks require crossing over the bridge to go to the other sides of the tracks.

It’s here in Fes, you can visit the tannery’s and witness how the leather is soaked and dried that create your handbags, Wallets, Shoes and a lot more! 

Each of the cities that we visited in Morocco was different from one another.

While Marrakesh had the views of the atlas mountains, Fes had the old town charm. Tangier felt like Europe and Casablanca had the view and vibes of a modern city like LA.

Information:

Marrakech to Casablanca (2Hrs 30 Min by train and 3 Hrs by Road)
Casablanca to Fes ( 4 Hrs by train. It’s better to stay overnight at fes)
Casablanca to Tanger ( 2 Hrs by train. You can do a day trip)
Fly to Casablanca with @emirates @etihad and then drive to #marrakech

Visa: E- Visa within two days for the US Visa holders.

Marrakech:
Cafés: @bachacoffee #grandcafedelaposte
Stay: @essaadimarrakech
Visit: @royalmansour @lamamouniamarrakech @groupeladresse for medinaview #madrasayoussef

Casablanca
Stay: @fscasablanca
Eat: @rickscafe_Casablanca @lasqala
Cafe : @theespressolab @arabica.journal @arabicamorocco @lesquatrecerises
Visit: #hasaniimosque @rickscafe_casablanca

Tanger:
Eat: @salonbleu.tanger #moroccanfood
View: @cafehafa
Visit : #Kasabhsquare #tangerport

Fes:
Stay @riadfes
Eat @cinemacafefez
Visit #chouaratannery

Writing #7