Random Facts

I have been tagged by Raaga to post 8 random facts about myself...hmmm...it got me thinking. What would seem random in my life?? Anyways, without too much thought, here it is:

1. I am passionate about horses and dogs - no, I don't own either
2. I love to cook and am passionate about food photography
3. I once had my house burn down to the ground while I was a student. Lost everything including all my papers, computer...everything. The fire was so bad that a two-storey town home was converted into one big room with no ceiling! Even the refrigerator burnt down to nothing. Needless to say, I started over and in the middle of my final exams.
4. I have a freakish tendency to fracture my bones. I have broken my ribs, arms, ankles, pelvic bone, fingers, spinal cord and toe!
5. I have swum with dolphins, sharks and even a barracuda!
6. I maintained a personal diary (yes, the Dear Diary kind) for 17 years.
7. I love to laugh - the people who make me laugh are my husband, my daughter and Jay Leno.
8. I love learning languages but am no good at speaking them. I have learnt Russian, Sanskrit, Japanese, Spanish, German and Tamil. But I can only speak Tamil fluently. But I still try.

and here's the list of the chosen 8 who shall continue the chain:

Manisha - Indian Food Rocks

Nandita - Saffron Trail

Saffron - Saffron Hut

Meena - Hooked on Heat

Mark - Banker in India

Nupur - One Hot Stove

Sia - Spice Corner

Bee - Jugalbandi

There are rules too

* Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
* People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
* At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
* If you fail to do this within eight hours, you will not reach Third Series or attain your most precious goals for at least two more lifetimes.

Hip Hip Asia

We've been to Hip Asia at the Taj Connemara several times, but last night was the first time we absolutely loved the food. Either the chef has changed or he has started to make stuff that he's comfortable with. The menu has changed and the lovely ambience stays the same. They specialize in most parts of Asian cuisine with parts of their menu devoted to Vietnamese, Malay and Thai food and a separate menu with Teppenyaki specials.

We ordered appetizers recommended by our waiter, who was spot on! He suggested the Lotus Stem Honey Chilli for the vegetarians (ie. me!) which was superb. It was spicy and sweet and crunchy and my phone's camera just doesn't do it justice. It looked orange and red and lovely. We also got some fish and chilli chicken which was much appreciated. I ordered the veitnamese rice paper rolls filled with crunchy vermecelli and vegetables that was also very good.

For our entrees we had teppenyaki fried rice with vegetables and garlic that I always order, and as expected, it was delicious. They are served in small bowls that are meant to be individual portions, but are quite enough for two people. We also ordered some shrimp that my dining companions were left scraping up the sauce.

We were absolutely too stuffed for dessert, but definitely tempted when they rolled out the dessert cart with lots of chocolate stuff that looked delicious. Next time...

Hip Asia
Taj Connemara
Binny Road
Chennai - 600 002
Tel : (91-44) 6600 0000

Chennai Nightlife!

We went for Ocean's 13 last night (it was great, btw - the little dig that Clooney makes at Pitt in the last line was hilarious!).

Anyways, we watched it at the INOX cinemas in the Citicenter. The show started at 10.15pm. We arrived there 10 pm Sunday night to find the Citicenter teeming with people! On a Sunday night - at 10 pm! Chennai has come a long long way! It was filled with people eating, shopping and chatting!

The Helmet Law...Well, Almost!

There were almost 600 two-wheeler accidents in Chennai in 2006, according to Chennai traffic police. The Government then issued an order making it mandatory for all two-wheeler riders and their passengers to wear helmets while riding, effective June 1, 2007. So there was Chennai taking a step in the right direction. We finally realized that there were too many deaths caused due to riders not wearing helmets when using their motorcycles.

It was scary to see couples with two kids on a motorbike. One would be scrunched between the parents and the other would either be held by the woman at the back or stand right in front.



People have used all the excuses in the book for not wearing a helmet - some of the more common ones are that it is too hot (especially in chennai), hair-loss (yes, some people actually believe that wearing a helmet caused them to lose hair), neck pain, ear pain, inability to see clearly etc. No one seemed to compare those to losing their lives! Then when the order came from the Government, everyone complained that the helmets were too expensive. I guess they'd rather spend the lakhs in hospital costs for injury than Rs. 1000 for a helmet!

June 1 saw all riders on the road wearing a helmet. It was truly satisfying to see. Finally, people were taking a right step. And then TWO days later, the Government has withdrawn the order making it optional and not mandatory!! Unbelievable. Now, its back to no helmets. Even people who have already bought the helmets aren't using them!

This is a classic Indian case of taking one step forward and two steps back.

Scott Bayman

Scott Bayman (President and CEO, GE India) describes what he feels for India after having lived in India for 14 years.

He talks about changes he has seen in the nation and his point of view of India as one of the major players on the global front (politically and economically). He offers profound insights into present-day and future India.



Here is his bio.

photo courtesy GE website.

Andy Wickett

Whom, you may ask, is Andy Wickett? Well, he's an animation specialist. He was also one of the guitarists in Duran Duran. Now, Duran Duran was by far my most favorite music group growing up (well, Duran Duran and the Doors). I knew all their names, their lives and read everything and listened to everything about them and by them. I loved Duran Duran. I still love their music - especially their early stuff like Hungry Like The Wolf and Wild Boys and Planet Earth. I knew all the words and I could even reel off the ir inspiration for each song!

Andy was definitely not the most well-known of the group, taking a back seat to Simon Le Bon (the lead singer) and John Taylor (the other guitarist). Anyhoo, Andy was in Chennai recently to do two solo performances at the Park hotel. Of course, I figured it was gonna be an evening of Duran Duran nostalgia and so I quickly purchased tickets.



The ambience was lovely - at Aqua, by the poolside. The food was super and there was so much that we were quite stuffed. We had a cabana all to ourselves, where we could recline on the cushions. I was all set to listen to old memories. Well, Andy didn't play or sing a SINGLE song from Duran Duran. He also didn't play or sing a SINGLE song I'd heard before. I think it was mostly his own creations.

The poor chap was sweating from the heat, singing to a crowd that was extremely disappointed there was nothing familiar, in between drinking swigs of Kingfisher beer and smoking his "last cigarette" (in his words). He must've played for about an hour. And it was over. Sigh. Very very disappointing. I had to come home and listen to an old CD of Duran Duran because I had been so looking forward to it!



A very nice evening otherwise - the ambience, company, food - except for the music and of course, the ever-present heat. Well, Andy, I wish you lots of luck in your animation career.

Satsanga

Despite the name, Satsanga is a great little French bistro in Pondicherry. We ventured out there for lunch today (its an easy 2 hour drive along the ECR from Chennai).



The cafe boasts French and Italian food. We stuck to the French. We ordered a mushroom and spinach crepe, some roasted vegetables, chicken in a cream sauce and a chocolate crepe for dessert. The savory crepe was superb - it has been a long time since I had a good crepe after moving back to Chennai, and this was very good. The roasted vegetables were nice but nothing to write home about. My husband loved the chicken and the dessert crepe.



All in all, a very satisfying meal. The staff were pleasant and it was just great to be able to have a cold glass of Foster's at non-five star establishment and really hit the spot this warm afternoon.

13, Bussy Street
Near Law College
Pondicherry Town
Phone: +91-413-224572

Noodle House

Noodle House, a part of Mahadevan's enormous range of restaurants (which include Benjarong and Ente Keralam), is located at the end of Nungambakkam High Road. I love love love noodles. Especially spicy and sauteed with crisp vegetables. I used to enjoy "american chopsuey" with crispy noodles and those sweet and sour sauces. Given the health kick, I've stopped eating that, but still cant completely ever stop eating noodles.

The menu and photographs on the wall sound and look better than the actual food. We ordered steamed chicken dumplings and egg rolls. The dumplings were very well received. I wanted to get some spicy stir-fried vegetables without ANY sauce, but it appeared with sauce. I somehow have not been able to ever get vegetables without sauce. I try really hard too. I guess they just don't understand how someone won't like sauce!

My dining companions got some shrimp which they almost breathed in because they liked it so much. The taste of the noodles was very good - it was recommended by the waiter - a steamed noodles with a spicy vegetable sauce - think american chopsuey with steamed instead of crispy noodles. Very nice.



The highlight for me was the chef standing in the corner making noodles. That was very cool to watch!

The Noodle House, Sterling Road, 044-43596043 for reservations.

Finally!

Finally, finally, finally there's a place to take my daughter to play - indoors, airconditioned (essential sometimes in this 110 F weather!), spacious, clean and interesting!



Baby's Day Out opened up about 3 weeks ago in Chennai and I cannot recommend it enough. Its run by a company CEO Vimal Chordia, who has just come back from the US. Baby's day out has a trampoline, a ball pit, a library and reading area, musical instruments, desks and papers and pens to draw and sketch, an audiovisual room with a large collection of children's DVDs and even a snack counter with kiddie-friendly meals.

Its open for kids under 12 years old. There's a one-time registration fee of Rs. 250 and Rs. 200 for every hour and a half for subsequent visits. It is located on Chamiers Road at the intersection of Greenways Road and spread over 4,200 sq. feet.

For all those parents out there, this is something worth checking and has been worth waiting for!

My Food Blog

I've been collecting recipes for years, as I'm sure so many others do. I keep them on scraps of paper and live in fear that I'll lose them - but I have never managed to find the time to copy them into a book. These are sacred recipes that are difficult to obtain if I do lose them!

So I've decided to put them into a blog and share it with all of you. These are all recipes that are tried, tested and true. I've tweaked them here and there to cater to my taste, but most of it is the original as told to me by different people.

I'm trying to be proactive and make one recipe everyday so I can post regularly as well as hone my food photography - though the photography part is quite amateurish! :)

Please enjoy, foodies! and give me feedback. Here's my food blog.

Tic Tac

Here are the words to the song that I wrote about in my previous post, Weirdness. I actually enjoyed the song and the words - makes a lot of sense!

Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of tickie tackie
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes all the same

There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made of tickie tackie
And they all look just the same

And the people in the houses
All went to the university
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out just the same

And there’s doctors and lawyers
And business executives
And they’re all made of tickie tackie
And they all look just the same

So what do you think? I don't know who wrote the song but full credit to them...

Ente Keralam

After waiting breathlessly (my husband literally checked on its progress every week!), Ente Keralam finally opened a couple of weeks ago. Translated into English, Ente Keralam means My Kerala. The restaurant, located just off Kasturi Rangan Road, in the old La Madeline building is a stone's throw away from our home! Uh oh!

We finally inaugurated the restaurant last night. The ambience is very nice - the place has been renovated to be a very chic and modern establishment. As the owner, Liz, once told me, Kerala food isn't very well-known among the non-Keralites, and Ente Keralam is hoping to change that. And I think they might very well succeed.

We ordered a whole range of different food. My husband literally wanted to try everything on the menu! The authentic flaky parottas, melt-in-your-mouth okra, spiced just right kadala (garbanzos) were all great. Thats the vegetarian bit that I can vouch for. My husband got mutton curry and syrian fried beef which he said was borderline superb. Thats a high compliment from him - he's very picky about his meat.

I would slot the restaurant in the Syrian Christian-type food category with a few choice samples from Nair Kerala food. It's a must-do place.

It is located at 1, Kasturi Estate, Kasturi Rangan Road, Chennai- 18. For reservations, call 42328585.

Moral Policing

Having lived in the US for almost 10 years, its more apparent now than it ever was when I was growing up. India seems to think its okay to tell people when and where to hug and kiss, dance and more atrociously, what to wear! I first heard about this when I was living in California and read that the Government had imposed a "dress code" for colleges in Chennai. Girls were not allowed to wear "see-through" clothes, JEANS!, t-shirts and anything above the knee - no dresses, skirts etc. I was totally shocked and remembered my college days in Stella Maris. Would I have really been able to get through those 3 years without being able to wear jeans?? I think not!

After moving back, moral policing seems to be everywhere. The latest has been the furor created over Richard Gere kissing actress Shilpa Shetty ON THE CHEEK, mind you. And then there was a huge controversy over a journalist taking a photo of a woman kissing HER HUSBAND on the dance floor in a popular night club. And another group of women drinking beer! Ooooh Beer!!

I know it wasn't the done thing for people to show any form of PDA, but I see the other side of it. There are now scenes in Hindi and Tamil movies where the actors are kissing onscreen. There are advertisements of people hugging and kissing. How do you tell the common people that what they are doing is not ok, but if you are a celebrity, anything goes? I don't get it.

The one I got the biggest laugh out of is this following board pinned up outside the Leather Bar at the Park Hotel, Chennai.



Alcohol ruins family? What if I'm just having a beer every couple of weeks?
India has also banned Fashion TV because of their lingerie shows! Leave aside the fact that women show off lingerie in advertisements, why can't we see models on the runways??

I know I can't change the mentality but it is so frustrating to live in a country with rampant moral policing.

Weirdness

Okay not sure if weirdness is a word but I had a crazy moment of weirdness today. Someone dropped off three movies to watch this weekend - one was The Californians, another was a School for Scoundrels and the third was the complete 1st season of Showtime's Weeds.

So first I watched The Californians - it was a brainless movie and I was in the mood for nothing thought-provoking. I'd never heard of this one, but I was prepared to be entertained. It wasn't bad. Totally non-thought-provoking. Anyways, the last song in the movie was sung by one of the actors called Tic Tac. It was quite amusing since I'd never heard of it and its quite a funny song.

Then I put on Weeds. Thats when the weirdness happened. The title song for Weeds is Tic Tac!!! Whats with that?! Has this happened to anyone? - it was too much of a coincidence to be called a coincidence. What do you guys think? I'm still feeling weirded out about it. Hmmm

Leave of Absence

Sorry I haven't been posting Chennai gossip :) for a while. Lots of issues with my Internet plus nothing much happening in Chennai plus I've recently started working and traveling a lot. So its been kinda slow, but I promise to make up for it in the next couple of days.

Thanks to all those who wrote to enquire if everything was well! I was very touched! :)

Delicious Corn in a Cup

Corn stands have started sprouting everywhere in Chennai. The phenomenon started about a year ago, and now it seems like they are all over. The most wide-spread brand is Hot and Spicy and they are little stands that are situated in busy malls, cinema houses and even on the street in front of supermarkets. Its pretty cool.



Its basically steamed corn that is then mixed with different spices. There's the plain one which is just a little butter, salt and pepper (which is also my favorite), the chinese, the masala (which is mixed with some garam masala) and there are a couple others.

Available in most busy places, its a great alternative to popcorn and an excellent snack!

Pizza

Indian pizza, like Indian Chinese food, has really nothing to do with the original. Indian chinese has created a niche food group of its own - more Indian than Chinese. For example, the famous American Chop Suey. Now thats neither Chinese nor American, but hey! we love it in India.

Indian pizza is pretty much that. We've put our toppings on it and Indianized it along with the sauce. The big players here are Pizza Hut, Chef Express, Domino's and Pizza Corner. I think the consumer prefers Pizza Hut, but I'm convinced its because of the brand (though it doesn't taste like the original Pizza Hut pizza either).

The one hotel that serves excellent pizza is The Park at their coffee shop, 601. Its an ultra-thin crust, with very little sauce and some exceptional toppings and great stringy cheese. A very close second is Pizza Corner with their spicy pizza sauce and a winner in the Indianized pizza category.

Note: Photos taken from the Chef Express website...

Rise of the Under Dogs Part Deux

And this time I'm talking about the Indian under-dogs - Sachin and Sehwag whom I basically thought were useless last match, showed that they were worth their place in the Indian team this time around vs. Bermuda. Superb performance by Sachin, Sehwag and Yuvraj. And of course, the fantastic 6 off the last ball from Dravid.

Sachin and Yuvraj were a sight to behold and it was a feast for the Indians who've been starved of 6s and 4s for a while now. Bermuda got badly knocked around. I do hope it was a learning experience. And I do hope they will come back and play next time.

India made a whopping 413 - the highest total in World Cup History. And though we didnt manage to get them out for less that 125, like we should have, it was still quite a beating. Onto the match vs. Sri Lanka fingers x-ed.

In other news, the Pakistan coach died suddenly of "unexplained causes, waiting the autopsy" after their defeat in the match vs. Ireland. And Inzamam has stepped down as Captain. I'm quite sad about both. Inzamam has done a lot for Pakistan cricket, and so has the coach.

The Rise of the Under Dogs

Un-friggin-believable! India lost to Bangladesh in their first game today in the World Cup! I, for one, am appalled!! I mean Bangladesh is definitely the best of under dog teams - or should I say those that aren't in the Super 8. But really, Bangladesh?? C'mon, India! I have been rooting for India to get to the Semi-finals (I still think the finals will be between South Africa and Sri Lanka), but looks like they might not make it!

I can't believe we still think of Sachin Tendulkar as a hero in this country. His performance in the past couple of years has been dismal at best. He's made it big in maybe a couple of matches and every single time, the country says "wow thank god Sachin is back in form", only to find him getting out for a single figure the next time! I'm tired of people thinking he's the saving grace! Move on, people. Sehwag, another disappointing performance. And I expected more from Dravid. What's going on, dude?

But the worst performance I've seen so far from a super 8 team was Pakistan today vs. Ireland. On St. Patrick's Day! Woohoo Ireland! Superbly played indeed. Sent Pakistan packing by 3 wickets! That is, Pakistan is out of the world cup! This is definitely a turn-the-tables, edge-of-the-seat type world cup. Can't wait to see Ireland play the West Indies. I'm sure it'll be superb judging by Ireland's performance so far. They might even make it to the top of their group! Happy St. Pat's!

Retail Markets

Just look at the photo and it could be a store anywhere in the world. The same Pringles, Oreos, Chips Ahoy etc. stocked on the shelves. There is only one such place in Chennai though (Amma Naana). Its where the ex-pats shop. And those who have moved back from living overseas. The exorbitant prices prohibit people from shopping here on a regular basis though. I've also found that though you are able to find most non-Indian branded food products, the packets are pretty close to their expiration dates, and some are downright stale. But, (woohoo!), they even have Starbucks Mocha Fraps!

Recently opened are a chain of grocery stores by the Reliance Group, Reliance Fresh. I visited one today and was pretty impressed. The shelves are lined with fresh fruit and vegetables and the staff are helpful and courteous, though sometimes they seem to be following you around and I enjoy shopping alone, making my own decisions, picking my own vegetables.



Its a great alternative to the vegetable vendor who comes to your doorstep, just because of the range available. The prices are extremely reasonable, which leads me to wonder how long that will last. (I took some great photos inside the store, but was pulled aside as I was leaving, and made to delete it from my camera infront of the security guy!) So, here's one I got of the outside of the store (with their permission). And another of the Indian cricket t-shirts being sold there to support the team! Of course, I had to buy one!



Reliance Fresh is also a great alternative to Nilgiris, which for a long long while has been department-store-of-choice for most of Chennai. More from a lack of alternatives, I believe. Hopefully Reliance Fresh will maintain the clean shelves, happy staff and low prices!