What comes to your mind when you think about the place McLeodganj, Himachal Pradesh, India? Scenic beauty, honeymoon destination, Buddhist destination or Tibetan capital in exile might be the answers that initially come to mind. Though one will go there and have excellent food at some of the many places, but that might not be the sole purpose of the trip. Having a big-time foodie friend helps me to change my usual objective of trip into just eat!!! Thanks to Amir who planned and executed this whole "Foodie Ride". Yes, that's right. A 500 km plus, 2 days round trip to just try out the restaurants/dhabas/cafes and man that was filling!!!
Day1:
We started early morning at about 4am on Saturday, June 21, 2014 from Chandigarh with empty stomach and lots of appetite. Roads up to McLeodganj are a breeze with few patches of bad roads here and there, so I am not going into those details this time. Our first stop was a small road side dhaba (Destination 1) somewhere after Anandpur Sahib to have the morning tea. After a little rest there, we started again and reached McLeodganj by about 9:00am. There was traffic jam, a big one, same case for both days.between Dharamshala and Bhagsu. For us, on bikes, this was a small problem. The major issue or rather challenge was to get a place to stay. First, most of the hotels were full. Secondly, wherever the rooms were available, the prices were exorbitant! After a few hours of search we finally found an affordable place, and a good one too (Kalsang Guest House, Tipa Road, Near Central Chowk, Rs. 550 per day, Check out time 12:00pm). The owner is a lady and man she is one kind lady!!! We were exhausted when we reached there. She gave us the room booked for someone else (the person was supposed to come on June 22)!!! One more thing I would like to note here, they provide only mineral water for drinking and they charge Rs.20 per bottle of aquafina, not usually a case with hotels. Next time I am there, that's the place I am going to stay.
Coming to the point, food. The list goes:
Destination 2: Lhamo' Croissant
It is a french restaurant on Bhagsu road famous for its croissants and salads. We ordered Alexandro salad and tooti-frooti salad as well as a chocolate croissant. All were awesome. The ambiance of the place gives a feel of backpacker cafe.
Having some food made us crave for some tea/coffee. We moved to Moonpeak expresso for the same. The cafe was full to its capacity with people waiting for their turn. There was even a TV crew filming there!!! The specialty of this place is its range of coffee items but it also serves food. We, however, ordered lemon mint tea. The service is good and our tea arrived in Jam Bottles!!! Yes, jam bottles. Moonpeak people recycle and reuse things. So environment with taste equals one awesome place to be. And yes, the tea was refreshing.
Destination 3: Jimmy's Italian Kitchen
We spent some time roaming in market after the energizing tea and looking for our next place to eat, i.e., Jimmy's Italian Kitchen. For me, no food outing is complete without pizza. I am deeply, madly in love with this Italian beauty (other than Aprilia, Cagiva, Ducati, Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta to name a few). At Jimmy's we ordered 2 pizzas. I remember one name for sure, the piri piri pizza (this was hot!! as in spicy). The other one was not so spicy. Both tasted good and we had out tummy almost full. Just one piece left of the puzzle - the Desserts!!
Destination 4: Snow Lion Hotel and Veg Restarant
Some one on the internet suggested to have Lemon cheese pie here. When we inquired, it was not available, although Lemon curd pie was there. We ordered Lemon curd pie, chocolate pie and mango pie. Chocolate and mango-pathetic. Not suggested. Lemon curd pie - a different taste and felt good, must try.
After having this hearty meal, it was time to rest. We retired to our lodge and took some rest. We were back in market by 5:30pm for another round of eating frenzy.
Destination 5: Tibet Quality Bakery
This bakery hosts a wide range of pastries and pies. I tried choco-walnut-rum resin pie and it was a heart-melting taste. Must visit this place.
On this whole eating journey, we were also accompanied by two more people, friends of Amir, and now mine too. Since it was evening, it was time for another round of tea.
Destination 6: Coffee Talk
Fan of ginger lemon tea? This is your place to be. Amir had it, impressed. I tried chocolate shake, not impressed.
Destination 7: Lung Ta Restaurant
The sole Japanese restaurant in town. We were hoping to get some sushi there, but it wasn't available. Moreover, they are quite strict about timings. Last order is taken at 8:30pm. We tried the special for that day. Pardon my memory, but I am not yet very comfortable with Japanese names. There is one veg-omlette though (Japanese name something else), must try!!!
After dinner all four of us went to Cafe Coffee Day on the main square, primarily because it was open till 11pm. Most of the shops/cafes/restaurants close by 9pm. After some chit-chat there, we retired to our rooms.
Day 2:
After a good night's sleep, Amir woke up early to bid adieu to our other two friends who were moving on to some other destination. I was the late riser. Fast forward to 9:30 am. Both of us were ready to start our food devouring spree with a hearty breakfast.
Destination 8: JJI Exile Borhters Cafe
Heard a lot about it's "Farmers Breakfast" and tried the same. We were not disappointed. This restaurant is owned by 3 brothers who also happen to be musicians. You can get tickets to their performance at the shop.
Next in line were two places we wanted to visit, but found them to be closed: Woeser Bakery and The Chocolate Log. We kept walking at Jogiwara Road to reach our next destination.
Destination 9: The Illiterati Cafe
This is the place both of us loved the most and will come back to McLeodganj again just to be here. Away from the hustle-bustle, traffic jams and crowd of the main town, this is a quiet place. One can simply sit here, sip coffee, have some food and/or read books for hours. I know some of my friends would love to be here. The place is owned by a Belgian gentleman (didn't get his name) and his family. They are permanently settled here in India. We ordered Belgian waffle, Iced tea, Kahawa (kashmiri tea) and the famous coffee-kesar ice cream (dont remember the exact name). It was a bliss. We spent some time there and then walked back to have something for lumch.
Destination 10: Seven Hills of Dokebi
Our hunger for sushi wasn't over yet. The previous night, owner of Lung ta had kindly directed us to this restaurant (on Jogiwara road) for having sushi. So we decided to give it a try. This was going to be our lunch. We ordered Kim Bap Meal with Spinach soup and soy sauce. It was my first time having sushi and I really cannot complain about it.
This was our last eating place at McLeodganj and after this, it was our long and unwilling run back. While on the way back, we stopped somewhere on a small dhaba (Destination 11) to take some rest and have lassi. Then back to Chandigarh.
Summary being 13 odd places visited, ate at 11 of them. A BIG feeling of satisfaction and another trip back to same place brewing up.
Before I sign out, here is a Good News: "Hard Rock Cafe is now open in McLeodganj too".
Cheers!!!
