The London Series- Food Glorious Food!

Aaaaaaaah.. now this is the best part. it was a gastronomical adventure! And Boy! Did I miss some people who would have appreciated the food and enjoyed it as much as I did! To start with I had home made Manipuri khaana by Ma which included kangshoi and iromba. Mouth watering.. slurp slurp.. Then the amazing Bengali specialties, kosha mangsho and the chodchodi cooked by Tamdi. Slurrrrp.. Tamdi has proved herself to be one heck of a cook!  Gjjee showed his cooking skills by cooking delicious kali dal one day :) Dipali Di had cooked some awesome Biryani.. it was finger licking good.. so good that I am considering her to cater for my wedding ;). Slurrrp… how can I forget the food at Tamdi and her college gang’s reunion- roast chicken, sun dried tomato, garlic and red pepper pasta, yummy ratatouille (cooked by Joyoni Di). It was the first time I tasted ratatouille and its set some standards. All the people who cook ratatouille, please be assured your dish will always be compared to Joyoni Di’s. It was simply delicious.

Besides the above we did eat out. We had different cuisines ranging from Indian, Italian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, German, American food (that was just a hot dog) to of course the English food of course. The only thing I didn’t eat was fat round big prawns that looked like the intestines of a human! Of course it was delicious but the sight wasn’t so good. I kinda got nauseous. In normal circumstances I would not have let go of those prawns!! Don’t think I missed much though. Yes. I hogged all throughout the stay. Didn’t lose any chance to eat out. I have a completely different outlook about food from different regions now. And when I go to these places which say they serve food from the above mentioned places I am so gonna judge them!

Other than that I Loved the mulled wine at the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. Yes it was the first time I tasted it! It was nice and warm and sweet. I am so hunting for a place where you get mulled wine here. So I did drink a lot of wine generally and I think now that I am a Wine Person. Okay for the time being I am!

If you have read my previous post, you will know that I was a bit awestruck by everything around. This of course includes the vegetables as well. Mom, Dad and I were completely taken aback by the variety of vegetables available. We wanted to buy everything which was of course not such a good idea considering the fact that we would not have been able to eat many of them or just not be able to finish it! There were so many things that we had not seen before. And we took loads of snaps of vegetables we dont get back home. Funny thing to do, i know! 

And I toast to all those people who make food so enjoyable!

Peace

Overweight Shaki

The London Series- Tourist In Me

Back from visiting Tamdi and Gjjee. Had been there for three weeks. London is pretty! I mean of course I have seen the streets on the telly and I have done my bit of reading about London but being there was a different thing. I felt like I was in London.. ha ha! what the hell! I was in London. What I meant was it was nice, despite the rain and the cold, cold wind. Everything is so cute there. Weird adjective to use for a city but it IS cute!! Especially the place where Tamdi lives. The plants are beautiful and the people are stylish.  It's just so PRETTY! I was the typical middle class never-been-out-of-my-own-country tourist. You can only imagine what that is like!!

We took a tour to Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and Oxford. The bus journey was wonderful. The country side is just lovely. Passed through some places that looked like a jungle. Tamdi said “You never know you might spot a Unicorn there”. Of course the kid that I am I actually hoped so. And had my camera ready just in case. The Queen was in when we reached Windsor Castle.  We took a walk on the banks of Thames. There were swans and ducks there. Not something I was excited about. Okay, I sound horrible but then I just don’t find birds to be cute, beautiful, elegant or whatever they say. Anywhooooo, so, I was really excited about going to Stonehenge. Really really. The first thing that gets you is the beautiful landscape. Next thing that gets you is the cold. It's freezing. Of course that’s also because it is December. About the size, well I always imagined it to be taller. But yes it is magnificent and you do wonder how did those people manage to move those pieces of rocks. Oxford was nice too. The colleges instantly reminded me of Eric Segal’s books. I don’t know. The descriptions of the colleges he uses are like the colleges of Oxford and just like how I pictured it. Well, saw the "Harry Potter" sights. As in some places where it was shot and also from where J K Rowling got the inspiration for the sign on Harry Potter’s forehead. That was that.

Other than that we went to Greenwich, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, National Art Museum and Natural History Museum, the Aquarium, London Bridge and the Tower Bridge. Dad really wanted to visit Greenwich. The Geographer in him was inching us towards the 0 degree mark. And Boy! Was he thrilled! The view from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich was breath taking. Like the movies really. The sky line was marked with big names of the business world at the Canary Wharf. We took the DLR till Bank station. It was the most awesome ride. It reminded me of this movie called Wanted where Angelina Jolie is on top of a tube and she shoots someone who is inside a building while balancing on the roof of the tube. Well those who have seen the movie will know. So the DLR goes through the buildings and as Dad says “building ke andar station hai”. The visit to the Aquarium was quite exciting. My folks and I behaved like we have never seen fish! Of course Tamdi was quite amused by our reactions. I loved the Sting Rays! And the sharks and the tortoise and the “cow fish” and the sea horse and the jelly fish and loads of other creatures! I was like Oh, its just like it is in National Geographic Channel. Heh Heh.

I saw dinosaurs.. ha ha! ok, their fossils in the Natural History Museum. It has been one thing I wanted to do ever since I was in Class VI. Awesome!

Apart from that I went to the home makers pilgrim- IKEA and the shopaholics paradise Harrods. Now the thing about me shopping is that I do the scanning and then the shopping. In IKEA and Harrods I couldn’t scan cause I just wanted it all! No scanning required! And too much to cover before I shop! You are never done shopping in IKEA. And in Harrods you just don’t know what is good cause everything is so damn nice!

So this is the first part of my many posts that will be about my visit to London. Be rest assured there are more posts and many many pictures to come. Told you I was a never-been-out-of-my-own-country tourist.

Peace

Tourist Shaki

The Planner in Me

There is no point in planning! You know the more I plan the more you should be sure there are going to be twists and turns to it. I work hard on making things right. You know, everything should go as planned. Every detail on track. Making everyone and everything fall in its place, much to a lot of people's annoyance.  Sometimes I do achieve it but the way to it is full of worries, changes, stress. Yes, there are frustrations too when things don't quite work out the way I planned it to be. And disappointments that I couldn't make some things right. But still I plan and worry. And I feel only I can do the job and that is the worst thing! So how do I get myself from becoming this wierd control freak of sorts?Perfectionist? Naaa..
Wouldn't it be easier if I just let things be the way it is? Just let things be. But then you know what, I just cant stop myself from planning and expecting! Strange! I know this habit of mine can get on people's nerves but I just cant help it!

Peace
Shaki

Chai Aur Main

I love a good cup of chai anytime during the day or night. I am the sorta person who gets up early so that I can enjoy my chai. My day usually starts with a cup of chai in one hand and the newspaper in the other. No chai and I will be pretty cranky and probably a bit sick. चाय में आखिर ऐसा क्या है? I haven't been able to figure that one out since I first started drinking tea!
Chai Bonding. That's what we used to call it in College. I was the only chai drinker in the beginning and soon it was like a following! We used to maro addaa in the college canteen with a chai ka cup in our hands. The cups were those ganda walla white turned yellow cups with cracks. The chai used to be made to our tastes. कम दूध ज्यादा पानी थोडी चीनी और बहुत सारी चाय पट्टी! All the plotting used to happen over a cup of chai. All the stories used to be told over a cup of chai. Gossips and fights over chai. Staying up late with a cup of chai during exams. Raat ko khane ke baad chai to discuss the events of the day and to enjoy the star lit skies with a cup of chai in the garden!  We used to make fun of Shalu because she didn't drink tea and we even made her drink a cup once Pyar ke khaattir :) Chyaas- जब चाय पीने का मन करता है! हमे च्यास हर दम लगती थी!We would drink tea all the time.. during breakfast, break mein, bunk karte hue, classes ke beech mein, classes ke baad, evening time, after that, dinner ke baad and sometimes uske bhi baad. It used to keep us warm in cold windy winters. It was our source of energy! कुछ तो है इस चाय में!
And now its getting up in the morning and walking straight to the kitchen to prepare tea. Listening to the radio and reading a bit of the newspaper sometimes, staring out of the window holding a cup of chai. Chai at breaks in office. Garam garam masala chai on rainy days after getting back from office sitting on my window sill. Chai with friends to de-stress. Chai for the migraine. Chai to soothe my nerves. Sometimes going to the CCD round the corner and having chai. and I still wonder कुछ तो है इस चाय में!

Love,
च्यासी Shaki

My First Cakes!

Well. I finally did it! I baked a cake. It is one of the things I thought I would never be able to do!! But it was Su's birthday and I had to do something special. She is leaving in a month :( So I decided to bake her a cake :)  Of course to start I had to call the expert, Che N. She is the best cook in this part of the World :)
Its crazy how she knows so many recipes! She asked me which cake I wanted to bake and I was totally confused. Settled for the easiest- The Chocolate Cake with no frills. Now, the thing is no one tells you the minute details or what might go wrong but thanks to Che N I got over all the hurdles! Another thing, preparing for the cake is the hard part, baking takes just about 6 to 7 minutes! Putting up the picture of the cakes I baked. Have to comment here that they turned out to be great and tasted good too!

Love,
Shaki

Blah Blah Blah..

I dont know. Am a bit chatty today and there is no one I can talk to or who will probably be able to make out what I am trying to say. You see the three, ok make that four, people I like to talk to and who can make out what I say are very very far away. So I am left with these conversations in my head with myself.
Disconnected thoughts running in my head. I feel like talking about pink. Yes the color. Its been in my head for some time now. I am wondering do men think that women with long hair are submissive. I am thinking of this pipe line which fell on the train in Thane. How did it fall? What might have happened? Is Maldives better or Mauritius? The food given by the caterer at the office is improving. Maybe its good that I give feedbacks in spite of him saying that I always complain. I want to watch a movie at the theater but then there is none which is worth a watch. Has anyone watched any good movie lately?
But of course there are answers that are there in my head to all those questions too.
Now that I put almost all my thoughts down I dont feel so chatty anymore!! hmmmm.. but I still feel like talking.

Peace
Shaki

Happy Diwali!

Happy Diwali!

Wishing everyone a Bright and Prosperous Year!

Shaki