Oh! Calcutta, My Calcutta
Mocha: Banana flower
When I land in India, my first port is usually Delhi. And if I am craving for Calcutta food, my only option is to head out to Oh! Calcutta.
This time, for lunch at Oh! Calcutta – here is what I ate.
A great meal at the airport
Maxim’s outpost in Hong Kong – indubitably.
This Hong Kong trip had been a bit of a disappointment in terms of food – I was expecting greatness at every meal but it ended up being a mixed one. The congee breakfasts were exceptional. Fried rice at the traditional Luk Yu Tea House was good. Lunch at the casual Kyoto Joe’s was below par. The 16 course dinner at the Yellow Door private kitchen was a complete disappointment. The fried noodles at Crystal Jade, famous for their hand pulled noodles, were greasy. So, when the 36 hour sojourn at Hong Kong came to an end, I was beginning to wonder if I was going to come back to this city again.
A private kitchen in Hong Kong
Yellow Door Kitchen (bottom right)
Restaurant: Yellow Door Kitchen
Location: Hong Kong Central
Cuisine: Sichuanese and Shanghai style food with 16 course prix fixe menu
Cost: $288 HKG per person (~$40 USD)
We had asked our concierge (@Lan Kwai Fong) to book us at Da Ping Huo Private Kitchen but they were booked full. So our concierge suggested Yellow Door Kitchen – a tiny little restaurant on the fourth floor on Cochrane lane, underneath the mid-level escalator. A little research suggested that it was started by Hong Kong gastronome Lau Kin-Wai who started Da Ping Huo as well. Yellow Door is the first private kitchen started in the late ’90s, now run by Kin-Wai’s son, and apparently draws loyalists like movie mogul Run Run Shaw, and the hot and talented Mr. Andy Lau. So, it had seemed like an excellent choice.
Ferry to Kowloon
Top deck of star ferry
Yet another must do on a visit to Hong Kong is a star ferry ride across the channel from Central to Kowloon – pronounced the native way, Kowloon has a nice rounded sound – like “cow-loong”. They say that on a clear day, from a vantage point, one can see as far away as the mainland china. However, on a winter day, it is impossible to see Kowloon skyline from Central or vice versa. So why do this ride at all? Apart from the fact that for many of us a ferry ride is unusual and therefore exciting, it is the cheapest thing one can do in Hong Kong – at $2 HKG per ride, it is cheaper than price of a dimsum plate at a street vendor.
Man who went up the escalator and came down the stairs
 Mid-level escalator |
 A narrow backalley |
 Stairs coming down SoHo |
Mid-town escalator – a visitor to Hong Kong is expected to get on it. I wish I could say that taking the escalator meant not walking. The world’s longest escalator is really for the working man – it ferries them from home to the financial hub in the morning. After mid-morning, it switches direction and starts going back up to the hills again. So, if you are a visitor, you can either go up or down the escalator and you will have to leg it the other way. If you are an average visitor, you will likely be staying close to the Central’s shopping district and therefore would be going up the escalator and coming down the stairs.
Breakfast congee in Hong Kong
A bowl of pork congee
I am a coffee and cereal gal but a breakfast in Hong Kong can’t be any other than congee. Although the idea of a savoury porridge in the morning has always been an odd one to me, I had decided to step into Hong Kong for a 36 hour stopover with a firm resolve to try congee. Essence of congee is a tasty broth in which rice is cooked into a light slurry to which bits and pieces of fish, eggs and meat are added.
Presidio – An escape from within
Officers quarters at Presidio, fog covered Golden Gate bridge in the backround
For me, San Francisco is a pretty city with great food. But, the traffic gets on my nerves. Before our household got a GPS assistant, going to the city invariably meant an argument – about taking the one way only turn, and not finding a parking that cost less than the meal. Now, at least we avoid taking the wrong turn and if we do, we are not pathetically lost.
Stinky goodness of sun dried cauliflower
Sun dried cauliflower
Not as bad as your stinky tofu or durian but we are splitting hairs. When cooked, it is yummy – obviously. So, lets take this cauliflower journey – from raw to sun-dried to hydrated cauliflowers.
Durga Devi Namo Namah
Enjoy this year’s Durga Puja photos, brought to us by Ankur. Click on any one of them to see the slideshow of entire photo gallery. The slideshow is captioned by stories – mythological and social – of Durga festival.
 The Goddess |
 The Demon |
 The Devotees |
Durga Puja is celebration of warrior Goddess Durga killing the buffalo demon Mahisha who was could not be killed by a man or an animal. Durga worship among Bengalis coincides with north Indian celebration of Dussehra when Rama conquers Ravana. Although this is a ten day celebration, the seventh through ninth days are most glorious when communities get together to worship, eat and set up music, dance and theater performances.
Tokyo: Shibuya’s love hotels
Love hotels of Shibuya
Shibuya is the little cousin of Times Square. A cacophony of lights and crowds. It is hard to tell that abutting Shibuya are the side streets of Love Hotel hill, where the cacophony ceases – no restaurants, no pachinko parlors, no bars, no shops, and no soliciting. Just the pink and green blinking lights offering comfortable ‘Rest’ and ‘Stay’. ‘Rest’ is a euphemism for a couple of hours of romantic encounter and ‘Stay’ indicates the entire night’s rates.
Harajuku Bridge
Harajuku bridge
We were in Tokyo, it was a Sunday, and we had an appointment to keep with Gothlolis on the Harajuku bridge. Yes, even in the rain.
On Sundays Harajuku bridge becomes a promenade with variously dressed cosplayers arrayed along its length. Cosplayers is a combination of costume and roleplay, and essentially means dressing up as your favorite anime/manga/videogame character. But the facile description of cosplay belies the effort they put into both creating their costumes and playing their chosen roles. At least for the time they are on the bridge they seem to inhabit their roles quite thoroughly. When the metaverse finally arrives, they will be its first avatars.
Tokyo Cafés: You are being served
Click for Tokyo cafe slideshow
Contrary to popular assumption Japan is actually a big coffee drinking nation. Tokyo has many local and international cafés but the more interesting are the ones that offer ‘extra’ service.
Biodiversity park in Delhi
Yamuna Biodiversity Park
Any green space in the naturally arid Delhi is always welcome. The Biodiversity park is an artificial wetland created to attract and study migrating birds. It is spread over an area of approximately 450 acres near Wazirabad village in North Delhi.
Park authorities are still learning to cope with visitors and may not necessarily be too helpful. But most scientists love to talk about their work. So if you find one of the field researchers, ask him or her about their work, and enjoy a guided tour.
Kailasa at Stern Grove Festival 2009
Beer and music at Stern Grove
We have recently returned from a short visit to Delhi and are a little home sick. So a couple of weekends ago we decided to go to the Stern Grove Festival for Kailash Kher’s group Kailasa. The thought of soaking in the coolness of Stern Grove listening to Tauba Tauba sounded fantastic after Delhi’s grueling heat and mugginess.
Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market: It’s see-food
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We were in Tokyo and we couldn’t possibly go back home without making a pilgrimage to Asia’s largest fish market. The only hitch was that the recommended visiting hours are 5am-8am. According to legend and Lonely Planet, the famous Tuna auction happens at 4am, which many websites informed us, is now closed to tourists. We were going to give it a shot anyway. Or not. At 4 am.
Six hours layover at Hong Kong airport
Central skyline during a Hong Kong layover, click for more
Here I was again, stuck at yet another airport in the middle of a San Francisco-Delhi trip. My last long layover was a twelve hour one at Bangkok when I had managed to sneak away to the city. I had the urge to get away again – in a decade of hopping between San Francisco and Delhi, I had never had six hour layover at HKG before.
A little effort yielded information about a pre-packaged transit tour. A little more research into visa requirements and transport options, suggested an easy free form tour. Here is what happened.
Heritage walk – Chandni Chowk, Delhi
Here is a recent article on a heritage walk down Chawri Bazaar and Chandni Chowk. The walk focuses on the old havelis – palatial homes of the rich from hundreds of years ago. Contact information of the guide is provided in the article.
Chandni Chowk is steeped in history and chaos. For visitors to Delhi, Chandni Chowk metro station has been the port of easy access to Red Fort and the spice market. Here, once you step out of the cool and modern station, you drown in human activities. From beggars to 200 year old sweet shops to an assortment of temples – Hindu, Jain, Gurudwara and mosque, to modern day internet coffee shops, it is all here. And behind the shops, crowds and the tangles of overhead wires are these havelis. Some look like a collection of loosely arranged bricks – one push and they all come tumbling down….
Coffee and Chocolate – Chokola, New Delhi
Chocolate cake at Choko la
We continue our occasional series about Chocolate and Coffee with a cafe in New Delhi called Chokola.
The place is done up in chocolate-y colors, the menu is the size of a small book with overwrought foodie descriptions of cocoa, single origin chocolates, and truffles, followed by the standard cafe fare of sandwiches, pizzas, etc.
A walk down Delhi’s ancient quarters.
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You are a conscientious visitor to Delhi. You have read your Lonely Planet India, done some web searches, and know that Delhi is an ancient city, the site of seven capitals over millenia. The Red Fort is on your list, as is Humayun’s tomb, and perhaps the Qutab Minar. And then you make your way to the Taj in Agra.
But surely Delhi must have accumulated a few more ruins than what India’s lackadaisical tourism industry would have you believe. Here are just four examples, all of which can be reached on foot from Qutab Minar.
A splatter of paint in Delhi
Sculpture at NGMA
Sculpture at NGMA
In the midst of being stir fried in Delhi heat, I decided to cool off at NGMA – National Gallery of Modern Art. For a museum that is by no means a world class facility, it houses a handful of world’s finest art pieces. So I found out this trip when I chanced upon a special exposition on Nandlal Bose’s artwork.
Late night crepes in Delhi – at Yellow Brick Road
Yellow Brick Road, Hotel Ambassador, Delhi
I am visiting Delhi for two weeks. I shouldn’t be hankering for crepes in the midst of this heat and mangoes and parathas and samosas and the kababs. But I am. So, I am at Yellow Brick Road, a cute little cafe at Hotel Ambassador near Khan Market. It is painted bright and cheerful with a touch of toy-store feel about it. Judging by the clientele, it is popular with all – eastern and western, young and old, men and women.
In search of sun – solar eclipse in Delhi
Partial solar eclipse of 2009 in Delhi
It was the eclipse of the century – the longest full eclipse lasting more than six minutes. During the days preceding the eclipse, media’s handling of it was like watching a schizophrenic – one moment all scientific with graphic visualization of solar and lunar orbits and astrophysics the other moment a discussion on fasting and soul cleansing and astrology.
Kakori kababs at Salim’s – roasting at Khan Market
Salim Kabab at Khan Market
Even in blazing summers, a visit to Delhi is incomplete without a taste of its famous kababs. We had already tried satisfying this craving by eating some sheesh-kababs in the cool comfort of the regal Curzon room in Oberoi Maidens Hotel. Their sheesh was competent, but it had failed to hit the spot.
We were planning a visit to Khan Chacha when we happened to read about Salim’s, yet another tiny kabab corner in Khan market, at “Eating Out in Delhi” blog. It is a rare happenstance to find a foodie proclaim a kabab corner as good as chacha’s, so we were intrigued. On author’s suggestion, we decided to seek out Salim’s kakori kabab and are glad we did.
Holy walk on hot asphalt – from Haridwar to Delhi
Kavadi-bearer near Connaught Place
This is an ultramarathon of a different type. Every year in July, come Monsoons or not, hundreds of thousands of Kavadi (or Kaavadi) bearers walk from Haridwar to their respective Shiva temples. They carry the holy water of Ganges in pitchers mounted on shoulder slung bamboo carriers. A vast majority of them are young men between the ages of 20-30 from small villages or slums.
Restaurant Pindi, beating Delhi heat with food from Pind
Taka-tak aloo at Pindi restaurant
It is Sunday, the day of rest. Rest from the kitchen, that is. I am at Pindi, a popular establishment in Delhi frequented by visitors and locals alike. It is devilishly hot outside. I can smell grilled meat a good hundred feet from Pindi. It is late for lunch but the joint is crowded. People are tearing apart tandoori chicken with gusto and hungrily sopping up creamy curries with naans. All accompanied by cheerful faces, animated conversations, and sounds of laughter. Very Punjabi indeed.
Locomotoring 