Two interesting restaurants in Chandigarh

I was recently in Chandigarh on a business trip. Such trips usually leave me with too little time to indulge in any proper tourism, and a city view that is perhaps much too coloured by encounters with autorickshaw drivers and commercial vehicle fleet owners. So i don’t usually blog about my visits to places, unless there is something specifically interesting.  Now, Chandigarh, if you remember your geography, was designed by Le Corbusier in a grid pattern, and is called City Beautiful. Well, city beautiful it is indeed. But  it is also boring. The Sukhna lake, the Rock Garden, and all the grid pattern tree lined streets.. and thats it. As for food, there are the usual suspects, namely Mc D, KFC, Copper Chimmney and the lot. And in the other places, I didnt expect anything more than butter chicken and paneer. Well, i was in for two surprises.

Café Nomad by Backpackers

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I stumbled upon this restaurant in Chandigarh. It was my second day in the city, and once the wonder of being in a planned city, with a matrix layout of roads wears off, you realize there is pretty much nothing to do. Which is why, after walking around the Sukhna lake, and with time to kill, I happened to find this place hidden in one of the blocks in Sector 7C. The backlit board had Café Nomad written prominently, and by Backpackers at the bottom corner, with a graphic of a backpaceker in silhouette. The theme is all Arabic and Middle Eastern. It reminds one of the films about Baghdad and Egypt in the early 20th century. There are chandliers, artefacts like jars and vases on the walls, and a lot of paintings and photographs of the Middle East, Europe, East Asia. The table and chair are all wood, square, in a 1940s style.

a film poster from the old days

 

paintings and photos on the walls

curios to set the ambience

menu and furniture

brick lined oven, wine, and one of the waiters

 

 

There is also a brick oven at the far end. (as a reminder of our times, there is also a coffee vending machine sitting on the other side of the room The menu features a lot of pictures in black and white, of Arabs, Englishmen in arab garb, camel trains and the like. The menu features a all sorts of mid east foods, filled with pita and falafel and grilled meats. The starters were pita and soups. This was followed by the section on Pizzas, followed by grilled meats. The far east section follows, mostly filled with Thai and very little Chinese. There is no Indian section; which seems to be a good decision, lest the only thing that gets ordered are Tandoori Chicken, Paneer and Dal Makhni. The mocktails were interestingly named, each having the name of a city (like Tel Aviv Red and Addis Ababa something). The dessert was a whole lot of ice creams and mousse. I ordered a Chorba with Ras El Hanout and Noodles, which the menu tells me, is a a soup, with the Ras El Hanout being a group of spices with no particular formulation. Hence, the chef just puts in his own formulation of REH. And what I got was a noodle soup, with a tangy, spicy taste that felt good. This I followed up with lamb kebabs, with hummus and pita. The kebabs were excellent, being well marinated, well done and just right. The hummus and pita were good too.

 

Ras El Hanout

Kebab, hummus and pita

I guess a disclaimer is necessary here. I am not much of a gourmand, and have never been able to articulate the taste of anything beyond saying Yummy or Yuck or ok, but needs more salt. Hence, don’t look for an informed opinion on the food. I am informed, just that I don’t have a proper opinion. Anyway, this post was to highlight an unexpected find in an unexpected place.

 

 

Bistro Flamme Bois

And on Friday, the autorickshaw-walla did me a favour by swinging around the back road of the SCO where my hotel is. I hadn’t known such a road existed, and caught a glimpse of another new age restaurant that had Bistro Flamme Bois on the backlit board.

I hadn’t expected this just about 300 crow-fly meters away from Nomad, and went in for a recce. The night was young yet, just about 7, and the patrons had yet to come in. I ran into Chef Peter, who has been all over the Europe and Asia, and invited me to take a look. And look I did, and decided to come back after a few errands. The décor was a nice modern setup with paintings, wood paneling and an open pizzeria right up front. I came back at about 9.00 pm, and if the Skodas, Mercs and pimped up Mahindra jeeps were something to go by, the Bistro was not a secret to the well heeled of Chandigarh. (when I came out, there was also a Jaguar XF in their midst!) The place was almost full, with families, a mixed group of expats and Indians and NRIs speaking a mix of Hindi, Punjabi and American (maybe Canadian; I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.). The menu was mostly Continental, with generous amounts of grilled foods. And invariably, there was a Chinese section. You can’t have a restaurant in India that does not serve Chinese. Italian was restricted to various kinds of pizzas and pasta; no Lasagna. I ended up ordering a Carlsberg, a salad, and Chicken Escalopes with a bacon or pork stuffing. The food was good, the portions adequate to sate a hungry appetite, and the meat was well done. The chicken was served with potato wedges , veggies and a mustard dip. Overall, a very satisfying meal, that cost me about 800 bucks.

 

The address: Bistro Flamme Bois, Sector 7C, SCO 19, Chandigarh. Unfortunately, Google could find them only on the C’garh Justdial page.

On maturity

stage 1: when you do as you are told

 

The stage marked with obedience, because you doint know better. You dont know the universe you are in. You dont know the other people you are with. More importantly, you dont know yourself. Don’t know what is safe and what is not; don’t know whether the consequences of non compliance are. So it makes sense to just go along

 

stage 2: when you question what you are told

 

The stage when the wold as it seems clearer, and some things dont quite make sense. Or perhaps, te whys and the wherefores are not very clear. That’s when you think, and wonder. That’s when you question. Some of the questions are answered without any fuss, and make a lot of sense. Some answers are still not clear, and seem time locked. Apparently, the answers will reveal themselves at some point in the future. Some questions are deemed dangerous. The question is met with a frown, and a sharp rebuke that such questions are not welcome. Any more questions, and there will be consequences.

And some questions have no answers. And no aplogies either

 

stage 3: when you protest against what you are told

 

By this time, one is a bit more aware of the universe. One is more aware of oneself. Some of the mystries of the universe have been revealed. Some of your own sttrengths have been tested. You ahve pushed against the universe, and in some places, the universe yeilded. In some, it pushed back. But now, you are no longer satisfied with merely asking questions and gettin no answers. And some answers you get are unpalatable. Some things about the universe are wrong. And you say it out so. You protest. You contest. The universe frowns back; but you knew it would

 

stage 4: when you rebel

 

When you believe that you can push the universe so hard, that the universe will yeild. When you believe that you are stronger than the universe; or atleast, will outlast the universe in hand to hand combat. And you believe that what needs doing, needs doing, damn the consequences.

 

Of course, the consequences are quite damning, but it gives you a sense of fulfilment. You think you have proven your strength against the universe. You feel strong. And you feel the need to proclaim your victory with drum beats and flags.

 

The feeling of strength could just go to your head. And you get stuck on a treadmill for more and more power. Unfortunately, one also makes the mistake of assuming that what works today will work forever. But the universe is not static. It changes, and suddenly, you are the one that is yeilding. Its when you learn to learn, or lose. Some people just lose small change like money or jobs or position. Some lose their lives; and some lose whole kingdoms that the world assumed would be theirs to rule forever

 

stage 5: when you reach stability

 

Having proven your strength, having asked all the questions and discoverd most of the answers, you realise that the universe is just as it is because it cannot helpp being itself. The universe, which seemed to have a mind of its own, actually reveals its shackles and its fears. And you know your own constraints and your own fears. And you have realised that there are some battles you dont want to fight; because you dont care for the stakes, or you dont dare lose the stakes. And the universe is not the suffocating enemy you thought it was. You see where the universe needs your help, and you put in your effort into it. Some places, you see where you can bend the universe to your will, to serve you, and that you do. Somewhere, the univers has to be broken before it can be rebuilt with imporvements. Inspite of being a long and hard process, you do it. The lessons learnt from being a rebel are put to use. Coaxing the universe, willing it, destroying it and rebuilding it. In some ways, you feel stronger than the universe. And you settle into a pattern. You grow in the ways you want to grow, and just keep at growing. The war has turned into a journey

 

Sometimes, you are caught unawares, and you lose a battle, and a lot more. This is the test of where you stand. You either manage to grow back, or you just retreat, never to recover.

 

So where do you stand?