Friday, July 31, 2015

Skywatch Friday: Clouds


Outer Ring Road, Bengaluru

My post for Skywatch Friday

Thoughts, comments and suggestions?. Please share it if you like.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Bengaluru Eateries: 2. Burger King

Date: 24th July 2015

Foodies: Arun, Ankit, Sunil and Raghavi

Cost for 2: 500 Approx

Location: Phoenix Market city

Specialty: Whopper

We decided to check out this new burger king fast food and went there for lunch on Friday.
 We reached bit early so it was not crowded much. I ordered for a Veg whopper and others ordered panner burger.


Cheesy Italian fries. The sauce was very tangy and we liked the fries dipped in the sauce. The fries alone was very bland so do not take plain fries.


Veg chilli cheezos. The pic on menu will be much different but this is what you get. It was good nice crispy on outside and cheesy inside.


Then comes the famous whopper. I took it with double patty and double cheese. It was huge. The bun was soft and the patty was crispy. Bit difficult to eat but it was tasty. Initially i could feel the taste and and at the end it became too much and just wanted to finish it.

Paneer burger. Just 2 bun and a panner patty. Again much different from the pic on menu. This was not good and not worth the price. McD panner is the best.
And thats how you eat a whopper ;)


Mango, Chocolate and strawberry shakes were all good.


180 degree with oreo and not that great and very small compared to what will be there on menu.


One should try the whopper once and then never again :)

Friday, July 24, 2015

Skywatch: Sunrise on NH7


Sunrise somewhere on NH7.

My post for Skywatch Friday

Thoughts, comments and suggestions?. Please share it if you like.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Bengaluru Eateries: 1. Vidyarthi Bhavan

Date: 19th July 2015

Foodies: Arun, Shilpi and Harsh

Cost for 2: 150 Approx

Timing: Mon-Thu 6:30AM to 11:30AM, 2:00PM to 8:00 PM
              Friday Holiday, Holidays 6:30AM to 12:00AM, 2:30PM to 8:00 PM

Location: Gandhi Bazar, Basavanagudi

Wait time: 1 Hr aprox

Specialty: Dosa

Vidhyarthi Bhavan will always be in the list when ever the topic comes about top places to eat. I have been here 5 years ago. The dosa was the yummiest with loads of ghee. I thought of trying it again and went there last Sunday. As usual it was crowded and we had to wait for an hour. Last time when i went there was no number system and you need to just go and wait at some table. Now they have the number system and my number was 66 and 36 number had gone in that time.


Finally after an hour got inside. Ordered Plain, Masala dosa and Vada.


And that's how its brought :) Most probably this will be the test they need to pass in interview ;)

And the sad part now :(. The vada looked very good and happily took my first bite and my happiness started fading away. The vada was crispy outside but it tasted bitter. Something was not OK with the dal which was giving the bitter taste.

Took up dosa next. From the look i could say the ghee quantity has reduced drastically from before. Inside part of dosa was brown in color. On asking the waiter said it was made of red rice and there goes the color part. The center part of the dosa was crispy and good but the outer part was too thick.
Generally they do not turn the dosa on tava but i could see this was turned and cooked inside too. This could be because the edges were too thick. Best part was the chutney and some how managed to finish the dosa. Finished of the breakfast with a coffee which was nice.

Verdict:
I would still recommend people to try once at least if they have not done it before. May be it was a bad day at office for the cook.

Planning to visit other famous eateries in Bengaluru in coming day and review them. Stay tuned ;)

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Our World Tuesday: Traffic




Famous traffic Jam of Bengaluru. On this particular day it took 28 minutes to travel 3 Km.


My post for Our World Tuesday

Thoughts, comments and suggestions?. Please share it if you like.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Weekend Getaway: 25. Jog Falls: Rain, Rain, Rain and Rain

Date: 18th July 2015

Visitors: Arun, Shilpi and Harsh

Stay: Matthuga home stay

Transport: Train, Talguppa express.


Trip to Jog was long pending and decided to go here during the monsoon. Did not know the effect then ;). Its both good and bad to visit Jog during rainy season. Its nice if you have nothing to do but just sit and watch the rain whole day. Its bad if you need to venture out as you will be constantly worried about the gadgets and kid :)


Slight drizzle welcomed us in the station. We were prepared fully for the situation. Took a cab to Matthuga home stay which was 4.5 Kms from the station.





We checked into the room and got ready to visit the falls. The care taker of the homestay called an auto for us. It was pouring continuously. This is how it was at 10 in the morning.


You cannot miss the chance to take photo when ever rain god takes a break ;). Flower in home stay garden.


Jog was 8Kms from the homestay. For 500Rs the auto driver agreed to take us to both sides of the falls and bring back to the home stay.

Reached the world famous Jog falls :)


Bridge over the Sharavati river.

Harsh infront of river.

You can either take the vehicle inside or park it outside. Car Rs30, Auto Rs 20, Bike Rs10 and entry free for individual is Rs5. Its a big complex with various other attractions like children play area, view point etc.. The main attraction in the falls. Finally infront of the second biggest unbroken falls in India.


And this is how it was when we reached. Believe me there is a water fall in this pic falling at 829 ft :). Someone rightly said you need lot of patience for photography. We waited for the clouds to clear and have a look at the falls.


After few minutes the clouds cleared and had our first sighting of the four falls. Yes there was not much water as seen in the movies or in some other pics but the view was beautiful.


Full view of the majestic falls. Raja, Roarer, Rocket and Rani falls. Raja falls is the one that falls at the height of 829 feet without making contact to the rocks. First highest in Meghalaya falling at 1100ft.  There will be more water at the end of monsoon which is around last week of August.


Rightmost is the Raja falls, then next is smaller Roarer falls, third is the rocket falls, and last is the Rani falls. After spending around 45 minutes we went to the complex where there are plenty of place to eat. Almost all the shops sell same idly, dosa, bread omelet, chapatti, egg rice and pulav.

One must try Pineapple here. I guess its the season now and we get yummy pineapple here. We got 2 slices initially then again 2 and then again 2 more and then again 1 :) Do not miss it.

We went to other side of the falls next. From here too we can get a good look of the falls but i could not make out which was what falls. I guess once upon a time tourist were allowed till edge of the falls but now its all blocked. Have heard a lot of unpleasant incidents at this place and that could be the reason for restrictions.

On the main view side there are steps to go down but it was closed now.

View of the main Jog complex from other side.
We had planned this as a 2 day trip but cut it short to one day because of continuous rain. The homestay owner was kind enough to refund our one day money even for our change in plan.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Temples of South Bangalore: 3. Sri Meenakshi Temple

Date: 14th July 2015

Visitors: Arun and Shilpi

Timings: Mon - Thu 6:30-12:30, 4:00-8:30 Fri -  6:30-1:00, 4:00-8:30 Weekend 6:30-1:00, 3:00-8:30

Location: Bannerghatta road, Opposite to Meenakshi mall.

Been in south Bangalore for so long but have never visited this temple. Decided to go here on my Birthday ;). Shilpi and I visited here on 14th.

Sundareshwar (Lord Shiva) is at the main sanctum and the Meenakshi amman in the left one. Since it was a weekday the darshan was very peaceful and the temple was quiet.



Gopuram at the Entrance

Few paintings and carving in the smaller vimanas.
Flagstaff at the temple.

View of the temple from front.

Massive doors at the entrance.


One of the nice temple to visit in South Bangalore.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Temples of South Bangalore: 2. ISKCON Vaikuntha Hills

Date: 5th July 2015

Visitors: Arun, Shilpi and Harsh

The new ISKCON temple is being built at Vaikuntha hills on kanakapura road. One section of the temple is open now for devotees. The beautiful temple is constructed on a 28 acre hill. A theme park will be built around the temple which is expected to finish in 2020. Less crowded than the other ISKCON as its not fully open.


Radha Krishna temple. Surprisingly photographing idols are allowed here.


Sudarshana temple.


Narasimha.

Decorative wooden table.


Queue for the prasadham.


View from the main entrance. Currently it looks more of a picnic spot than a religious place.


Artificial pond built on the hill.


Krishna lila park.


This is how it will look when completed in 2020. Image source iskconbangalore.org.


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