My Choice - Kotdwāra

09 June, 2016.We were coming back from Lansdowne to Kotdwara, to catch a trainback to Delhi. We? The seven of us: The Wife, Junior, Yours Truly,my parents, and her parents. Seven hungry people, with enoughpacked lunches, but bereft of ideas for dinner. We wanted tocatch the 14043 Garhwal Express from Kotdwara back to Delhi,which was to set out from Kotdwara railway station at 03:15 pm.It was 01:30 pm. The Wife and I set out from the station, wherewe had got down from a jeep from Lansdowne, in search of a packed dinner.There were a few road-side outlets close to the station, and myparents are notorious for their relative intolerance to road-side food.A short walk to the next T-junction had an inviting restaurant loom up.My Choice Restaurant, co-located with a sweet shop Sidh Bali Sweets.The restaurant itself is located on the first floor of the complex.We wanted something filling to be packed for us.We wanted something without a speck of red pepper/chillies.To add to it, we wanted something relatively quickly.These are often contradictory requirements, especially in an Indian context.The thali is often a safe choice in an Indian context, since mostof the items on offer are pre-prepared, and ready.The manager was up to the task, and made a couple of suggestions.We replaced the most extensive thali spread on the menu, with thefollowing: salad, rice and rotis as the standard fare.We wanted the latter with a bit of ghee or butter on them,lest they go dry by the time hunger struck us on the train.There was some dal, which the manager got prepared for us from abasic boiled version. Junior wanted his favourite paneer bhurji,and jeera aalu, both of which are often safer choices, to haveprepared without the preparations getting speckled with chilli powder.There was also some nice pineapple raita, and one rasgulla to go with it.

We ate here on our way from Garhwal to Delhi. A chance find but amazing food, The wait staff was polite, the washroom was clean and the food really yummy and piping hot.

It was my birthday today and I went to this restaurant with my partner. Unfortunately, the food quality was poor and I had never experienced such bad Shahi cuisine before. The service was also very disappointing as the waiter seemed distracted and I had to constantly remind them to take our order. The only positive aspect of the experience was.

On June 9, 2016, we returned from Lansdowne to Kotdwara to catch a train back to Delhi. There were seven of us: a woman, a junior, her husband, my parents, and her parents. We were all hungry and had enough lunch packs, but we were looking for something different. In the evening, we planned to take the 14043 Garhwal Express from Kotdwara back to Delhi, which was scheduled to depart at 15:15 from the Kotdwara train station. It was already 1:30 pm. The woman and I decided to explore the area outside the train station to find a place to have dinner. There were a few street-side food vendors near the train station, but my parents prefer not to eat street food. We walked a short distance to the next T-junction where we found a welcoming restaurant called Weaving Machine, with a sweet shop called Sidh Bali Sweets nearby. The restaurant was located on the first floor of the building. We were looking for something filling, non-spicy, and quick. These requirements can be challenging to fulfill in an Indian context. The manager suggested a thali, which is a safe choice as most of the items are already prepared. We opted for a customized thali with salad, rice, and rotis as standard. We requested the rotis to be served with a bit of ghee or butter to prevent them from drying out on the train journey. The manager also prepared a simple dal for us. The junior wanted his favorite sprout bhurji and jeera aalu, both without chili powder. We also ordered a pineapple dessert and a rasgulla to go with it.

We stopped at this restaurant on our way from Garhwal to Delhi. It was a bit difficult to find, but the food was amazing. The wait staff was polite, the restroom was clean, and the food was delicious and served piping hot.