[SS-Traveller]

The problem with being an inveterate traveller, for us, is that we have often missed out on visiting the interesting places closer to home, in our search for the more exotic and distant places.

Like Amritsar, Lucknow is another city that is a hop, step and jump away from Delhi, and we had never cared to take a trip there. So, on the next weekend following the Amritsar trip, H-4® took the NH2 to Lucknow. As is our wont, departure time was 8:15 PM, with an overnight drive along roads with minimal traffic. 10 hours later, we were in paradise!

Paradise indeed - for non-veg foodies, for shopping, and for viewing historical monuments. So let's begin with the customary teaser pics, and set the mood!

No more bad poetry this time...

[v&v]

Doc, Tunde Kaba humm tempting. Certainly my next visit is Lucknow. Long pending but getting extended. I want to spend a week simply relishing lucknavi food.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by v&v

Doc, Tunde Kaba humm tempting. Certainly my next visit is Lucknow. Long pending but getting extended. I want to spend a week simply relishing lucknavi food.

Interestingly, there is no Tunday Kabab as such. Tunday (Kababs from the city of Nawabs | www.tundaykabab.com) is the chain of shops (I think there are about 5 of them) across Lucknow which are famous for their variety of kababs, though similar kababs are also available elsewhere. We visited one of the outlets which is an offshoot of the main chain, and loved the stuff they served up. Also had kababs next to the Tulsi theatre (multiple outlets there), which was equally good.



PS: I heard the original Tunday Kabab outlet also serves beef, though the other ones don't.

[SS-Traveller]

For the first time in the last 12 years, we left home without our favourite music. The previous time was during a drive to Patna in February 1999, in someone else's M800 - the car never had any ICE!

The CDs were left behind in the last-minute rush to pack up, especially since we had a train to catch before leaving for Lucknow. Our guest had to catch the Duronto Express to CCU at 8:05 PM, after which we left the New Delhi station - to be caught up in an hour-long traffic jam at the Faridabad border.

FM on radio did the job of keeping us entertained till past Agra. Soon after, the only channel with any reception at all was 91.9 MHz, and that faded out too about 30 km before Auraiya. From there on till about 50km before Kanpur, it was a tough drive - no music on an overnight haul is probably one of my worst nightmares.

Satguide got us to within 100m of the Gomti Hotel at Hazratganj, in the heart of Lucknow, at 6 AM, and we were no less elated to find the Grandson of Tunday Kababi signboard within 200m of the hotel entrance. An early check-in and 3 hours of sleep later, I was ready to go and attend my conference.

Except for the insistent baksheesh-asking habits of all the employees at the hotel, it was a pleasant experience at the Gomti, a UP Tourism-run hotel with ample parking space as well as decent rooms. We chose the AC Ordinary rooms for 1700INR, plus 15% for an extra bed, and some 4% in taxes. Rooms include complimentary bed-tea, & breakfast at the dining hall, with a choice of toast-omelette, paranthas, cornflakes-milk or puri-sabzi as well as tea/coffee.

[TaureanBull]

My wife hails from the city of Nawabs. I had the same question in my mind that why dont people visit Lucknow or such nearby places. I would be following this thread very closely. Thanks for bringing it up.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Interestingly, there is no Tunday Kabab as such.

Tunday Kabab is the kabab at Tundays'. Its not a recipe or type of kabab. They are awesome. Finding the real Tunday may be a bit difficult for new people. However, what I heard last was that there is a substantial drop in the quality of kababs since the time Tunday has expired. The various shops you find are actually not owned by one single person but belong to person who claim inheritance. So, technically its not a chain.

If any one has more info then I request to add more or may be correct.

Did you try Prakash's kulfi? I see some chicken work pic. Was it in Aminabad?

[CrackedHead]

Thread subscribed

Tunday - the original that serves beef - is in Chowk. You go to the Chowk police station and there's a lane that goes inside and its a 15 min walk. The sides are lined with shops that sell the embroidered stuff (Chicken as its called). Ask and you shall find.

Hope you got to have some makhan as well.

[v&v]

Lucknow it is not only Tunde kababs there is big list one can relish.
A few i can recall are Kakori Kebabs, Shami Kebabs, Boti Kebabs, Patili ke Kababs, Ghutwa Kebabs. Others like Kaliya,Kormas, Nahari-kulchas, Sheermal and Warqi parathas. Also how to forget about galawati kebab too.

Then the sweet dishes like shahi tukra, semiya ka mussaffir etc and ofcourse the chaats and lassies.

One has tons of option to eat. I am seriously consider to visit Lucknow for during Lucknow festival between 25 Nov to 5 Dec.

[samsag12]

Its going to be a very interesting thread, with people sharing the delicacies and culture of the CITY OF NAWAABS- LUCKNOW.
Regarding the confusion over the Tunday kebabs as Crackedhead pointed out the original shop is at Chowk area. The easiest and experiencing way ( with those gullies having Chikan kaarigari selling shops, Chandi ka verk, et al) to visit there is stated by him too. The main shop serves only Beef products. The second best option is to visit the shop located in Aminabad. If you want to relish the taste of Tunday kebabs in a decent airconditioned place then the shop of Tunday on 4th floor at Saharagunj mall is the place for you. BTW the famous kebabs of Tunday are the Galaawat kebabs.
SS-Traveller do share more of your experiences.

[phamilyman]

Good stuff boss - do post more!

I have eaten at Hotel Gomti many a times - very good veg food!

PS: Why didnt you take the shooting range route to faridabad? Badarpur has been complete chaos for a while now!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

Tunday Kabab is the kabab at Tundays'. Its not a recipe or type of kabab.
Did you try Prakash's kulfi? I see some chicken work pic. Was it in Aminabad?

Originally Posted by CrackedHead

Tunday - the original that serves beef - is in Chowk. You go to the Chowk police station and there's a lane that goes inside and its a 15 min walk.
Hope you got to have some makhan as well.

Originally Posted by samsag12

Regarding the confusion over the Tunday kebabs...the original shop is at Chowk area.
The main shop serves only Beef products.
...visit the shop located in Aminabad. ...the shop of Tunday on 4th floor at Saharagunj mall...

Thanks for clarifying about Tunday again. Didn't try Prakash's kulfi, makhan or even the basket chaat that Ganj is so famous for, but did certainly have the Lassi at Prem Mishtann / Sweets, right on the Chowk circle.

Chikan shopping was done at 2 places - at Chowk - the lane down Gol Darwaza, and later at the Janpath Market. Didn't find the time to go to Aminabad.

The Saharaganj Mall is also nearby from the Gomti Hotel (15 min. walk).

Originally Posted by v&v

I am seriously consider to visit Lucknow for during Lucknow festival between 25 Nov to 5 Dec.

Good! Do it. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

I have eaten at Hotel Gomti many a times - very good veg food!
PS: Why didnt you take the shooting range route to faridabad? Badarpur has been complete chaos for a while now!

After the veg. food at Amritsar, we weren't looking forward to more of it in Lucknow.

The shooting range road was an option, but somehow I was under the impression that the flyover at Badarpur was open both ways. By the time I realised that only the FBD-DEL section of the flyover was open, but the road to Faridabad did not run over the flyover, it was too late to turn back.

[LongDrive lover]

SS da,

You were here and I didn't know! Anyway, couldn't have met as I was also out of town for official work.

Well, even I am got to know about Lucknow through this thread! Don't know much about my backyard!

Looking forward for interesting discussion about Nawabi culture.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by LongDrive lover

You were here and I didn't know!

@LDL: There will be another time!

Before we talk about Lucknow as such, let me put in a quick update about the route condition, esp. in and after Kanpur.

The elevated restricted-access road through Kanpur takes a right curve about 20 km later, and heads off to Allahabad. At the end of that road is a toll gate. For people wanting to head to Lucknow, an arrow at the beginning of the flyover (while approaching from Delhi) leads one to the road below the flyover, going parallel to the restricted carriageway. We took this, and I expected to come out at the circle where the road leads to Lucknow.

That, however, was not to be. 20 km down that road, the rest of it is incomplete, and a ramp merges the road back to the restricted elevated road. To actually go towards LKO, one has to switch over to the opposite carriageway on the other side of the toll road, and travel along a narrow, broken-down road into oncoming truck traffic, until one arrives at that circle. We missed switching over, and now we were on the toll road, where I was utterly apprehensive of backtracking, driving back the wrong way, to go down that ramp again and merge with the opposite side. You'll get an idea of the situation in the following track.



We did an U-turn finally at Point C in the track below, went 3 km back towards Delhi, found another U-turn cut, came down the ramp at Point A, and finally switched over to the opposite track at Point B. Wasted some time and fuel in figuring it out. The better option (if we had known earlier), would have been, instead of going below the toll road, to take the toll road directly to Point A, U-turn down the ramp, and join up with the opposite track at Point B.



Which is what we did on the way back. Came along the side road, turned at Point B (a low-height cut under the elevated road which won't accommodate trucks), came back up the ramp at Point A onto the elevated road, took a U-turn again at Point C, and carried on along the really good and empty toll road towards Delhi. Saved us 20 km of travelling along the narrow road parallel to the toll road, braving oncoming trucks. The diversion cost us about 5.5 km. Worth it.

Edit: Incidentally, the road from Kanpur circle almost till Unnao (about 20 km) is bad. Narrow, poorly surfaced, and the bridge over the Ganga river is awful. The rest of the run to LKO is smooth, on dual-carriageway road.

[LongDrive lover]

[quote=SS-Traveller;2131832]@LDL: There will be another time!

Before we talk about Lucknow as such, let me put in a quick update about the route condition, esp. in and after Kanpur.

The better option (if we had known earlier), would have been, instead of going below the toll road, to take the toll road directly to Point A, U-turn down the ramp, and join up with the opposite track at Point B.

Which is what we did on the way back. Came along the side road, turned at Point B (a low-height cut under the elevated road which won't accommodate trucks), came back up the ramp at Point A onto the elevated road, took a U-turn again at Point C, and carried on along the really good and empty toll road towards Delhi. Saved us 20 km of traveling along the narrow road parallel to the toll road, braving oncoming trucks. The diversion cost us about 5.5 km. Worth it.


Yes. We too do this when heading to Agra-Delhi side. Sometimes (esply in peak evening hrs. have to brave long ques of trucks on that little broken stretch of opposite side, till Ganga bridge).

Another option (which I have never tried, but would try in next trip) could be to carry on NH2 toll road towards Allahabad and take a U turn (where the elevated road ends) come back to the Rama Devi (Lucknow road) Circle and take a right turn from circle onto Lko road.

[phamilyman]

Sarkar,

Instead of wasting fuel on that stretch, you should've called me

The better option is simply to carry on to the end of the elevated carriageway (coming from delhi side) and take a U turn to get to the main chauraha for lucknow.

While returning, its the same. Take a left at the chauraha (only roundabout in kanpur on that stretch) and go 5km and take a U onto the high speed expressway.

Be prepared for junta driving wrong side all the time!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

...you should've called me...

Yeah, at 3.30 AM! LOL...

Will remember your suggestion for future trips.