In Sector 35 of Chandigarh City there are more than enough nondescript eating houses and, quite frankly, many more beyond even thinking about. Appearances in South-East Asia can be deceptive and what often looks like a restaurant worthy of one’s custom turns out to be the stuff of nightmares. Fortunately Shangri-la Plus at No. 324, Sector 35-B wasn’t at the seriously horrendous end of the scale but did leave much to be desired.
The seating was plush, in an Indian kind of way, the decor ornamental, tablecloths white and starched with red overcovers, the lighting subdued and we had the place to ourselves. Little did I know at the time but there was a large downstairs area in the basement, similarly fitted out and full of evening diners. Nevertheless, the apparent lack of fellow diners in our part was of little concern.
I used the torch facility on my cellphone to read the menu and the periphal light glanced upon the upholstery of my seat and that adjoining to reveal what can only be referred to as filthy discolouration. This was offputting but this is such a common thing in India (and indeed in parts of China) that you just have to put up with it as every seat is equally as scummy! The months and years of food, oil and other spillages on these seats leaves them in a very soiled state and, of course, we Westerners who like things to be just right for us when we’re paying to dine, find it hard to comprehend why a restaurant wanting to attract customers would refrain from picking up some spray-on upholstery cleaner and cleaning up. Or better still call in a contractor who, in probably less than three hours, would do all the upholstery and leave everything looking rather delightful!
The filthy state of both the interior and exterior of most of the buildings in Chandigarh, especially the stairwells and lobbies, was explained to me by a client I visited in the first days of my time in India. He told me that building and business owners won’t spend money on such things as painting, cleaning etc as they don’t need to. Customers will not stop coming to their premises just because they’re disgustingly filthy. Work that one out for me please? It is especially interesting given that the cost of labour is so outrageously low in India that you could employ 20 people to work for days scrubbing and painting for no more than a handful of coins. Remarkable state of affairs.
Back to the Shangri-la Plus – notwithstanding that it was considered winter the temperatures were still in the mid to high 20s and a Southern Man like myself has no choice but to keep his cool by indulging in ice cold beer, Kingfisher beer of the very strong and potent variety. Somewhere between 5.25% and 8.25% according to the bottle.
The entree of pork dumplings was enough of a meal in itself and suitably well presented but regrettably the casings tasted like, and were the consistency of, warm cardboard. Who knows what the provenance of the filling was....
Up next was a Lamb and Onion Chilli dish which was straightforward, spicy, just a little on the greasy side, a tad chewy but altogether passable. Finally, an enormous bowl of Chicken Fried Rice which, as you will see in the photograph, was bursting with variety. The rice was not at all gluggy, not too dry, very adequately cooked and a more than reasonable representation of this dish.
Oddly enough my Indian dining companion ordered me a Diet Coke to finish off with – after I’d had several of the aforementioned Kingfishers. I noticed on the bill later that this was described as a Diet Cock....and on that fowl note here endeth the tale...
The seating was plush, in an Indian kind of way, the decor ornamental, tablecloths white and starched with red overcovers, the lighting subdued and we had the place to ourselves. Little did I know at the time but there was a large downstairs area in the basement, similarly fitted out and full of evening diners. Nevertheless, the apparent lack of fellow diners in our part was of little concern.
I used the torch facility on my cellphone to read the menu and the periphal light glanced upon the upholstery of my seat and that adjoining to reveal what can only be referred to as filthy discolouration. This was offputting but this is such a common thing in India (and indeed in parts of China) that you just have to put up with it as every seat is equally as scummy! The months and years of food, oil and other spillages on these seats leaves them in a very soiled state and, of course, we Westerners who like things to be just right for us when we’re paying to dine, find it hard to comprehend why a restaurant wanting to attract customers would refrain from picking up some spray-on upholstery cleaner and cleaning up. Or better still call in a contractor who, in probably less than three hours, would do all the upholstery and leave everything looking rather delightful!
The filthy state of both the interior and exterior of most of the buildings in Chandigarh, especially the stairwells and lobbies, was explained to me by a client I visited in the first days of my time in India. He told me that building and business owners won’t spend money on such things as painting, cleaning etc as they don’t need to. Customers will not stop coming to their premises just because they’re disgustingly filthy. Work that one out for me please? It is especially interesting given that the cost of labour is so outrageously low in India that you could employ 20 people to work for days scrubbing and painting for no more than a handful of coins. Remarkable state of affairs.
Back to the Shangri-la Plus – notwithstanding that it was considered winter the temperatures were still in the mid to high 20s and a Southern Man like myself has no choice but to keep his cool by indulging in ice cold beer, Kingfisher beer of the very strong and potent variety. Somewhere between 5.25% and 8.25% according to the bottle.
The entree of pork dumplings was enough of a meal in itself and suitably well presented but regrettably the casings tasted like, and were the consistency of, warm cardboard. Who knows what the provenance of the filling was....
Up next was a Lamb and Onion Chilli dish which was straightforward, spicy, just a little on the greasy side, a tad chewy but altogether passable. Finally, an enormous bowl of Chicken Fried Rice which, as you will see in the photograph, was bursting with variety. The rice was not at all gluggy, not too dry, very adequately cooked and a more than reasonable representation of this dish.
Oddly enough my Indian dining companion ordered me a Diet Coke to finish off with – after I’d had several of the aforementioned Kingfishers. I noticed on the bill later that this was described as a Diet Cock....and on that fowl note here endeth the tale...
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