2 Bay Area Recommendations
Visited Vasona Park in Los Gatos last weekend since it was highly recommended by our friends. We weren't disappointed. It was a pretty huge park. Had a huge lake in the middle with different kinds of boating - paddle boats(which we did), sailboats, kayaks, etc. The ducks swimming at various points in the lake made a pretty sight.
The ducks were also walking around on land quite freely and Kavya was pretty excited to get close to them.
A small creek flowed through the park and tiny pathways led down to it at different points. The river wasn't too deep at these points and it was fun wading in it. The water was really cold but naturally, it felt nice considering the hot weather.
The adjacent park had a cute little train that went around Vasona park and a carousel - both time-tested kiddie favorites.
Like all parks, this one too had a small play area with slides, swings, etc. Karthik went on his first slide, protectively hugged by big sister. Obviously, they both really enjoyed it and just couldn't get enough of it.
All in all, a nice, fun place to spend a not-too-hot summer afternoon if you live in the Bay Area...
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We had Karthik's birthday party on Saturday at the Southern Spice restaurant in Mountain View. Discovered the restaurant only recently but its become our new favorite place to eat out (inspite of the distance). Have liked all dishes I've had so far and I've had quite a few like bread pakora, vegetable pulav, chenna masala, aloo-gobi, etc. But if I were to list my top picks, I'd say they have the best malai kofta and gulob jamuns I've tasted so far in any restaurant here in the US. Yummy...
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Biking in vasona is great fun too. I love that park. I am sure th food is good in that restaurant, but looks like they have more north indian then south indian dishes...when did dhal makhani become s.india illa namma suttutoma?
Balaji-
We have been to Vasona Park twice now and loved the long walks that we took around the park. And, the ducks there are bigger compared to the ones in Sunnyvale parks.
Thanks for the intro to Southern Spice in Mountain View, it is closer to where we stay, will definitely make a visit soon.
that was a great snap of kavya and karthik, bb...
Sarukku Marathil Vilaiyaadum Mazhalai...
Adhai Paartha En Kann Innum Simittavillai!
suththi podunge, Sir!
How wierd is that?.. We had Mahalakshmi's birthday party (and a surprise retirement party for my dad!) at Oak Meadow Park yesterday. Had a ball organizing the event and it had a pretty good turnout of friends and family (even relatives visting from Chicago & Boston! :-).. Besides the carousel and train ride, we had a lot of traffic at the picnic games that I had organized: Water Balloon toss, water apple grabbing, sack race, lemon & spoon race.
Speaking of restaurants, we had a Dosa on Wheels party from Udupi Palace yesterday at the party. They made fresh dosas at our picnic site (choice of 4 dosas & 3 Uthappams to choose from!).. Grand affair indeed! :-)
What about another coincidence.. you mentioned Gulab Jamuns.. that was the dessert at our party as well! :-)
Balaji, If I may take the liberty...its Gulab Jamuns and not Gulob :) Gulab in hindi/urdu means Rose and the original version of this desert that comes from the Middle East was where rose water was used to flavor the syrup in which the jamuns were soaked. The rose flavor later changed to Elaichi in south India..no thanks to the Saravana chef (Grrr) But if you or your wife were to ever make this desert at home, try flavouring with rose essence, it commmmmpletely kicks it up a few notches....
anon, if I may take the liberty...its "dessert" and not "desert." i've made this mistake b4 so, thought I'd ensure that you didnt repeat it...elaam oru nalla yennam thaan :) [am assuming you understand thamizh!]
prasanna, yeah there were a lot of people in the park with their families and friends. perfect place for a picnic...
shankari, thanx for dropping by. i felt the same thing as soon as i saw the bike rentals. but pretty expensive. if u can take ur own bikes, it'd be perfect :)
and i'm guessing they do have n.indian dishes. but with a south indian touch i guess. otherwise i couldn't have liked them so much :)
mitr, hope u like the food :)
ram, thanx. they enjoyed it so much and i took a few hoping for atleast 1 perfect pic. thankfully it worked :)
sandya, quite a coincidence. and does sound like a fun affair from all those games. i'll remember to take some tips from u b4 our next party :)
dosa on wheels? cool concept. this is the udupi palace on el camino?
anon, thanx for the correction. and that was an interesting piece of history :)
ram, naan nenachen, nee sollitte :)
"naan nenachen, nee sollitte :)"
--> cha, idhe neenge solli ena priyojanam anaathe...naan propose panna pore ponnu idhaye sonnaa, evlo kick-aa irukkum ;) seri seri...yerrlllee maaningu tunsan aava koodaathu! so, i yaam apeets...!
Dessert chef-kkae gulab jamun-na.. :) thanks for correcting me! I laughed so hard....
Just deserts indeed.. (and this phrase comes only with one "s" :)
Balaji.. it's the Udupi Palace in Newark, CA. But I think I'm pretty sure that the Udupi Palace in Sunnyvale might be offering this Dosa on Wheels also. I remember Sitara also offered the same for a party that was organized in Fremont for a friend's parents' 25th wedding anniversary as early as 2001, here in Fremont. That was the very first time I ever saw the "Dosa on Wheels" deal (but couldn't even dream of affording such a thing at that time!:-)..
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