(FoodWalk Photos) From the lanes of Old Kanpur.

Old Kanpur is a food lover’s paradise. During my recent visits to Kanpur, I walked the unsung streets and savoured the delicious cuisines. I will not go into textual descriptions and let the photos do the talking.

Shawarma from Noor Bismillah Hotel. A chicken kebab roll of Lebanese origin, eaten with white sauce.

Egg roll in making @ Noor Bismillah Hotel.

Chicken Egg Roll @ Noor Bismillah Hotel.

Goonga Hotel @ Moolganj, Kanpur

Blue pigeons at the roadside. Moolganj, Kanpur.

Mutton Stew with Roomali Roti @ Goonga Hotel.

Chand Sweet House. Famous for its Butter Bun, Lassi and Coffee.

Butter Bun & Coffee @ Chand Sweet House

Beef Biryani @ Raheem Biryani

Banaarsi Ki Chai. Kanpur’s Best Tea

Kanpur ka KFC. Gareeb Nawaz Chicken Darbar

Khurchan. A milk based sweet

I also bought some Kurchan for myself

Noor Bismillah Hotel (Famous of its Kebab Rolls)

Add: Talaq Mahal, Beconganj, Kanpur.

Price Range: Rolls Rs 15- Rs 40

Goonga Hotel,

Add: Moolganj Chauraha, Kanpur. (Do not proceed towards Meston Road. Take the main road towards Parade from Moolganj Chauraha. After some 100 steps, move towards Mosque on the right side. Goonga Hotel is adjacent to the Mosque. The above photo is of old shop. Goonga Hotel relocated itself to the Main Road on 10th October 2011. Photo of new shop is not available yet.)

Price Range:  Rs 60- Rs 100.

Chand Sweet House.

Add: Near Baba Sweets, Beconganj, Kanpur.

Price Range: Lassi: Rs 10 | Butter Bun: Rs 6 | Coffee: Rs 8

Banaarsi Tea Shop.

Add: Tilak Nagar, Kanpur.

Price Range: Tea: Rs 8 | Pay only if you like their tea, otherwise it is free.

Restaurants @ Manali (India)

After completing my Spiti ride I reached Manali on 16th July 2011. Next day,  I decided to ride around the town and relish all the famous food from all the famous cafes/restaurants/eateries/streets. I had only one day and made the most of it by visiting four restaurants.

(1) Rainbow Cafe, Vashist.

Vashist is a place, located just outside Manali, famous for its natural hot springs. Adjacent to the temple complex which houses hot springs, you see Rainbow Cafe perched on an elevation. Rainbow Cafe is on the top floor of a building whose ground floor has been turned into a guesthouse and first floor has an Internet Cafe.

When I reached there, atmosphere was filled with the smell of weed and beats of Nirvana music. Crowd was cosmopolitan but small. I ordered a Masala Milk Tea and an Al-Fungi Lasagne. My order took 20 minutes to arrive on the table. With perfectly baked garlic bread and perfectly mashed tomato in molten cheese, Lasagne was delicious.

This place offers a touristy and backpacker’s type feel. Avoid it if you are looking for some peaceful place to sit back and write your travel stories. But if you are looking for people to party with and have some fun, this is your place. The guys at the service are jovial and springy. Friendly place.

(2) The Johnson’s Cafe, Old Manali.

This is perhaps the best restaurant in Manali. The moment I stepped into this place, it became my favourite instantly. The ambiance, the garden, the food, the service, the menu, the views from your table; everything is perfect !! 

Generally, this place remains bustling with people but during brunch hours it is empty. I arrived at 11 AM and I was the only customer. Menu is beautifully designed and I placed an order of Veg Sandwich and Ginger Plum Soda. When the order arrived, I enjoyed it with the beautiful views of the misty hills.

(3) Pizza Olive, Old Manali.

I had heard and read a lot about this place which boasts it sell best pizzas in Manali. Pizzas are baked on a wooden oven and their base is very thin and crispy. 

I always wanted to try Tuna fish sandwiches, so when I found Tuna Fish Pizza in their menu; I ordered it without a second thought. With first bit of the pizza slice down my throat, it was crystal clear to me that I was never going to order it again. Now the problem was to finish the one lying on the table. 

To add to my misery, I ordered a Tibetan Herbal Tea which tasted worst than I presumed. In the middle of my struggle to finish my meal, a giant moth flew in from the window and landed on my table. I alerted the waiter who calmly caught it like an expert. Anyways, coming back to the overall experience at Pizza Olive, I felt I made some bad choices in picking up what I like to eat. However, pizza was baked to perfection in an authentic Italian way. There is nothing wrong with the place and it deserves the applause it has received. I will love to go there next time and eat something familiar to my taste buds. 

(4) Il Furno, Old Manali.

I stopped here to enjoy some Italian desserts and decided to settle for a Tiramisu. 

The ambience of this place is awesome and I believe Il Furno is worth a visit after dusk when the lamps inside the restaurant are lit. 

Like the place, Tiramisu was tasteful. Rates are bit on a higher side.

Quote # 1

" Cancer is like that, too. Good, strong people get cancer, and they do all the right things to beat it, and they still die. That is the essential truth that you learn. People die. And after you learn it, all other matters seem irrelevant. They just seem small."

 ~ Lance Armstrong, in his autobiography "Its Not About The Bike".

(Book Review) Zero Percentile

Zero Percentile – Missed IIT Kissed Russia 
Neeraj Chhibba | 219 pgs | Rs 95 | Rupa Publications 
Ratings: 3.5/5 

I am not much into book reading, though I am an occasional book reader, never forgets to buy something for myself to read when I travel. I am not a bookworm because I read very fast. Finishing a 250 pages novel hardly takes 3-4 hours and I hate taking any breaks in between; I feel like being glued to the plot and the characters. That makes ‘reading books’ a very expensive hobby for me. I came to know about this book ‘Zero Percentile’ through a Facebook Ad. At first I thought its same old IIT melodrama but then I saw the title which read ‘Missed IIT Kissed Russia’. I have some past connections with this beautiful cold country of beautiful warm people. Next moment, I decided to read it. I ordered it through Flipkart and got a nice 25% discount. 

Neeraj Chhibba, the author of ‘Zero Percentile’, spent seven years in Russia where he studied engineering in Volvograd. This book is a work of fiction based upon his experiences and fantasies. The main character ‘Pankaj Sharma’ thinks he is a zero percentile guy by birth. His intelligence always gets beaten up by the hands of his ill fate. His dream of entering into IIT shatters after an accident and in next few months he finds himself in an unbearably cold Russia. Then whole story is about his fight to survive against all odds and against all fronts in an entirely different nation. The plot changes quickly after each page and the story touches all possible aspects of the life of a college student; family, friends, love, sex, booze, fights, seniors, failure, success, struggle, money, trust and betrayal. Ultimately, Pankaj emerges as a victorious hero and get everything he wanted from his life.

Novel is beautifully written but predictable at times. The story sticks to the plot and manages to free-flow in a good pace. Hats off to Neeraj Chhibba for his first book which is definitely an interesting and inspirational read. I can pay twice the amount any day to read any such book. Don’t miss it. 

P.S.- Sticking to his promise, Neeraj Chhibba is all set to launch his second book. Zero Percentile 2.0. You can prerorder it here. 

A bibliophile awakened.

Good morning folks,

Its friday. Usually for me, its one of the most active day of the week. Today, I started it with some serious business. After I woke up this morning, I ordered few books online. I love reading books. During my childhood, when my friends used to play cricket during their play time, I used to read books. Comics, magazines, newspapers, encyclopedia, novels or just anything printed in black on white, I read them all. I was a bibliophile. But as the time passed, laziness rusted all my hobbies; specially reading. I preferred to snuggle inside my blanket or yawn while watching idiot box than going to some book store and shuffle books.

Things would have never changed for me, if I happened not to read a wonderful blog post by a blogger friend Kriti. She wrote about her love affair with books ;) This was some good inspiration for me. So, to celebrate and cherish my long association/obsession with books, I have ordered three books for a start. Two of them are by favorite author Ruskin Bond. I have heard 'quite a lot' good things about Flipkart and their service, that's why I have chosen them to shop these books. Shopping experience was smooth. Best things about online shopping are the DISCOUNTS. I got a fair sum of discount on all three books. Now I am waiting for them to deliver within 2-3 business days (which seems impossible to me), as promised by them. Here is a snapshot of the receipt.

I will review about Flipkart service after I receive my package. Fingers crossed !!

Kittu: A Kanpuriya Kat !!

Kanpur is an industrial town in Uttar Pradesh. It is more famous of its reckless traffic and diverse pollution scene. I have my maternal relatives in Kanpur and I visit them often. After observing this town for a decade, I am sure that there is chaos and filth almost everywhere in Kanpur. In recent years, many malls and multiplexes have sprung up.

Not many of you know, I mostly blog about stuff which I like and generally do not slap my views for stuff I dislike. But still there are many reasons for which I visit this town. Food is on top of that list. During my last four years of Engineering at Lucknow, I made countless day trips to Kanpur from Lucknow just to gobble down all the awesome Kanpuriya street food. Apart from treating my taste buds, sometimes I have had beautiful encounters here, mostly with girls of such beauty that if they cat walk on the ramp they will shake the fashion world.

During my visit to Kanpur last month, I met a pet tomcat at my nani's home. He is our neighbour's friendly male cat. His name is Kittu. I am a crazy feline lover and I instantly fell in love with Kittu darling. Kittu comes 3-4 times every day to search for rats in our home. I wonder if he have ever found one. He loves it when I cuddle him. Everytime he sights me, he comes to me and start rubbing his head against my foot. I think its his way to tell me that he wants to cuddled. A very cute, smart and adorable fellow. Never touches any edible item unless its given to him. Never unnecessarily gets on to bed or sofa unless called upon. And yes, he is highly photogenic. He even posed for me. Clicked some nice shots, check them out.

Looking forward to meet him again. I hope he finds a rat some day ;)

Snapshots from a busy day @ Kanpur

Well well well, I am in Kanpur right now. I had got a headache when I arrived here at noon. Travel lag, I guess. Then I went for shopping, hunting for some apparels and finally after 3-4 hours of bargaining (seriously) I bought some. In the end, I was dead tired. To rejuvenate my self, there is no better exercise than eating delicious food.

Thaggu ke Laddu. Featured in the movie 'Bunty & Bubli'. Great taste. Lived up my expectations !!

Kebab Paranthe and Egg Pakore

Famous Lassi of Chand Lassi Corner.

Dessert: Boondi ;)

With good food, its always a 'good day spent' for me. Cherry topping on my visit was cuddling and playing with Kittu, a smart tomcat who lives next door. More on him to follow in my next blogpost. Tomorrow morning I am leaving for Lucknow. Big shopping spree and ofcourse a more tiring day. Goodnight folks. Sleep tight !!

(Day 3) Nainital Bike Tour 2011 ~ Rock Climbing

Day 3 (Rock Climbing, Rappelling, Flying Fox, Jumaring)

At 10 AM, after our paneer parantha breakfast, our trainer arrived in his Bajaj Avenger to pick us. Handsome guy in his early 20s, he seemed very passionate about rock climbing. We were happy that we had a trainer of our age group. All three of us rode on his bike from Nainital to Mangoli. His bike was in fantastic condition and I test rode it for some distance.

At Camp Dhanuli, we did rock climbing, rappelling, flying fox and jumering. I will not go in procedural and technical details, let the photos do the talking.

Cruising the Avenger.

Shoeb Bhai's Avenger.

Rock Climbing

Yay, finally we reached the top.

Rappelling.

Flying Fox.

Jumaring. It was the toughest one.

Been there, done that. Cheers :)

Darr ke aage jeet hain. Moutain Dew ;)

After some 3-4 hours, Shoeb bhai dropped us back to Nainital town. We thanked him for the lift and exchanged phone numbers. Then we headed to Bara Bazaar to buy famous namkeen and Bal Mithai of Nainital. After that I went to Internet Cafe to get a print out of my e-ticket and exchange photos.

While coming back to Nainital, we got the bird's eye view of the town.

Back hotel, I took my luggage and bid farewell to Appu. Thanked him for joining me on this wonderful trip. Went walking to Mallital from where I caught a shared taxi till Haldwani (Rs 100). Late night, boarded train from Lal Kuan Station and arrived Lucknow next morning. Home Sweet Home.

The End.

(Day 2) Nainital Bike Tour 2011 ~ Lakes

Day 2 (Bhowali, Sattal, Bhimtal, Naukuchia Tal, Raj Bhavan, St John’s Church)

Day started with paneer paranthe @ same hotel where we had our breakfast yesterday. Paneer filling was reduced to half. Disappointed L We finished our paranthezz and reached Petrol pump at Tallital. There we tanked up 5 litres of petrol, clicked some pics and it was around 11 AM when we set off for Bhowali. It is about 12 Kms from Nainital and is famous for its fruit market. We stopped there to eat some garam bhajiya. At Bhowali chauraha, one road goes to left and one to the right. We were confused, so we asked a fruit shop owner and he pointed towards right. But our eyes were stuck at the stuff he was selling- Rajnikant Lemons :D

Yeah, this is a lemon.

After Bhowali, our next stop was Sattal. There are seven lakes located at short distances from each other and are collectively referred as Sattal. For reaching Sattal, one has to take a right turn just before Bhimtal and after 5-6 kms of wonderful ride on wonderful curves, you will find yourself at Sattal.

Appu ko doobti naav ka sahara ;)

One of the lake which is part of Sattal.

From Sattal, we headed towards Bhimtal where we had a cup of tea and some photo sessions.

Bhimtal.

Panorama of Hanuman temple, on way to Naukuchiatal.

Next stop: Naukuchia Tal; which is 4 Kms from Bhimtal. It is said that this lake has nine corners and one who can see them all at once will die instantly. Myth or Truth? Whatever, I didn’t risk my life to test it ;) We saw people enjoying paragliding. We enquired for the cost and it was as expected 1500rs onwards, No Discounts L Shoe string budget travellers on a rented bike should not day dream about such luxuries. We gave up the idea and decided to settle on shikanji (lemonade) made of those Rajnikant Lemons (Rs 10 per glass).

After some rest and we decided to go back to Nainital. Our next stop was Raj Bhavan. We were running out of time. Raj Bhavan closes at 4pm. We reached there at 3.50pm. We bought tickets and decided to hire a guide (Rs 50 for a group) to show us around quickly. Later it proved a wise decision because without a guide you can never do justice to your visit to a historical monument, unless you have a guide book or ample time to read the signs posts and boards erected everywhere around. We had no time and no guide book. Our guide was a nice person and we clicked some great pics.

Raj Bhavan

Place where white collars have their breakfast.

At 4.30 pm, we left for St. John’s Church. It is located near Hotel Manu Maharani. To our disappointment, Church was closed. We parked the bike at the gate and trespassed inside. It was a quaint place. We spent some time there; trying to do some great photography, which didn’t happen finally. 

St. John's Church in Wilderness.

We decided to call it a day and came back to our hotel. Handed the bike keys to CB. Appu asked him to book a seat for him for next evening’s overnight Delhi Volvo service. Later we went to have some dinner and did some souvenir shopping from Bhutia market. We also tried Sonam ke Momos, nice stuff as usual. My return ticket was not booked yet, so I called a good friend of mine to check the availability. Luckily, due to off season, ticket was available and she booked it for me. Our program for next day was still undecided. Appu wanted to spend the day doing some adventurous activities. It appeared feasible and sensible idea so we called Yash (Mountain Rovers). He owns an adventure camp (Camp Dhanuli) at a small hamlet Mangoli (17 Kms Milestone) on Kaladhungi road (same road which goes to Ramnagar). After some negotiation, we booked a Rock Climbing Package for Rs 550 per person. He told us our trainer will come to pick us and he gave us his number. Then we went to CB, and cleared our bills.

Day 2 ends :)