Fooding around in Pilani

Last Week I visited Pilani for Adobe's Campus Recuitment drive and had a great time eating out in Connaught. So thought to put down my experience with some suggestions. If you are a Pilani student, you wont learn anything new but I hope you would definitely agree with my choice of places and food. If you have not stayed/studied in Pilani but visiting Pilani, this posting is going to help you to make the right choices related to food. So when in Pilani, you can try eating out at the following places...

1. Fried Maggi in Blue Moon: Start with this in Pilani. The maggi over here is amazing. The taste remains the same. Try it with MNB(Mid Night Beauty:Shake with Icecream Scoop of choice) or hot chocolate. The milkshakes here are also great.

2. Dhaba on Jaipur Road: Situated close to Sarvajanik Hospital on Jaipur Highway, this place rose to prominence during the late 90s (i think our group had a major role in that). Ask for Cheese Tomato when you are here. Nice food with a dhaba ambience. During winter, one can enjoy the 'sarson ka khet" nearby.

3. Coffee with Sandwich in SKY: A visit to Sky during daytime is a must. Supplement that with a strong coffee with vegetable sandwich from Pappu(owner of the only food outlet in SKY). If you have studied in Pilani, expect to be recognized by Pappu.

4. Dosa at Annapurna: Nice Crispy Dosa. Tasty filling. Also ask for Saunf at Annapurna. They serve those colored sweet saunf which tastes very good.

5. Non Veg at GD: If you are a Non vegetarian, there are very little options in Pilani as most of the places serve pure Veg food. Try out Golden Dragon or Kapoors. I would suggest GD first.

6. Gulab Jamun at Sharmas: Try it after dinner. They serve you hot. It generally gets over by 10.30. So book it for yourself before you finish your dinner. They may not last that long.

7. Pan at the Corner Shop: "Shiv Ganga" is what the shop owner has given the name to his speciality. He puts a "laung" in the sweet pan and puts it on fire. Then you put the burning pan in your mouth. Really good in the winter. Finish your day with the pan.

One thing that hasnt changed in Connaught is the lack of wash basins in the restaurant. I guess they dont see any ROI by putting in the wash basins. So things remains as they were.

Jan Food Festival

I am blogging after a long time but I have lots to write as well. Hopefully that will compensate. This week was all about good food.

Sunday:AP Bhawan
We started up on Sunday with good Andhra Thali at AP Bhawan near India Gate. Its the best place to have authentic andhra food and that too just at 60 rupees (it was 50 sometime back :)) Fixed price, unlimited food. What else one wants? Service...topclass...before you finish food, there will be people asking you to have more. Yes it can improve a bit in cleanliness in the wash area. One can ask for non-veg for an extra 60 bucks. One can have chicken and fish. I have heard they serve biryani on sunday afternoons but have never tried that.

Monday: Big Chill, GK
Italian food and good ambience and nice cheese cakes. If this interests you and you can spare 400 per person, head for Big Chill. Nice pastas, pizzas. Good that they have a number attached with every menu item. The names are so difficult. Never ever miss the cheese cakes when you are here. Too yummy. To top it, it has unique ambience. Crowd is too good. Definitely check this out. I was told there is another Big Chill in Khan Market but the GK one is the famous one. Good place for a big treat.

Tuesday: Mezbaan Near IIT Delhi
Heaven for student community in IIT, JNU, NII, IIMC and thousands other preparing for Civils who stay close by. Nice tasty Indian food with a hostel mess kind ambience. Quite cheap. 200 for two including Coffee and Gulabjamun at the end. Order something Indian here. Best bet is Nan and Sabzi/Chicken Curry. My favourite here is Garlic rice and Pineapple raita (any ex NIIite feeling hungry?)

Wednesday: Take a break...Adobe Cafeteria...Better not to write anything.

Thursday: Chor Bizarre, Noida
The ambience at this place is really great. Somehow its different from all other places I have visited. It has got a ethnic touch with sofas from yesteryears. Food is good. Totally Indian. We went for the buffet costing 350 per head. I wont say great food but combined with the ambience, the experience is good. Also try out the mousse there. its taste good. They add some kind of spices to it which makes it better. The place is famous for Kashmiri food but I decided to check that some other time.

Friday: Eating Point, Sec 20 Noida
Hidden in the local market complex of sec 20, its a very small eating joint which serves garma garam parathas and gajar ka halwa. I liked the Halwa. Paratha was ok. The gobi one was better than Aloo. Small simple place and the price is never going to hit you. 200 bucks for 4 person. Nice smiling people serving food.