Broke, Fat and Hungry #1

As the title suggests, I’m fat, hungry and perpetually broke, hence I’m always looking for new, and cheap places to eat.
So cutting to the chase,today I found a new dosa place.
Called Mumbai Dosa Camp, It’s basically a couple of guys, two stoves , a few jars of batter and other foodstuff, and a counter, so yeah, not quite the gourmet chef you’re used to.
It’s right next to the swanky Kamath Cafe.you know, the one which is basically KC canteen with better furniture?

Coming back to the point, if you get tired of the vada paos or the bread pakodas, and feel like having weirdly tasty food, just take 10 steps from your trusty vada pao vendor and ask the dosa guy to make you a tomato omelette noodle dosa.

Intrigued?
So was I when took a look at the menu. Noodle Dosa , Spring Dosa, Cheese Dosa, Palak Paneer Tikka Dosa and other weird looking names adorned the yellow banner. The prices looked enticing, the smell of the dosa seductive, and I found myself wanting her, umm, It.

I gazed at the banner-menu and looked for the weirdest name there, and yes, you guessed it, it was tomato omelette noodle dosa. I was feeling adventurous and it was less than 50 rupees, so I decided on trying my luck. The man who makes the dosas, (Rakesh, was it?) grinned at me and said, ‘5 minute me banta hai, ekdum super, aap wait kro.’

So i waited, and it turned out to be the most interesting 5 minutes of my life.
He spread this yellow tomato batter, grabbed a handfull of faluda looking noodles and dropped it smack in the centre of the dosa, some schezwan sauce, buter,  garlic paste and a lot of other spicy looking things were dropped unceremoniously on the ever growing pile. I was waiting for the omelette, but that never came.  He used a press to spread the whole thing, let it be for a minute, and placed it on a plate. Two chutneys, and this brilliant dosa cut in three pieces.

Took the first bite, and I was pleasantly surprised! In a MasterChef-esque sort of a way, There was an explosion of flavors in my mouth.Crispy dosa flavored with tangy tomato, filled with spicy schezwan sauce coated noodles, with sweet-sour tomato chutney and thick, textured coconut chutney . It was a delight. Took me about 10 minutes to finish the whole thing, and it was so filling. Had to wash it down with a lime though, it was spicy.

However, after i had the dosa, this realization dawned upon me that there was no omelette involved, anywhere. When asked about it, the guy making the dosas told me very matter-of-factly, ‘Boss, omelette to jaise mix banate hai masala daal ke , islie bolte hain, baaki yahan jain customer log ata hai, non veg nahi bana skte’ . I felt cheated.

In conclusion, if I had the rate the food :
Taste : (4/5) Brilliant taste, variety of flavors
Quality and Hygiene : (3.5/5) Clean, fresh food , made in front of you. They even make it on a coal stove.
Ambience : (1/5) Standing in the sun with a plate in your hand, not exactly nice.
Price : (4.5/5) At the risk of sounding like a 19 year old girl , price game was on point!
Overall Rating : (3/5) Solid and affordable, this tasty place won’t disappoint you when you’re hungry and broke.

Chalo, I’m off. Need to look for another cheap place for today.
Cheers.

PS  : Picture of the menu

BFH 6: Uncle’s Point

This semester, I became friends with Nakul, and like me, Nakul loves his chai.
So after he read my chai post, he took me to Uncle’s Point.

Now I knew where Uncle’s Point was, on the way to high point, the small shop with the typical plastic chairs, serving hungover people breakfast, but I’d never actually stopped there. That day I had tea there, and it blew my mind. Since then, I’ve been there with quite a few people, (Aarushi, Manasi, Nakul, Nishtha and all my chai peeps) and everytime I go there, It feels really good.

It feels good, because It’s the sort of place where you sit with your friends and just talk, where you have a cup of tea in peace, where silences aren’t awkward, where you don’t keep track of time. The kind of place where you can just take a book and sit for an hour, sipping on your tea, or sit and talk to the patrons, who are really nice. I remember this one time, when i went there wearing formals, and they asked me about the interview and the company, they make you feel at home, and here in Manipal,  sometimes that’s what we need, to feel at home.

Now since this is a food blog, we shall talk about the food and tea there. To begin with , they mostly have breakfast fare, and if you do manage to go all the way there for breakfast, their cheese omelette rivals Vikrams and for Manipal, the nutella pancakes are pretty good too (Sultans FTW tho). The cheese omelette is the perfect thing to have on a sunday morning, with a hot cup of tea or coffee, without the side serving of rude that you get at Vikram’s. You can also opt for the juices if you’re a fruit. Sorry, I meant if you like fruits. Are sacchhi. You can try the chicken cheese omelette for your daily dose of protein, or have just the omelette if you don’t like cheese (You animal!), and polish it off with a shake probably.

Cheese toasts and Nutella sandwiches are pretty Generic, the variety of things you can get with Maggi is pretty good, too. You have veggie Maggi, Egg Maggi, Chicken Maggi (Pieces of chicken sausage), Cheese Maggi, Egg Cheese Maggi, and a couple of more combinations. Now all of this is incomplete without their chai, and they have AMAZING chai. You can get a cup of amazinglymindbogglingcrazysuperachchibahutpyaarimaakehaathki chai for just 20 rupees, and trust me,  this chai is worth every penny you spend on it. You can get your regular chai, masala chai with loads of elaichi, or even proper ginger tea, the kind you love if you’re the kinda person who catches a cold easily. You can ask them to make it sugarless if you like your chai with that gritty tea flavor, or load it up with sugar if you are the Khade Chammach ki Chai person.

It’s pretty cheap too, Chai and Breakfast for 2 can be covered in 200, sometimes even less.

Final Review : Don’t go Uncle’s point if you like your ambiance fancy and your chai firangi, go to this place if you want cheap breakfast and good chai, and definitely go to this place if you want to find yourself a quiet, quaint place to sit and talk. Or just introspect. And have chai, definitely have chai.

PS: If you like to pour your soul on paper and scribble your darkest thoughts on paper napkins and have a black diary full of poems that haven’t seen the light of day, I think you’ll find this a nice place to write.

BFH 5 : Chai

‘Chai is the reason India got independence in 1947 : Mahatma Albus Dumbledore’

You can go to Starbucks and order your fancy lattes and iced americanos served by smelly Indianos, but I’d take a hot cup of thick, sweet chai at a roadside tapri anyday over that overpriced venti.

Being brought up by chai-addicted parents, I, like them, can’t make it through a day without a nice cuppa. I come from house where we keep 7 different types of tea leaves are kept in the kitchen, and thus, Manipal for me, was a nightmare. I’ll be honest, the tea here sucks. The flavor is off, it isn’t strong enough, it’s horrible to look at, and the deal breaker, it smells nothing like tea. I mean bro, do you even elaichi?

Enough ranting.
So Chai, I really need chai to survive Manipal, and you know what they say about wanting something bad enough, right? So today’s post is about the 3-4 places i deem worthy of my patronage.

Let’s see, I’ll start with egg factory:

Egg factory is a good option if you want to sit and chat and be surrounded by Manipal’s rich and hungry. Surrounded by ridiculously expensive oven baked thin crust pizzas and mushroom pasta, the joy of spending only 20 rupees for a nice cup of tea appeals to my perpetually broke self. The tea is good, but isn’t exactly remarkable. It’s strong, but there is no masala, and the ambience is it’s only saving grace.

ProTip : Makes for a very nice, but cheap date. Egg factory for chai.

Pandey ji : Every 10-10:30 break, or the 3-3:30 break, you’ll find a bunch of people, animatedly talking to each other beside Hotel Ashlesh’s seedy entrance, smoking away their BTs and eating chaat. (Read about pandeyji here) But the one thing that makes it different is the flavor and texture of their chai. Warm, thick and most importantly, infused with ginger, this tea is THE SHIZ if you’re sick and want a break between your classes.
Price : 10 Bucks.

ProTip : Chai and Samosa Chat don’t really go together, unless you’re at Pandeyji.

 

TC, @6 in the morning : Now this is undoubtedly the best chai I’ve had in Manipal and i say this for two reasons; Firstly, this is the strongest cup of tea I’ve purchased in Manipal for 10 bucks, and secondly, this little blue shanty is open only between 4-8 in the morning. Originally meant for truck and cab drivers, this was soon discovered by the insomniacs and the post-party zombies of Manipal..

This one is my favorite because for me, it’s full of memories. I’ve sat here with intelligent friends and had conversations about life, tennis and things that inspire me. (Avneesh, remember this?) . I’ve come here after some parties where we got bored of watching YouTube videos and finishing the leftover booze, (Pavithra gang, where are you?) I’ve even spent time here with some amazing people who’ve made me a better person.
I can sit here with my cup of hot, ginger tea (10 rupees), piping hot samosas, (10 rupees a pop, and pretty good) and even get Idly-chutney, but the most magical thing about this place is the the sunrise, and how the darkness of the night is engulfed by a new day.
That, and it’s just that the chai is just the right amount of sweet.

ProTip : Ask for regular tea when made to choose between sweet and regular, because sweet chai is basically sugar syrup.

Bonus : HiPoint 301, Mandavi Emrald 602, or Ideal C205.
TBH, there is no substitute to brewing a hot of cup of tea made by yourself or someone who you gets your chai fascination.  So find your own Aman, Aaru or Nakul, and boil away.

BFH#4 : MIT Cafeteria

It is that time of the year again.

We are in a state of war! The Exam halls are our Normandy, the thick books, rifles and the library, our trenches. But to keep this war going, we need our fair share of ration, and in in that endeavor, laziness will not do. We need to find better nutrition. And not unlike a country at war, we face a lot of economical challenges. Well simply put, we’re broke. (Or at least, I am)

Since it’s not always possible to go back for lunch to our respective messes, or for people like me who do not have a mess card anymore, we try to find good food around, but end sems macha, no time to go out, eat, come back and then start studying.

I found my savior in the most unexpected of places, the cafeteria. Why, one may ask?
One, because broke scenes. Two, because there is so much variety, and the prices range from ten rupees to a hundred and twenty.
I can have just twenty rupees in my wallet, and buy myself a plate of idly, which when dipped in enough sambhar, tastes surprisingly good. Get myself a cup of coffee to wash it down, (10 rupees) and breakfast sorted. On the days that you’re exceptionally broke, buy yourself upma. For a measly 15 rupees, you get a scoop or two of upma, which when eaten with sambar and chutney, is pretty decent. But hey, can’t complain, 15 rupees.

You can always have one of the many dosas they serve, but it’s my third year here now, I am bored of the dosas and the oreo shake. For a south Indian college cafeteria, (sorry for the subtle racism) , they make really good north Indian food. Depending on how much you want to spend and how much can you eat, you can look for a lot of things. The kulcha paneer is pretty good, so is the paneer tikka masala, and even the chole kulche are pretty decent. The Aaloo paratha is really good, but i will not lie, I have had aaloo paratha for the chutney they serve with it, now that, is amazing. The parathas, Aaloo, paneer, egg are all nice and decently priced (somewhere between 30 and 50), the pao bhaji is bearable but cheap (at 35 rupees, it’s pretty flliing), you can always have the paneer pao bhaji or the cheese pao bhaji (45 each) and the bhel puri (25 rupees) works if you’re looking for empty calories. The ‘north indian meal with sweet’, as it is mentioned in the menu, is priced at a lowly 65 rupees, and is something you should definitely if you’re looking for a decent meal. Ask the regulars though, apparently the chole are good.

The sandwiches , especially omelette sandwich and cheese sandwich are something that should not be missed. There is a long list of pastas and pizzas that these people serve, which i have never had the pleasure of eating, but I’ve been told (by my trusted sources) that the Italian fare is decent too. The chinese, however is horrible, and so is the biryani. Basically do not buy rice and that should work for you.

For something sweet, there is always ice-cream and other sweets in the display counter, you can even get yourself sweet lime soda, (which, for twenty rupees btw, is a find), and if like me, you too are bored of the oreo shake, you should definitely try out the Mousambi juice (healthy) and mango shake (full of fat, but heavenly). Good way to cool yourself down.

So yeah, that’s pretty much it. As I need to pass tomorrow, I shall be taking my leave.
Thanks for reading. 🙂

 

BFH#3 : Hot Chocolate @ Dollops

Please bear with me, as this will not be like the usual post that the four readers (Thanks Ma)  of the blog expect

We all have our bad days, and we all deal differently with them. As a fat person, i tend to eat away my sorrows, and so, I am kind of an expert on stress eating, so when I tell you this, you better believe me, the hot chocolate at dollops is all you need to get over all kinds of shit.

A good friend of mine named Aman Preet ( 😛 ) introduced me to this drink. We use this as a bargaining chip for getting small things done from each other, or just to sit and have a normal conversation without being disturbed. All of this, however, has to be done before 7ish in the evening, because after 7, people start coming in and it becomes really uneconomical for them to make one glass of hot chocolate milk for you.

Anyway, so when you are having a bad day and just need to sit and introspect, but you also need a little comfort, you should come to dollops. Mostly empty, this place is ideal for the aforementioned sitting and introspection, and doing things like penning down your thoughts and ideas, writing that unfinished novel, or just chilling in general. At Dollops? Cool. Now all you need to do is order this tasty little concoction of chocolate and milk, sit back and enjoy. The purists may turn their noses away from this extra sweet drink, but I like to think this reminds me of home, and my childhood. The whole, chocolate milk in a glass, reminds me of those carefree days, and for some reason, makes me feel better about myself. Now, obviously, this will be very subjective, but do this. Go to Dollops, preferably on a rainy day, and sit and slowly sip on the glass of hot chocolate they bring you, and life will become clearer.

Also, it’s just 20 bucks. So yeah, even if you don’t want to introspect and other big words, you can go and have a glass just for the heck of it.

BFH#2 : Pandey Ji

Being a North Indian , chaat has always been an essential part of my life, and getting good chaat in Manipal is quite a task. Unless you know where to go for every item, you can never have good chaat, because no one place makes everything really well.
So it ends up being a food trail, but more about the Manipal Food Trail later ;).

It took me 3 semesters, and my bihari friends to discover Pandey Ji. Pandey ji sits in his tiny little 6*6 shop, right next to Hotel Ashlesh. Even though many people know the place, and it’s not really a discovery, but I’m still gonna write about it.
During the 10-10:30 break, or the 3-3:30 one, a bunch of students, wiping the sweat off their brows, walk slowly towards the little place. As Pandey ji sees the familiar faces, he flashes his trademark grin and asks, ‘ Kya ho, Kya banae? ‘
There is no right answer to this question, of course. There are the regular samosas and kachoris , and chips, chocolates and cold drinks.There are the sweets, the gulab jamun, even ras malai. If you’re feeling adventurous , you can have his  maggi, but for me, the one thing that puts Pandey ji head and shoulders above all other chaat places is his samosa chaat.

For the uninitiated, Samosa chaat, though self-explanatory, is basically a couple of samosas, smashed and crushed and put in a bowl, mixed with sweet and spicy chutneys, some filler food (In this case, chole), onions, a dash of  dahi, and garnished with sev. A chaat made with samosa, hence the name.

Anyway, for some reason,this calorie loaded, carb-intensive Samosa chaat at Pandey Ji has always made me feel nice about life, a comfort food of sorts. Maybe it’s about the food, maybe it’s about Pandey Ji‘s heavily accented, ‘Aur kuch lenge?’ , or maybe it’s about the friends around me,but whatever it is, if you’re up for nice, filling and cheap samosa chaat (25Rps only, yaassss!), you know where to go.

If you’re not a samosa chaat person, you can always order a plate of Pav Bhaaji. Aah, warm soft pav, soaked with butter, the hot, spicy bhaaji, and a bottle of thumbs up. Talk about comfort food. Also, don’t talk about weight loss. Plis.

And Chai, oh god, the horror that Manipal has been for tea lovers. This wretched place has no good ‘chai ki dukaan‘ . Pandey Ji comes close, with his not-so-kadak , a little too sweet, ginger infused tea. I mean it’s not ghar ki chai, but it will do.
In the chai hell that is Manipal, we learn to make do with it.

Pro Tip : Tell him to make the chaat sweet, otherwise you’ll end up buying something sweet as well.
Nice selling strategy , Pandey Ji.