Having begun at the border of France, my first action was to step across the border and avoid bankruptcy by getting myself a local SIM. Ninety minutes later, I was locally simmed and the proud owner also of the ethylotest - breath analysers. French law insists every car has one. Obviously they take their drinking... Continue Reading →
Fortified by a perfectly local lunch, I headed towards more tourism - the Alsace-Lorraine, a region I knew little of except that it had some of the best Rieslings in France and a very popular eponymous quiche. The drive was littered with trees ablaze with the brightest reds and flashiest yellows. Dark, freshly tilled fields... Continue Reading →
A windmill, flaming trees, some bucolic cows and a long drive later, I rest on a bed at at the edge of France. Landhaus Warndtwald happens to be chosen for no particular reason other than it matched the price and distance criteria I had set, but the region seems of some interest. Apparently the Saar... Continue Reading →
Here I am, in Amsterdam, preparing to run half a marathon so eating myself silly is not one of the options on the table. I did, however, begin the day with a pate and hazelnut sandwich out of a grocery store that got me thinking about how great bread, great meats and great cheeses give... Continue Reading →
Stranded in New York far from ingredients and helpers, I learned to make quite a few Bengali dishes on the quick, none more successful than bhapa mach – this translates to the somewhat pedestrian "steamed fish" Its got a short ingredient list, quick prep and (horror of horrors) can be made in a microwave without... Continue Reading →
A conference took me to Hyderabad in the month of Ramadan; and it was clearly a city obsessed with haleem. Its a city I had not seen in a while. The last time I was here, the ISB was just a gleam in Rajat Gupta's eye, the old airport was still called new and Saikat... Continue Reading →
Phoenix Market City is possibly Mumbai's largest mall by size. Stuck in the boring side of Kurla (something I'm sure it intends to change), it isn't exactly easy to get to - and by the looks of it not that many are getting there ("sparsely attended" comes to mind). It does, however, one of the... Continue Reading →
I got addicted to pan-tomate on a trip to Barcelona. I have, since then, been trying to recreate it in Mumbai, with little success. Pan tomate is one of those incredibly comforting classics – simple to the point of idiocy but magical nevertheless. I figured it would be easy to recreate it for Sunanda, who... Continue Reading →
Viator rates the dosa one of the ten things to try before you die. I have my own periodic dosa cravings, but this isn't entirely simple in Mumbai. There's no dearth of options - udipis abound on every street corner peddling dosas and idli any hour of the day that Dhoble allows - but most... Continue Reading →
I'm always excited about new Bengali restaurants in Mumbai, and fast expanding Kolkata chain Bhojohori Manna has been on my radar for a while now. Initial negative reviews from a trusted friend had dissuaded me from making the journey to Oshiwara; a visit had thus to wait for me to venture nearby on another excuse.... Continue Reading →
The Well Fed Bong 