The Most Crowded Place on Earth

To really experience a new city, you should visit one of its public markets. Having visited public markets in the US I know they can be quite crowded on the weekends, but in a country like India with a population of nearly 1.2 billion people, I had no idea what I was in for when I visited the Krishnarajendra Market in Bangalore last summer. The Krishnarajendra Market, also know as the Bangalore Central Market or City Market, is an enormous public market with entire floors dedicated to food, flowers, cooking equipment and parts for heavy machinery, really! At times while I was walking through the market, it was obvious that I was in one of the most crowded places on earth!

It would really be hard for me to do the market justice with words, so please, enjoy these pictures and try to imagine what it was like walking through Bangalore's Central Market. It was an experience of a lifetime and one I hope I will never forget.

 

 

Flying Lobster and Some Good Global Eating

Just because I have been M.I.A. for the last month does not mean I haven't been eating well and keeping track. Today I'll you about a great dining experience I had recently, at 35,000 feet, along with some other great global eating! If you've been reading my writing for a while or have been perusing my archives, then you may remember a rave review I gave British Airways last year for their food.

Well I flew British Airways back to India last month and ate well the entire way. There are several ways to get to India from Boston and one of them includes flying through London's Heathrow airport; ALL of them involve two days of travel. That's right, I left Boston's Logan Airport on Sunday evening and arrived in Bangalore, India on Tuesday morning. Two long flights and a five hour layover in London meant lots of opportunity to eat along the way. I know what you're thinking: "airplane/airport food is terrible!" And I totally agree depending on where you're going and what airline you're flying. I know first hand that food on domestic carriers in the US like American and United ranges anywhere from none to barely edible. Not so on International carriers like British Airways, Lufthansa and Swiss Air; and most of the airports in Europe have very good dining options, especially London Heathrow! So read along as I eat along the way to India.

My first flight from Boston to London took off around 9pm and I had already eaten dinner so I skipped the in-flight meal; here is a jet-lag fighting tip for you: keep the same eating and sleeping schedule of the place you are leaving until you arrive at your destination and you should acclimate to the new time zone much easier. That sometimes means skipping in-flight meals and sleeping when you think you should be awake, OR staying awake when all you want to do is sleep! It was around 9am in London when I landed so walked around the terminal for about 30 minutes to get my blood flowing again and then began my hunt for food. I started my around-the-world eating session with some Eggs Norwegian (poached eggs, smoked salmon, hollandaise on a muffin) at Gordon Ramsay Plane Food in Terminal 5; £7.50 (~$13 at the time) for half a toasted muffin, two poached eggs and some salmon!? Seriously?! Anyway, it was good. The salmon was melt-in-your mouth good and the hollandaise was the perfect balance of rich, buttery goodness and tart, citrusy lemon.

Having just spent 7+ hours on a plane crossing 5 time zones, I was still hungry, so I headed over to Wagamama in the same wing of Terminal 5. I didn't want to eat too much more since I was about to get on a plane for another 10+ hours so I ordered the Asa Gohan from the menu. Asa Gohan is a traditional Japanese breakfast and at Wagamama it consists of some sticky rice, Japanese pickles, and a cup of miso soup. The miso was excellent, the rice very sticky and the pickles were soft, sweet, crunchy and delicious; what a great breakfast!

So far so good in the food category but it was about to get much, much better!

I prefer to fly on British Airways when I'm going over to India for several reasons. First, the seats on British Airways' planes are comfortable and they have plenty of leg room, even in economy class known as World Traveler - comfort and leg room are important considerations for me since the flights are long and I'm rather tall at 6'2" (188cm for my metric friends.) But more important than the comfort of the seats is the quality of the food. I actually think the food is great on long haul British Airways flights, even in the back of the plane. I wrote about one good dining experience I had on British Airways last year but my experience last month takes the cake - no I didn't have any cake, I chose the cheese course, read on!

I'm also a British Airways frequent flier and on my flight from London to Bangalore I was fortunate to receive an upgrade to business class, known as Club World. I had flown in Club World once before on a return trip from Chennai, India to London so I knew I was in for a treat. Even better was the fact that my seat (also my bed) was on the upper deck of the 747 I was about to board.

Upon taking my seat upstairs on the plane I wasted no time taking advantage of the world class service British Airways offers. I asked for a glass of champagne, and not just any champagne but the outstanding Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Brut Champagne. I was well on my way to having a very comfortable flight. When flying in World Traveler (economy) between London and India, passengers have a choice between an Indian meal or non-Indian meal, both always good. The same is true in Club World except there are more choices and haute cuisine. After the plane took off I was handed a nice Club World dining menu with several options for each of three courses! Although I was craving Indian food, I took one look at my choices and knew what I was ordering...

After a couple more glasses of Heidsieck Champagne, I started my in-flight meal with a fresh lobster salad with pink grapefruit and mango salsa along with a fresh salad of mixed greens and a simple vinaigrette dressing. The lobster salad was so fresh and tasted so good with the pink grapefruit segments and mango salsa. For my main course I chose a chilled salad of smoked salmon, roasted vine tomatoes and dill potatoes. The alternative choices were whiting in a yogurt sauce with spicy coconut green beans, red kidney beans in masala sauce with yellow lentils and spinach, or duck confit with green beans, cocotte potatoes, and thyme jus! Wow! I bet the duck confit was outstanding but I had a long flight ahead of me and three glasses of champagne already in me, so I went with the light smoked salmon option. For dessert I had the choice of a chocolate cherry trifle with strawberry sauce, vanilla ice cream, a cheese plate, or a selection of fresh fruits and chocolates. The cheese plate consisted of Cropwell Bishop Stilton and triple creme French Brie along with some savory biscuits, so I chose that, I love brie. The cheeses were excellent. I had one more glass of champagne to wash everything down and then slept the rest of the way to Bangalore. Thank you, British Airways, for an incredible flying, and dining experience!

I highly recommend flying with British Airways, check them out at http://www.britishairways.com or follow British Airways North American on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BritishAirways and British Airways United Kingdom at http://twitter.com/British_Airways

I don't feel any smarter after eating this

Alternate title: Fear Factor - Indian Style

My food philosophy is that if something is on the menu, then someone likes it and someone thinks it is okay to eat. So when I found myself with my friend and colleague Nmuthu at Karaikudi Restaurant in Mylapore, India, I knew I had to be true to myself when I was asked if I'd ever had brains and do I want to try it. So I said yes.

When the dish was placed on our table, some of the pieces still resembled the brain so I immediately knew I was in for a challenge. I stared at the plate for a minute and with some hesitation picked up a small piece. The texture in my hand was soft and delicate and no I wasn't just playing with my food; in India people eat with their hands, their right hand actually. After thinking for a minute about what I was about to eat, I popped the piece of brain in my mouth and chewed. The texture in my mouth is something I've had a hard time describing since I told the first person about my eating adventure. It was homogeneous and creamy in texture on the inside with a very delicate skin on the outside. The flavor was very mild having not been well sauced. The flavor of brain, I'm told, is usually dominated by whichever sauce they are prepared with. Nmuthu also tried a piece and told me that even though he doesn't love brains he has had them before and the ones we were eating that day lacked in any significant flavor; they were not prepared that well. Fortunately the rest of our meal was fantastic! In addition to the brains, we also ate vegetable biryani, chettiyar chicken masala, gobi 65, and two types of south Indian bread - parotta and chapathi.

Clockwise from the top: Parotta, Chettiyar Special Chicken Masala,
Vegetable Biryani, Mutton Brains

Biryani is a rice based dish that is popular throughout the Middle East and India. Some say that the biryani from Hyderabad put that city on the culinary map; we ate some vegetable biryani and it was delicious. The chicken masala we ate must be from a local recipe, although I didn't ask, since Chettiyar, or more commonly Chettiar, is a title used by people in south India to identify themselves or others with a specific group of people. The Indian breads we ate, parotta and chapathi, are two common south Indian breads served with most meals. Finally, gobi 65, which is one of my favorite snacks/appetizers in India - my favorite is still pani puri, and I ate some of that this trip too. Gobi is cauliflower and it is very popular in Indian cuisine. Gobi 65 is fried cauliflower dredged in chili powders and other spices, here is one recipe from Coimbatore, another great city in south India. If you ever find yourself in Mylapore, check out this restaurant, it was very good.

Here is my receipt, see the third item?

On the disabled list

Due to an unfortunate accident at my house over the weekend, my left arm is in a cast for at least the next 8 weeks - I broke my wrist. Typing is slow and difficult with one hand so I'm going to try and catch up on my "writing" with a little photo journalism. Follow me through pictures as I eat my way through Switzerland and India.

Eating Tandoori Chicken in Chennai

When I tell my colleagues that I like going to India, many of them think I'm nuts; twenty hours on a plane and all that air and noise pollution surely can't be fun. My response is usually something like, "I think the food is great and I get to experience things that are unique to that part of the world; India is a fascinating country. And, I like the solitude on the plane." They still think I'm nuts.

Even though I'm in India on business, the trip tends to be all about the food for me. Dinners are usually at restaurants in five-star hotels in the city, like Peshwari in the Sheraton Chola or Lotus Thai in The Park hotel. When we work late at the office, we usually eat at our own hotel, the Fortune Select Palms, in the Zodiac restaurant/lounge. The Zodiac offers a variety of foods, including a buffet full of delicious Indian offerings. My favorite dish however is on the menu, the tandoori chicken, India's version of barbecued chicken. Sure the hotel is in the south and tandoori is a traditionally found in the north, but this chicken is GOOD. It is a statler chicken breast, which means it is the boneless breast of chicken with a drumette attached, covered in spicy goodness, cooked in a Tandoor oven, and served with a wedge of lime and some carrot and cabbage slaw.


I ate this chicken twice during my last visit to India in March and I can't wait to go back and have it again. The chicken is tender, the rub is spicy, and the accompanying mint chutney (not pictured) offers both a cooling and flavorful touch to this dish.

On my next trip I'm going to explore the food stalls that line Old Mahabalipuram Road outside of my office; I may need some Pepto afterwards, but I hope it will be worth it. Remember when you're traveling, follow your nose...and your stomach. Be adventurous in life and at the dinner table.

Author's note: I'm raising money for the The Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support my recent ride in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge bike ride. Will you make a donation to support the advancement of cancer research and administration of life-saving cancer treatments?

The Best Thai Food....in India!

Here is another dining adventure from my last trip to India - Thai food! After a long day at the office, some colleagues and I went to The Park hotel for some Thai food at Lotus. The Park is a 5-star hotel located in downtown Chennai with three restaurants and two night clubs. The hotel is built on land previously occupied by the Gemini Film Studios, one of the first studios in Chennai that sparked the film industry in Tamil Nadu.

Anyway, the food at Lotus was outstanding. We had a few appetizers, of which the most noteworthy was the shrimp spring rolls pictures below. It was a whole shrimp wrapped inside of a spring roll wrapper with some green onions and cabbage. Five different sauces accompanied the plate of spring rolls and can be seen presented on my plate below with one spring roll. Each sauce was a perfect accompaniment for the sweet and savory, crispy shrimp spring roll.


For my main course, I decided to try the chicken pad thai. In my opinion a Thai restaurant is only as good as it's Tom Yum Soup and it's Pad Thai. This Pad Thai at Lotus was excellent! The rice noodles were cooked perfectly, the chicken was tender, and the spicy seasonings left me feeling very satisfied with my choice. We actually ate at Lotus the night before as well, and I had the green curry which was also excellent.


Finally, a note about the service at Lotus and in India in general. At each of the fine restaurants we ate at, both this recent trip in March and my trip last September, the service is generally good. It was often hard to find a waiter when we needed a drink, however when our food is brought to the table, the server will plate the food as seen in the picture below. When returning to the table to check on us, if he sees any empty plates, he will serve up some more from the dishes. This level of service is appreciated to a certain extent, but the service was not perfect.

On a side note, my colleague Nick, being served in the photo, made a snarky comment about me taking pictures of the food. I justified my picture taking by mentioning my blog, and blurred out his face in the picture to protect him from the abuse he would otherwise certainly receive from fellow bloggers for his ignorance.

And remember when your traveling, whether for business or pleasure, follow your nose...and your stomach. Be adventurous in life and at the dinner table.

Author's note: I'm raising money for the The Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support my recent ride in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge bike ride. Will you make a donation to support the advancement of cancer research and administration of life-saving cancer treatments?

My Favorite Indian Snack - Pani Puri

My first time going to India was last September and I didn't know what to expect. I traveled by myself and went into sensory overload when I first stepped foot out of the airport. It was 4am local time, it was hot and humid, the air was heavy and polluted, and OMG it was crowded! I made it to my hotel in one piece, took a long nap, and met my colleagues at the office later that morning.

Just prior to dinner on my first night, I was introduced to a tasty little snack called Pani puri. Literally this means water in fried bread but it is so, so much more. Pani puri is a very popular street snack in India where you will often see small carts loaded high with puri, the fried dough bread, and crowds of people surrounding the carts slurping these tasty treats one after the other. My last trip to India was this past February and I made sure to have at least a few pani puri every night, in my hotel. I did not get to try the pani puri from a street cart - maybe next time.

To make this snack, a small hole is pressed into the top of the hollow fried bread and filled with a mixture of mashed chickpea (or potato), coriander leaves (cilantro), fresh green chilies or red chili powder, cumin, minced onion and black pepper. The 'water' is a mixture of tamarind, chili powder, cumin, salt and black pepper and is spooned into the dough with the chickpea/potato mixture. Pop this snack into your mouth and crunch, a combination of sweet, spicy, savory and delicious will hit you all at once. This is definitely one of my favorite Indian snacks and I can't wait to go back for more.