Pondicherry aka Puducherry which means New Town,is a Union Territory state of India.Located close to Tamil Nadu,its a quaint little town retaining most of its ancient French architecture and culture.Well, we being foodies,we headed off on a fairly warm saturday morning from Chennai,not to check out the architecture but what else, just food.After meeting and waiting ( yes people please learn the importance of time)taking digs at Juggy aka Jagadeesh, for dressing up in safari gear(you're such a sport) we headed off to Pondy.
For safety purpose,CFG group had chosen the NH 45 route,which though seemed longer was a better route to take(yes i got to pluck raw tamarind off a tree on the highway,my driver- hero Raja climbed on to a tree).
Continuing on our journey with Jagadeesh and Priya and a non stop chatter by Raja,we stopped on the way for breakfast,just beside a beautiful lake teeming with lotus blooms and white egrets flapping their wings.You don't get to see a more beautiful sight in our hustling,bustling cities anymore,sad to see that this place was just a few kilometers away from Chennai.
Well,we got to stretch our legs a bit,and the amazing Ramki showed us that its not always about pizzas.Within a matter of 28 mts(someone had actually timed him)he had pongal,convenio chapati, poori,and chutney ready.Now how on earth is this guy a bachelor still, is beyond my understanding,he should have been on every girls wish list. Thank you Ramki for the lovely breakfast,ate enough to what I thought would fill me up for the rest of the journey,but surprise,surprise I was hungry as hell by the time we reached Pondy.
Entering Pondy we were welcomed by Mani Prabhu and Veeren Koneru our hosts for the entire holiday,we reached Tantos,a shacky kind of restaurant and were seated at a mile long table.They had the days special on boards,strategically placed at the entrance itself.We each chose what we wanted and chit chatted till the food arrived.They served good iced teas in big glass bottles,delicious and so refreshing on a hot summers day.
Its the first time that I was meeting so many members from CFG,after being virtual friends,it felt good to connect with them in person.Sathya Narayana Lalitha and Vidhya were the only three whom I hadn't interacted or met earlier and I must say they were a delight to be with.Sathya was the funny guy of the trip( PG you better beware)and kept us laughing throughout the time we spent in Pondy.
On to food,it was,warm and absolutely fresh,but what with the French around,it was bland and saltless.My guess is that they consciously make it that way to cater to the French crowd.Post lunch we dropped into the Auroville Bakery,and were greeted by near empty stall,such is the popularity of this place,that I believe everything gets sold out as soon as its placed on the shelves.I would agree (had them at home) its products were fine and tasty.
Reached Hotel Jothimani to relax and chill out for a few hours.We were asked to be ready by 6 pm to visit the beach and follow on to dinner at L'Orient.
Arrived at the beach,tried their sundal,nothing close to what we get at our Marina beach though.Moved on from there to L'Orient a beautiful french style restaurant,they had our seats ready but it was out in the open and none of us were in the mood to sit in the sweltering heat.Moved inside to a slightly cramped space and again to bland saltless food.A bit of quick thinking by Abhijeet and Chesta,we chose a spicy dish from the menu and voila,it was so good.
So far food wise,the whole group was a tad disappointed,but the company just made up for it...
We had Sathya with his guitar and Chinna on the piano entertaining us with music.Had so much fun singing off key and showing off our vocal chords.Oh God just didn't want the day to end,but end it had too,not before we stopped at Naturals to have their amazing 100% natural ice creams.Most importantly why haven't they come into Chennai as yet ?
You guys all take a bow,for making us ladies feel so secure and looked after...Mani Prabhu,Veeren,Nishanth,Karunakaran,Jagadeesh,Chinna,Ramki,Abhijeet,the oh so sweet Sreeram and our very own comic relief Sir Sathya Narayana....You guys broke all boundaries of hospitality and friendship.....
Picture abhi bakhi hai dost...this is just day one...to be continued.......
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