My last trip to Kolkata was unexciting foodwise; what with flight delays, traffic jams and work there wasn’t enough time left for anything useful, but on the way to the airport, I stopped at an old favourite – Rahmania. Rahmania has been at this Park Circus location for ages (people say a hundred years) but... Continue Reading →
Streetwalking
I visited the streets of old Delhi after many years. One goes to Delhi quite often, but nowadays towers of Gurgaon divert attention from the fabulous treasures of Chandni Chowk. This time, however, an accommodation website pointed me to the Maidens, a hotel situated in the quaintly named Civil Lines and appropriately full of chandeliers,... Continue Reading →
Chinese Brunch
Sunday is an ideal day for overeating, and where better but a five-star brunch. This Sunday, feeling decidedly chinese, I headed to the Pan Asian at the ITC Grand Maratha for their Sunday Brunch. It turns out that the Chinese are in the middle of their Moon Festival, the chowmein version of our very own... Continue Reading →
More Biriyani
I still haven’t quite figured out the spelling. Is it Biriyani or Biryani? I tried the latter spelling on my last blog about it, its time to try the former one now. A rose by any other name… In any case, I found myself in Kochi (or Cochin) which, interestingly enough, has its own direct... Continue Reading →
Singapore Sling
A couple of months ago, I was cycling from eatery to eatery in Singapore.Now Singapore is full of fancy imported restaurants, but there nevertheless really is something called original traditional Singaporean food - cuisine that originated here and continues to be eaten here. This is where the Chinese clashed (sometimes literally) with Malays, Tamilians, Indonesians... Continue Reading →
The Hole in the Wall
Much of my life in IIT was spent at Chedis, which quite literally means hole but apparently refers to the owners name. In those days Chedis had lawn seating, a banyan tree and starlight dinners, was open 24x7 and served reliably greasy food. I was quite pleased, therefore, to see Chedis still around (though considerably... Continue Reading →
Biryani Wars in Chennai
Chennai again drew me to a forgettably convenient meal at Saravana Bhavan. I find the food utterly pedestrian, but somehow the sheer convenience of this Wal-Mart of Udipis sneaks me in. Yes, they have every kind of food on earth - I noticed Lebanese and fusion this time (vegetarian is probably the only reason sushi... Continue Reading →
Rivers of Hilsa
The end of summer is traditionally Hilsa feasting time in Bengal, but things are much more muddled in Mumbai. In any case, O Calcutta announced the Hilsa Festival in August, and we promptly started salivating. There’s nothing like a bit of independence to inspire the Bengali bhadralok to a feast, so we headed into Tardeo’s... Continue Reading →
Pure Expense
A few days ago, I had a very expensive lunch. Beer, two courses and no dessert the bill came to a staggering Rs 6,000 for two. No, I wasn’t on Wall Street chewing gold-plated hamburgers (that would have cost more). We were in Mumbai, on a normal weekday lunch, with a friend who had just... Continue Reading →
Emulation
The emu looks like a kidsmenu version of the ostrich, but is apparently only distantly related (not even the same continent). I had seen a hundred emus from faraway in Karjat and three up close in a resort in Hampi (one wanted to befriend my shoe). A friend told me that it has a reputation... Continue Reading →
The Well Fed Bong 