Though I’d heard good things about Nawras Seafood Restaurant, I was a bit wary of the place when I first walked in and sat at my table. It felt like it was trying a bit too hard to be fancy. I was afraid it might be style over substance.
If you’re in Kochi, Fort Kochi is quite scenic and makes for a very easy day trip. It’s just a quick, cheap ferry ride away.
This is actually my second visit to a McDonald’s in India (I previously tried the Maharaja Mac, India’s version of a Big Mac); the menu here is such a treasure trove of international McDonald’s weirdness that I couldn’t help but come back. There might even be a third visit!
Sometimes you have to roll with the punches. The plan was to check out a well-regarded dosa joint, but when I went inside, it was almost completely deserted. The only customers were obvious tourists. So I pulled a Grandpa Simpson and got the hell out of there.
Beef isn’t really a thing in India. It’s outright illegal to sell it in some parts of the country, so obviously, McDonald’s here is a beef-free zone.
This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for McDonald’s to sell some of its most iconic creations.
The biryani at Kayees Rahmathulla Cafe comes with a spoon, but I’m pretty sure that’s just for serving. If I really wanted to eat it the right way, I should have been eating it with my hands — that’s what everyone around me was doing.
Paneer is a fresh, Indian cheese (it’s a bit cheese-curd-esque, only without that cheese’s gooey meltiness) that’s apparently pretty delicious when you grill it. Because I just had the paneer tikka at Radhey Shyam Bhatia Paneer Wale, and it was extremely satisfying.
There’s a deep fried pastry in India called kachori that’s a popular street food snack. It’s super popular in Jaipur; walk around the city and it won’t be long before you come across a vendor selling the stuff.
If you’re looking for a really tasty, filling meal in Jaipur, you could certainly do worse than the omelette sandwiches at Sanjay Omelette.
Despite my love for ice cream, I’ve somehow gone my whole life without trying the Indian version of the dish, kulfi. I regret this mightily. Eating the kulfi at Ramchandra Kulfi Bhandar was definitely one of those “where has this been my whole life??” moments.