RESTAURANT REVIEW: WASABI BY MORIMOTO, TAJ MAHAL HOTEL

I love Japanese food and few do as good a job with it as at Wasabi at the Taj Mahal Hotel. I'm not going to gush because that's boring. Instead I'm just going to put up a few of the photos I took and hopefully you'll be inspired to visit soon.

Barely steamed, softly salted Edamame

Tender petals of Tofu

Fish eyes!

For the love of Salmon

Superlative Spinach with Soft Sesame Sauce

Flakes of White Fish with Sweet Potato

Sea Bass with Greens, Sprouts and Capsicums

 

Gentle Soy Rice

 

Palate Cleanser

Cream, Ice, Chocolate Boulders

Wasabi Ice Cream

SNAPSHOTS: SPICE MARKET, OLD DELHI

When I first moved to Delhi in November 2011 I couldn't understand why the city was so amped up. Everyone was eating, travelling, partying frantically, desperately as if everything was going to be taken away from them and soon. Then the Delhi summer reared its ugly head. Now I understand that fear, the knowledge that this pretty balcony you're sitting in today in HKV will turn into a dusty inferno.

Before the weather started to feel like the center of a volcano I did a quick lap around Chandni Chowk to take some photos. I have lots but I figure the spice market photos are most relevant for this blog:

Yes I know I said Spice Market but the flower vendors were right there

I'm not sure what most of them are

Don't skip off to the Spice Market if you have asthma issues - the whole lane is hazy with the smell of powdered something or the other flying around. Best to wrap a handkerchief around your nose and wear sunglasses but then you'll look even more like you don't belong. It's a very rock and a hard place choice.

Someone said this was soap. I'm not too sure.

More spicy things!
 

I think this is Mehandi



No Idea



Ha! Something I recognize!



Beautiful Stephens Church

TRAVEL TO: HYDERABAD

I spent a weekend at my (almost) home town of Hyderabad last December and it was so exciting to see how much the city had changed since I left.

 A lot of the change, unfortunately was predictable, more traffic, more malls and more fast food. On the brighter side, it's great to see the new restaurants and meeting places experimenting with innovative decor and different cuisines.

Since I only had a weekend for my visit, and an old friend's wedding to attend, I didn't like to see as much of new Hyderabad as I would have liked. Here's my list of the places I did get to visit, reviews are coming up soon:

Something old - Fusion 9

Something new - N Grill 

Something super fancy - Prego at the Westin

SNAPSHOTS: INDIAN ACCENT

This isn't really a review of Indian Accent because I had to run out of lunch to get to office for an exciting corporate law emergency. These happen all the time.

Anyway I had these photos and I love Indian Accent so I thought I'd put them up.

I can't wait to go back to do an actual review.



If the weather allows it get a seat in the pretty garden



Atta and Semolina Puchkas, Coriander Chickpea Tabbouleh, Five Waters





Kashmiri Morel Musallem, Crushed Roast Walnut, Parmesan Papad



Baked Amritsari Machhi, Masala Butter Whitebait Papad



Garlic Khada Masala Chicken

Kulfi Sorbet



Palm Sugar and Tender Coconut Brulee with Mixed Berries



A Charpoy of School Memories

SNAPSHOTS: A HOLIDAY IN THE HILLS

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb - Nelson Mandela

Different people take different kinds of holidays. There are beach people and city people. Some scuba dive, others soak in spas. I struggle with some sort of Austro-Hungarian hangover since I keep turning up in or around the empire for every vacation since graduation.

This winter I disappeared to the hills for a little bit for a holiday unlike any I've ever taken and it was wonderful. Doing something completely out of character taught me so much more than Vienna could. It sounds like the kind of advice you find on the side of a coffee cup and ordinarily I really resent proverbs. But cliches become that way because they work, right? More coffee cup print! Before someone has the good sense to clobber me I'll get to telling you more about my holiday. It might sound too sedate but I loved it.

I got to stay in a beautiful house and wake up to a view like this -

 

I took some long, quiet (apart from my panting) walks down paths like these - 

 

I saw nature being incredible in ways I hadn't seen before -

 

 At the end of the day I watched the sun set - 

 

The evenings sometimes came with this:

After dinner I curled up in front of a blazing fire with a good book. The Mortdecai Trilogy, I recommend it strongly to fans of crime fiction. 

 

 

I was asleep by 9 on most nights but I managed to knock 4 books off my reading list and learnt I might even be a mountain person.

SNAPSHOT: BAKE SALE AT FRIENDICOES

“In the whole history of the world there is but one thing that money cannot buy...to wit--the wag of a dog's tail.”  ― Josh Billings

We were delighted to hear about Friendicoes' bake sale recently! If you haven't heard of Friendicoes visit their facebook page. What could be more amazing than helping someone while we do what we love to do anyway? We promptly got our aprons on and this is what we came up with:

Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake

Raspberry Marmalade Cake with Raspberry and Blood Orange Glaze
 

Gooey Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Almond Ganache

Spiced Vanilla and Chocolate Cup Cakes with Rum Butter Cream Icing

 

With adorable packaging =)

 

SNAPSHOTS: FOOD ILLUSTRATIONS BY AASH!

For you today, these adorable, funny food illustrations from my very talented friend Aashmita Nayar! I love how much personality each ingredient has, my favourites are the suspicious onion and the narcissist pepperpot.

One day when all you wonderful readers make the effort to go like our facebook page, making us super famous and able to afford the publishing costs of a cook book we'll hire Aashmita to do our illustrations. In the mean time we'll happily cover her work here!

I love the suspicious expression on the onion's, erm, face(?).

 

This reminds me of a boy in my school. Do you have a dancing chicken in your life?

 

 

Narcissistic Pepper Pot 

 

SNAPSHOTS: THIS DIWALI



Diwali this year was a quiet affair and I didn't take many photos. It occurred to me that it would be helpful to have a Diwali checklist to help people plan out the hectic holiday season. I'm going to get to work on that so we can have it up in time for next Diwali.

 I got so tired of mithai this year, by the time Diwali rolled around I was gorging on these beautiful brownies from Labonel, Hyderabad. Thank you so much Dimpy Aunty! As usual, your taste is impeccable!

There was mithai:

Gifts were exchanged:

Diyas were lit:

 

The young brother made snarky comments:

And it all ended on a quiet sweet note: