Review:Belga 4.3/5

We started off the new year with a brunch with Family and Friends at Belga, last Sunday. It is a belgian cafe with  a very warm atmosphere.

Being a Belgian restaurant it specializes in belgian waffles. However, whatever was ordered on our table was really really good. We all decided to order and then share, so we had quite a few things on the table and it was hard to move them around, but this is what we ordered. Poached eggs with Salmon and Asparagus, Green Eggs, Crepes, Waffles with fruits and whipped cream and Banana Waffles with ice cream. Everyone shared the dishes and they were all very good. I especially liked the poached eggs with Salmon and Asparagus and the banana waffles. The banana waffles had a nice presentation and tasted great! 

We also shared a pumpkin soup which was ordered for Samadh, (our friends son), which he didn't drink. I didn't think I would like it but it was actually nice. Later, we ordered the belgian fries, another speciality of the restaurant.... yummy, and i liked how the fries are served, rolled in a paper (which looks like a newspaper) and stacked in  a metal wire stand.

The serving size is small, so a person per dish ratio is good.

I would recommend taking reservations before hand, as it gets pretty crowded, especially on the weekend.

Food: 5

Service: 5

Super Quick

Pricing: 3.5 (Moderate)

Atmosphere: 3.5

Cozy but can get crowded with no room to walk.

Location/Information:

514 8th Street SE

(between S E, St and S G St)

Washington, DC 20003

202 544 0100

Hours:

Lunch:

Monday through Thursday from 11:30 AM until 3:00 PM

Friday from 11:30 AM until 5:30 PM

Brunch:

Saturday from 10:00 AM until 5:30 PM

Sunday from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM

Dinner:

Monday through Thursday from 5:30 OM until 10:00 PM

Friday and Saturday from 5:30 Pm until 11:00 PM

Sunday from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM

Parking:

Street

Back in VA

Tarun and Myself are back in Virginia after a little more than 2 years. Well, we did make a trip here last May but now we are here to stay, at-least that's what we say.

What's surprising is that nothing seems to be calling me this time. Since we landed on Dec 17th, I haven't been excited at all. I am actually not feeling anything, I am numb. This seems like any other place to me now...the place I earlier thought could be home.

It has been good catching up with family and friends here but I haven't been super excited like I used to be back in time. 

May be I have matured or may be it will all change...we'll see.

Ananda in the Himalayas

Myself and Tarun made a trip to Ananda early October for 2 nights and 3 days. It was for his birthday and I had made the bookings before leaving for Japan. We decided to take the Shatabdi from Delhi to Haridwar and had Ananda arrange a pick up for us from the train station. The journey was comfortable. When we reached Haridwar and got out of the train station there was our cab driver waiting for us with a placard. We were so disappointed when we reached the car, we had expected a clean well kept car to come pick us up, but that one was, I guess a car used for bringing supplies to the resort from the nearby town, it had some metal bars inside to safeguard stuff. Anyway, we were disappointed and our expectation of Ananda hit its bottom right there.

We reached the resort after a 1.5 hour car ride and were greeted with an aarti by the staff. We were made comfortable in the living area of the palace where we were served a welcome drink made of lemon and ginger (quite refreshing!). Our room keys were handed to us in a short while and a golf cart was arranged to show us the property and take us to our room.

As our driver showed us the property I admired how well it was kept and how lush green it was. Upon reaching our room, we were told that the resort provides white Kurta Pajamas for the guests in their size for the them to wear during their stay. I thought, that was pretty cool and we both ordered our sizes (well they didn't have mine, so I took the smallest they had).

Our room was quite nice and had a nice view of the greens and the valley; only if the sky was clear we would have seen the valley but we still enjoyed the greens!

We relaxed in the resort all 3 days, pampered ourselves with some great massages and caught up on our reading. I highly recommend the Abhyanga massage which is done by two therapist. I believe that is the best massage i've had!

We enjoyed all our meals, the food was simple but tastefully cooked.

The property is well kept and serene and the sight of the guests walking around the property, clad in white Kurta Pajamas makes everything look so pure and simple, which I loved.

The staff is genuinely nice and helpful. On our checkout, we were asked to fill the feedback form and we gave an honest feedback, which means we told them we didn't like our pick up car and guess what, they were extra nice while dropping us to the train station in Haridwar, not only did the driver do all he could to make us reach the train station on time (we started late from the resort, some last minute ticket drama), he also waited to see we board the train. (We didn't know he was waiting till he came to us when the train arrived). We thought that was very nice and then a day or two later we received an email from the resort manager, apologizing for the car at our pickup. This surely impressed us and it showed he cared.

A short quiet trip was exactly what we needed after our vacation in Japan. I had a very relaxing time and Tarun said he quite liked it too, so I was happy he enjoyed his b'day weekend that I had planned for him!

Japan: Day 9: Tokyo

Today is our last day in Japan, we head back to India tomorrow morning and we wanted to make the most of it. So, we started off by hitting the Tsukiji fish market again but this time not for fish watching but for eating some fresh sushi at Edogin, acclaimed to be one of the best sushi bars in the area. It definitely stayed up to its reputation.

After having some great sushi, I went looking for some Japanese tea and bought some packs of Sencha and Matcha varieties. I also bought a Japanese engraved knife, which I consider my best purchase of the trip!

We later headed to Ginza where we relaxed in a tea room while drinking some hot Japanese tea and then took the train to Shibuya. O boy, was it crowded there! I had never seen so many people cross the road at the same time. Shibuya's four way crossing is said to be the busiest in the world. At one light change, there are hundreds of people trying to reach the other side. It was quite intimidating at first but later I got used to it.

Also, the area is known to be the shopping destination for teenagers and young adults, so that was one reason I wanted to go check it out, but I guess I am old now, coz I didn't like a thing...yes, not even one thing! Since, there wasn't much to do in Shibuya, we decided to spend the rest of the evening at Omotesando. Here, we strolled, talked, people watched and later dined at the Anniversaire cafe and had a nice dinner...our last one in Tokyo...at-least till we come back!

Arigato gozaimas Japan, for a wonderful stay....and here we bow to you. :)

Japan: Day 8: Tokyo

Today, we went to Roppongi Hills, the most prestigious area in the city, where the Japanese hot shots and the expats live. It has a huge shopping mall, where getting lost is easy. For all the hype it has, I didn't quite like it. I find Omotesando and Ginza way more lively and better areas to shop and stroll.
We had a nice big lunch at Azabu Kyutoku, in Roppongi Hills, which I quite liked...and that's me eating my share. :)After lunch, we headed back to Ginza, where we did some people watching, strolling and some shopping too!
For dinner, we took some food to go and ate in our room at the hotel...it was nice.

Japan: Day 7: Tokyo

We got up at 5 in the morning today to check out the Tsukiji fish market, known to be the biggest wholesale fish market in the world! It was such an action packed place and for a fish market, it was really clean and not so stinky either.
We saw so many varieties and sizes of fish and some other seafood too.

After touring around the fish market, we had Maguro-donburi (raw slices of fresh tuna over rice, garnished with seaweed, ginger and some wasabi) for breakfast at Segawa, a much acclaimed, little counter restaurant by the fish market itself. It was delicious!

We spent the rest of the day roaming around Ginza and in the evening had sushi for my b'day dinner at Kyubei. It was the best sushi I've ever had!
And that's us at Kyubei! :) Tarun has a big piece of sushi in his mouth.Thanks to Tarun, I had a lovely day overall! :)

Japan: Day 6: Tokyo

We started our day at the Meiji-Jingu shrine where we happened to see a Japanese wedding procession!We spent the rest of the day at Omote-sando which harbors local and international fashion stores along with boutique shops and O so yummy looking cafes that it is hard to resist walking into at least one of them and enjoying a hot cup of coffee with a short piece of cake!
Among other things in the area, we noticed a FREE TIBET rally and cute Japanese girls giving away some free samples.