* Now that I was on the other side,I continued my aimless wandering,walking on the sidewalk that was kinda empty rather than the usual ambiance of a bustling crowd all around me.All of a sudden my tummy rumbled and my hunger pangs were gnawing at my insides."Damn!All I had this morning was half-a-cup of coffee"I thought to myself.Fortunately the most famous hotel of my area was just around the corner and I was just a few steps away from a scrumptious breakfast(more like brunch considering the time).I finally reached the restaurant and looked at the 'Today's special'outside the hotel that read 'Paneer tikka' .Below that was the common items that the hotel served like coffee,tea,roti's etc.Next to the items listed were its respective pictures,just looking at them made me smack my lips and literally drool at the sight of it.But the next thing that was labeled after these 2 were the ones that made my shoulders droop --The Price of the items.--
The price of their cheapest dish itself was above 200Rs,while I just had an almost empty wallet. "Note to self:Must ask dad to give me this month's pocket money"I said to myself and turned away from the hotel knowing that I would not be able to fill my stomach with the meager amount of food that I can buy with that measly amount of money I have in my pocket.As I turned I saw a small shaft with tables and chairs and people sitting in them eating.I walked towards it trying to think why I hadn't seen this hotel before."Maybe it was because of all this trees and greenery around it that kept it away from the traffic and crowd.I reached there and found people with blue uniforms preparing food.There was one on my right pounding on dough to make parathas while the guy on my left was preparing 'Paneer Tikka'!!.This dish being my most favorite dish made me run to the man sitting at the billing counter."I'd like a plate of Paneer tikka and 2 parathas please" I said and suddenly had a feeling that this small shaft wouldn't give me the quality of the excellent food that would be served in that famous hotel I had just turned down.The man at the counter just noted down my order and handed me my bill,"Your bill sir" he said.I took the bill and became a little worried about the price but as I read the amount at the bottom I felt relieved.This was because the price of my order was 2 times less than the price of what it would have been in -'Hotel expensively famous'
But then I went back to the thought of whether this place would provide the quality that would match my expectations.I could see the man making parathas pounding on the dough that I was gonna be eating and all the way over to my left I could see 'Mr.Paneer man' making my favorite dish.And within 2 minutes of waiting I could see the waiter bringing a tray towards my table.By that time My tummy felt like I had Michael Schumacher driving all over my insides with his red Ferrari.The waiter propped up my food on the table and started placing spoons and forks on my table.He took a bottle of ketchup from an empty table and placed it on mine."Am I supposed to eat my parathas with a spoon and a fork,And why the hell is a bottle of ketchup placed on my table..Serve me the freaking food already"I wanted to shout but didn't.And at last he kept my two dishes on the table and left me in peace to get on with my food.
I lifted my two parathas from my bread basket and dropped it on my plate,swearing at my carelessness of ignoring the smoke rising from it which as a result burnt my hands.I used the spoon to help put my paneer on my plate."So that's what the spoon is for Eh,But I still don't see why he kept the fork on my table?"I said to myself smiling as I broke off a small piece of my soft Indian bread and used it to lift a square shaped paneer that felt so fluffy and nice and shoved it in my mouth.
And as soon as it entered my mouth,my taste buds became active,My eyes went wide and I froze with my first piece of the day's food still in my mouth*----
*To be continued------ To read the first part click here.
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