Archive | October, 2019

Secret Revealed – Where to find Bangalore’s best Chocolates

22 Oct

Everyone loves Chocolates. Almost everyone I know barring one. While day to day after meals craving can be met with Lindt, 5 Star , Dairy Milk, Toblerone and Amul Chocolates – many of those will be at the bottom of the pile in a chocolate connoisseur’s ranking.

So where do you get the best Chocolates in Bangalore? The city has a decent array of Chocolate shops. Ooty Chocolate, Chocolate Junction, Zoroy, Royce, Jus’Truf, Smoor (Earlier BLISS) and Fabelle (ITC) are the leading brands. Of them my favourites have been Smoor & Fabelle – that was till I discovered Gallianoz.

Smoor & Fabelle have taken chocolate retailing to a different level – their variety, experience and packaging is a delight. But they are very expensive – and as the brand has become popular the rates have been going higher and higher. Smoor has doubled its rates in the last 6 years. They sell Boxes based on Pieces (Not on weight) – So a small box with 10 tiny pieces can cost you 800 – 1000 Rs. That is exorbitant. And thats where Gallianoz scores.

Gallianoz sells an amazing range of Tastier, Bigger Chocolates that can be customised in shape, size, flavour, packaging at a price that is almost 1/2 of what you get at Smoor or Fabelle. Yes the retail experience will not be so good since this is sold from a tiny shop tucked in the bye lanes of Rhenius Street near the Hockey stadium in Richmond Town. Good things always need to be hunted down, and Gallianoz is indeed a great secret to discover in Bangalore.

Gallianoz was started by a housewife – Zaver in 2002. Born in Mumbai and having lived in Toronto & New York she could not find good Chocolates in Bangalore. Thats when she started experimenting at home and crafted the art of becoming a master Chocolatier. Her friends loved her chocolates and spread the good news word of mouth. It has been almost 18 years and thats how she runs her business. Happy satisfied customers get her more customers.

Gallianoz specialises in making Truffles. A chocolate truffle is a type of chocolate confectionery, traditionally made with a chocolate ganache centre coated in chocolate, cocoa powder or chopped toasted nuts (typically hazelnuts, almonds, or coconut). Most Truffles you get in the market are Cream Based – Gallianoz Truffles are hand made with fresh chocolate – No ready made pastes or fillings are used.

These Truffles are priced at Rs 2000 + GST / KG ( 1 KG = 44 Pieces) – Thats less than Rs 50/piece for a huge piece of Chocolate. And Fabelle will sell you Chocolates that are half the size at Rs 100/piece. The assorted Chocolates are smaller in size and are priced at Rs 1800/kg + GST (1 Kg = 80 Pieces) ~ Rs 25 / piece. And if you wonder how they manage to keep their prices so affordable – Its easy they focus on the product. Cost of retailing in a high street / mall with many employees adds up to 1/2 the cost.

In addition to their trademark Truffles (which are always in stock and stored at a controlled temperature of 14 Degrees) you can custom order a wide variety – Caramel, Coffee, Walnut, Almonds, Orange , Mint, Dates dipped in Chocolate, White Chocolates, Cardamom, Pepper Chilly ….

Every Chocolate is hand made and crafted to perfection. Its never kept in stock as the taste of Chocolates are best when eaten fresh. Gallianoz sources its Chocolate from Ghana & Ivory Coast. They also make fresh hot chocolate Drinks powder. You can mix it with milk or drink it concentrated like a rich Chocolate shot. This is rich pure chocolate and gives you a ton of energy. It comes in 3 flavours – Dark, Orange & Mint and is priced Rs 2400 / Kg.

 

So the next time you want to celebrate or gift chocolates head to Gallianoz. Call the friendly Zaver at +91 99455 95645. And remember – Truffles are available all the time but other products need to be pre ordered.

Address – 14/2, Rhenius Street, Richmond Town, Bangalore, India 560025 (Google Maps may not take you to the exact location)

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Himalaica – Calm, Serene, Meditative luxury home stay in Kumaon

9 Oct

Kumaon in Uttarakhand is one of the few easily accessible lower Himalayas that is still fresh, green and beautiful. I hope it stays that way.

Delhi – Kathgodam Shatabdi gets you to Kathgodam by 11.30 AM and in less than 60 mins you are in the beautiful hills with dense forests. Driving is a long way  8 – 9 hrs. I love this region and am always on the lookout for offbeat home-stays.

It was by chance that I read about Himalaica in a National Geography article and instantly fell in love with the place. I normally plan my trip 6 months in advance – but this time everything fell in place in less than 10 days. Rooms, Shatabdi tickets on exactly the dates we wanted, free nights at Delhi Hyatt and air tickets that were not very cheap. Everything went like clockwork precision – Weather was excellent, Flights were on time, the Hyatt Regency & Andaz extended great hospitality and dinner with the Marwah’s –  the nicest people you can meet in NCR made the whole trip perfect.

Himalaica is the home of Uttam & Shalini Dave. They built this home with a lot of love over 3 long years. Its a green oasis on 1 1/2 acres of hillside at Bhowali (1 hr from Kathgodam and 30 min from Nainital). A lot of thought has gone into the design, the plants, the curios, the beautiful dogs  and everything that makes this a special and warm place. I can never imagine owning a place like this and staying her for 4 days was like a dream come true.

The main building has 4 rooms and the adjoining cottage 2. It would be ideal to come as an extended group and book the full place. The highlight of Himalaica is the conservatory – a glass house that overlooks the garden. The photo shows you a part of it. There are 3 sections here- one with two comfy chairs and the other with a small breakfast table. The conservatory is packed with rare plants and curios. Shalini clearly loves owls – we must have seen at least 50 different statues and figures of owls in the conservatory.

The Ground floor houses the kitchen, dining room, a sitting room with a cozy fireplace and a TV room stocked with a great collection of DVD’s. There are  4 rooms are in the 1st floor – a study, a 2 bedroom unit and a single bedroom. Leading from the kitchen in the rear is the cottage with two rooms. The cottage rooms are smaller but offer more privacy. The front of the building has a nice garden and when you sit there with a book you can hear a wide variety of birds and bees and the gurgling sound of a hidden stream that runs adjacent to Himalaica.

The staff are warm and friendly and The chef  serves you tasty homely food. A wide variety from North Indian, Kumaoni to even french fries & pasta. Both veg & non veg. We loved the food especially the Kumaoni dinner that he made for us – Ram Karela, Bhatke Dubke, Lauki with Dahi, Kumaoni Raita, Cabbage Sabji  from the Cabbages we plucked in the fields in the morning.

They also have 3 adorable dogs – Cyber, Raja & Llama. I overcame my fear of dogs a few years back thanks to Caesar & Sparky, but these dogs were so adorable that my wife and daughter who are normally scared of dogs fell in love with them instantly and were very comfortable.

With a fairytale house like this you may not want to step out – but if you do here are a few options to explore

  1. A short 3 hr trek to Jhandidhar from where on a clear day you can see the snow capped mountains of Uttarakhand. The peak also has a small Shiva temple and a Sadhu in a hut with his Dhuni
  2. A drive to Padampuri – 20 Km from Himalica , where on the banks of the Khalsa river is the ashram of Somvar Baba – 3 Hr trip. The Khalsa is one of the few himalayan rivers that flows North.
  3. A trip to Nainital for boating & lunch / dinner – 3 Hrs
  4. A day trip to Jageshwar and stop by at Kainchi Dham (Neem Karoli Baba) and a few other Ashrams / Temples
  5. A British cemetery that is considered spooky by many

Weather at Himalaica 

At 6500 feet – it was cold in Oct. We were lucky as the rains had stopped on the day we reached so everything was lush green. In early Oct the morning and evenings were 11 – 12 Degrees. In Dec – Jan they can get to Zero or below. Rarely snows here. Oct, Nov, Dec and April would be the best time to visit.

Getting to Himalaica 

Its a 1 hr drive from Kathgodam , its better to get down at Haldwani as Shatabdi takes almost 30 min to travel this 5 Km distance. Madhusudan is my regular driver – a friendly young man full of positive energy who is both a driver and guide. You can contact him at +91 9756930090. His rates are very reasonable.

How to contact Himalaica 

Suggestions to the Host 

Room rates are reasonable for such a splendid property. Should explore including breakfast  in the room rate and make Lunch / Dinner more affordable. Currently a family of 3 over Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner will spend 9K on food @ Rs 1000/- meal. Thats expensive. A more reasonable rate would be Rs 500 for Veg and Rs 750 for Non Veg.

Thats Llama & Cyber. They are great buddies. Raja is slightly older and is a loner. 

 

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