Saturday, August 9, 2008

Shimla and its highway hangouts!


Since the times of British Raj-Shimla has been one of the top-notch tourist destinations. Be it the cool weather or the simplicity of life, set in the lapse of the beautiful and mighty Himalayas it offers tranquility and peace in this fast paced life.

However, that all some other time.

The 85 km ride to Shimla is indeed bumpy and twisted but you may enjoy it especially when it comes to food! Play on Ac/Dc's 'Highway to Hell' and count what the highway offers to you isn't even mentioned in the song. Driving uphill from Kalka to Shimla is a foodies pleasure and if you've had filled your stomach, that would be surely regretted. A drive to this part of the world could be relaxing as temperatures take a plunge down and winds mess up your hair, but it also serves as an appetite booster as you are lured by the fragrance of various delicacies all through the highway.

The highway which earlier had a few options as 'desi' dhabas is now seen dotted with a number of options. NH-22 also boasts of high end options like McDonald's, Cafe Coffee Day outlets and multi cuisine restaurants. The 'desi' hangouts too have found a makeover in order to pull both the locals and tourists.

However, the one place you got to stop is at Giani da dhaba at Dharampur. One cannot have trouble finding it out for every localite knows about the hangout. From nearly three decades the dhaba is serving to appetites of various people. A large, clean and well kept room serves as the hall. They have ample confectionery items starting from chocolates to juices. Their menu has place for both vegetarian and non vegetarian food, which can actually make you lick your fingers. Tandoori chicken, Butter Chicken, Kadi-chawal and their paneer (cheese) delicacies are a must have! The food, I repeat, is amazing and would serve best to a Punjabi's taste and those who are ready to experiment with their taste buds.

So, next time you drive uphill don't forget to stop and grab a bite!

Till then splurge on!

-Sinner

Credit for the image

25 comments:

  1. will visit for sure...

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  2. whenever I get a chance to go there, I will make sure I visit this place. Cos something that Sinner recommends, has to be GREAT. :) tnxx girl!


    Keshi.

    ReplyDelete
  3. And this is for MIA:

    Where is ur blog? I cant see it :(


    Keshi.

    ReplyDelete
  4. last week we were making plans to go there.will surely visit this dhabha now.

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  5. @sinner

    I love shimla n i love the roadside dhabas there. being a vegetarian i most feast on paneer n dal makhani...n the parathas ofcourse.... its been long i went up north....anyways thanks babes for yru inputs will refer back to this when i am up north next.

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  6. @keshi

    hey babes its weird that u cant get thru my blog, lemme check n will drop in a comment at yurs see ya hon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I visited Shimla when I was a kid...dont remember anything...

    but now have a reason..

    thanks!

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  8. cool:) heard lot about shimla:). never been there, but now if i ever end up in shimla, I know Giani da dhaba is the best place in town!

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  9. oi!!
    yahan delhi mein bhi hai ek gyani's, but it doesn serve all dat!! they serve sexy faluda!! dayemmm u made me crave fo sme!!
    lovely post bebeh!
    muah!

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  11. you captured the right place...
    I bet gyani is a not-to-be missed spot but I think you could have added more to the post...(no pun intended)...especially the fact that gyani is some 90 kms before Shimla...
    And it's much more than just a dhabha...Has loads for vegies too :))

    Btw..If you are from Shimla, do post about China Town or Aunties...One of the best chinese destinations...

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  12. @ hobo...

    sure do!

    @Keshi...

    thnx for being that sweet Keshi.. bet u'll like the food...

    @V

    sure do! let us know if it was worth!

    @Mia..

    hey sure! do drop thr next time...

    @Ceedy...

    with time, you'll have more reasons :)

    @KP..

    :) let us know!

    @Gunj..

    ohkies...but here u wont get faluda... :P

    @Kmurthy...

    to u too..

    @Sachi...

    thnx! wud keep that in mind... :)

    it has loads indeed, however, maybe coz m a non vegie i prefer non veg delights more there epecially coz its literally punjabi food!

    Aunties and China town wud sure come up soon... however, aunties have lost their quality somehow...seems like u are familiar with Shimla :)

    splurge on!

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  13. yep studying here :)
    Btw...If someday you feel like posting on some eating places in Chandigarh, do lemme know (I would be glad to help)
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Blog on food?
    Wah bedaa!! Wah!!

    Even after this post, Shimla still doesn't holds enough reasons for me to be there. :P

    ReplyDelete
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  16. hey, that girl is wearing a RiderMania T-Shirt :-) makes me happy to see anything related to Bullet :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. @ sutta....

    Good! May Shimla never hold reasons good nuff for you to come here :)

    @Kmurthy..

    and if u hav any food related enquiries, feel free to write to us! :)

    @ xh...

    seems like u are dieting :P

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  18. sounds kewl... actually while going from Delhi via Pathankot to Jammu, there are some amazing options, i have tried there a lot many times... the only problem is that if u ask for Dal Fry, they still serve u Dal Makhani... how so much u ask them to make it spicy, it will still taste the same!!

    but the fact is.. its amazing!! :D

    and i will try this one too, if i drive that way...!! :)

    Thnx!!
    Cheers!!

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  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  20. Would love to try it out sometime! :)

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  21. On my way to Shimla, bus always stops at Dharampur n Giani da dhaba is such a cute dhaba to have food, we had kari-chawal there:P n that 'pakora wala' makes yummmmmyyyy pakore:P

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  22. @ankur...

    yep! the roadside dhabas at delhi and chd are good too...

    lol@dal makhani... :)

    @anindita

    :) sure

    @eesha...

    lucky u! my bus nvr had stopped thr...:(

    but pakorass are yum indeed...

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  23. shimla is just awesome. the curvy drive, the toy train to solan, mall road, lakadi bazar.. loved it all

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  24. JUST NOW I HEARD ABOUT GIANI DA DHABA.. AS RIDING IS MY HOBBY I M GOIN TO VISIT THIS PLACE SOON.

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  25. I think their success has gone to their heads. We have been regulars to Giani's whenever holidaying that side. But this time we were in for a rude shock. The waiters were positively rude. They told us very rudely that there was only one type of paranthas available we could take it or leave it. This after we waited ten minutes for a table. I'm certainly not going back there again. We discovered another place right opposite called Vaishno Bhojanalaya, which was small but friendly and hospitable with a variety of delicious paranthas. Bye Bye forever Giani's

    ReplyDelete