Easter break in Goa

For Easter we decided to escape the increasing temperature of Delhi and fly to Goa, an easy 2 1/2 hour flight. We stayed at Casa Colvale, a 12 room boutique hotel by the backwaters of the River Chapora in North Goa. It was a lovely little hotel, very peaceful and calm, a nice alternative to the busier parts of Goa we have all heard about.




View from Casa Colvale


There are two parts to the hotel, both have lovely pools - the one on the top level has an infinity edge which looks pretty beautiful overlooking the river. Unfortunately a factory in the distance does spoil the view slightly.....just don't look at it. The lower villa is home to another pool and the riverside bar and dining area. We stayed in the villa near the river and had room 9, a corner room with a nice little balcony to watch the occasional boats and water buffalo crossing the river.  The hotels has plenty of communal areas with couches and chill out spaces to read your book or just sit and relax.



Villa near the river

  



View from the top pool

  



View of Casa Colvale from "Ollieboat"

 



View from our room



The staff at the hotel were brilliant. We took our 10 month old with us and this obviously brings with it a far amount of work with food and bottle prep etc. The guys were great, they cleaned all her bottles and heated her meals, made the odd dish of mash potato and gave us a good supply of fruit for her. I can't say enough good things about the staff, they were really great. My only suggestion to improve the rooms in the hotel would be to install a little fridge and provide some tea and coffee making facilities. We did however appreciate the iPod docking station and good sized bathroom.



Excellent staff


Given its isolated location, we ate at Casa Colvale most of the time. The breakfasts were simple but tasty and always had plenty on offer. The menu consisted of fresh fruit, muesli, pancakes, eggs and bacon and yummy Goan bread.




Fresh fruit for breakfast





Banana pancake





Masala omlette



Lunches were mainly delicious fresh salads - tuna and greek were our favourites. On our unhealthy days we enjoyed the chicken burger. We ate at the hotel most nights (except for the night market which will be another post) and devoured plenty of fresh fish and prawns. The curries were never quite hot enough for T but they were tasty none the less. The crispy prawn appetiser was delicious and the G&T's were the perfect end to the hot, steamy Goan days. I can recommend the fish of the day - it was delicious and fresh - straight from the sea!

During the day we either lounged by the pool or entertained our bub. However we got out and about a few times and one of our outings was to Aswen beach to eat at La Plage and have a swim in the ocean. Aswen was a 25 minute drive from Casa. It was lovely, if not an occasionally hairy drive to the beach, it is obviously so different from Delhi. La Plage was great, perfect little beach side eatery. I love eating with while having my feet in the sand...... it's just lovely.



Aswen beach



 


Lunch at La Plage

  T and I had tempura prawns, Thai prawn soup, a Budweiser beer and a sweet lassi. The food was beautiful - well worth the trip. Tempura prawns won the meal of the day with the soup being a little bit heavy on the coconut milk.



Tempura prawns




Thai prawn soup


Aswen beach itself has extremely hot sand and very warm water.... so the swim itself wasn't particularly refreshing but it was nice to see the ocean again. There are plenty of huts to lie around in and bake yourself, get a pedicure or a henna painting from one of the many woman selling these services on the beach. You can also buy yourself a new outfit from a couple that have a few great dresses in stock. I bought a lovely dress by a French designer!



Aswen beach


The next day we headed off on the Chapora River for an early morning trip on the hotels "Ollieboat" to see the Dolphins. It was Rs 50,000 for 2 hours, so is a bit expensive but I really enjoyed it.




Dolphin spotting


S also really enjoyed it and fell asleep after she has seen her fill of dolphins.



Boat trip on the river



The river trip itself was very interesting. We saw lots of beautiful birds, water buffalo and people earning their daily wedge on the river.



Goan fishing boat




More boats



Then it was Easter Sunday and we ate chocolate eggs, courtesy of the lovely staff at the hotel.



Happy Easter x

 Unfortunately the trip was marred by the complete chaos at Goa airport, it was an insane mess. So if you go to Goa three tips for leaving the place - remember to collect your mobile from the taxi, check your flight time and leave heaps of time to get through security, it isn't easy and will test your patience.


Contact details for Casa Colvale

Veda Restaurant (with our first real deal visitor)

We had our first official visitor last week and we were pretty excited to take Bosco out on the town. We wanted to impress him, one because it's Bosco (a very important man) and two so next time he brings his lovely wife and baby. The search was on for good Indian food. Not too hard in Delhi you would imagine.....

Instead of going to a flashy 5 star we chose Veda a stand alone restaurant in Connaught Place. It took a little while circling around Outer Circle to find it but eventually we saw the dark doors and standard podium beckoning us inside.

Veda has a little bit of sexy about it; red chandeliers, mirrored walls, black leather couches and a sparkling silver roof.

Moody Veda

To start with I ordered a mojito, the boys had beer and we all enjoyed some delicious paneer tikka - chunks of paneer marianated in Indian spices and cooked in a clay oven. It was creamy and moist - the perfect starter to not ruin your appetite.

Paneer Tikka

Mains time and we all had beer - switch to beer with Asian food (isn't that right Kath). We ordered Butter Chicken, Kararee Bhindi (crispy okra with onion, tomato, chaat masala and lime juice) and Palak Ghost (mutton cooked with spinach and Indian spices). All served with the staples of naan and rice.

Bosco's Butter Chicken

A little bit of everything....

The food was all delicious but my stand out favourite was the okra. It was great - crispy, fresh and full of flavour. Both the chicken and the mutton were also very good and everything tasted freshly prepared and very moreish.

I think we'll definitely be heading back to Veda - it had plenty going for it. I liked the interior, the wait staff were good (although apparently I was very hard to understand - again!) and most importantly I enjoyed the food.

But will Bosco bring the family next time? We'll have to wait and see :)

Veda

H27 Outer Circle

Connaught Place

Ph: 4151 3535

Vodka on ice sculptures

So everywhere hot seems to have a desire to be freezing. Dubai has the ski slopes and Delhi has the Ice Lounge. I have heard of these before but have never actually stepped foot in one.

Ice Lounge is located at Saket Mall and for the fee of Rs 1500 you get admittance to the oversized freezer and a vodka based beverage. I have to say it's a bit strange and the novelty factor is high.

On arrival you pay your rups, then are handed an over sized cape and gloves. Donning this kind of thing is not what I am into but it's just too damn cold to ignore the offer.  Walking on the path on the edge of Saket mall you feel ridiculous in your winter woolies on a 35 degree night but then the door opens to the freezer and suddenly you're very glad for your gear.

It's -5 to -10 degrees in here and as per requirements, everything is made of ice... the furniture (or throne)....

the bar (except for the plastic shelving).......

the glasses........

the frames......

What did I think? Well look it's ok.....not really my thing, I have to admit, but it's fun for the 30 minutes that you are inside, then it is fun to smash your glass on the floor (don't panic, it's ice and we felt the need to do this to get our money's worth as it is quite an expensive outing by Delhi standards).

The cocktails are ok, disappointingly premixed and only about 5 on offer. Mine was really spicy and I couldn't finish it. At the end of the day it's a little bit tacky, it's an over sized fridge that serves drinks and I'll leave it to others to enjoy.

So the next stop was Ai Japanese Restaurant and that is worth the price of admission. Unfortunately I have no photos of Ai but will definitely be going again so will review further down the track but if you are coming to Delhi consider a trip to Saket Mall for Ai.

Home cookin'

A sneak peek at some of the yummy food we get to eat at home..... I will post more of this over time but here is a start.

Tandoori Chicken

Apple and almond tart

My beautiful birthday lunch - smoked salmon pizzas. How nice does the table look? I felt so special!

So good.....

My excellent birthday cake - Danielle's delicious carrot cake

Couches are finished!

I got the call last week that our couches were ready. We went into the furniture store to view them and give them the AOK to deliver. I was very nervous........ On arrival at the store we were ushered back into our car and down the road to the workshop. We pulled up at a park and told we were there, so we tentatively got out of the car (very glad T was with me!). Through the park, past some houses, weaving through discarded furniture, into a very dark dusty room and up some dodgy stone stairs and we were there. A small workshop with men working on all kinds of furniture. The smell of polish was suffocating and glad I wouldn't have to tolerate it for too long. These poor workmen had to sit in it all day. Walking through the workshop right up the back, there they were, our new couches!

This is what we ordered (we didn't order the background setting, although that might have been nice)

and this is what we got. This a picture of the proud workmen who clearly did not want to be photographed.

and in their new home

I am so impressed, even if they are a touch on the hard side at the moment they look great. A pretty good copy of a picture out of a book.

Wasabi - Taj Mahal

A few days ago a few girls and I had lunch at Wasabi by Morimoto at Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road. We opted to go for lunch to try out the delicacies without blowing out the wallet!

Wasabi is a special decadent dining experience. All the other guests at Wasabi this lunchtime were Japanese, always a good sign. The room is classy and the wait staff attentive - there was almost one wait staff to one guest.

So to the food, we devoured the salty edamame while druelling over the amazing sounding menu. I opted for the Sushi lunch deal. There are numerous lunch deals on offer varying from Rs 1500 - Rs 1800.

First up we received a crispy, fresh delicious salad. It was very simple but perfect. I often crave an excellent salad here and this was the answer.

Next up was the main attraction..... and it was impressive.

Beautifully cooked piece of salmon and perfect fresh sashimi. In a basket off on the side was an enormous tempura prawn and lotus root. In addition we had a generous (unnecessary) serving of rice and a creamy miso soup. It is hard to think I was still in landlocked Delhi enjoying this beautiful fresh fish (oh how I had missed it).

Another option was the Sashimi lunch and that looked amazing. The food was pretty special here and I can't wait to head back - maybe for dinner.

Unfortunately no room for dessert this time but the lovely people at Wasabi brought us a delicious chocolate truffle to finish off the meal nicely.

Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians (aka Delhi vs Sachin.....)

On Sunday 10th April T and I got invited to watch the IPL (Twenty 20 cricket) at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. The two big guns were facing off -  Delhi Daredevils (DDD) v Mumbai Indians (MI). After my last trip to Feroz Shah Kotla I wasn't too pumped for the cricket, as West Indies v Netherlands hadn't been much of a game, but I had big hopes for the IPL.

I arrived at the stadium and was ushered to the girls security entrance where I was frisked and informed I was carrying a knife in my bag. I asked them to x-ray the bag again and look inside as I was pretty sure I didn't have a knife. They went off to discuss it among themselves and never came back. I walked on.

When I arrived at my gate I again went through security and again was informed I was carrying a knife. I assured them I wasn't and they looked thoroughly, very thoroughly, through my bag and frisked me again. All credit to them - at least they were being cautious. Anyway turns out I wasn't carrying a knife and the offending object was my Aesop hand cream!

So after this drama, we got inside just in time to see the Delhi Daredevils (DDD) get taught a bit of a lesson - all to the tune of pop music and bad cheer leading (in tight gold sequin hot pants - channeling Kylie).

Delhi were all out for 96. However no one was too disappointed and were pretty buoyant for the break where the cricket equivalent of Karl Langdon was up and about running the half time entertainment. There was also the endless game of trying to get your face on the big screen - something our friend did manage to achieve! Another highlight was the very impressive mosquito fumigation.

Second half and the crowd where pretty excited by the appearance of their hero - Sachin Tendulkar! (Excited enough to cheer, but not enough to watch the actual game when they could potentially get on TV.)

So to the 'little master'.... easy for him and easy for Mumbai. The crowd loved the IPL, lapped up the full on music, the dancers and the cricket 'lite'. I can see how a closer game would be pretty exciting but unfortunately this wasn't. 

So it was time to leave, we headed out the gates with tens of thousands of others to get our car. On the way out the inevitable question of our nationality. T quickly answered 'Australian' to which the response was 'We beat you in the cricket!'.  

Purchased goods.... whadda ya think?

A couple of weeks back we visited Sharma Farms in Chhattarpur. As I think I mentioned it is an amazing place full of some pretty great furniture. There were some really elaborate pieces down to very simple furniture. We have decided to go a little bit Indian to fit with our surrounds but hopefully will look good down the track as well.

Nine draw sideboard

Old sideboard for the main living area.

Painted Indian chest

Two bedside tables

We also have a mirror but that will take another week to arrive.

Sharma Farms
Chattarpur, New Delhi
Ph: 6565 5247
Open 7 days

Shopping - Sarojini Nagar

This week saw my first shopping visit to Sarojini. I had been here for fruit and vege but hadn't ventured into the clothing section yet. This market is pretty amazing, there are clothes everywhere - all shapes, sizes, colours and designs. You really have to be ready to sort through a hell of a lot of stuff. In all the piles of fabric there are some great pieces from some fairly well known brands and others not so well known. It's all about bargaining here too, so the better you are at that, the better the deals you will find. I am not very good but I think I am going to get pretty good pretty fast. If you are prepared to look you will find cheap, fashionable pieces here. There are some real gems in the kids clothes.

Other things on offer are the market staples - sunnies, bags, belts and shoes. The market itself is massive and is going to take a few visits to get my bearings.

One of the main thoroughfares - watch your step!

Water seller - comes with lemon....

Another option for your water - no lemon here

Some of the market I visited were traditional market style shops whereas other vendors are slightly more organised and have shop fronts like shown below and paved sidewalks. This is obviously the flash section! 

And here are some of my purchases, each dress was Rs 150 each (about A$3). A few dresses for S

And one for me ......

Map link to Sarojini here