Team Pashatuks settled in at Barog at the Pinewood Hotel run by the state tourism.
ever ready for anything new in terms of experience, we heard that the jaggery filled Indian bread deep fried in clarified butter(Gur parantha in desi ghee to the Indian reader) was an item which was a definite must do on the food list. And the name Chachus Dhaba was recommended for this item.
A little more on Hotel Pinewood- like most mountain hotels, this one too was at a slight elevation from the main road. What Pashatuks enjoyed was the different levels at which the property was divided.
The first level was closest to the road, and had a lovely cafeteria, where beer and wines are served more than tea or coffee. lovely wrought iron chairs make this place picture perfect. Bottle brush trees all around set off the locale. We spent quite a while lazing around here, soaking in the silence and the sound of the mountain birds.
If you look at the backdrop the cafeteria also adheres to the typical hill building structure- sloping roof(though we were told by the locals that snow is rare in Barog).
Tea and coffee are still served in the good old fashioned British style of separate containers for milk and sugar.
Beyond this level is the administrative level with the ground floor rooms. All the rooms lead into a patch of green grass and some lovely misty mountain vistas. The steps leading up afforded many seating moments for us as we enjoyed the surrounding flowers. There is a lovely rose garden with roses in full bloom. In different hues. What captured our imagination was the hill bell flowers. the locals were not able to tell is the name- but we will find out soon.
The third level of the hotel has the dining room and a few rooms done up in wood with balconies that offer spectacular vistas.
We were amused to find that keeping in mind that the tourist might walk away with the linen, they were embossed with the signatures of the tourism department. Very professional. The only silly thing we found was that the pillow covers were over 2 years old as the pillow covers screamed 2013 in circa 2015. Rather unprofessional we found, but the saving grace was that they were spotlessly clean and sparkling white, despite being 2 year old.
The room rates are standard Govt. room rates, maybe a little on the higher side but worth ever bit of the money paid.One gets a 25 % off season discount.
Back to the Jaggery bread story. As described earlier, to get anyone one has to walk down to the main road, A couple of steps away from the main entrance to the hotel, the road bends and we come across a couple of shops- mostly eateries where the famed Chachus was. We walked in and found the place filled and not too clean. Although Pashatuks is very flexible on what they eat, they are a tad finicky about cleanliness of any eatery.
We walked out and were amused to see a billboard offering Chinese paranthas.
We stood wondering aloud what could possibly be the filling for the bread- noodles maybe, when a masculine voice spoke to us in perfect English that the original board was to have the word cheese, but due to an error by the painter(who we are sure must have been a chinese food freak),it got misspelled as Chinese. So the owner put a big black comma between the two words, signifying that there was also Chinese fare available with the Paranthas.
We immediately warmed up to this owner with a sense of humor as quirky as our own and requested him to set up a table outside his small Little Punjab cafe(dhabba ) and asked him if we could sample the famed Gur parantha of that belt.
Sweety his ever smiling roly poly wife answered in the affirmative but told us that they had run out of jaggery that afternoon.
And proceeded to feed us the yummiest meal that we had in the hills in a long long time
As usual Team Pashatuks got chatting and we were surprised to learn that Lucky our Dhabba owner was actually working in one of the properties taking care of the construction there. His wife Sweety , converted her passion for cooking into full scale enterprise and they had opened the place a few months ago. The fact that the next shop was a liquor Vendor helps them to get good business.
The food was excellent undoubtedly, but what drew us back to this little cafe was the warmth with which they served the food- we felt that we were among friends, as they happily introduced us to the local hot shots- the liquor vendor, the chemist, the property dealer and the general store owner apart from their family members who had come visiting them.
A bunch of ruffians came for food and wanted to sit where we were sitting, and we got a little tense seeing that they were more than happy with spirits inside them. We were touched beyond words as Lucky maneuvered them with a smiling face to the tiny space inside, thereby ensuring our meal in peace. We even were invited to his home upstairs where we spent some time with his children and came back satisfied from deep within..
Needless to stay we had all our meals with these friends, so cant really give a comparative evaluation with the famed Chachus, apart from the fact that we were not satisfied with the cleanliness bit.
Barog as a place has plenty to offer to travelers looking for long leisurely walks through the trails. We took a couple of them - unfortunately we were not able to walk up to the grave of Col. Barog the person after whom this place was named. Locals advised us against it as it was monsoons and lots of foliage growth could hamper the walk. This trip was not working out quite the way a typical Pashatuks trip works, high on Adrenalin rushes, new experiences and lots of stories for our readers, but this too was an experience. Tranquility on a trip- a new experience for us.We soaked in whatever bounty nature had to offer and looked forward to the next day, When we decided to go upto the Dagshai hills.
ever ready for anything new in terms of experience, we heard that the jaggery filled Indian bread deep fried in clarified butter(Gur parantha in desi ghee to the Indian reader) was an item which was a definite must do on the food list. And the name Chachus Dhaba was recommended for this item.
A little more on Hotel Pinewood- like most mountain hotels, this one too was at a slight elevation from the main road. What Pashatuks enjoyed was the different levels at which the property was divided.
If you look at the backdrop the cafeteria also adheres to the typical hill building structure- sloping roof(though we were told by the locals that snow is rare in Barog).
Tea and coffee are still served in the good old fashioned British style of separate containers for milk and sugar.
Beyond this level is the administrative level with the ground floor rooms. All the rooms lead into a patch of green grass and some lovely misty mountain vistas. The steps leading up afforded many seating moments for us as we enjoyed the surrounding flowers. There is a lovely rose garden with roses in full bloom. In different hues. What captured our imagination was the hill bell flowers. the locals were not able to tell is the name- but we will find out soon.
We were amused to find that keeping in mind that the tourist might walk away with the linen, they were embossed with the signatures of the tourism department. Very professional. The only silly thing we found was that the pillow covers were over 2 years old as the pillow covers screamed 2013 in circa 2015. Rather unprofessional we found, but the saving grace was that they were spotlessly clean and sparkling white, despite being 2 year old.
The room rates are standard Govt. room rates, maybe a little on the higher side but worth ever bit of the money paid.One gets a 25 % off season discount.
Back to the Jaggery bread story. As described earlier, to get anyone one has to walk down to the main road, A couple of steps away from the main entrance to the hotel, the road bends and we come across a couple of shops- mostly eateries where the famed Chachus was. We walked in and found the place filled and not too clean. Although Pashatuks is very flexible on what they eat, they are a tad finicky about cleanliness of any eatery.
We walked out and were amused to see a billboard offering Chinese paranthas.
Sweety his ever smiling roly poly wife answered in the affirmative but told us that they had run out of jaggery that afternoon.
And proceeded to feed us the yummiest meal that we had in the hills in a long long time
 |
| the Gur Prantha |
The food was excellent undoubtedly, but what drew us back to this little cafe was the warmth with which they served the food- we felt that we were among friends, as they happily introduced us to the local hot shots- the liquor vendor, the chemist, the property dealer and the general store owner apart from their family members who had come visiting them.
 |
| The only place we ate during our stay at Barog |
A bunch of ruffians came for food and wanted to sit where we were sitting, and we got a little tense seeing that they were more than happy with spirits inside them. We were touched beyond words as Lucky maneuvered them with a smiling face to the tiny space inside, thereby ensuring our meal in peace. We even were invited to his home upstairs where we spent some time with his children and came back satisfied from deep within..
Needless to stay we had all our meals with these friends, so cant really give a comparative evaluation with the famed Chachus, apart from the fact that we were not satisfied with the cleanliness bit.
