Delhi Eating: Punjabi By Nature

Sounds a strange name for a restaurant chain, but it is worth a visit. I have made a number of visits to the restaurant in Noida, and it's a good place to have a meal. It gets fairly crowded at meal times, especially at weekends. The Noida restaurant has 2 floors, and can accomodate a number of tables, but even then. People who like Indian / Mughlai food like this place pretty much. Another chain of this restaurant is located in Vasant Vihar, next to Priya.
The restaurant serves a set of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes (and from what I recall, they give a hard slate like menu with items listed on both sides), along with a variety of liqour. Overall, the restaurant is somewhat expensive, with an average meal costing anywhere between Rs. 300-400.
The place has a nice atmosphere, with friendly waiters. Sometimes, service can take a fair amount of time, but the atmosphere is somewhat cosy, with each table giving a somewhat enclosed feeling. Locations:
Noida Restaurant: Located in the Sector 18 market, it is right next to the McDonalds, and the traffic intersection where around 4 roads meet.
Vasant Vihar branch: 11 Basant Lok, Vasant Vihar (next to Priya cinema).
011/2851-6665, 011/2851-6666, 011/2851-6667, 011/2851-6668, 011/2851-6669

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Parks: Nehru Park in Chankyapuri

This is a pretty well maintained park, located in the midst of the diplomatic area of Chanakyapuri. It is a plush park, very well maintained and frequented by a number of the high and mighty of the capital city. The park is spacious, being around 80 acres in size and is named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister. It is located next to the Ashoka Hotel and borders the Diplomatic Enclave. The park is open on all days, is open from sunrise to sunset and there are no admission fees. There is parking available.
The inside of the park is beautiful, comprising of green mounds, lots of flowers and rocks inscribed with the sayings of Nehru. The park attracts a number of fitness enthusiasts who come to the park morning and evening to work out. The park also has a swimming pool and a snack bar.
In addition, Nehru Park also has a number of musical events such as Morning Ragas on Sunday morning, with performances by famous musicians and vocalists.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Parks: Deer Park in South Delhi

Deer Park (next to Safdarjung Enclave and the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association) fulfills the need for a good park in South Delhi. And the name is not a misnomer, there are actually deer present in the Park. Some of the animals present in the park include spotted deer, peacocks, rabbits and guinea pigs. In addition, there is a small pond in the park which also draws a number of birds.
This was a park created specifically to meet the needs for greenery and a green lung for the area. It is a very quite place, and a lot of people visit the park along with their families for the peace and tranquility of the area. There are nature walks, and lush green trees.
What are some of the places near the park ? You have Hauz Khas village, Yusuf Sarai market, South Extension and Green Park for shopping, and the Park Baluchi restaurant just next to the park for some good eating.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Eating: Bercos in Noida Sector 12

This is one Chinese restaurant that is extremely popular with office goers, so much in fact that if you want to go for lunch, it is advisable to go before 1 PM, else there is a chance that you will have to wait for a table. Typically, you will find groups coming there and occupying one or more tables. The food quantity given is good, and they are not at all miserly about this. In addition, you get a variety of liquor, with common cocktails, some wines, different varieties of beer, rum, vodka, gin, etc. If you are the sort of chap who has drinks and food and yet does not want to pay the earth, this is the place for you.
Where is it located ? It is located in Sector 12, in a big open space of its own, and with adequate parking. If you want to get there and are coming from the Sector 18 side, you need to move to near the Noida Stadium, and then take the road running to the left of the stadium, take a left at the next red light, and then take the first left just after reaching a small market. Within a short distance, you will see Bercos to your left. For more Bercos in different parts of Delhi, refer to this site.
You get a variety of Chinese dishes, and while they were not truly exceptional, they were good enough that we have gone there several times. And for celebrations where a team is involved, and drinks are also part of the game, this is an ideal place.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Eating: South Indian food served in Sagar Ratna

Delhi has a number of South Indian eating areas. One pretty famous one is a chain called Sagar Ratna. The Sagar Ratna chain of restaurants are promoted by the owners of the Defence Colony based Sagar, another landmark South Indian restaurant.
Why is Sagar Ratna famous ? Well, one reason could be that food is not very expensive, with the staple of dosa costing between Rs. 35 and Rs 60 for different types. The simple masala dosa is very good, and then you have more varieties available such as rava, paneer, onion, paper masala and ghee roast, along with the spicier Mysore masala. You get some real good idli, vada and utpam, and I also like the rasam with papad that they serve. In addition, the thali is also a good option.
However, the Sagar Ratna is also making an attempt to serve North India roti/naan, something which I studiously avoid since I am going to Sagar Ratna for having some good South Indian food and would rather go someplace else to have North Indian food.
Sagar Ratna chain is all over the city, with some places being Preet Vihar (East Delhi), Shoprix Mall (Sector 61 Noida), Sagar in sector 16 of Noida, Sagar in sector 18 Noida, Sagar Ratna in the Galaxee complex on the Dabur-Mohan Nagar road, on the Delhi-Agra highway, Hotel Ashok, Vikas Puri, Malviya Nagar market, etc.

SAGAR RATNA
Address	18, Defence Colony Mkt
	New Delhi
	110024
	DELHI
Phone Numbers	+91-11-24333658
	+91-11-24333440, +91-11-24333110
Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address 24, Defence Colony Market, New Delhi 110024 DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-24333688 +91-11-24333815, +91-11-41556374 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address IInd floor 3C's Alankar Cinema Buliding Lajpat Nagar - II, New Delhi DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-65650961 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address C-2, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi - 110017 DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-26680088, +91-11-26677941 +91-11-65657499 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address Central Market, Masoodpur Vasant Kunj New Delhi DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-26899600 +91-11-26899700 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address Janpath Hotel (I. T. D. C.) Janpath Road New Delhi - 110001 DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-23340070 +91-11-41503371 Extension 2853

SAGAR RATNA Address Ashok Hotel (I.T.D.C.) 50-B, Chankyapuri New Delhi DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-26888242 +91-11-26110101 Extension 1456

SAGAR RATNA Address K - 15, Connaught Circus, New Delhi. DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-23412470 +91-11-23417455 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address G-86, Vikas Marg Preet Vihar, Delhi DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-22425896 +91-11-22510287 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address B-1, A-11 Mohan cooperative ind. Area Mathura Road New Delhi DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-26955802, +91-11-26955804 +91-11-, 26955803 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address KG-1/ 100 Vikas Puri New Delhi - 110018 DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-25526518 +91-11-25611631 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address B-2/1 phase II Ashok vihar, Sadanad Delhi 110052 DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-27142929, +91-11-27212525 +91-11-42263773 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address A-6/7 Chowdhary Balbir Singh Marg, Paschim Vihar New Delhi 110063 DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-25276267 +91-11-25255858 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address Rajouri Garden New Delhi 110027 DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-25107746 +91-11-25166848 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address 33/C-9, Sector -7, Rohini, New Delhi DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-27046700, 65966700 Extension

SAGAR RATNA Address Sagar Ratna - Lodhi Road, Canteen DELHI Phone Numbers +91-11-24647820 Extension 48

SAGAR RATNA
Address	24 Akbar Road,
	New Delhi.
	DELHI
Phone Numbers	+91-11-23014029
Extension

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Eating: Sagar restaurant in Defence Colony

For a good South Indian restaurant, Sagar is one of the most famous. I remember first going to this restaurant when I was in school, and that was a long time back (more than I care to admit). At that time, there were hardly any good places for South Indian, with just Sagar, Dasaprakash, and a few others. Now of course, there are many others such as Sagar Ratna, Sarvana Bhavan, and a lot of good restaurants also serving South Indian dishes.
But Sagar is still as famous as ever, still drawing a large number of people, so much in fact that you need to wait for a place on weekends. People who eat there want to go again, vouching for the quality of the food available there. Specialities include standard South Indian fare such as idlis, dosas, utpams, with a fair variety being available. Food is not very expensive.
This restaurant is located in the Defence Colony Market, and is open from 11:30 AM to 11 PM. Contact number is: 24333110

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Temples: Birla (Lakshminarayan) Mandir

The Birla Mandir (also called the Lakshminarayan Temple in honour of Lord Vishnu (Narayan) and his consort, the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi) is a relatively modern temple, having been completed in 1939 and inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi (with the condition that the temple will be open to all, and there are no restrictions; however non-hindus are not allowed inside the main premises). The temple has been built by the Birla family, an old Indian business family. The temple is located close to Connaught Place, on Mandir Marg. To reach it, you need to take the Radial Road from Connaught Place that passes in front of Lady Hardinge College and Shivaji Stadium, and follow the road straight.
Birla Mandir gets most crowded during Janmashtmi (festival to celebrate birth of Lord Krishna, an avtar of Vishnu). The temple complex also has shrines honoring the deities Shiva and Durga. There is also a Buddha temple in the complex with frescos depicting his life and work. The Geeta Bhavan, a hall is adorned with beautiful paintings depicting scenes from Indian mythology. The entire complex, especially the walls and the upper gallery are full of paintings carried out by artists from Jaipur in Rajasthan.
The complex is modern in construction, and is designed on the Orissa style, with tall curved towers capped by large amalakas. The outside facing of the complex is white marble and red sandstone. Online donations can be made through this website.
Rituals can be be conducted with the help of the temple priest, and there is an aarti daily in the evening, but it can get fairly crowded.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Eating: Gravity (Noida Sector 26)

When I talk about Delhi, I normally mean the NCR region (comprising Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, and Faridabad) because of the number of people travelling between these areas. So, for example, I live in Delhi, but work in Noida, and hence for me, restaurants in both Delhi and Noida make sense.
Gravity is a restaurant and bar located in Jaipuria plaza in Sector 26. Neither the location, nor the restaurant are very fancy, but if you are with office colleagues or with friends, this is a decent enough place to enjoy drink and food.
This place is located on the top floor of the building, accessible by a working lift. The place has a decent amount of music, plus a large platform TV (on which we watched the match between India and Bangladesh while we ate and drank). Food and liquor are not very expensive, but not dirt cheap either. There is enough place for people to sit comfortably around a table.
There is a decent choice of liquor available, although not very extensive, and if you have gone for some fine wines, this is obviously not the place for you. You get standard beers, cocktails and the standard varieties of rum, vodka, whiskey and the other drinks. Service is not very fast, but adequate.
We ordered some non-veg starters and then the main course, the helpings were of a large quantity, otherwise in many places, the helpings tend to be very small. The quality of food was good, and given that this was the second time I had been to this place, I can obviously come again if I feel the need.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Parks: Lodi Garden

Delhi, with its heat and grime, is mostly like a concrete jungle. The parks that Delhi has are extremely valued for the green cover they provide, as well as a comfortable place for morning and evening respite from the heat. One such park, very famous in the Lodi Road area is Lodi Garden. Bounded by Jor Bagh on one side and right next to the India International Center, Lodi Garden is like a green paradise for people of all ages.
The garden houses a number of tombs of the Lodi and Sayed kings who ruled over Delhi in the 15th and 16th century. For a view of some of these structures, click on this link. Some of these tombs are in a surprising good condition, considering their age. But the main attraction of Lodi Garden are the well-kept lawns, excellent walks through some lush foilage and numerous trees. There are a fair variety of different types of plants and trees in the Garden.
The Garden is a favourite among India's civil servants, many of whom live close by, this also ensuring that the garden is always kept well-maintained. Visiting the Garden, you will find people of all ages coming for morning walks, jogs, for various games, couples out to have a good time, or people coming for a picnic. In the evening, the monuments are highlighted by halogen lamps. In winters, the Garden is a good place to bask in the sun.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Games: Adventure Island in Rithala

Delhi does not have too many places on the line of an amusement park. The main claimant is Appu Ghar in the Pragati Maidan complex and the off bowling (plus a few games) and the Amoeba type of amusement zones, but nothing on the line of an amusement park with outdoor rides, integrated water rides, and so on.
So here's one place to add as a possible address to go to. Near the Delhi Metro station of Rithala in Rohini Sector 10, there is a large mall built by the Unitech group called the Unitech Metro Mall. It also contains a 62 acre amusement park called Adventure Island, and the partners in this project involve the company behind Appu Ghar.
The amusement park has around 20 rides, imported from major European manufactures, in order to get the original feeling. Some of the major rides are a freefall ride, a merry-go-round, demolition derby, and other such rides. Kids of all ages, and adults will both enjoy the rides.
Another section of the amusement park is designed for small kids, and is called Planet POGO (built in association with Turner networks). It has a Pogo Plaza for children, and a MAD theatre.
The amusement park also comprises of a water park with different rides. The whole amusement park complex is build to attract, with bright colours, clocks, bridges, towers, and so on.
Rates are:

Weekdays : Adult 220 Rs. /Child 170 Rs.

Saturday - Sunday (& Holidays) : Adult 350 Rs. / Child 270 Rs.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Shopping: Lajpat Nagar Central Market

The Lajpat Nagar Central Market is very famous among shoppers in Delhi, and people from all over Delhi come here to shop. If you need to buy clothes (suits, salwaar kameezs, chunnis, shirts, trousers, jeans, etc), shoes, and other form of clothing, then this is a great market. It is an open air market, and hence can get a bit hot during the summer months. However, it is a great market when it is slightly cooler, and hence can pretty busy during the evenings even in the summer months. You can get a variety of shops ranging from the branded clothers to normal everyday clothes that don't cost the earth. For ladies, you get a variety of trendy clothes such as kurtis, leggings, etc at decent prices. In addition, during winter, you can get a large variety of winter clothes such as cardigans, sweaters, jackets, pullovers as well as quilts.
The access to the Lajpat Nagar market is located under the Sriniwaspuri flyover, and is next to the Moolchand flyover. There is a fair amount of parking available, right on the road, although it would seem fairly chaotic for somebody who has not been here before. In the same market, if you feel hungry, you can get a lot of roadside eating options, some of which are fairly tasty.
Next to the central market, you will get 3C's, which a medium sized mall with movie halls, eating joints, and a fair amount of branded showrooms such as Shopper's Stopper and the like.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Shopping: Palika

Palika Shopping does not have the best of reputation among people serious for shopping, but a large section of people in Delhi do shopping similar to what Palika offers. The Palika shopping market is located in the heart of Connaught Place, in the gap between the outer circle and inner circle. If you have never been there, then think of it as the place bounded between the inner circle, the outer circle and the radial roads of Janpath and Baba Kharak Singh Mark. Parking should not be a problem, since a part of the complex is the large underground Palika parking area that can house a large number of vehicles in its 2 underground layers (with the capacity to house 1200 vehicles). The best part is that there is an electronic signboard that displays how much space is still available.
What does Palika offer? Palika is mostly meant for the people who do not go by branded stuff, so you get a wide variety of clothing (such as dresses, skirts, tops, etc), jeans, shorts, T-shirts, shorts, belts, caps, winterwear (cardigans, pullovers, sweaters, jackets, tracksuits, etc). In addition, you will get a variety of bags, including travel bags, ladies bags, wallets, and the like.
Palika is also the place to go to for electronics; you will find a wide variety of cameras (latest digital still / movie cameras), music players (iPod, Zen, etc), games systems, video consoles, dictaphones, binoculars, and much much more. These will almost at the same price as available abroad, but you will not get a guarantee on any of these.
You get a variety of gift shops with small trinkets, cultural stuff (mostly for foreigners), electronic gift items, etc. If you want the latest hindi movie / English movie / games CDs / DVDs, then this is the place to go. However, be aware that a lot of what is sold here is pirated stuff, and has no guarantee to work. In addition, piracy is inherently not a good thing.
Hungry, well there are some small eating joints in Palika, as well as a number of restaurants in Connaught Place itself.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Parks: Lake Park in Laxmibai Nagar

During the summer months, Delhi can be extremely hot. In such times, going to a park where there are trees and water can bring down the temperature to a considerable degree. In addition, for walking during morning and evening times, a park is an ideal place, since walking on the road is not very safe.
One such park is the Lake Park located in Laxmi Bai Nagar. This is located to one side of the road as you go from Safdarjung flyover to Sarojini Nagar, and is right next to the flyover. It has a track inside for walking / jogging, a 8 shaped water pool (not for swimming though), and lots of tree, hence a good place to spend time.
Another facility nearby is a swimming pool next to it which people can join, formalities can be conducted by talking to the officials over there.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Great India Mall in Noida - a mega-mall

I just paid a visit to the Great India Mall in Noida. This Mall is located just next to the center stage mall (Sector 18), across the road. It is very clearly visible from the main road, and the entry into its parking is from the main road. Parking is a bit pricey, Rs. 30, which is much more than the other malls. But the parking space is huge, I have not seen a mall in India with so much parking before.
Once you enter into the mall from the lift and reach the floor having Big Bazaar and Home Town (a giant electronics and home appliances stores), the first experience is kinda strange. The structure of that area is more like the London tube with a corridor shaped like a tube corridor. However, this is only restricted to this section of the mall. As you move into the main section of the mall, you realize the size of the mall. The mall is somewhat like corridors meeting up in to form a central round space that has escalators, and then more corridors into more round spaces. I have not seen a mall constructed like this before, but maybe this is the way to build such a big mall. I sort of prefer the open inside space like the Pacific Mall.
One thing is sure, this mall is big. It has shops catering to most brands and types, with some of them being Pantaloon, Shopper's Stoppe, Lifestyle, Mark and Spencers, and various other apparel stores. There are many shoe shops, book stores, fancy clothing, jewellery, watches, Kids stores, and numerous others.
The mall is still not fully occupied, so there will be many more shops coming up. I was not able to places to eat, so maybe those are still coming up. In addition, I was not sure whether there are going to be any movie halls. Maybe there will be, since it is a good way to fetch more people. I hope that their infrastructure - lifts, escalators, air-conditioning, parking, washrooms, etc can cater to so many people.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Eating: 100 cafe in Connaught Place

I remember going to 100 cafe for quite some time a long time back, and it used to be a place where you will find families. Then I didn't got there for quite some time. Around 3 years back, I was roaming around with some friends in Connaught Place and decided to try 100 cafe again. It was a change, that was very clear.
For one thing, the total decor inside the restaurant had been changed. It was much more trendy, and also had liquor on the menu.
So we sat down, and then for some time could not decide what to have to eat or drink. There was a fair amount of stuff on the menu, and took some time to decide the ordering. The restaurant offers food in the following cuisines: Chinese, Continental, Italian, and North Indian. We had the Continental and Italian stuff, and it was pretty good. The cocktails were decent, and the service did not take too long, roughly as much as other restaurants.
The restaurant is spread over 2 floors, but is not very family friendly in terms of being able to adjust the chairs and tables to seat large family gatherings. From what I could see, it was more geared towards younger people.
The restaurant is open from 11 AM to 11 PM.
Address: B-20, Connaught Place New Delhi 110001
Contact Phone: 011 - 23320663, 23350057

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Tourism: Places around Delhi for weekend stay

So here I was wondering what to do when I had the weekend available. Going outside Delhi seemed like a nice option, but then the familiar question came up. Where to go ? One option is to go to known places such as the normal hill stations - Mussorie, Nainital, Shimla, and so on.
The other option is to use the services of some operators who list resorts located close by which you can then visit. One such example that I found is called Around Delhi. You phone up, they tell you about some popular places nearby and then you can make a call. They will take money from you and deliver you a invoice that you can carry to your resort.
Some of the places that they list are:
1. Neemrana - A slightly pricey heritage property on the Delhi-Jaipur route
2. Heritage Village, Manesar - A very beautiful place in Manesar, after Gurgaon
3. Damdama lake resport - On Sohna Road
4. Oasis, Behror
5. Sariska Palace, and so on.
Want a break, these are good options. You can find many more.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Delhi Eating: Saffron Court in East Delhi

For those people living in East Delhi, here is another restaurant serving good quality food. It is located on Vikas Marg in East Delhi, in New Rajdhani Enclave. Another way to reach this restaurant is to move from the Preet Vihar red light to the Karkari More red light, along the metro construction route. There is a market complex on the left side, and Saffron Court is located in this market complex.
This place is fairly popular with families, and on weekends, you may have to wait to get a table. The environment inside is not very decorative, and when it is busy, service will take time. But the food is good. There is Indian and Chinese food available, with a variety of Indian and Mughlai food available.
Food quality is pretty good. In addition, there are drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) available. If you try this on a weekday, then there will be much better service available as well.
Contact: 22023377

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe

Ego cafe in New Friends Colony

I went to this cafe recently, and was impressed. You will not find North or South Indian food here, but you will get some excellent sandwiches and a variety of coffee drinks over here.
Located in the New Friends Community Center market, the Ego cafe is located at one corner, next to a small water fountain and greenery. Nice environment. The cafe itself does not have too much of space, maybe around sitting space for 30-40 people. But it seems fairly popular. By the time I left the place at around 9:30 PM, the whole place was full of a young crowd, out to enjoy themselves.
Back to the eating and drinking. You get a variety of food items, typically of the fast food variety; burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, sizzlers and the like. All western type though, available in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. I had the tuna and egg sandwich, and it was pretty neat. For drinking purposes, you get a variety of coffee drinks, plus some good wines and other types of alcohol. Not at all a bad place to go if you nearby.

If you want to be informed of new posts, please subscribe