Originally posted: April 9th, 2014
Sorry about the hiatus, I’ve been back in the USA and was busy with a lot of stuff and will pick up where I left off before all the writing about wrestling around on the ground with mostly naked sweaty dudes covered in dirt. For some reason, I no longer have perfect recall so since my memory of the trip is dissipating, I must refer once again to iPhoto and notebook records for clues as to what all happened. Picking back up with the next unblogged day, March 10th seems to be pretty uneventful, judging from the seven photos I took that day. By the way, thank goodness iPhoto catalogues the times and dates of every photo! These photos lead me to believe I ate some gujias, went to Di Ghent again, visited Mausi’s house (where Apoorva’s unbelievably cool cousin Arjun, aunt and uncle and grandfather live), and ate a tasty dinner of chicken, potatoes and green beans at home. Ok I guess I use the term “home” for Apoorva’s Mom’s apartment. You know they make you feel at home when you accidentally call their place home. THAT’S how good their hospitality is.
Highlight of the day: I found a Rocky poster (of him on top of the Philly Art Museum steps) in Arjun’s room. Not only is Arjun a hilarious snapchat fiend, superbrainiac (best grades in everything, even Hindi, which was shocking, cause his Hindi sounded a little rusty to me), and extremely chill dude, he has a ROCKY POSTER. I like this kid already. First time I’ve seen something that reminded me of home on this trip.
Poster of Philadelphia all the way in Delhi. Auntie and Mausi just kinda stared at me as I was overcome with excitement and started taking photos of it when I saw this on the wall…
Since there is not much event-wise to talk about on the 10th, I have to take some time to talk about one of my top spots in Delhi, Café Di Ghent. Set on the second floor of a large building within walking distance of Apoorva’s apartment, this quaint establishment gives you a taste of the better life. Be it breakfast, lunch, or an afternoon snack, I can think of no place I’d rather go (beside’s Auntie’s kitchen table of course) to treat my taste buds with food delicious beyond measure. While the outside is nondescript, the inside somehow pulls off ‘warm and cozy’ while still remaining well lit and open at the same time! Natural light flooding in through the large windows and the manager Shefali’s welcoming smile combine to brighten the room and automatically make you feel at home as you take your seats. Apoorva and Shefali were friends from high school and I’m so thankful for that because otherwise I would have never met her and missed out on some of the best food in town. She is gracious, professional, and packs unearthly amounts of friendliness in her four foot nothing frame. She even sat with us as we ate on our fourth trip there. After eating a scrumptious breakfast of eggs benedict with mushrooms and an Oreo shake, she left us to bring us a bill and I quietly asked Apoorva if it would be too forward to propose to her when she returned. Ultimately, I didn’t, but only because I’m a pretty shy guy. Anyway, it takes a special restaurant to make me remember everything I’ve ever eaten there, and if any place can, it’s Di Ghent.
Ok so now I guess I gotta try.
Eyck Panini (chicken/sundried tomato + other stuff)
Broken Brownie shake
Part of Apoorva’s bangin cupcake, whose name I can’t remember (help me out Apoops)
Oreo shake
Charles V Panini (Chicken pesto)
Towering dark & white chocolate mousse with crazy delicious sauce that was richer than Bill Gates and vanilla ice cream.
Some type of cheesecake with caramel sauce UGH SO GOOD!
Eggs Benedict with mushrooms
Oreo Shake
…….yeah I think I remember every bite from this joint.
Cheesecake and crazy chocolate mousse cake finished off a bangin meal with the fam. Drooling while I’m writing this. Happy Birthday Apoorva!!!!!!!
SHEFALIIIIIII!!!! She’s approximately the size of a chess piece but you can’t tell when she’s on her tippy toes.
Bottom line, great people, great food, great ambiance.. If you’re ever in Delhi, go check it out. PS This is definitely getting copy/pasted into yelp. Is there Yelp in India? And Apoorva before you call me out for stupid questions just remember your cousin asked me if I had ever heard of MANCHESTER UNITED. Ps How was I supposed to know Nutella was a global company?!?!
Amendment ~ Yelp doesn’t have anything in India. Verdict: Not a stupid question