Sylvia's Journal

There are many things one should eat when in Lucknow. Axel had done the research and sent me a list of 10 items. One of them is Tunday kabab, a small patty, crisp on the outside and mushy on the inside, made from goat meat. V is vegetarian and so is her cousin, so they watched as R and I ate these at the top floor of a shopping mall that, to his regret, served no alcohol. It is the kind of snack that would pair well with a beer. 

The Royal Café, where we ate the night before, has several branches across town. We picked a different one for a late lunch. We ordered several varieties of ‘chaat’. These are savory snacks, usually sold and eaten on the side of the road. To me they looked very healthy (yogurt, potato, spices) compared to American snack foods but my friends told me they weren’t. This (and all the sugar I ate) would explain why I have gained 2 kilos . 

We ordered a bunch from the special ‘chaat’ menu and shared them, followed by Royal café coffee which was even better than cappuccino – foamy milk, coffee of course and then some secret ingredients.

After that we looked for the vests that had been promised to the neighbors – we visited a few shops.  I am traveling light this trip and refrained from adding to my shawl and scarf collection – but I must admit I saw some from Kashmir that were made from the finest wool, or beautifully embroidered. I was tempted but resisted.

We decided we would try one last shop before giving up. The Khadi Emporium, across from a Catholic cathedral and school, had the coveted vests for women and men. I served as a model, we took a picture, sent it to the neighbors, but they said no and we gave up. Now we had checked all the boxed for the day.

We returned to our hotel and selected some sweets from another Lucknow ‘must see’ which happened to be conveniently around the corner. The sweets and cookies were for the neighbors, and some of the more photogenic ones (decorated with silver foil) to take back home.  

And then it was time to leave for the airport. The flight was not as late as the outbound; still, we didn’t get home until 2AM. Now I have one more middle of the night flight, early Saturday morning at 2 AM and then I have one week of regular nights until we miss another night on a flight to Holland for our annual New Year sibling dinner.