Foodwise, China was not at all what I expected. I'm going to get right into generalising the food of a billion people into a post shorter than a short story, all on the basis of seven days of experience. As is my wont, I ate on the streets and avoided restaurants for the most part.... Continue Reading →
I admit, my kosha mangsho comes out good, but not great. In any case, I made some yesterday. It turned out meltingly tender and more than edible but the drawbacks as I see it are – not enough of that clingy gravy and somehow just not that dark rich brown. Good enough, but good enough... Continue Reading →
It being Sunday and all that, I decided that a nice brunch was just the thing to celebrate the glow of finally having run past the ten kilometre barrier (warning: some walking involved). A couple of months ago, the very imposing Shiro had advertised a Masterchef Brunch (along with, presumably, dishes from the show). I... Continue Reading →
The frenetic Durga Puja over, a nice slow midweek holiday emerged yesterday. Sunny weather, nothing much to do all added up to picture windows and leisurely lunches. I chose Tasty Tangles. Yes, ok, its a chain (though not a very big one) and its format is very fastfood. However, in this area it has the... Continue Reading →
Bengalis like their festivals more food-centred than any other community. The Catholics keep saying feast this feast that, but they don't really mean it – apparently things like joy and spirituality are being consumed there. Bengalis don't call anything a feast; what's the point, its all feastly. For those idiots who thought Durga Puja was... Continue Reading →
Pheesh Phrai (fish fry to the rest of you plebs) was left to us (along with pheesh chop, pheesh cutlet, Enid Blyton, Victoria Memorial and other cool stuff) by the British. This simple crusty brown rectangle is one of the things guaranteed to produce mild glazing to ocular orbits of bongs everywhere, not to mention... Continue Reading →
Nature's Basket Bandra tempted me yesterday with a rather expensive salmon steak. It was all frozen and plasticwrapped, but it reminded me of some very nice dinners in the USA. Salmon was one of the things I learned to make well, out of my hours of watching Food TV on my (then very new) HD... Continue Reading →
I misjudged the Leela. Far from being clueless about local food, the hotel actually puts on quite a spread in their regular menus both at lunch and dinner. It turns out the conference had requested a less adventurous menu, hence the constant attempt to feed us Thai and French. The executive sous chef (as hardboiled... Continue Reading →
Ducking out of another hotel dinner, I put my fate in the hands of taxi driver Ainaz, who promptly took me to Zam Zam in nearby Thiruvanthapuram. A short drive from the hotel, Thiruvananthapuram (I hope I don’t to write that again – even copy-paste is tough) turned out to be (disappointingly for a capital... Continue Reading →
I’m at an exotic destination with excellent local food again, and Indian food is again being avoided. This time, however, I’m not doing the avoiding by choice. Sitting in beautiful Kovalam, surrounded by sea and seafood, spices and foodloving nairs I’m stuck consuming thai salad, green curry and exotic vegetables for lunch. Even the desserts... Continue Reading →
The Well Fed Bong 