THE 'CHA-BAR' STORY

The Cha Bar is a contemporary styled literary café located in a cozy corner of the Oxford Bookstore in Bhubaneswar.  A perfect place which helps you to elude the busy world outside and makes you feel in a way closer to the nature with white light filtering through large glass windows and  interiors which are made up of simple and basic materials with their natural texture and beauty retained. Serving around 100 varieties of tea, the cha-bar surely takes the traditional ‘cha’ over to an another level among the urban crowd.  In their own words - “The Cha-Bar is not only about Tea but goes beyond that and offers an experience that is built around a central theme - TEA. It moves tea drinking from a dry page in history to a contemporary urban living experience and brings alive the romance of tea and positions it as the chosen beverage of the urban populace. Cha-Bar proposes to educate and revive the consumer to the lost ritual of tea drinking with all its possibilities – not merely as a beverage but a concept. It is about re-introducing tea as a trendy social beverage and to take it out to an urban contemporary space, out of the home and dhabas.”

Now let’s talk some business, the Cha-Bar menu book welcomes you with its 20 pages of mind baffling varieties of tea which are served both hot and cold. Exotic varieties of tea such as ‘Arabic Spice’, ‘South American Mate’, ‘Malaysian Teh Tarik’, and ‘Japanese Macha’ are served here. The menu just seems endless with flavours of tea being served from countries as far as England and also from neighboring countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal as well. They also serve an amazing variety of Indian tea, starting from teas consumed in different parts of India to innovative varieties such as ‘Bollywood Masala Mix’.  If you want to beat the summer heat, then you can choose from the 15 types of iced teas and Margaritas. They also serve amazing varieties of flavoured teas such as vanilla, chocolate, rum etc some of which are also served cold. Hold on, now if you are not much of a tea lover, then it’s not a problem because the Cha-Bar  also serves a sufficient no. of evergreen varieties of coffee such as ‘Cafe Latte’, ‘Cafe Macchiato’, ‘Cappuccino’ , etc.  Finally, to satisfy your hungry stomach, sandwiches, salads, wraps, bakery items etc. can also be found in the menu.

My recommendation for somebody visiting for the first time would be ‘mint tea ice crush’ or the vanilla flavoured tea served cold. ‘Mint tea ice crush’ is a refreshing green tea infusion, tingling with crème-de-menthe, lemon juice, mint, crushed ice and will make a nice combination with your favourite book or to any conversation. Now, with the summer coming to an end, welcome the rains with a hot cup of tea at the Cha-Bar and enjoy a warm experience while sipping hot tea and watching the rains through its large glass windows. The Cha-Bar gives you a distinctive experience of relaxed tea drinking at price levels that offer great value for money. The service is pretty good with the beverages being served in trendy cutlery. However, due to very less space you may sometimes find the Cha-Bar with full tables. The Cha-Bar is definitely one great place for a book lover because it provides a refreshing break while discovering the amazing collection of books that Oxford has in store for you.

Food....Food......and only Food !!!

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” -
George Bernard Shaw

Are you on a diet? Do you feel guilty when you consume a food that's not within the confines of your diet, such as foods high in fat, calories, sugar, carbohydrates, etc? When you decide to splurge do you have trouble enjoying a forbidden food for fear of what it may be doing to your waistline or your health? If you've answered yes to any of these questions then it’s time for a change. Eating, one of life's most simple and basic pleasures has been transformed into a daily agony. Additionally, why should we deprive our-self of certain gastronomic pleasures in order to appease our oppressive internal master. Why should we carry our self-depriving and guilt-laden proclivities into life and its other venues? On the contrary, I would suggest that a person must invert the food guide pyramid and laugh on the face of death. In fact, become a gluttonous individual who eats whatever he/she likes and unfettered by Puritanical trappings. The only pangs must be of hunger and not guilt. Food is to be brazenly enjoyed. Savour a wide variety of foods without having any issues with your own psyche.

There’s a saying that we must have food only sufficient for our living. But, rather it should be the other way around, i.e. we should live to have food !! I just remember me having a conversation with a friend of mine regarding suicides among the young people. She was wondering that how can one commit suicide because she was of the opinion that if someone places a platter of Kebabs in front of her then she would surely put off her suicide mission and savour the kebabs. And, on the other hand the very thought of having a sumptuous meal will always make me elude a suicide attempt!! Cultures all around the world and through the ages have developed their own style and form of cuisines. We must respect their efforts in treating the varied taste requirements of the human tongue. Welcome to a blog for the voracious food lovers. Let’s talk only about food, the way it is prepared, the places it is served and the way one must enjoy it.