Eating at Chandni Chowk!

Chandni Chowk. Perhaps one of the oldest parts of Delhi and definitely the yummiest one! It had been on my wish list since time immemorial and when it finally came true, i was overwhelmed. Before leaving for Delhi, i had made a list of to-do and to-visit and to-eat places and having finally arrived, i wasted no time and jumped on to my first to-do item in the list- The Rickshaw ride! I immediately became a part of the chaos of the narrow, over-populated and historically rich Bazaars. 

The most promising thing of Chandni Chowk was the food. Parathewali Galli for lunch, The chat ke 'tehle' for snacks(the best pani puri EVER!) and Karims for dinner :)

The Parethewalli Galli eatery had photographs of previous guests who had dined there. It included Ranbir Kapoor, Sheila Dixit, Imitiaz Ali to name a few. Some absolutely mouth-watering parathas made way into my ever-hungry always grumbling stomach with the local Lassi and 'kurchand". 

Having sort-of satisfied my hunger, i walked around, shopping for knick-knacks and searching for my chaat stalls. I found the guy who sells the best ever paani puri. 

But, the best part of my Delhi trip was KARIMS! If you love non-veg and are in Delhi, DO NOT MISS KARIMS. I repeat, DO NOT MISS KARIMS! The kababs are just so soft and juicy and melt in your mouth with a perfect blend of marination and seasoning. Their mutton khorma with the oh-so-soft tandoori roti was another good choice. They have an open kitchen and the speciality of the food is that it is cooked on 'angeethis' over coal which lends its own smoky flavour.

What i missed out eating was the jalebi and rabri :(

By the time i finished dinner at Karims, it was late night and the Jalebi places had shut down. I guess i should keep something for the next time. Inshallah ;)

Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque

I have been wanting to write this post since a really long time now. Finally its here!

The Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and the eighth largest mosque in the world. The mosque site is equivalent to the size five football fields approximately.It is named after the sheikh of Abu Dhabi.

The design of the Mosque has been inspired by both Mughal and Moorish mosque architecture.The courtyard, with its floral design is symbolic to the gardens of paradise.The carpet in the main prayer hall is considered to be the world's largest carpet.The Mosque has seven imported chandeliers from Germany that incorporate millions of Swarovski crystals.

I visited the the mosque at night which helped me view the glorious reflections of  the mosque's spectacular columns in the pools along the arcades.

The mosque houses state of the art ablution rooms with onyx flooring and tile work.

Laad Bazaar

One of the busiest bazaars of hyderabad and my favourite! Its buzzing with activity till late nights and has the most amazing bangles in the world! The bling in the bazaar catches your eyes right away (:

Situated near charminar, the laad bazaar has been made famous by the the stone bangles,costume jewellery, Afzal Mia Lace Centre, A.H. Zariwala  and the over populated warm, cheerful salesmen :)

Kawab-Kulcha

Kawab-Kulcha

If you are in Hyderabad and want to indulge in non-veg street food , standing amidst the busiest of roads, then think of Shahran's kawab-kulche! :D

It is situated at the busy junction at one of the CHAR KAMANS just before the Charminar. It serves the yummiest and cheapest kawab-kulche! The beef kawabs are available till late night along with kulcha (paratha). Its a tiny place buzzing with activity even at midnight! The menu card is a poster on the wall with the three basic types of kababs scrolled on it along with a couple of varieties of bread.My favourite is the sheek kawab with the paratha!

                       

Fish Fry

If you haven't satisfied your hunger and have a huge appetite like mine, then head for the next street cart delight :D

Crisp, hot ,spicy ,fresh fried pomfret is available for just seventy rupees! And believe me, it's definitely worth a try! 

Ramzan Ispeshall

These tiny, beautifully marinated beef kawabs are available on popular demand in the Old City. They are marinated and grilled on hot coals to give the smoky flavour and served plain or with paratha. 

Lassi Faluda 

Aah! My all time favourite (:

Whenever i visit the old city, it has almost become a habit now to drink one of these. That too special-wala lassi faluda with extra dose of cream and Roohafza! It a mixture of Milk, sugar, Roohafza, Balanga( a herb i guess) and khoa. 

DESTINATION DUBAI!

Dubai-It was a really good trip! The sheer presence of mind of the architects and their vision to transform a barren desert into one of the world's most sought after vacation spots and the biggest tourist destination left me awestruck! Its a country, a vision, spun out of thin air! With just above 4000 sq. km of land area, Dubai has everything needed for a perfect vacation destination- absolute clean white sand beaches, Big huge deserts (also used till the last grain for recreation-Desert safari) , The tallest buildings, The biggest malls, The yummiest and widest range of cuisines(lebanese, Turkish, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Italian, .....), Most entertaining snow parks, Golf courses, world class Race tracks( For camels , Cars and horses! ), The world's fastest roller-coaster( Ferrari world) ,The widest range of animals in the zoo... the list is endless! Phew!
Here's a list of my favourite places in Dubai.

•  The Burj Khalifa!

Presently the tallest in the world. The tip goes beyond the clouds!
Theres an interesting story surrounding the cities which have the tallest buildings in the world- They are all bankrupt!
Take the examples of Malaysia with its Petronus Towers, Shanghai, Tokyo... Then the latest- Dubai. It is believed that Dubai was also bankrupt until The Shaikh of Abu Dhabi helped them out of it.
The view from the top is breathtaking!

•  Burj Al Arab.

It is such a pretty sight! A hotel built in the sea with turquoise coloured water surrounding it. Its private beach has transparent water and clean white sand with such beatiful sea shells .we found a star fish too! (:

• Global Village

 Its truly GLOBAL! There are pavilions representing 39 countries. Each pavilion houses handicrafts, fabrics, food stalls , etc which are a speciality to that country. Its got a fireworks show each night as well as a dancing fountains show which are delightful. My favourite pavilions were of Turkey( for its absolutely gorgeous hand-painted wall plates and rugs), Morocco ( for its beautiful and intricately hand-painted lamps), Yemen ( for its hand-made silver jewellery) and spain(for its pretty paintings displayed).

Inside the Turkish pavilion

 

 Moroccan lights (:

Fireworks show

Inside the global village

• Dubai Mall

One of the biggest malls in the world! It is SOO huge,You cannot see it in a day! It was such a delightful experience.You get to see the world's most expensive brands -Alexander Mc.Queen, Chopard, Jimmy Choo, Tiffany and co., YSL, Cartier......all under one roof!

There are pamphlets and maps available at the entrance to help you around the mall! 

The most striking feature for me was a state of the art gold souk which contains ATM-like machines to eject gold biscuits when you pay!

Fountain show

• Desert Safari

Yet again, The creativity left me baffled! The barren desert is used for recreation purposes- tourists are take in four-wheeled Pajeros across the desert on top of sand dune.It was such a thrilling experience. In the desert we spotted gazelles and wild camels. After the ride, dinner is provided with activities such as henna painting, hukka, belly dancing and arabic music.

desert safari.. with a ride in the pajero(top right)

An Arabic dancer

The Indian's delight!- GOLD SOUK!

For the Indian, by (buy) the Indian, to the Indian! This is one part of Dubai which seems like its India! so many indians, the language is hindi, the shopkeepres are Indian, The buyers are Indian , The sellers are Indian! haha! Prolly people across the globe don't wear as much gold as we Indians do :P

Some other place i liked were the Floating restaurant where we had dinner. Its a boat which takes you for an hour's tour on an artificially built canal in the heart of the city. On the boat, Dinner is served along with the traditional arabic music and dance show.My favourite restraunt was Reem Al Bawadi- a lebanese restraunt where i gorged on succelent kababs and fresh salad along with lots of humus and bread (:

The Shaikh Zayed Road was another very interesting place. Its the financial hub of dubai, lined with skyscrapers and 8 lane roads! 

Shaikh Zayed Road

Sunsetting on the skyscrapers

Shaikh Zayed Road

Reem-al Bawadi

DUBAI SKYLINE

goodbye until next time (:
written at the exit of Burj-Khalifa