BITTERMANSGUIDE
  • HOME
  • GUIDES
    • CAMBODIA
    • FINLAND
    • HONG KONG
    • INDIA >
      • FORT KOCHI
      • GOA
      • KOLKATA
    • INDONESIA >
      • BALI
      • JAKARTA
    • ITALY >
      • BARI
      • CATANIA
      • FLORENCE
      • NAPOLI
    • MALAYSIA >
      • IPOH & TAIPING
      • KUALA LUMPUR
      • PENANG
    • NORWAY
    • THAILAND >
      • BANGKOK
      • CHIANG MAI
      • KRABI
    • TURKEY
    • UKRAINE
    • UZBEKISTAN >
      • KHIVA & BUKHARA
      • SAMARKHAND
      • TASHKENT
    • VIETNAM >
      • DA NANG
      • HANOI
      • SAIGON
      • VUNG TAU
  • REVIEWS
    • CAMBODIA
    • GERMANY
    • HONG KONG
    • INDIA
    • INDONESIA >
      • BALI
      • JAKARTA
    • ITALY >
      • FLORENCE
      • MATERA
      • MILAN
      • NAPOLI
      • PUGLIA
    • MALAYSIA >
      • IPOH & TAIPING
      • KUALA LUMPUR
      • MELAKA
      • PENANG
    • MOROCCO
    • NORWAY
    • SPAIN >
      • MADRID
      • SEVILLE
    • THAILAND >
      • BANGKOK
      • CHIANG MAI
    • TURKEY
    • UKRAINE
    • UZBEKISTAN
    • VIETNAM >
      • HO CHI MINH CITY
  • RAMEN
  • ABOUT

SHREE THAKAR BHOJNALAY

19/7/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
"A journey into the very heart of food"
If I look back at soon four decades of eating at restaurants in Asia, there are countless amazing food experiences that escape me. However, there are perhaps only a handful where the food, the service, the location and the overall journey set it apart.

Shree Thaker Bhojnalay was such a place.
Picture
Read about in an article before I boarded my plane, and reminded by a friend of mine, I made it a point to tackle the legendary spot at my first opportunity. Monday arrived in sweltering waves and I hopped a cab and threaded my way through the market aside bullock carts and three men pushing oversized trolleys under a groaning sun. 

I had made an appointment to eat lunch with a traveller from New Zealand who I met by chance at an Airtel store whilst fixing a sim card, and he arrived barely a moment after me, heading up the narrow staircase and into the first floor doorway to heaven. We were greeted by two extremely jovial men and shown to a table. I peered around and noticed the lack of clientele, as I had read there is usually a 45-60 minute wait. Our waiter assured us that Monday's are good days to visit and we were just ahead of the normal lunchtime rush.
Picture
There are no menu's here, you pay 600 INR at the counter and take your seat. From then on a dance of mystifying timing plays out in colours unseen, unquenched until now. Bowl upon bowl of brightly coloured curries, chutneys, vegetables, pickles, raw fruits all vy for space on the thali platter, as the different waiters enter brandishing their own custom condiments and proceed to deftly place them in their intended spots under the watchful eye of the boss.
Picture
Once all the food was delivered and the necessary photographs rendered, our host set about taking us on a culinary epic that would last just shy of an hour. For me personally I generally hate it when people talk too much during a meal or try to manipulate you to order more or educate you on their philosophy. Shree Thaker Bhojnalay was nothing like that.
Picture
Our host simply stood at the table and suggested the most amazing pairings that we would never have thought of: "Try that  with a tiny bit of this pickle sauce and a pinch of jaggery", "Throw a tiny bit of dry garlic on that puri and then dip it in this sauce". etc.
Picture
How rare it is to be spellbound by a meal. To sit in complete amazement that every single dish tasted fantastic. Nothing was out of place, nothing was off. Each and every condiment and accompaniment served a purpose and was not just there to add bulk. We sat as fresh roti and alternative grain breads were brought piping hot from the kitchen until our stomachs were incapable of further pressing.

It was one long euphoric dance. Our host was the conductor gently steering our spoons where they needed to.

Thank you Shree Thaker Bhojnalay for an exceptional food experience.
These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    "Tastes are subjective, so take everything with a pinch of salty tears"
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Amalfi
    Bali
    Bangkok
    Berlin
    Cadiz
    Calabria
    Cambodia
    Chiang Mai
    Copenhagen
    Denmark
    Finland
    Florence
    Germany
    Helsinki
    Ho Chi Minh City
    Hong Kong
    India
    Indonesia
    Ipoh & Taiping
    Istanbul
    Italy
    Jakarta
    Kadikoy
    Kolkata
    Kuala Lumpur
    Langkawi
    Madrid
    Malaysia
    Matera
    Melaka
    Milan
    Morocco
    Mumbai
    Napoli
    Norway
    Penang
    Puglia
    Seville
    Sicily
    Singapore
    Spain
    Tangier
    Thailand
    Trang
    Turkey
    Ukraine
    Uzbekistan
    Vietnam

    RSS Feed

"The hunt for perfection continues...."

  • HOME
  • GUIDES
    • CAMBODIA
    • FINLAND
    • HONG KONG
    • INDIA >
      • FORT KOCHI
      • GOA
      • KOLKATA
    • INDONESIA >
      • BALI
      • JAKARTA
    • ITALY >
      • BARI
      • CATANIA
      • FLORENCE
      • NAPOLI
    • MALAYSIA >
      • IPOH & TAIPING
      • KUALA LUMPUR
      • PENANG
    • NORWAY
    • THAILAND >
      • BANGKOK
      • CHIANG MAI
      • KRABI
    • TURKEY
    • UKRAINE
    • UZBEKISTAN >
      • KHIVA & BUKHARA
      • SAMARKHAND
      • TASHKENT
    • VIETNAM >
      • DA NANG
      • HANOI
      • SAIGON
      • VUNG TAU
  • REVIEWS
    • CAMBODIA
    • GERMANY
    • HONG KONG
    • INDIA
    • INDONESIA >
      • BALI
      • JAKARTA
    • ITALY >
      • FLORENCE
      • MATERA
      • MILAN
      • NAPOLI
      • PUGLIA
    • MALAYSIA >
      • IPOH & TAIPING
      • KUALA LUMPUR
      • MELAKA
      • PENANG
    • MOROCCO
    • NORWAY
    • SPAIN >
      • MADRID
      • SEVILLE
    • THAILAND >
      • BANGKOK
      • CHIANG MAI
    • TURKEY
    • UKRAINE
    • UZBEKISTAN
    • VIETNAM >
      • HO CHI MINH CITY
  • RAMEN
  • ABOUT