Originally Posted: February 15, 2015
Day 22 without Wawa: Not only surviving, but thriving.
March 18th greeted me with delicious smells chased with matching tastes. Aunty, Apoorva and I kicked it off with pancakes, toast spread with Russian dressing, scrambled cheese eggs, and chocolate milk. We could have called it day after that and it would’ve been a fulfilling day. That’s not how days work, however, so we had plenty of time to try to make this one even better.
The hallways leading to Apoorva’s apartment are sort of outdoors. This is the view over the edge of the hallway.
Unfortunately for me (and probably a relief for them), we were closing in on the end of my stay in Gurgaon. Aunty said she couldn’t let me leave India without taking me out to lunch at a local hotspot called Cafe Delhi Heights! I’m glad she felt that way because wow, that place is seriously wonderful. It also happens to be one of the rare places in India that you can order a beef burger. I loved their menu so much I had to post some of it for you to enjoy.
Child Beer?
Looking at the menu, I saw a wide array of tempting options, each looking more enticing than the last. I spotted the highly esteemed JUICY LUCY, a lamb burger that had been highly recommended from day one and something I was looking forward to get my hands on. There was also chicken cacciatore, famous thai red curry, biriyani, fondu, Australian grilled lamb chops, red snapper, roasted lamb, and multi mushroom stroganoff!
I looked our waitress dead in the eye, “I’ll have the beef burger.”
Sorry I’m not sorry. I’m a shot caller and I won’t apologize for my decisions. In my defense, it had already been nearly four weeks since I’d had a trusty beef burger, and sometimes there’s no way to keep your American on a leash for that long.
Aunty and I at Cafe Delhi Heights. Thanks for making this whole trip possible and for being an incredibly kind and generous host! And no that’s not paint on my face it’s a just a scratch from wrestling at the akhara! Fond memories
Glancing around, I realized that the interior of this place was hard to stop looking at. Along the wall to my right were professional photos of many Indian landmarks, and I was pleased to realize that I had already been to a majority of the sites pictured. There was a half decent mural on the wall and a cricket game on tv. There were drapes around the booths and painted red pipes. There is no word to fully describe the eclectic decor and atmosphere in this place, but I enjoyed every second.
Cricket games were always on TVs, pretty much wherever you went
Looking at the wall trying to figure out which of these photos are of sites that I’d already explored. A little over half
When Apoorva’s strawberry lemonade came out I immediately realized my water needed an upgrade. A second one arrived at our table shortly thereafter. This strawberry lemonade was certainly no American flavored water bs. No. This was a frothy cold liquid smoothie with chunks of fruit in it and the deep magenta-red color alone had more flavor than American juice drinks. Even the girth of the straw itself sent a clear message: I am not to be trifled with.
You know your drink is serious when you can fit your pinky in the straw.
The burger that followed did not disappoint. Although it wasn’t an American burger, it came dangerously close. Kudos Cafe Delhi Heights; you’ve won me over. Apoozle had some type of penne in alfredo sauce that, judging from my photo, was bangin, while I think Aunty ordered the Juicy Lucy. My beef burger was a welcome taste of home.
The American fiesta in my mouth was brought to an unceremonious end when we stepped back out in to the Indian sun, which was short lived before we hopped in the elevator down to the garage under the building. This garage is full of cars packed like sardines. Apoorva’s car is tiny so it works out. I’m trying to imagine my mom driving her Suburban in here and it elicits images of a big Chevy Godzilla crushing little Indian cars under its wheels. In this parking garage, paying for parking (or not paying, I should say) is hit or miss. It mostly depends on if the parking guy is actually standing at the entrance when you pull up, which is a total crap shoot. If he is, he approaches your car. Sometimes we roll down the window and talk with him and give him however many rupees he wants, other times Apoorva just gives him a wave and a smile and rolls on by him. It’s kinda informal around here.
That night gave us a beautifully tranquil and cloudless sunset. We were front row spectators to a seamless transition between a gunmetal blue trickling down to a weak orange. A great way to unwind from they type of day you really don’t need any unwinding from.
Second photo of the day from the Apoorva’s hallway, looking out between the towers to the West.
I was starting prepare for my departure, and had to make sure I had a few trinkets and things to take home with me. The trinkets would come in a shopping trip to Cannaught Place the next day, but It was time to address my real needs: sweets. At the pre-Holi ceremony and a few other points during my stay, I’d fallen in love with little half moon pleasures called Gujias. They’re basically minature Indian hot pockets full of sweet things and slightly glazed with a maple syrup-like coating of goodness. Apoorva took me to the Bikanervala outlet store in a nearby stripmall that had more sweets and Indian pastries/desserts than I could imagine. I ordered one Kilo of gujias. I paid but they were so busy I think they forgot about my order. Apoorva went and told them off in Hindi and out they came! The rest of the night involved a stop at Apoorva’s aunt’s house that put the finishing touch on an outstanding day.
Bikanervala run for a Kilo of Gujias! Gujia = the thing cut in half on the white plate near the upper left of this photo
At Apoorva’s aunt’s house, this was in the entrance hallway. I just thought all these little Indian statues looked really cool!
Because no one knows what gujias are, I added a couple photos of them below. They’re like three inches of awesomeness, second only to gulab jamuns (the sticky golfball pancakes). They were all sporadically coated in patches of silver which is so unbelievably thin that you can just eat it. Many of Bikanervala’s more lavish desserts have full silver coatings.