Lives to eat. Spends most of my waking hours thinking about food. Loves to travel so I can eat some more…
“One cannot live well, love well or sleep well unless one has dined well.”
-Virginia Woolf
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“Cheese – milk’s leap toward immortality.”
– Clifton Fadiman
One of my favourite TV shows is Top Chef. The show gives a close look of what it takes to be a master chef. Talent, hard work, innovation, creativity, great judgement, presentation skills, time management and ambition are some of the finer qualities required to be a top chef.
It is great to watch various chefs battle it out in the kitchen to impress the judges. There is a quick fire challenge where contests have been given as little as 10 minutes to conjure up a dish. Sometimes main challenges even include preparing food for 100-300 people. Whatever food is being prepared must be gourmet food and innovative.
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“I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.”
– Madame Benoit
I am a huge fan of theirs and have followed them religiously on TV. Each of them is a culinary master in their own right. Their knowledge of food is infinite and impeccable, and they love FOOD. One can gain so much knowledge and skills by just assisting them in the kitchen. And I would love to do that.
“When angry, count four; when very angry, swear.”
– Samuel L. Clemens
While travelling in trains, it is ABSOLUTE bad manners to wake up someone from their deep sleep, just to ask which station are they going to get off. Its just not right. Period. Yet are there numerous women who commit this gross faux pas. Worse, they poke you in the shoulder with their index finger and wake you up. I feel very strongly about this because even if I’m dozing in the train, I’m actually in deep sleep and wake up with a horrible start, when I’m woken up suddenly. It feels like I had a nightmare, I look deeply disturbed and my heart is beating real fast and loud.
I remember once, while I was asleep in the train and some lady got in at Dadar, poked me in the shoulder and woke me up. I woke up with a horrible start, she saw this happening and yet immediately pointing her finger at me asked in a cop’s interrogating voice, “Kidhar?” I was furious and yelled, “Abbe neend se kyun utthaya, ab main nahi bataoongi.”
I still don’t know whether what I said made sense in my still sleepy state, but all the surrounding ladies found it hilarious and were laughing hard. The lady in question, was stupefied with horror and couldn’t think of anything to reply back. Since that day, this is my standard reply and I ask the offenders to go and pick up some manners because they’ve dropped it somewhere.
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“A gourmet is just a glutton with brains.”
– Philip W. Haberman
Bade Miyan’s is one of my favourite street-food joints. Its located behind the Taj lane in Colaba Causeway. It is legendary for its charcoal-grilled food. People swarm in like bees all throughout the week to feast on the gastronomic delights being prepared right in front of their eyes.
Bade Miyan’s is a meatarian’s Mecca. They do have a separate vegetarian stall but who cares about grilled ghaas-phoos except for vegetarians, when there is so much mouth-watering meat preparations screaming out for your attention to order them. They literally shout at me, “Lisa! Lisa! Pick me! Pick me!” The sights, hypnotic aromas and sizzling sounds from the grills is intoxicating. For me, its like watching porn.
So here’s what I love and recommend: Mutton seekh kebab, Boti Kabab Roll, Kheeri, Bhuna Chicken and Tandoori Chicken. These are my personal favorites but you can pretty much order anything off the menu, blind-folded.
The Chutney deserves a special mention. The spicy green Pudhina chutney and the tangy red chutney served with finely sliced onions is truly wicked ! Delish !
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“I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow.”
– William Blake
The railway trains nicknamed ‘The life line of Mumbai’ certainly seems to be suffering from arteriosclerosis and is in dire need of a by-pass surgery. Any reasonable person will happily agree that the public transport system here excels on the frustration scale. I live in Mira road, a suburb in northern Mumbai, which falls on the western railway line. It is an extremely harrowing experience while travelling via the infamous Virar local trains. I had numerous horrible experiences while travelling in these trains for instance, getting into petty fights, being abused, painfully shoved by elbows, being physically harmed, pushed and robbed.
It takes me one and half hour to reach college of which one hour is consumed by the train journey. It is almost impossible to travel by the trains during peak hours. It takes mammoth effort, good luck and prayers to get inside the trains due to the massive crowd of people, even though I travel by first class.
Getting inside the train is half the battle. Next, I’m being squeezed like wet clothes in a spin-dryer of a washing machine in the crowd with the ladies fuming, shouting and abusing me to make place for them to stand comfortably along with their bags. I shouldn’t even dare to think about myself and my belongings. The hour-long journey in the train feels like I have been poisoned and I’m experiencing slow death. By the time I reach Marinelines station and get off the train, I am exhausted by the journey. I just want to collapse on a cushioned bed or in a swimming pool!
In order to avoid this traumatic experience I wake up 6 am, leave my house at 7.30 am for the 7.48 am Churchgate fast local. I do not wish to risk my life by hanging outside the train. Often, I get down and change trains at Borivali or Dadar because Churchgate-bound trains are a tad more crowded. I reach college by 9 am, sit outside my class and read books till lectures begin, while the peons of my college look at me with suspicion thinking I’m a creepy, lonely, weirdo.
Some new trains were introduced around 1-2 years ago with better seating arrangements, fans and lights. However, the frequency and the number of these new trains is minimal. Mumbai trains desperately need a radical improvement.
Shashi Tharoor’s ‘Cattle Class’ is reality to the daily commuter and the transport system needs radical improvement if it wants to discard the label.
Didi, Tumi Shunchho Ki ?
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“Don’t tell me what I can’t do.”
– John Locke, LOST
Yes, I’m crazy about LOST. And why should I not be? I have been following LOST for the past four years. I believe its the most thrilling TV show on earth. It literally keeps me on the edge of my seat. My best pal, Melinda Warty shares a similar passion for LOST, none of our other common friends watch it and probably think of us as weirdos. Also, When I rush home as soon as class is over, some of my friends give me the Oh-there-she-goes-crazy-LOST-fan look. I just wished they had an inkling of how mysterious LOST is. Last year, I forgot to shout or even slap a rickshawalla who ran over my toes while I was racing against time to reach home to watch LOST.
The creators of LOST are brilliant story tellers, they know exactly how to leave the viewers spell-bound, even better than Quentin Tarantino. The cast is excellent with fabulous performances by the most loved to the most hated characters.
So you’re probably wondering, what is so endearing about a bunch of people who crash on an island? My answer is simple, you have to watch it to feel it. Though LOST is an American tv series, it is a massive global hit with fans all around the world. There are innumerable theories posted by fans on the net, each trying to explainthe mystery of the island and the charcaters. The different charcters and their complex stories increase curiosity to a different level.
So all you people who are not LOST fans or haven’t watched it, please do not dismiss it, as if it were just another TV show and respect the sentiments of all die-hard LOST fans!
BAD ROBOT!
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“A good meal makes a man feel more charitable toward the whole world than any sermon.”
– Arthur Pendenys
Pancharatna restaurant lies in the lane sandwhiched between Jaffer Bhai’s Delhi Darbar and Sassanian Boulangerie. It is a decent, comfortable family restaurant. They serve both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, Punjabi, Mughlai and Chinese cuisines. Pancharatna also serves cocktails and mocktails and houses a well-stocked bar.
The ambience here is reasonably good. No non-A/c sections available here. Soft yellow light and latest English pop music played in the background add to the ambience. The waiters are nicely dressed and polite.
The menu is fairly extensive and gives you a description of each dish. The Cream of Chicken soup deserves a special mention here. For starters the Non-veg. assorted tandoori platter is lip-smacking and serves about 3-4 persons. In the veg. section, the Paneer starters are the best bet and the non-veg. starters include chicken, lamb and fish. The wide variety of starters veg. and non-veg are great to eat on the side with cocktails and drinks.
For the main course, besides the paneer dishes, Veg. Hyderbadi, Methi Mutter Malai and Dal Tadka stand out. The Murg Dil Jani i.e. Chicken with spinach and makhani gravy topped with cheese is yummy. The Biryani’s too are decent. The Lamb and Seafood dishes too are worth a try.
As for Chinese, you can pretty much order anything from the menu and not be disappointed. Also, the Fresh Lime with soda here is excellent. For desserts, you can end your meal with the usual Caramel Custard, Chocolate Mousse or Honey Noodles with Ice-cream.
The service is good and the staff is polite. The food is good and ambience reasonably fair. A Meal for two persons with cost you about Rs. 700, without alcohol. Moral of the story: Pancharatna is quiet satisfactory.
Pancharatna Bar & Restaurant
Surya-Kalyani Mansion,
36/44, Wellington St., Dhobi Talav,
Marine Lines, Mumbai-2
Contact: 022 – 22051373/3935
Timings: 12:30 PM to 1:30 AM
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No Guns at My Son’s Funeral is set against the terrorism and militancy in Kashmir, which has been a hot bed of violence for decades. It’s a story about a teenage Muslim boy, Aftab who lives his family in Baramullah. Theirs is a simple, modest and peace loving family living harmoniously along with their Hindu and Sikh neighbors. However, there is one hidden fact: Aftab belongs to a terrorist group. The young boys of these three families are good friends and enjoy playing in each other’s company especially Cricket, Aftab being the only exception as he is frequently sneaking off to his terrorist buddies without anyone’s knowledge for quite some time.
Anand does not waste time and pages introducing the various characters in the novel instead, she plunges straight into the story with Aftab trying to sneak off from his house successfully at nights to the secret hideouts of his terrorist group. Akram, is an Afghan who heads this terrorist group. Anand manages to create the perfect villain in Akram who epitomizes the idea of a perfect terrorist leader. He is cunning, fierce, cruel and deceptive who is a master in the art of manipulating people’s minds and emotions. At the same time Akram is charming, enigmatic and seduces his recruits emotionally, promising them jannat (heaven) as a reward for their martyrdom.
The story’s main focus is how Aftab juggles his family life and his life as a budding terrorist trying to prove himself worthy and desperate to win admiration from his boss Akram whom he hero-worships and is willing to die for him. In the beginning, Aftab struggles a bit emotionally with his mother and father who hate violence only hoping for peace in Kashmir. As the story unravels, a secret revelation known only to Aftab by one of his family members, further bolsters his allegiance and attempts to carry out Akram’s orders.
Aftab, highly intoxicated under Akram’s spell does exactly as ordered, despite of warnings from his family and friends who merely suspect him of falling into bad company of friends who might be terrorists.
The story ends on a tragic note leaving you with mixed feelings for Aftab and sympathy for the innocent families of Kashmir ravaged by terrorism. It’s a simple story with strong characters and is packed with action. The story is pretty much predictable yet gets you hooked right from page 1. The book is an easy read as Anand uses simple language to tell a simple yet compelling story with sincerity. She refrains from indulging in complex and sophisticated-sounding vocabulary that often sounds pretentious. Also, Anand does not indulge in romanticizing the beauty of Kashmir getting unnecessarily poetic dragging the plot of the story.
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“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”
– George Bernard Shaw
I’m a big foodie and 5 Spice is one of my favourite restaurants. The food here is lip-smacking. The ambience is decent with soft yellow lights and English classics from the 80’s and 90’s ranging from Love ballads to Pop and Rock playing in the background. The service is quick and courteous. The sights, sizzling sounds and aromas of food arriving at the tables tantalises your visual, aural and olfactory senses.
5 Spice serves a variety of beverages like cocktails, mocktails, wines, iced tea and the usual coldrinks. The menu at 5 Spice is extensive with varieties of Chicken, Prawn, Fish and Lamb in the non-vegetarian section and plenty of dishes with mushrooms, paneer, water-chestnuts and babycorn in the vegetarian section.
Not some, but rather many of my favourite dishes that I’m recommending are: Kung Pao Chicken, Crispy Thread Chicken, Lamb Teriyaki, Butter Pepper Garlic Prawns, Spicy Crab meat soup, Wooly Chicken, Lamb Pot Rice, Chicken Fortune Rice, Thai Pot Rice, Garlic Burnt Noodles, Malaysian Noodles. The food portions are huge and this makes 5 Spice an absolute Value-for-Money joint.
For desserts, the house favorites are Strawberry cheese cake, Blueberry cheese cake, Death by Chocolate and Rocky Road. You can safely order anything from the menu. One drawback here is that the food is oily, so while placing the order ask them to use less oil in the food.
5 Spice has earned a good reputation over the years and continues to do so.
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