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.

(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 !!