Haven for foodies : Kingdom of Dreams

With all the Gurgaon-Gurugram fiasco going on, my memories from a-day-in-Gurgoan just surfaced. This post is about my maiden visit to Gurgaon a.k.a. Gurugram. I'd still prefer calling it Gurgaon since it was called Gurgaon when I had been there last summer. It was during one of those Sundays in Delhi, that I decided to visit Gurgaon. I had a couple of friends working in Gurgaon. For those who do not know where exactly Gurgaon is, it's a place in Haryana, just on the outskirts of Delhi. So it's easily accessible from Delhi via the metro. I was meeting a writer friend there, and together we'd decide what we are to do in Gurgaon.

So I took a metro from Saket towards Hudda City Center. And got off at DLF (I guess.) and from there went around the city. The city with it's tall buildings and plush surroundings had me in awe. I was literally staring at the pace at which this city was developed. I had only been to four cities in India until then - Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Delhi. And this was unlike any other. This city was so organised and we'll maintained, that for a moment I actually got wondering whether I'm still in India. I'm so used to the traffic, chaos, garbage and pollution in the cities, that this beautiful concrete jungle was a welcome change.

So after I was done staring at the places and hogging at some local restaurants, we decided to head towards Kingdom of Dreams. Until then, I had no idea what Kingdom of Dreams was. Let me confess here that I assumed it was an amusement Park. Wonderla and Imagica crossed my mind then. But when I went there, I was literally shocked with what I found. But it was pretty exciting and I spent my entire evening there, until I went home only after around 8.30 p.m. You'll know why.

As the name suggests, it indeed is a Kingdom of Dreams for foodies and art and culture enthusiasts. So it's a perfect blend of everything awesome in one. Totally my kinda place, dude. I had to pay an entry fee of Rs. 700/- and I could eat food worth it inside. And how much can you eat for once. We had a total of Rs. 1400/- in our card, and the foodie in me pounced into action the moment I entered.

 

Before I begin, let me tell you what Kingdom of Dreams is.  Kingdom of Dreams is India's first live entertainment, theatre and leisure destination, which started in 2010. The destination consists of two beautifully done theatres, Nautanki Mahal and the Showshaa Theatre, and a cultural and cuisine area known as Culture Gully.

Nautanki Mahal is an 835-seat auditorium within the complex and is designed like a grand palace. Indian and international theatrical productions are staged there. The auditorium holds a hydraulic stage, automated fly bars, and a matrix sound system that makes the theatre experience real. Showshaa Theatre is a 350-seater covered amphitheatre, complete with a soaring tent. Multiple theatrical performances take place here including productions based on Indian mythology. No concerts were going on during the time I visited, so I missed it.

But I had a really great time at Culture Gully. Culture Gully is the arts, crafts and food boulevard at the Kingdom of Dreams. The entrance to the indoor boulevard is through a 20 ft (6.1 m) gateway, made with Golden lotus petals sparkling with tiny mirrors. It is fully air conditioned  boulevard spread across 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²), with theme restaurants and live kitchens from 14 states of India, represented with their representative architecture and decor. Each state pavilion's architecture has something unique. Other than regional delicacies, the state pavilions hosts street performances, artisans and handicraft stores. So you can eat, shop, check out places and pretend you visited 14 states of India in a day. The photos will explain better.

Entering the door of the 'Mumbai local' to reach the Maharashtra pavilion refreshed my memories from the previous month spent in Bombay. Clicking selfie at the trucks reminded me of the scenes from DDLJ - vast paddy fields, tractors and Simran running with her dupatta. I've never been to Punjab as yet. Then, listening to Maria Pitache playing on the stereo in the Goa pavilion made me miss home a tad bit too much. The food menu here didn't seem Goan though. We had some grilled sandwiches and the like here and moved further. But the next stop was amazing. Guess what? Andhra Pradesh. And undoubtedly, I tried the Hyderabadi biryani here. This was the most crowded pavilion and we had to wait for over half an hour to get our order.

The Rajasthan pavilion was my favourite. It's a miniature of a palace in Jaipur on the outside, with stores selling Rajasthani clothes, Jewelry and handicrafts inside. How much I loved it. There was a mini sheesh mahal too. I went through all the state pavilions with mini breaks to hog. I had total of six delicious donuts. They were mini donuts coated with milk chocolate. And a choco mouse to top it. Yumm! Right from the famous Mumbai pav bhaji to the Kerala dosas, the place served every kind of Indian food. There are miniatures of monuments or structures from each state set up. It's a one of it's kind experience. A nice place to chill with friends and try out  different type of food and shop for jewellery and handicrafts!