Tigers Experience: Bhootsavar / Behad Chal / Fad - 2013 Last Qtr

(totally Tigers and his friends  voices opinions ideas n thoughts ,nothing personal just for a good laugh thats it , dont unfriend me (yeh bhee ek latest trend hai)dont get angry just read and enjoy living .) All the below have been compiled in the last quarter of 2013 , these are trends that we all follow .

1. Destination Weddings and Birthdays - Goa / Jaipur/ Thailand - so cool and to top it having wedding abroad then having themes like gowns and Dinner jackets wah kya baat hai .. i know of a family which took India top chef along with his team for the food to italy ... and we are under recession .. hadd hai - and the deals the host give the guest are amazing , some with tickets some without tickets ... wonder what works . Have seen kids taking a bunch of friends to goa for the 18th wah wah Mera Bharat mahan.

2. Avocado - ya man suddenly this lil fruit is in everything salads , dips etc  Once a fruit like this reaches the weddings means its become a commodity.

3. Exhibitions- Going to several diff embassies , sales in hotels , bridal shows - ufff  flooded with women and more women - so the pattern is lunch and the exhibitions.

4. Cupcakes or did we do this earlier - yes they are still alive specially the red velvet ones and now i have seen the alphabet wale also 

5. Mr. or Ms. Know It All. ... They are doing rounds everywhere. ... insensitive uncouth and too demanding. .. God save all those who have to bear the brunt..... so we call them social climbers or social parasites

6. YOGA n meditation ...the new mantra.. You have to have a Yoga Guru - which is very good as long as it is not a social status statement.

7. FB savvy entrepreneurs - Social media , online Pr , Online image management - seeing thru Fb - pop up shops - so trendy 

8. Opening a Restaurant - this is something even i want to do but am scared , but i see kids with a bit of a surplus jumping into opening restaurants HKV is a big example of this .

9. Gluten free and vegan - more than being conscious aware it is used as social statement now days .. yaar brown bread khao aur mast raho

10. Wine: obsession with 'sparkling wine' these days!! Seen so many new wines available , table sparkling etc etc - style hai jee . Just becos some doc said a glass of wine is healthy everyday .

11. SUFI singers in every pub ;This I fail to understand - a club which has avery hip happening name - connects to EDm suddenly realizes that sufi only connects with people .. and declares SUFI Nights 

12.Cycling :  A Great bhed chaal - So many cycling clubs have come up some meet for breaks others for bird watching so interesting . A good one for sure .

13. Commedy nights with Kapil and baba jee ka thuluu - Ya man every party you go to Kapil is being discussed and how they all miss Gutthi...followed by an in depth analysis of each character .

14. DSLR Camera : Well im one of them craving for a DSLR , but its not funny how this wave has hit kids ,each is carrying one ont heir shoulders and they all use Auto mode to shoot.

15. Quinoa - First toh people should learn to pronounce the name before throwing it around at parties to make a statement - Kinooaaa is the way to pronounce it . Very healthy option , very expesive also m not readily available in the market being an import .

16. Apple cider - Haan this one also like above - is an direct influence of the masterchef series on TV - very healthy option hence a bhed chaal .

17.Delhi 6 by metro for food - uff what a hype ,I was one of them who went for this ride - btw delhi 6 (Chandni Chowk )food  quality has really gone down prices up thanks to all the popularity. 

18.Fusion food - Fusion of All the eastern food acceptable - Fusion of north with east is a killer , Indian with Continental is a maha discovery . 

19.Air fryer / rotimatic - Hahahahaha total Fad - buy a Air Fryer to eat potato chips and Samsosas is what a feriend said to me about this new toy , please man how oftwen do u eat both huh , and why cant u oven roast them . Rotimatic is amazing not tried but is catching up for sure .

20.bbm - Yeh apple wale bhee pagal hain , they declare i BBM is free and now on iphone hey bhagwan what a mad rush it was to download and post pin number of FB , people went mad .

21.green tea too - Healthy Behed Chaal , let it pass

22.ICE CREAM wala PAAN Or Paan with Ice cream - This came as total googly wala surprise at a wedding in punjabi bagh - Meethapaan with butter scotch ice cream - wow , was a awesome fusion exercise by the pan wala ; and no w also u get paan flavored ice cream now how gross can that be 

23.Patthar ka gosht- So much competition but nothing authentic - each says there's is the original - still awaiting the opriginal to be shown and discovered .

24.Backless Blouses lol what to say about these - its a good bhed chaal as they are saving kapda , expense and yet being the eye tonic of others ....  Yaar tumhe thand nahi lagti kya 

25.Lungi dance party - Actually a fun dance - lungi dance - every pub , every barat is playing it - Pyjama party, Choga party  and lungi party 

26.FOndue - Did not click - every one tried it but no one went mad .

27.Ready made Rangoli - One diwali morning i got up and saw this most amazing rangoli int he neighbors drive - i sad to my self Gupta jee's daughter has done an amazing job , called the entire household to see it - and in came a breeze the rangoli got spoilt - ten minutes later the girl comes with a stencil and remakes the whole thing , i was like ehhhh

28.Ice station ... Make ur own ice cream concoction ... again a new wedding funda - sorry even five stars are doing wht mumbai dis years ago - nice taka tak ice cream 

29.CAKE MIXING - wonder what it means but all hotels etc are offering the same and its go the buzz - Yet another case of following the west like valentines , mothers day etc - they did now we do it 

30. Food Walks - Boss in delhi have seen - Delhi 6 , Noida, West Delhi , you name it that area has had a walk for foodies - Photo walks - very interesting funda  

31.Galawati kebabs on that small roti - every wedding - Fed Up ,once a delicacy now a a sheer No No , they all taste the same ,spicy like hell - needs to go of the menu's soon 

32. Picture wala Cake - Very interesting - very personal , im a bit scared about eating these pictures - made by machines , dunno what chemicals they must have put . But yes people are going crazy about them .

33.Massage parlours/ Spa's haven't seen so many in years - almost every colony has three - dunno how the mathematics works for them - such beautiful spa's people have spent huge amount of money to design these massage rooms - how  many people do actually cisit them for whatever purpose - then what happens these guys also start having exhibitions on sarees and clothes to survive.

34. Sundowners ...... most happening - means extended drinking hours thats it - not understood this funda but the good part is that Dinner is early and u can get home at a good reasonable hour but it also means u start drinking as early as 5.30 

35.Pink Pants - Pink shirts look nice on the metro sexual men but pink pants give me other ideas .Will get used to it for sure . He wore blue suede shoes so why cant the boys wear pink pants 

36.Beagle or huskies - Ya once it was the Vodafone Pug now it is this sweet beagle and the Siberian huskies - the most gorgeous animal i have seen, green eyes, alert dont know if they are friendly or not - will test my neighbors dog and tell .But yes image and social status dogs

37.1 minute saree. - Zip Zap Zoom - zip it and u have a saree happening - these have always been around - but now the working ladies are seriously patronising them .

38.Low neck lines - Haaaw . I belive in this line " If you can carry it flaunt it - and thats what these social ites are doing .... actually now no one even cares about the neckline - the most thurkee of men have also given up .

39.Upside down dishes - new in food fundas - cakes and now rice - i had saffron rice which was upside down a Persian dish - both are nice 

40. Dance Sequence at weddings and functions - Yaar earlier it was a very marwari thingy to have the family work on dance sequences and perform on the sangeet , now damnit every wedding every birthday every 50th they ask you to join rehearsals and them dance on the D day . 

Special Thanks to Shivani Dewan, Rashmi Raman, Raman Verma, Puneeta Chadha, Shalini Bendict,Aanchal Gulati,Anuradha Khanna,Siddharth Gupta,Aman Kahlon and Narita.

Tigers Experience of Banaras Kee Chaat

I endorse the fact " The Best Chaat and the original chaat is from Banaras and no where else - Mr Sanghivi very rightly said in one of his notes about Chaat  that Banaras originated Chaat and spread the same all over the country ".

Was invited by Bharti Sanghi for Banaras Kee Chaat at her house in Golf Links ... how i awaited this day .. actually counted the days . I am a Chaat Freak and remember or rather thank or blame my mom for developing this bad habit in me lol , every time i would get a soar throat she would take me to eat chaat at def col market - anil sweets - the man lasted a couple decades before the shop converted to a dominos , his chutney was to die for and he gave us udhaar also . Ever since have this madness about Chaat ,never miss an opportunity to eat gol guppa and chaat ,specially from Banaras.

Well anyways she had called these guys from Banaras - Raju Chat Wale - mainstream Banaras Chaat wale who are the best caterers in the town . What an amazing spread . Like aalways i definitely do a research before every food trial hence - here's the secret spent a full day with my mom in law before going for this trial - she was born and brought up in Banares and has awesome memories of the street food - a secret not to be read to told to bharti - we carried back two items from the party for my mom in law - who tried them and was in tears - she said banaras kab le ja rahe ho - ghar kee yaad aa gayee - so emotional can food be .  She authenticated the flavors the ingredients used and said yeh toh pakka original hai banaras kee galiyon se.

Beautiful laid out tables in the lawns of her sprawling Golf Links house - filled with smartly dressed Marwaris - each one seemed to be a chaat freak like me - questioning the chat wala like we all were big time food critics .  I loved the flow of language floating around "Aap" "Jee" etc so much manners ,amazing . 

Before you go on let me put certain t hings in place - I hated Malai all my life last evening was the first time i actually tried food made from malai  Secondly the guys behind the counters refused to reveal the ingredients of some dishes - so pardon  me .

I quizzed them on two points and they had eye  raised  - oh how does he know all this , what do they know tiger has a mom in law who is born and brought in the streets of banaras   lol - One the sont or the red chutney traditionally supposed  to be  made from Khajoor  ,they had used imli secondly the green chutney is supposed to be made from Kuchii Imli ,they had used dhaniya and pudina only .. but still was awesome.

Malai Cake / Daulat Kee Chaat 

Deceptive - was light like a feather , beautiful consistency in the texture , amazing flavor of pista , saffron - just tried a spoonful for the first time - it was like pushing a bullet thru the barrel as tough .... but when i put it into my mouth the malai cake melted like sponge full of flavors .. delicious . Wonder how they make it so light and spongy . Read somewhere that it is to be  made by hand  in the light of the full moon and to be rested in the morning dew .. wonder if anyone follows this. So this was my first attempt at Malai .

Malai Sandwich

Hear the description - .5 cm malai on both sides ... one layer of badam , second layer of pista .... YUM...  yes it was a mithai with mewa ... i like authentic pure stuff had two pieces iof it and smuggled two for MIL. Really rich but the best part of it was that i never felt sick post eating it . 

Gulab Jamun

 Wife was watching booohooo - never seen such round perfect gulab jamuns .... sorry didn try them but im sure they must have been awesome and filled with mewa.

Kachori / Puri being made stuffed with lil daal masala.

See the peetal kee karhai, the belna , the belan.. so sweet and original .Generally kachori is a stuffed puri and the stuffing may be a spicy masala mix of mung dal or urad dal, but in banaras the morning breakfast available in street stalls consists of this flavoured masala puri, which they call kachori. The masala, flavours and even the dal is often mixed with the dough itself to make puris, so here even the dal wali kachori is not a stuffed puri. madein desi ghee but light as hell.

Aloo Baigan Kee Sabzi

I could have never guessed - this sabzi has aloo and baigan cooked perfectly . Childood memories of my wife and my mom in law is this dish for breakfast everyday .. they used to Que up infront of this tiny shop to eat .. they were served in leaves . The best part of this sabzi was  it might have been bland but had a amazing mix of flavors of the toppings and  just perfect to be eaten with the puri .

Tamatar Kee Chaat

The BEST Chaat i have ever had "Timatar Kee Chaat" - sweet sour with a particular zing .... laden with Ghee , Mewa , Garam masala served with Namakpara and tawa aloo mixed with tomato. My mouth s drooling again writing this description - it was such an amazing experience had three katoris of it , apparently this is a specialty of Banaras . I asked the man behind the counter to tell me the ingredients , he did but i lost track of everything as there just too many ingredients and procedures of making this amazing Chaat . Total Killer.

Centre of the Tawa Chooda Matar

This garam masala, milk and ghee laden chooda matar. Chooda matar or chiwda matar is basically a Banaras version of pohe. A winter treat with fresh green peas and the new crop of paddy made into flattened rice that is called Chiwda or chooda in the region is concocted into a spicy warm breakfast that I believe is the best cereal breakfast ever. Simple light healthy nutritious and a great dish for breakfast 

Mattar ka Nimona

In Eastern UP any curry which is cooked with Lentils is known as Nimona , so u can have palak ka nimona , mattar ka nimona .. this is served with a papdi  of a crispy patty crushed ,and the mattar is out on top with the chutney . Quite like what we get on the streets of Delhi - but the crispy wafers made all the difference - crunchy and naughty as i wud call it lol . The mattar well cooked , also know as gugni in kolkata - with garam masala and nimboo to do the magic .

Aloo Tikki

Aloo tikki - the best aloo tikki is nice and crisp from outside Karari as we call it ... served with Yogurt and the chutneys 

Gol Guppe with Three Types of Waters

The Three varieties of water - Heeng , Theeka , Mixed khata meetha  - he had two mixtures for the gol gupas - one was the mattar and the other was dal moth in a spicier chutney ... just had five each lol ... but i loved the earthen pots for the water .. so very traditional banaras style . The water was fresh and refreshing my favorite was the khata meetha one .

Palak

Palak Kee Chaat

Simple crispy kind of healthy with the palak and the sprouts - cold sweetened curd , salt mirchi and chutney thats it - just had two plates only lol .... could have done one more but then ,you know how it is with a wife around lol . The crispness of the palak ke pate was amazing and together with all the other simple ingredients made it so enjoyable . Hope it was not bhang ke pate ......

Maide ke Matar Kachori

Ya they look like dahi bhallas or ram ladoos but they were mattar kee kachori made in maida .... very interesting mixture of mattar inserted in the maida ball and fried ....tasted awesome withthe sabzi .

Bharti Sanghi 

Born in a traditional Marwari house, Bharti Sanghi started from a home kitchen in Golf links 8 years ago and shifted to a professional unit at Okhla

She was convinced that the recipes of foods and juices handed down over generations, were full of health and taste unlike the modern day fast foods and aerated cold drinks. This conviction led her to create “Life” the flagship brand of fruit beverages, food products and Mithai for Home Alone Foods.

Her Daal ki puri, Ker sangri and gatta are enjoyed by the young and old. In fact the North Indian Cuisine lovers have included these dishes as a must have in most parties, weddings and impromptu family dinners.

The thepla’s have a natural shelf life of about 10 days. Most children who go abroad, are taking these with them. This has prompted her to package these items and her breakthrough has come by offering a shelf life of 4 months on Phulka, paratha, thepla, etc, apart from Rajasthani curried and dry items like Gatta, Sangri et al.

She has a special section for diabetics. The range includes, RTS Sugar free Nimbu Pani- a boon to diabetics. Her latest mithais are also available with sucralose which is very safe and an accepted sweetener worldwide.

Every diwali we get thaalis made from Bharti with Mattar kee Kachori ,Gond ke Ladoo and Chandrakala -  she decoratedthem for us in tradiotinal bandhini cloth in baskets .. it has been a tradion for years now ... people , freiends really look forward to the diwali hamper with goodies . 

Tigers Overall Experience : "Im Going to Banaras for a three day street food trip with my Mom In Law".Primarily to discover as this kind of food ,unfortunately is not available in meri dilli .

Was amazing to see the Chaat Enthusiast let loose , and Adventurous lot of people . Very clean , Fresh ingredients ,cant be duplicated and it was FREE hahahahah thanks Bharti for inviting us over and exposing my palate to Banaras Kee Chaat and yes thanks for reviving my Mom In laws childood Memories . 

Tigers Experience of Spoonful of Soul - Yet Again

"AND I DONT CARE" - I will praise this restaurant till the end - it is an awesome overall experience , people say I am biased and i write flowery stuff for restaurants i favor - no no , i only write what is good -if im not satisfied i dont put it in print ,i speak tot he owner the chef and inform them my concerns  - and btw  why shudn i be ?  what is good is good  - consistency in Food Quality , flavors and service - what else does a restaurant need to succeed. Anuradha and Rohit have certainly done a fab job with Spoonful Of Soul at Nathupur DLF Phase 3 Gurgaon ,  the decor the concept the food  the plating and the Menu are just perfect .

Took family for the new year lunch - which included my In laws and my tabar ..... they Loved it to the core , they walked out and said bada hee light khana see hahahahaha well thats how European or continental food is perceived with the old timers .Infact i was a bit hesitant whether they will appreciate this kind of Soul food or not and much to my surprise my pop in law said - beta next time i will treat you out here ... wah wah  lucky Tiger.

SOS if i may call it - is a one dish per person restaurant ... trust me you will not like to share your dish with anyone its so delicious . point to be noted Tiger hates to share but loves to dig into your dish .Professional Sillyness.

Private Elevator to SOS

You enter into this village type complex in Nathupur Village, with a couple of more restaurants  a grocer a dry cleaner a designer boutique - smart valet approaches you efficiently takes your car away  , you walk into the courtyard you have a private lift taking you straight to the restaurant on second floor ..nice two sided elevator with glass ,feels nice .

Why the fuss about the elevator - my in laws who are senior citizens were super comfortable going der - or let me put this way we were very comfortable taking them there, where they had no stairs to climb . Includes me the lazy tiger also lol .

Laurels on Display

Wow look at all the coverage SOS has got amazing all news dailies and almost all food magazine have covered them and with praises . And im glad they exhibit the same ... people like dinning in recommended and awarded establishments for sure .

The Fluke Store

The Fluke store was the new addition to SOS . very interesting creative store , funky stuff good enuf for some impulsive buying - believe its from  mumbai. 

Perfect conformable seating , with just perfect natural light flowing in .Good positive vibes thanks to the soothing colors and layout.

The Decor i guess is Anuradhas creation very artistically done with a lot of finesse .. I like - the finishing on the wall is rustic , the decor elements are a re a mix of turkish and modern artifacts .

And now they have a full loaded bar too , i didn drink but i believe the martinis are amazing - rohit creates them ... last time i had a water melon martini which was cool and refreshing .. a nice hangout for the big boys and girls.

Devil On Stilts

Prawns wrapped in bacon in aged balsamic served with yum mayo dip . The dip had a great tinge to it just perfect fr the prawns . This dish have eaten several times at good Chinese places so was a bit surprised to see it here on the menu - well it tasted fab with the salad and the dip .

Mushroom Cappuccino

This always amazes me - bits of mushroom , froth like a coffee and the taste of my fav vegetable  divine mushrooms .. an awesome soup for the winters , loved the texture of the soup , the appropriate thickenss infact if this served in a regular kofi cup wud pass away for a frothy cappuccino  . 

Smoked chicken Soup

Smoked chicken broth with garlic .... wonder how it became orange in color - i truly love the smell of smoked food - brilliant warm just right for the winters , this was my pop inl aws soup barely gave me a sip to figure it out lol .. Lovely welcoming soup. Maybe they shud call it grandmas broth .

Zucchini Rolls

Thin strips of Zucchini filled with Ricotta and Pine Nuts .... The veggy version of a nice shushi .. thinly sliced zucchini filled with fresh ricotta the crunch and freshness together was awesome .

Aubergine Au Gratin

Layers of Aubergine with spinach tomato and mushroom .. A vegetarians delight . Wife was a veggy and she 100% approved the dish - toba means a lot . But i have also dissected the dish earlier and found it very interesting - the sauce used to season the veggies is fantastic like a true homey . The yum mince in between the slices adds so much texture and crunch to the aubergine.

Anuradha / Rohit please add more veg options for these silly veggies lol 

Bombassa

Simple Bassa pan fried with garlic and butter and to top it yum butter and lemon what else do u need to decorate a fish lol . served with delicious mash . I feel the quantity needs to increased . My sister in law after eating this still had a hungry look in her eyes lol .. and also a better fish is recommend ..

check out the melting butter .. yum

Roast Lamb chilli

Honestly speaking was expecting something different and got something different lol , noodles and roasted lamb with khimchi on the side ... the lamb was well marinated and roasted for sure ... the freshness of the egg noodles stood out wonderfully. Great combo and well made chinese dish .

check out the freshness of the noodles

Soul Mate

One of the best dishes from SOS , and real heavy - deboned thigh of chicken stuffed with chicken mince cheese ,sun dried tomato and in cashew sauce .. wow wee served with herbed rice . Awesome texture of the chicken  - wish i cud show u a sliced version of the chicken ...  need to figure out the brown sauce they have used to add immense falvor to the chicken . Truly a signature dish of SOS.

Pork Chops

Oh My all time favorites PORK CHOPS - wonder why people are so scared of pork - the minute u say pork please the whole family glares at you as if u asked for cocaine or something - man for me the best meat is Pork the texture , the flavor the chewness I just love it . Well the pork chops were a huge portion of chops well marinated and grilled served in bar b q sauce .... truly magical. Am going bak for more for sure whether family likes it or not . Nice veggies on the side baked potato with cheese and other nutritious stuff lol . Meaty chops and the meat well cured thats my perfect Pork Chop, easy to cut and chew .

Date Cigars

Didn get close to them - the inlaws polished the full desert lol .. they said it was awesome - so buy it as a good review .

Chocolate Browny with Ice Cream

This was beautiful dig deep down . the crumbled brownie with ice cream was bit different - i thot it was a crushed oreo in it but no it was actually a brownie . Well made desert  polished it off single handedly . 

Tigers Overall Experience : Just wonderful , all of u who decide to go there post reading my drooling review , please take me along hahahahaha... You will love the ambiance , the service , the overall hospitality .

Service - Super fast 

Food - Par excellence - minute detailing so very impressive the plating is the best i have seen in a standalone restaurant.

Ambiance - totally lovable, Colors , Natural light  

Eco : Hmmmm appx 700 - 800 per head .

Tigers Experience of Travelling to Simla on Shatabadi Express to Kalka and Back

Travelling to Simla via the Kalka Shatabadi to celebrate the end of 2013 and the beginning of a New year 2014 in SIMLA / SHIMLA  - the kalka  shatabadi was the first of the Fast Trains launched in India .... Trust me  its quite an effort to catch a train . Wake up at 5 am rush for the station , Trains at 7.40 am . Reach station in ten minutes flat - to enter the damn station from the paharganj side takes min 30 mins to an hour - so play it safe . Haggle with the coolies(Porters) - they start with 500 and come down to a 300 ... real lootera wala scene - there u r getting late of the train and they start acting funny. You reach the platform and realise that the train is yet to come ..what  a CH u feel like . anyways  hang out have some tea from the platform ... luckily the coolies know exactly where the coaches for Executive class arrive m so u dont have to run again . Train Arrives .. a half glued chart is visible but your name is not in it  , you go huh now what .. the man who is supposed to stick the chart forgot to paste the top part hahahahaha, nevertheless you have a print out of the ticket hence safe.You jump into the compartment following the coolie, one person stays out with the luggage  the other barge into the compartment to grab space for the bags - god what a a task , and eventually you settle down in peace to enjoy the journey and Indian Railways hospitality ...  all this is done - there is a bottle of water with a paper cup courtesy maggi on top of the bottle (pls note as per the railway rules you shall be provided with a second bottle post a 20 hour journey- it is printed on the tray mat), a news paper on your seat . perfect . You are kind of comfortable wife wants to go to the loo - and she comes back running becos it is so dirty ... you call the attendant wearing a rajasthani out fit  sherwani and a turban - he shouts at the cleaner who take his brush and phenyle and attempts to clean the loo...  the compartment is quite clean tho . 

Ok this is the funny part - while the crowd is very decent sophisticated - everyone reading the papers , with head phones , on their laptop - there is one lady sitting across us - suddenly had the urge to listen to music - she put on her BB with music playing thru the speakers - man i was like dude take it easy hahahahahha. One Glance at her and  She did get the hint and shut it up.

7.40 am to 11.45 am to kalka. Get of the train and start looking for cabs to drive you down to Simla , man they haggle  , eventually settled for 2500 one way and the worst was the coolie must be really old but not giving up insisted on helping us with our luggage , felt so gulity - all i could do was give him a extra hundreds thats it .

Total airline style trolley arrives by your side . Sir kya khanegae aap ... array bhai kya kya hai ? Veg / non Beg .. i go dunno . He smiles becos he has been tipped.

On the journey the rule is is Tip the guy before he starts his service to get that extra attention which he is supposed to do normally, instead of tipping him after the service, makes sense. He wore gloves which was impressive. Boss they are doing what ever lil they can .

The Breakfast Tray set up - The Tray mat is the menu for all Breakfast , Tea Lunch and dinner . Assorted decorations of ketchup , Butter ,mixed fruit jam, sugar , salt peppa and your cutlery in the red packet on the right side . This got me all excited ,  i love breaka.

Breakfast starts with cornflakes - ok the secret here is Eat everything they serve .. dont do any nakhra specially when on a holiday . LOL

Cornflakes with waterrrryyyy diluted  milk and sugar .. not bad for a starter . Anything Garam garam in winters is a blessing 

The choices of breads Hot Croissant - nice and flaky ,and Brown bread good quality  two slices - actually very nice 

Paisa Vasool - croissant with more butter and Jam - boss im on holiday - even if the wife gives the looks keep at it .

Opted for the Non Veg option .. the Veg options had so many things like chiila paranthas dosa etc but all depends on what the cater has sent and your luck too .. today he had only gobhi and aloo parantha .

Masala Omelette and Veg Railway cutlets ... The omelette was not rubbery at all - nicely made and the way to eat it is make a brown bread sandwich layered with butter and ketchup lol .. please note here the tip in advance helps in procuring the extra butter and ketchup . below the omelette you wil find boiled veggies and two french fires , put them all in the sandwich . The Veg Cutlets - masala maar ke .. crumb fried cutlets with masala in them .. not bad - just a bit spicy but very edible and tasty . extra ketchup sachet to put on it and then eaten .

The breakfast is perfect sumptuous and hot . This is followed by Tea . My favorite is the breakfast meal for sure .

On the Way Back from Kalka to Delhi - Evening Tea and Dinner - in Short tea was good but the Dinner was a shade better than awful - so i call it Chalta hai food.. You are tired from the drive down from simla , fed up of eating , you got the holidays blues rising - so u want to relax and reach home in a hurry . And yet you want to Eat the Railway food hahahahaha

Evening Tea Tray - Kurkure, Soam Halwa,Samosa, Tea bags and Ketchup

Half Eaten Samosa

Sorry about posting an half eaten samosa - it was just awesome - infact i have noticed in himachal you get the best of samosas without the crappy masala , even in Simla- plain simple and Hot . Teh attendant who was tipped off earlier insisted that we eat this and am glad we did .

Soam Papri - I didn eat this but everyone loved - i like a good son in law smuggled it for my mom in law who is a meetha freak .

Stylish Soup Bowl with Bread Sticks and Butter

Vegetable Soup - Nice flavor but over loaded with corn flour - It was hot so it went in .

This used to my favorite dish on any train The tomato soup with croutons - was so disappointed with it that i had to force it down... to make it better i added a bit of butter didn help more pepper still didn help eventually wasted half of it . We use to look forward to the Timatar ka Shorba on every train travel - i guess the caterer has been changed.

Ah !!! Dinner time - stylish told the guy give me Non Veg Indian and Non Veg Continental . The Non Veg Indian had mixed sabzi extreme left , Yellow dal , Chicken Masal - he said it was chicken senturian , steamed rice , two parathas and Dahi . Oh yes there was Noga ka mixed pickle also.

The Sabzi was good - fresh , The Daal was ok , The Chicken was a disaster covered with corn flour - there version of butter chicken with a chinese twist or rather overdose . Eventually had paratha with sabzi and daal chawal with dahi .

The Veggie Thali had everything same as above except they had Paneer Masala which was definitely better than the Indo Chinese butter chicken .

Ok Hang On here comes the Continental Meal LOL .. total Bhookad .

Boiled Vegetables , Roast Chicken - WOW . With Brown bread , Chips and butter . The chicken look deliciously red and roasted but when i tore it open it had Blood - yuck was so so disappointed , now who to complain to , no point - just left it and sent it bak . Wouldn recommend it to anyone .

The Desert choice of the Day and the savior . We all know the flavor , we all know mother dairy so no comments. 

And we home to our basic Daal Chawal Parval aloo and phulka .

Tigers Overall Experience : Breakfast is amazing / Dinner Stick to the veggie option or avoid and be happy with the Tea offerings . And remember tip the guy on first sight , two reasons - he will serve you better and he will help you off load your bags on arrival :)