Eat Like Ushi

Joney's Place seems to be best known for the early morning breakfast you can have before the Taj Mahal opens at 6-7am (depending upon season) or immediately after. It currently sits at #6 on TA for Agra and is mentioned in both LP and Rough Guide.

What took me by unexpected surprise was the 15 or so Korean tourists on this morning squeezed into this tiny place of 4 tables. It could have been an anomaly, however given the walls are covered with Korean and Japanese menus promoting (assumably) packet ramen, it's probably a place to visit for Koreans akin to some European restaurants where every single American visits.

I have to admit the son of the owner who greeted us there was very friendly. On an unusual day of torrential rain, he sent out one of his staff members to purchase us a reasonable quality umbrella for Rs. 200 whereas he said the shops would charge tourists probably 400-500 for the same.

- Mutton biryani – slightly oily, very intensely flavoured and salted;
- Cheese jaffle – pepper, tomato, simple cheese wedged between white bread.

These were washed down with some standard hot chai. The food was adequate as a breakfast. The lassi is supposed to be good but it was too cold and wet that day to be appealing. If anything else is open early morning I'd try that preferentially next time just to see but part of me doubts there would be anything better in the area for the morning.

The mainly pedestrian streets to the south of the Taj Mahal leaves luxury far behind. Given that most people only stay one night in Agra, I thought it would be fine. Needless to say the extremely basic accommodation is... extremely basic. Similarly the food options around the West Gate entrance (the East Gate is a nicer area apparently) are limited and known more for the rooftops that give a very overstated view of the Taj Mahal than the flavours themselves.

Of these options, Shankara seemed to be the best reputed using a combination of Lonely Planet, Tripadvisor (#8 in Agra) and various other websites. I must admit that in the darkness of 7pm, I couldn't be sure where in the distance the Taj Mahal was. If all the rooftop views are similar, I'm unsure why people talk about it so much. Anyway at least the food at Shakara is good and known for cheap thali.

- Shankara New Special Thali – best parts were the Zeera fried rice (spiced like biryani), a simple paneer and delicious mixed vegetable curry;
- Special Thali - a simpler version but with plain rice and without the vegetable curry;
- Spiced chai – more like black tea and sugar than any spices.

It isn't actually in Agra nor Delhi. But the only reason you'll actually stop here is because you are driving between Delhi and Agra and need somewhere to stop for lunch and a toilet. I've heard that all taxi drivers (all over the world really) get commission to bring in roadtripping guests, but I can't imagine this one would as the prices are simply too cheap. Additionally all the other people eating there at this time were Indian, but I'd assume the large parking area would also cater to tourist buses.

There is a nice outdoor seated area in a small garden. An elderly Indian man started asking me about Australia and his friends that live there. I was suspicious of his intentions at first, but it turned out he was being inquisitive and polite and then went about the rest of his day. A father and daughter were dressed immaculately busking in traditional Rajasthani clothes and it's a shame they had disappeared before I managed to get a photo. Unfortunately I didn't see anyone else during the Rajasthan trip who was dressed like this (surprising lack of buskers in tourist areas).

The outdoor area serves cheap as chips quick snacks. The inside seated area is perhaps catered toward the less adventurous or more ravenous, with hot meals cooked to order.

- Bread Pakora – fried bread filled with a unexpected blend of peas;
- Raj Kachori – fried ball filled with potato, topped with yoghurt, pomegranate, coriander sauce, sugar syrup. Wonderful combination of flavours and textures with bright visual appeal;
- Vegetable Biryani – for a roadside pitstop, this was surprisingly good and possibly the best of the trip with minimal oil and excellent vegetable flavours.