Coming to my favourite topic : FOOD!
Being a hardcore Foodie, the degree of love I develop for a place is totally dependent on the quality of food available there. If Africa is heaven for a Foodie, GDD is hell!
Now let me clarify that the being a Foodie comprises of being a Drinkie (if I may use that term), a Snackie (pronounced Snakey, given that I am in Gujju-land!), a Mealie (Im sure youre getting the drift now) and finally a Dessertie!
On the Drinkie front, GDD is probably the worst place one can find himself in, and this is not only due to the dryness! The Nimbu-paani, The Chaas (very very important due to the dry, dusty loo) and the fancy "Mock"tails leave you wishing you'd stuck to aereated drinks! The tea and coffee available here (a customary offering no matter where you, you can't say no) are probably the worst Ive had anywhere im my life!
Thus, living here has made me forget the Drinkie aspect to being a Foodie.. and frankly speaking, that reeks!
As far as Snackie satisfaction is concerned, the place scores and how! Packets of Theplas (called Theplis here for no apparent reason) served with the most awesum Mirchi ka aachar are by far the tastiest Ive ever let onto my tongue! The next thing which ranks high on my list in this category are "Dhabelis." (Thanks Mrugank for introducing me to this concept of Snacking).
For those not familiar with this Snake, its some awesomely spicy Bhaaji, laced with sweet and spicy chutneys as per your taste and packed into a traditional Pav using a layer of spicy peanuts. Simply heavenly! And the cheaper they are, the tastier they get. Available for 5-10 INR each, these never seem to agree with one's stomach however :)
Add to this a wide variety of fried snakes (Bhujias, Coated Peanuts, Gathias and almost any other oily snake you can find anywhere else) and roasted snakes (Soya sticks, Lentils and other such stuff, the credibility of who's being roasted is forever in doubt) and you finally get something you can consume!
One thing that really surprised me is the absence of Dhokals! Beat that! I thought Gujju food and Dhoklas were synonyms. I believe I was completely wrong all along. While one may find a variety of other types of Farsaan (Snakes) here, including Khandvi, Dhoklas are extinct. Dhoklas have always been a crazy part of my diet (Mom would call the term "essential" an understatement) and the dissappointment has been very hard on me!
Again on the Mealie front, the place leaves you dissappointed.
North Indian Fare: Well you could get decent rumaali rotis here. But what good are they when your curries and sabjis are light years away from the scrumtuous stuff one can manage to get almost anywhere in Delhi/Cal!
South Indian Fare: The one place which could actually match up to the National Dosa Standards (exists in my food guide atleast!) was shut down after a short stint of just three weeks! And I cant for the life of me understand why they'd need to shut down when one would have to wait in lines for 45 mins to an hour in order to get a damn table.
Chinese Food: Hahahaha. I cant stop laughing when I think of what they pass off as Chinese Food here. Let me not bother writing about it!
Junk FoodS(:P) : The place boasts of two pizzerias who home deliver for free. No matter where you call from, you are always Out of Delivery Zone! Also, while one of them is affiliated to an International Pizza Chain (U.S. Pizza), the other newer one decided to call itself Uncle Sam Pizza (US Pizza in short). None of these clowns can come remotely close to what you can conjure up at home using FunFoods Pizza Sauce and Amul Cheese! You also get some weird Sandwiches which cost more than a Sub and taste like.... cant get the term!
Finally on a sweeter note, the desserts here leave you wishing you'd let the taste of Dhabelis and Theplis linger on. Gujju desserts like Shrikhand have always been a weakness for me...till I came here. I avoid them like the plague now.
With no credible Ice Cream brand being distributed here (No! Not even Amul Ice Cream) they are not worth touching.
One can manage a good variety of Indian Sweets here.
Conclusion:
In no time you will find yourself living off cartons of Milk, Cornflakes/Muesli, Milk Bikis, Juice and roasted snake items! Of course you can throw in a Dhabeli/Thepli here and there, but it would always leave you hungry.
Hurrah for Weight loss! (and Im talking inches, kilos and also in terms of what the mirror shows) :D
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