Monday, February 22, 2010

Parsi Bungalows, Strawberry Fields, Pandavas Vanavaas Haunts, Driving to PratapGarh - Well almost...that is not to mention ParaGliding!!

We had a day off on Friday, 19th February due to Shivaji Jayanti. Slightly lesser known event but what the hell, that made it 3 days off and we decided to embark on our much awaited and anticipated road trip to Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar, Wai and Pratapgarh.
We had planned a 2 nights - 3 day trip but the unfortunate demise of my cousin Soumik caused us to shorten the trip by a night. However as it is the rule of the blog to focus on life's positives we will not dwell on that. Thank you Soumikda for all the good times that we have shared and may your soul rest in peace!
Day 1: Arriving at Panchgani, Visiting the Mapro farm, Driving through the Ghats almost to Pratapagarh Fort, Strawberry Fields, Falling in love with Il Palazzo
We left Mumbai at 8.30 AM after the usual late-to-rise syndrome. We picked up Dripto (who was to go to Pune) and set off all geared up for the longish drive (approx 375 km one way). The route we had planned was the express way to Pune and then on to NH4 to Shirval (on the way to Satara). We were then to take the exit to Wai and drive on to Panchgani. We dropped Dripto off at Pune and continued on NH4 towards Satara. After asking a few people as to whether we were going the right way we proceeded on to Shirwal for the exit to Wai. The exit is pretty easily identifiable and is basically under a flyover towards the right, there is a clear indication of Wai, Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar. After taking the right one needs to drive a further one and a half hours uphill towards Panchgani. The Ghats are pretty easily negotiable, one only needs to take care to overtake only when safe and absolutely necessary. We reached our hotel, Il Palazzo at around 12.45 PM. After checking in and being pleasantly surprised at the quality of the room we were on our way again to our first stop - the Mapro farm.
Mapro farm is located on the Mahabaleshwar Panchgani road. It is easily the most easily locatable place in the area which Mapro has inundated with sign boards. The farm basically constitutes
1. A chocolate factory - where you can see chocolate coated cashews and almonds being made
2. A flower nursery
3. Some plots of land where strawberrys are being grown
4. A food court
5. A mini market when one can taste Mapro product for free and buy Mapro products at a 10% discount
We spent around an hour and a half at the farm looking around and had lunch at the food court. They serve decent vegetarian sandwiches, though i was slightly put off by a group beside us finding an insect inside their sandwich. Guess that makes it Non Veg but i am not chinese!!! The highlight of the meal was the strawberry juice which they make right in front of you. Very nice and very strawberry. We the left the farm after stopping at the market for tasting and buying some goodies.
The plan was to proceed to Pratapgarh which I had read was a steep drive of close to 35 km. What i did not know was that the drive was through a very curvy and winding ghat. Ghat driving always has an element of danger to it and one needs to be completely concentrating on the road and maintaining lane discipline. One also needs a prayer as there really is very little one can do if there is a rogue driver coming from the other side.
The drive to Pratapgarh fort took us about an hour and a half and we were met with disappointment as we could not actually go up to the fort due to a bus that was not working and was clogging up the entire traffic around a kilometer from the fort. The mess we found would take atleast half an hour to clear, that information and the unwillingness to negotiate the road in front of us after sunset made us decide, i believe wisely, to turn back. The drive back for some reason seemed to be much quicker and on reaching Mahabaleshwar we drove towards Arthurs Seat - which is supposedly Mahabaleshwars premiere sight seeing highlight. Half way to Arthurs Seat we aborted the drive on finding out that it was still a 15 Km drive on a road that was pretty curvy.
We were proceeding back to Panchgani a bit underwhelmed before the day was saved and how! by the visit to Vrundavan Vaug which is a strawberry farm on the Mahabaleshwar - Panchgani road. We just entered the farm and had a ball there after picking ripe strawberrys by hand and then buying them. It was the first time we had seen strawberry thickets let alone ripe strawberrys and we had a blast plucking the best ripe ones ourselves. Thrilled by the visit to the strawberry farm we reached Il Palazzo tired and drained at around 6.45PM.
Il Palazzo is a heritage boutique hotel and is easily one of the best at Panchgani. It is very clean has spacious rooms augmented by the high ceilings, the service is prompt, polite and the entire set up gives on a feeling of it being a home away from home. The hotel is maintained by a Parsee family who actually stay there, they are actually the third generation of residents who take care and let out the hotel. We were staying in one of the rooms in the main wing, which has around 9 rooms. There are also cottages which are let out to larger groups of people. We were liking the place already but fell in love when dinner was served. They have small dining tables right outside you room where you are served. The have veg and non veg options of a set home cooked menu which is what is decided by the owners. I do not think one can ask for helpings but we really could not ask for anything more. We were served carrot soup, bread rolls, rice, baked chicken in cheese, chicken cutlets, roti, aloo - gobi subzi and mutton curry. This was capped by chocolate souffle. The food was actually home made and very tasty - the parsee family have the same meal, and it cost us only Rs 400 per head. Il Palazzo also has a buffet option for guests but I think you have to pre book. We then retired to our bed, tired after a long drive and totally satisfied by the excellent meal that we just had.
Day 2: Parsi Breakfast, Sight seeing at Mahabaleshwar, Paragliding, Quaint Wai, Driving at 140 kmph
We had quite a few things to do when we woke up the next day. We had to do our Mahabalehswar sight seeing, paragliding and visit Wai on our way back to Mumbai. Our relatively full plate (of things to do) was however nothing in comparison to the breakfast that we were served. It was easily the largest breakfast outside of a 5 star that i have ever had. We had (and believe you me, this was one meal only) mutton kheema, pao, a very large omelette (at least 3 eggs), poha, bread and home made strawberry jam. We were so full that we almost felt like going nowhere. We just about managed to get up and check out (after ensuring that we bring some of the home made strawberry jam with us to Mumbai).
We drove straight to Arthurs Seat retracing the route that we had driven the day before and further on. A lot of sight seeing points are on the way to Arthurs seat. Basically each and every valley view with the Krishna has undergone some branding - you find Parsee Point, Kates Point, Echo Point etc all through. The view at Arthurs seat was indeed special but I would recommend the view at Marjorie point.
The view that we were privy to, of the western ghats half submerged in cloud and mist was truly breathtaking.
We then proceeded back to Mahabaleshwar and were almost driving out of Panchgani, when we saw the paragliding point and stopped in the nick of time. Ritwikas feet are still recovering from the nail operation and she was not ready for paragliding healthwise but I went ahead and enjoyed the experience of feeling like a bird for ten minutes that they allow you. To be honest, I did not enjoy the experience as much as I had parasailing in Pattaya for two reasons. One, I was slightly worried about the landing, landing in sea is much safer. Secondly, I was pretty scared, one comment that the handlers had made about my weight had made me almost back out. It was not very windy and right before take off they tell me not to sit down too fast while take off, as otherwise there was a chance that me, the main paraglider (I was obviously taken as a co pilot) and the two helpers might all fall down off the cliff!! Add to that there was one aborted take off attempt because the wind was not strong enough. Anyway after one scare off an aborted landing, we finally managed to land safely without any broken bones. I consider myself richer for the experience, and poorer walletwise given that those ten minutes cost me Rs 1500/-.
After taking a break, we then proceeded downwards to Wai which is quaint town, and apparently hosted the Pandavas during their Vanvaas. We visited the two main temples in Wai, the Ganesh temple and the Shiv temple. The Shiv temple in particular was very nice. Made of black stone, the inner sanctum was cool and gave that feeling of peace which makes one wish one can stay longer. The architecture was also quite noteworthy.
The breakfast ensured that we did not need lunch, in fact we did not need much of a dinner either...We proceeded to drive straight to Mumbai with one stop for a toilet break at the food mall after the final toll naka. The road from Shirwal to Panvel is phenomenal - a four lane highway all through. The highlight here was hitting the 140 Kmph mark for the first time in my life. My highest previous mark was 100 on the Eastern Express higway. This however came with the learning at how easily the car reaches 120 kmph when machine and man are used to those speeds. It required a slightly wobbly turn on the Pune expressway for sanity to pull momentum back to 80 - 100 kmph.
We managed to reach Mumbai well before dark and were back in Powai by 7 PM.
Overall the trip was extremely memorable, though will always be remembered and tempered by the news of Soumikdas death. I would rate Panchgani, provided you get the stay option at Il Palazzo as the ultimate one night getaway from Mumbai. Go there for a complete weekend of rest and relaxation. Go there for picking strawberrys from the farms and having the fruit in all forms the juice, the jam, the crush and just plain and simple. The only side effect is that you will not feel like buying strawberrys off the shelf at the malls ever again.

Khyber, Kala Ghoda

Sometimes its just pre ordained. It is only when the subject of pre-ordination (if such a word exists) is a restaurant that does not need to advertise, even through a decently visible frontage that it is located there, do you know that you are going in for something really special. Dinner on the night of my 4th anniversary was just that - a very very special dinner for two at Khyber, Kala Ghoda.
We left home on the 18th with our minds divided between Cellini at Grand Hyatt Kalina, and Urban Tadka at R City Mall. Unable to choose between the two we just decided to drop both and go for a drive and hit the eastern express highway towards town. After dilly dallying options at Colaba driven more by the thought of dessert at Theobroma, finding out that the revolving restarant at The Ambassador was still under renovation, we finally settled for Khyber (highly recommended by the Mumbai Times Guide) and we drove towards Kala Ghoda. Khyber is actually so non conspicuous that we actually asked the cabs parked right outside the restaurant where it was located - little did we understand then that the quality of food made it a landmark in itself.
Khyber has the complete feel of a swanky South Mumbai restaurant, marble flooring, wooden panels, wall paintings depicting North West frontier scenes. The restaurant has multiple sections and we were given a table for two on the first floor which had a whole host of Anjolie Ela Menon wall frescoes which gave a nice "cave"y ambiance. We went through the menu, and took the waiters advice to we ordered the chicken and lamb kebab platter, a plate of kali daal and roomali rotis.
The kebab platter contained Tangdi Kebab, Chicken Reshmi Kebab, Mutton Sheekh Kebab, Chicken Lasooni Kebab and Mutton Chops. The four kebabs were indeed very good but you get a similar quality at Peshawari and a few other places. What blew me out of my mind were the mutton chops which are marinated overnight and are cooked in a red onion gravy. The gravy is out of this world and is not in the least bit hot. The Khyber mutton chops rate right up there with the best mutton preparations i have ever had in the same league as Boti Kebabs at Kareems, Delhi and Gilawati at Tundays, Lucknow.
We had our fill and barely managed to finish the platter aided definitely by the wondrous taste. We were so full that we gave up any thoughts of dessert and returned with a very satisfying and very tasty anniversary dinner.
How to get there: Khyber is bang on Kala Ghoda. Be prepared to ask a taxi driver where it is and be embarrassed when he points at the door in front of you.
A dinner for 2 at Khyber without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 1500/-

Monday, February 15, 2010

Jai Hind, Bandra West

I am not a fan of having fish (with bones in it) and crabs (with the shell still on) at restaurants - at least definitely not in fancy ones. The reason is simple. You simply cannot do justice to the dish. Crabs should be had with both hands holding the two ends of the claws and with ones molars biting the centre. A loud crack should then follow with the sweet taste of the meat and the juice seconds after. Similarly fish when had should be ideally had mostly without hands. After the reasonably fleshy portions are polished off. The entire bony mass should be entered into ones mouth and chewed in all glory till until the bones are taken out one by one.
Therefore when I had gone to Jai Hind for the first time and my colleague ordered the Pomfret Gassi I actually thought it was a waste of good money. The first bite however made me regret the Bharwa Bombvil and the prawns in green curry that i had just had - it was amazing, the best Konkani fish preparation I had ever had.
We were fortunate enough to frequent the place again on Friday. Samit Basu - my childhood friend and soon to be internationally famous writer was in town to attend the Kala Ghoda festival and we went there after catching up at Sunays house. Much to my pleasure, as Jai Hind was my suggestion, the food, specially the Pomfret Gassi did not disappoint in the very least.
Jai Hind is a nice homely restaurant which looks slightly out of place in the upmarket Hill road area. The restaurant retains the look and feel of the main branch near Phoenix Mills Parel and quite honestly I like it that way, it is neat, air conditioned and clean without the unnecessary frill of Chinese lanterns and glass statues and dividers. The focus clearly is on hygiene and taste although the place is a bit small and may seem slightly cramped.
We ordered Bharwa Bombvil which is Bombay Duck stuffed with prawns, Pomfret Gassi, Prawns Ambotik and a mix of Neer Dosas and steamed rice. The Bharwa Bombvil though quite good, unfortunately tastes much better imagining a mix of the Gajalee Bombvil fry and prawns, it is actually a fish chop made with prawns with the Bombvil instead of the potato mash acting as the crust. The Pomfret Gassi was as good as it was last time, which is saying a lot as this time it carried the not inconsiderate weight of expectation. The Ambotik which is a vinegar based Goan preparation of a red gravy was different and tasty though apparently one gets a far more concentrated and better tasting version in Goa (Rapti - will confirm that once i taste the same myself). The meal cost us Rs 1500 for five people which according to me is damn good value for money as well.
So if you like fish, are hungry and around Bandra or Khar you know the place to go for some value for money, lovely steamed rice and Pomfret Gassi from the Konkan coast.
How to Get There: Take the turn past Lucky Biriyani and go up Hill Road in Bandra. Jai Hind is on the right just beside Bandra police station.

Monday, February 8, 2010

400 Km drive on a single day! Silvassa and Nargol!

We were supposed to leave at 6.30 AM on Saturday morning. True to form and expectation however we ended up waking up at 7.30 and after a whirlwind 60 minutes we had managed to pick Dripto up from his house at Powai and were on our way to Silvassa and Nargol. I was slightly nervous and excited as this would be my first single day drive of around 400 Kms - I had previously driven around 300 Km on a day trip to Bordi but that was with my brother - in - law who did not actually drive much but provided the mental relief of there being a reserve driver if required. This was different as my younger brother and wife do not drive and I was all geared up. The route was pretty straight forward. Hit the Western Express highway and keep driving towards Gujarat, we had seen exits towards Silvassa on our way to Vapi and were reasonably confident of locating the same.
We made good time (hitting average speeds of eighty kmph) till just before Manor and stopped at a roadside resort for some Chai and breakfast at around 10.30 . Refreshed and happy (having seen South Africa at 6 for 2), we hit the road again after thirty minutes. We were then however reduced to travelling at snails pace as work on one side of the highway had caused single lane traffic for a good five odd kilometers. With oversized trucks and aggressive Toyota Innova tourist cars we landed up spending a good hour and a half just which made the 5 km seem like 50.
The traffic was however a lot better post the stretch of road repair and we took a right from Bhilad. There is apparently an exit for Silvassa before Bhilad from Talaseri but we missed that as the signages are not too great. Around 12 kms after taking the right from the highway we were in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Dadra and Nagar Haveli is built around the two settlements at Silvassa - the capital and Dadra. The road from the highway takes you to Silvassa first. Road in DNH are neat and well maintained, lined with trees on either side. The Daman Ganga river flowing through the UT seems to be the focal point for tourism with a number of resorts offering water sports facilities. I am sure that the place would be quite beautiful during the monsoons with the rived gushing through but unfortunately we were in the wrong season and the Daman Ganga was completely parched and reduced to a brook.
We stopped at one of Silvassas better known attractions, the our lady of piety church and after stopping to take the mandatory snap proceeded to Dadra and the Vanganga lake which offers options for some boating and is clearly Damans most popular picnic spot. We then drove back to Silvassa and had a pretty decent chicken and roti lunch at Hotel Greenwood. It was now time for the highlight of the trip - Nargol beach - the spot where the Parsees first landed.
To drive to Nargol we first retraced our path to Bhilad and drive the other side exactly opposite to Silvassa on the road that acts as a short cut. The road is narrow but is in a decent condition, although the problem is the lack of sign posts which makes one stop regularly and ask if one is going in the correct direction. The main approach to Nargol is from Vapi and that is where the short cut finally leads to after a thirty minute (15 km drive). One then proceeds to Nargol village and then onto the beach. One can either park the car in the village and walk to the beach. We however crossed the village and took the one pitch road on the right which seemed to lead to the see. At the end of the road was the largest tract of virgin beach I have seen in Western India and the place is a veritable paradise lined with pine trees on one side.
We spent some thirty minutes on the beach and then proceeded to drive back to Mumbai - almost missing the left and going towards Vapi in the process. We left Nargol at around 5 PM and managed to reach Powai by 8.30 PM, happy, tired and with plans of going back to Nargol one day with time to kill and a large picnic basket.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Pure Pur Kolhapur!

I had initially sampled food at Pure Pur Kolhapur near Kothrud in Pune and had fallen in love with the place. I had heard rumours of the place having a branch in Mumbai somewhere in Parle East but no one had been able to give me exact directions and even the internet had proved incapable of leading me any closer. Today, Yash was supposed to take us to a Kolhapuri restaurant in Parle called Asal Kolhapuri but to my great joy I figured out on reaching there that he had got the name wrong. It was Pure Pur Kolhapur in all its spicy glory complete with the Kolhapur Zero kilo meter milestone.
Pure Pur Kolhapur is a small place and has 4-chair seating counters in its ground and mezzanine floors. The ceiling height is unfortunately the same for the ground and mezzanine levels - you really have to bend over if you are more than 4 feet in height. The food was expectedly very good and very spicy. I ordered the Mutton Fry Thali which comes with a plate of mutton fry, a plate of mutton keema, an option between 1 bhakri and 2 chapattis, go for the bhakri for a different taste, and a plate of pulao. You also get unlimited helpings of the Taambda and the Pandhra Rassas or red and white gravies. The food quantity is perfect for an afternoon meal on a working day and is very delicious.
One can also order the dishes separately as plates as we had done in the Pune outlet. You can order whatever you feel, thali or a-la-carte like but do definitely go for a taste of the spicy food from the Southern Maharashtra heartland.
How to get there: Pure Pur Kolhapur is in Parle East next to the station. After you cross the road leading to the station, it is on the right turn just after the road leading to the ICICI Bank Parle East branch.
A meal for 2 at Pur Pur Kolhapur would cost you approximately Rs 300/-

Monday, February 1, 2010

Kentucky Fried Fabulous Chicken!

I love Chicken! Period. My Dad used to disregard the chicken saying that it was half vegetarian as do most professed meat eaters. But ever since childhood the chicken has been my choice of meat if only just. I do not know what it is about the bird but I find the same incredibly tasty almost at all times and in all preparations. So much so that i had once calculated that in my lifetime i will consume approximately 5000 birds in my life @1.5 Birds a week for 60 non - veg consuming years but more on that later.

I also love fried food. "If its Veg, it should at least be fried" is a comment i once made at an office party and am still regularly ribbed out. The colonel, God bless his soul made the perfect synthesis when he opened his chain and started Kentucky Fried Chicken.
I had my Nth helping of some fried chicken on Friday night at the R-City food court and would recommend the same who can relate and enjoy watching the advertisements of

1. The friends having chicken in a car just gone turtle.

2. Muraliltharan licking his fingers. As also the Sikh Boyfriend.


If you love chicken you will love KFC. If you love chicken and you love fried food you will be able to smell KFC Chicken when you day dream and think KFC.

Go to KFC! Now! Its finger licking good!!

P.S. The original recipe and the other (i forget what it is called) is as good. I really cannot decide. Have both!:)

How to get there: Its on the food court in R-City Mall, Ghatkopar