Rooftop Restaurant at Hotel Udaigarh, Udaipur

My wife and I were in Udaipur during the Republic day weekend. On the second day of our sightseeing we got back to our Hotel quite late and did not find time to have dinner on our way back. Having read about the Rooftop Restaurant at Hotel Udaigarh, we decided to check it out. The Rooftop Restaurant at Hotel Udaigarh is located on the 4th floor and has beautiful views of Lake Pichola in the background. Both dine-in and room service is available at the restaurant until 10:30pm in the night for the convenience of hotel guests.

We walked in around 930-45pm all set for a good meal and ordered Veg Soup for an appetiser. The Steward split it into two and it was a warm, mild & tasty concoction on a winter night. The Murg Tikka Lehsuni was slightly cold but it had been spiced nicely. We loved how it was garnished with coriander leaves. A tomato skin beautifully shaped in the form of a red leaf was also placed alongside.

The Chicken Noodle was way tastier than the Veg one and had shredded chicken pieces that tasted heavenly. Veg Noodle was a little disappointing because it didn’t have the required spicyness or flavour.

What struck us as customers was that a Rs 35 MRP can of Coke was charged to us at Rs 60.

The food was average and not dazzling or entirely memorable but the ambience and beautiful weather/scenery made it worth the experience. You can check out this restaurant at Hotel Udaigarh by opting in for complimentary breakfast. The breakfast menu lets you choose between Corn flakes & milk, Bread & Masala Omelette, Stuffed Paratha & Yoghurt, a plate of fruit salad and hot Tea or Coffee. The complimentary breakfast is totally worth it.

Have a nice stay and happy eating out to all the tourists in Udaipur. :)

Udaipur Tours and Taxi, Udaipur City, Zip Code 313001, India

My wife and I were looking for a taxi service in Udaipur for the Republic day weekend. When we called the owner, Lalit Babu, he gave us a very reasonable quote of Rs 6700 for a 3 day package tour of Udaipur and Mount Abu. He e-mailed us a detailed itinerary within minutes. When we reached Udaipur, his driver was there to receive us at the Railway Station. Lalitji had promised that his package includes Parking and Toll charges. At Maharana Pratap Smarak, his driver inadvertently asked for Parking and we paid up. By the time we came back from the museum, his driver promptly refunded the parking fee. So Lalit ji is a man of his words and please reach out to him whenever you plan a trip to Udaipur. Not only are Lalitji and his driver partners good human beings, they will also plan out your day in a very systematic and hassle-free way. So you will have a very smooth and organised trip with your family. Cheers to Lalitji and his drivers Naveen and Phool Chand.

Krishna Dal Bati Restro, Udaipur City

My wife and I were in Udaipur during the Republic Day weekend. On our first day of sightseeing, we asked our Driver, if he would like to recommend an eatery for ‘local rajasthani’ cuisine. His prompt reply was ‘Krishna Dal Bati Restro’ for a ‘Dal Bati Churma Thali’. There are two reasons why he would have said that, 1) that the place is genuinely famous for its local cuisine or 2) that the restaurant management has good professional relationships with these Tour and Taxi operators in the city. Nevertheless, we were game for some good food in Udaipur. After we winded up our sightseeing near the Fateh Sagar lake, the driver brought us to what looked like a quiet building away from the noise of city traffic.

As you climb up the stairs, there are photos hung on the wall, a poster warns you to mind your head and on the first floor you make your way inside the restaurant. There are basic tables and chairs and if you are two people in a group, the young lads (stewards) will discourage you from occupying a table for 4 or 6. There are smaller tables for 2 near the entrance corner and the end wall where you will be firmly guided to take a seat (fairly understandable considering if 2 guests occupy a table for 4/6, it will increase waiting time for families and may result in revenue loss for the Restro). The Stewards are all young 20 something boys who are busy guiding guests to their tables (later a young man who looked like a manager also served guests) and giving them firm instructions. Twice I observed, the Stewards were warning guests that we do not allow sharing from a Thali, which in other words meant two people are not allowed to eat from the same plate, oops! [(another revenue loss checkpoint ;)]

We entered around 8pm when guests had just started to roll-in for their dinner. We were given a table near the entrance and having understood their viewpoint, we happily complied. A large thali (plate) with multiple bowls was placed before us. One by one the bowls were filled with Churma [sweet dish made from wheat flour (aata), sugar (cheeni) and clarified butter (ghee)], Dal (thick lentil soup), Gatte ki subzi (curry made from Gram flour) and Cucumber/Carrot salad. A spoon each of Green Chutney (Coriander leaves paste with lemon juice) and Red Chutney (a paste of chilli and garlic) was also put on the plate. A plate of Papad (Lentil based snack) was kept at the side. One Steward crushed the Bati (wheat flour balls) in the middle of the plate and poured a spoonful of clarified butter (ghee) on it. He also advised us to mix Dal/Subzi in it before enjoying the concoction.

At the end, we were served a glass of fresh Salted Buttermilk (chhachh) to complete the meal. While it was not dazzling, it was a good experience for me as I was fairly new to the Dal Bati Churma experience in Rajasthan. Guests can ask for as many portions of the Dal, bati, churma, curry, salad and Chhachh as possible. I was wary of too much ghee in my meal so I asked for Salad and Chhachh to keep my meal balanced.

I felt there was too much ghee in the churma to the point of it being greasy, the dal was almost dull and without a spicy flavour, the bati was crushed beyond recognition or texture so much that it appeared you were dealing with another churma, this time a salted one. Guests should be allowed to eat the bati as they desire, but the stewards insisted on eating it the way it is locally eaten [(damn ;)]. Gatte ki subzi was another disappointment as it was as dull as the dal, devoid of a salty/spicy flavour so common in indian curries. The Green chutney was fun because of the lemon juice in it and the red chutney remotely resembled the Schezwan sauce served with Momos and chinese food in the cities except that this one also had very little salt in it.

The only 4 items that I enjoyed in the thali were Papad, Salad, Green Chutney and Chhachh [lol :)].

I would go with a rating of 3 out of 5 for Krishna Dal Bati as it was an underwhelming experience for me. I hope you and your family have a good experience if and when you choose to visit this place. Happy eating out!

P.S. The restaurant is clean, all the food items are fresh and the young staff is a little less friendly but they serve you to your heart’s content. Last but not the least and a good indicator of hygiene in a restaurant, the loos are clean (you never know when you would need one)! :P

Hotel Udaigarh, Lake Pichola, Udaipur

Hotel Udaigarh is a beautiful property in Udaipur. Located on the edge of famous Lake Pichola, it gives you breathtaking views of the Lake, Jagmandir, The Taj Lake Palace Hotel, Oberoi Udaivilas Hotel and the Aravali ranges from the rooftop restaurant. There is a clean and well-maintained swimming pool on the top floor where you can have fun with your family in the summer months.

The rooftop restaurant provides you complimentary breakfast (you get to choose breakfast at the time of booking) of Bread-Omelette, Paranthas/Yoghurt, Fruit Salad and Hot tea/coffee. Besides, it also serves Chinese, Italian, Continental and North Indian cuisine to its guests.

Free Wi-Fi, On demand Bottled Water, Running hot water during the winter (3 hours each in the morning and evening), Daily Newspaper, Current Magazines and a few Novels are all available at the property.

The best part, City Palace Museum, Boat Ride to the Jag Mandir Palace, Udaipur’s famous Rajasthani Folk dance at the Bagore ki Haveli and Jagdish Temple are all within comfortable walking distance from the property. The Hathi Pole local market (Handicrafts/Textiles/Paintings/Statues) is a Kilometre from the Hotel.

Pradeep and Nikhil Bhai at the reception desk are very helpful and happily guide you towards the city attractions. They will draw up itineraries for your sightseeing and also book taxis for you both within Udaipur or Mount Abu.

The property is clean, well-maintained and smells good throughout your stay.

A few negative points which can be improved:

The standard AC rooms are small in size and I would urge you to think big when you choose this property and book rooms from the Royal Deluxe category. A few thousand bucks more will save you from the cramped feeling in a standard room.

The daily housekeeping guys were not seen. Our towels were not changed, the room was not dusted/cleaned in our absence, maybe guests have to proactively request for the same at the reception desk.

The rooftop restaurant can be a little expensive for budget travellers. A can of Coke with a printed MRP of Rs 35 was billed to us at Rs 60 (Hotel Management, please take note, it is not entirely advisable to sell Coke at almost double the MRP. Consumer court might knock at your door). A cup of coffee will leave you poorer by Rs 90 and so on.

Your taxi wallah will leave you at Sheetla Mata Gate from where you will have to trek for 10 minutes to reach your hotel. Or you will have to hire an autowallah for 80-100 bucks for a One kilometre distance.

Having said that, the property is beautiful and the staff are warm and friendly so you must opt for Udaigarh whenever you are in Udaipur. Happy travelling!! :)

Padmaavat Review

The ongoing protests and PILs in the Supreme Court have ensured the producers are laughing all the way to the Bank. Sanjay Bhansali’s Period film ‘Padmaavat’ has grossed 231 crores on the 14th day of its release.

The film has lived up to the hype with audiences mesmerised by its scale and poetic story of Rajput honour, valour and Alauddin Khilji’s deceit.

The story is loosely based on Sufi Poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s poem ‘Padmavat’ which was written in 1540 AD almost 224 years after Mughal Emperor Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316 AD) ceased to be the Sultan of Delhi.

The plot is fairly simple. Maharawal Ratan Singh, the King of Chittor banishes one of his courtiers, Raghav Chetan on grounds of unethical behaviour. This man vows revenge and aligns with the Sultan of Delhi so the Rajput prince can be brought to his knees. Raghav provokes Khilji, feeding him stories about the unparalleled beauty of Ratan Singh’s wife Rani Padmavati.

Khilji, the emperor with a massive army declares war on Chittor and deceitfully captures Ratan Singh, making him a prisoner in Delhi. Rani Padmavati with her commandants Gora and Badal free Ratan Singh but the Sultan has still not glimpsed the Queen so he returns to Chittor, this time with a bigger army. Ratan Singh attains martyrdom in the battle and before Khilji can enter the palace, Rani Padmavati performs Jauhar (Self-immolation) with thousands of Rajput women.

Interestingly, I was in Udaipur last month and all these events have been preserved in the form of paintings (refer to the attached pics) in a museum called ‘Maharana Paratap Smarak’ near the Fateh Sagar Lake.

The battle scenes are impressive and at one point when Ratan Singh charges at Alauddin Khilji, one can easily compare the grandeur to big scale Hollywood movies like Brad Pitt’s ‘Troy’.

The songs like all of Bhansali’s past efforts are beautiful and you end up humming them long after the movie is over. The length could have been made effective by trimming the unrelatable song between Khilji and his assistant Malik Gafur. Acting by all the lead actors Ranveer, Deepika, Shahid and Aditi Rao Hydari is commendable.

I would rate the movie a 4 out of 5 stars for the grandeur, moving historical fiction and sheer scale of its scenes. This one is not to be missed by fans of Indian history and cinema. Go Padmaavat!