Caperberry

As any food reviewer worth her steak will tell you – never review once the food’s gone cold. Not literally so, but about the memory. Nevertheless….. 

This lounge-ish restrobar (adjacent to Manipal Center, Dickenson Road) apparently marries science with gastronomy (think nitrogen cooling), making for a rather interesting menu read but also rending it faaaar too expensive. The inaugral ‘palate cleanser’ also made for an interesting start. 

Palates cleansed, we started with a veg platter of mashed chickpeas on tortilla-esque chips, lettuce wraps, some veg fritter….sigh. With our expectations now set a little low, and yet not quite unhappy (c’mon – lettuce wraps! how exotic!), we moved on to the main course, which garnered some brownie points for the waiter’s genuine reassurance that we could re-order at no extra cost if we didn’t like what was served (pre-emptive damage control?). And my friend had to – the risotto was much unliked, and the replacement penne was better albeit with a tad too much bite still. My seafood fusilli was incredibly fine and delicate, but….something too fishy. 

What almost completely redeemed my evening though, was the “oh you must order” dessert platter, with three different kinds of dessert surrounded by a most interesting coil of wire-like strands. Apparently that was sugar, supercooled on some fancy surface in some fancy way. Ooh la la. 

Just Desserts, with Strings Attached

The bill almost killed me, and yet this is the kind of place one needs to visit at least once. Almost. 

pinch factor: excruciatingly ouch…. almost 3k? (swoon) 

service, ambience et al: very nice. makes the pinch a whole lot more bearable.

The Cook who Cooks (for you)

Nothing beats having someone handle the cooking for you. I feel lucky and truly blessed that I finally have a cook - the cooking sessions after work were getting too much to handle!

And oddly, I didn’t feel more relaxed. Over a month, I realized a few do’s and dont’s when it comes to that new found happy addition in your life (ahem):

1. Basic supplies can be bought in bulk (of the 1-person kind) – cooking oil, condiments, masalas, rice, atta (for chappattis), riceflour etc, semolina etc, and a reasonable quantity of onions, tomatoes, potatoes, and garlic.

2. You’re safer off not buying veggies in bulk – it breaks your heart to see any go bad (since most Indian cooking needs the veggies listed in point 1, bulk-ish buying is often warranted there – but not for the rest!). The ideal is purchasing everyday, if you have a store close on by. This is especially true for curry leaves, and chillies. And  coriander leaves never last even a day, and no, I don’t trust Tupperware ‘air sealed containers’ to take care of that for me. If there’s no friendly neighborhood store, buy every three days.

3. YOU do the veg shopping. Trustworthy as they may be, the help is not going to care if the tomatoes aren’t firm. Even if you don’t care, at least do the shopping at the start, till things get into a routine.

4. Give them a menu, so they know exactly what is expected. Be very clear on how much, especially if they come in every day. You don’t want a weekload of sambar in your fridge! And now, don’t tell them how to make the dishes. Let them be, not just to give them space but also for you to not have to still end up in the kitchen. Duhhh. Nevertheless, it may be a good idea to check in on them once in a way, at least initially.

5. At least in the first month, it helped for me to list each day’s menu. I didn’t plan except on a daily basis (and that’s gotta be done the previous night, btw) but I did keep the list so I could revisit it any time.

6. If you’re working, its best to have them come in before you leave for work. That leaves my evenings free, and all the cooking gets done in the morning itself. I’m not a fan of having them in the house when I’m not there, but to each their own. Keep in mind that if you’re going to be away when the cook is in, it might be good to hand-hold the transition for the first one week at the least.

7. Have enough utensils! The basics might cover one saucepan, one or two frying pans, at least one pressure cooker, a cutting board, rolling pin and board, dish-specific tools (like an idli rack), and then the usual suspects — spoons, knives, ladles etc.

Remember – wooden spoons for teflon-coated dishes (my favorite kind). Also have tongs, and pot holders or mittens for the poor cook’s fingers. Them paper bits hardly work.

8. Any cook will subtly (or not) tell you how to buy a better saucepan, a new mixer, a new oven…the works. Handle subtly, and with due respect. You don’t want too much salt in your food, just to spite you (!!). But act with prudence – buy or change only what you know is really necessary.

Just like with any other change, even of the good kind, a little planning and a little thinking go a long way.

Mish-Mash(ed) [potatoes?]

Constant pressure of “why no new posts” demanded I get off my block and finally write…on one of my favorite topics: Food (that’s all I could go on - all I’ve done of late has been to eat out a lot, cook some, and generally dwell in gastroheaven).

A recent trip to Delhi struck a real chord in my intestines..errm, yeah..with the Rockman’s B Island – loved that place. Situated in Ambience Mall (Gurgaon), its a loooong restrobar. We headed straight to the loudest part. Since its USP of “brewed right in front of you” beer obviously didn’t appeal to me, I still had to give it to them for decor – the brewing tanks(?) right in front of you, and large casks with high seats for seating. Nice. And 80’s pop, albeit remixed, but who’s complaining when you can sing along with most of them?

The menu had some delights – duck, pork, chicken (booooring), quail (!!)…. but ordered just some German franks and made did with that. This was on the promise we’d get some “real (cheaper) food” which never happened. Oh the quail that never was! And 10,000 brownie points to my waiter, who knew what I wanted even before I said much. Else, I may have just ordered the chicken (shudder).

Next on would be 4s in Def Col (South Delhi). Quiet, unassuming, and with good(ish) food, this place doesn’t quite match up to Bangalore’s Pecos or even Windsor’s, but me still likey likey it. A favorite haunt of my Delhi-based friends, the sentimental value added to its charm. Plus the reaaaally low rates (they always get everything at 50% discount!), what a steal!

And of course, 4 days and no homestyle food ensured the fabulous beef fry, chicken curry, and light-n’-fluffy parottas were gulped down in record time (albeit off designer plates). Coming to you courtesy northie cooks (!!) under a Mallu manager @ hole-in-the-wall Ammu’s behind Sahara Mall (Gurgaon).

Rodeo at Connaught Place didn’t appeal much, in spite of their really happy ‘happy hours’ (what is it with Delhi and encouraging such blatant buying? tsk tsk). Apparently Rodeo’s was the place to be a couple of years back. Not so much anymore, but after shopping for a while up and down Janpath, all you want to do is sit. And eat. Pasta. Mushrooms. Yumm.

Global Tree Cafe (F&B)

With a previous failed attempt to eat at the “sunny, lovely restaurant of Bacchus off St.Mark’s Road” courtesy their only-buffet meals, I made reservations with a rather over-zealous restaurant manager, with some amount of trepidation. Some of it was warranted, for we had to extend our reservation by an hour, and still ended there 20 minutes late owing to terrible terrible traffic.

As with all buffets, the first rule of thumb is to be there as soon it starts. Having missed the bus on that one, we still made the most of our meal. The place is pretty, and bright, and skillfully done. Closer inspection shows optimal use of inexpensive deco items, but so so tastefully done. You’d never notice the difference, unless you’re me, trying to be smart.

The seating was cramped. They put two tables together for a group of 8, and technically each table is a (small) 4-seater. Two small ones together meant the ones sitting in the middle were cramped no end, and the r-manager got rather defensive when the feedback was (nicely) given, when leaving. Oh well.

Meals @ 360 is the theme, and not in the traditional buffet layout. The food is not laid out for you to choose from, but is given to each table in courses. The waiters seemed efficient, friendly, and quite obliging to grant personal wishes. They brought the entire set of starters in succession, and while the veggie items didnt score too high, as didn’t the chicken wings, we were quite taken in by the fish patties, chicken skewers, keema balls, and beef . We didn’t bother with the few soups available, but did check a few salads out. Nothing amazingly eye-catching or lip-smacking there, though I thought the shredded chicken with boiled beans was quite alright.

Service, while good mostly, tended to lag in spots but they largely made up for it by being nice. But that may not go down well with a fussier group, especially since it wasn’t cheap exactly, and aspires to be a “fine-dining place”.

The meal comes with a buy-one-then-get-the-rest-free drinks option, though that is limited to just beer, wine, and cocktails. I thought it unfair to not include juices and mocktails to that option. Eitherways, you’re only allowed repeats and can’t change your choice once made. Their being nice was in allowing two changes within the group. But 1 - we asked them real nice and 2 – we didn’t push our luck too far, and asked for those two even only because the original was hated.

Before we knew it, it was 3pm, and the guys would’ve enjoyed more time sipping their margharitas and LIITs (girlie ones, yes, but you weren’t allowed any other, remember?). Last orders given and “no, you can’t order for 4 rounds now”  a little grudgingly honored (and I must say, TGI Friday really scores there, they have such a loyal following only because of their flexible last order rules), we ordered the main courses.

The main course consists of your typical continental options (albeit sans a real steak), with a sprinkling of Indian thrown in for good measure. The place claims to have a Pan-Asian angle too, but that seemed to pass us by.

Beef Chunks

Roast Chicken

Fish in Orange Sauce

Chicken and Beans Salad

The portions looked small when they arrived but in retrospect, which started as soon as the meal was over, we decided that’s a brilliant idea to minimize waste. Plus, you can order multiple rounds. It’s a buffet, after all. The restaurant began to empty only post 3:45pm, and to give them credit, they didnt hurry us…much.

It’s a pity they don’t have the a la carte option, even on weekdays. But the buffet leaves little to complain about.

Pinch Factor -  food: not even a nip, the food is worth the cost

drinks: a little too ouch, I guess

Cafe Terra

Situated on the Koramangala 80 ft road right above Band Box dry cleaners, this is one of those minimalistic spaces converted to a restaurant and is apparently located at the erstwhile Belgian Chocolates something.

Other smallish areas done better come to mind, but no complaints for the place is air-conditioned (though I daresay I may have preferred patio dining, the first floor and very noisy traffic notwithstanding!) and a window-wall ensures plenty of bright, happy sunshine streaming in. The comic book collection was definitely appealing, though none were in their “designated” spaces, and an unexpected collection of Indian political cartoons was a bonus.

We got a bowl of popcorn “on the house”, and there the generosity ends. No, that’s not right. There the freebies end, cheapos that we are. No such thing as a free lunch, and this place definitely lives up to that maxim, and how. We ordered a drink each, of the lemonade or mocktail kind (no watering hole, this), and without fail, each of our drinks was terrible. Synthetic, horribly overpriced considering the settings, and not cold enough. But there’s something about a sunny place that makes you overlook these minor (ahem) details and we plodded on through the menu and decided on a plate of momos. Excellent choice, that. Yumm, perfectly spiced, and unlike their momo couterparts in similar sized joints, extremely fine and delicate.

The main dishes (available only for lunch) got neutral to good reviews. One friend swore by the chicken alfredo [here] (albeit made with penne, not fettuccini) though I found some spice (I couldn’t place what, oregano perhaps) a tad overpowering. The other friend’s dish of chicken catalan was very red, and very lots, with too little rice (and I cant seem to find a related recipe online). But she liked. My Sri Lankan curry and rice blew us all away in terms of how much they gave. Its easily a meal-for-two dish. The next point that blew us away was how big the veggies were cut, and that didnt make me any too happy, since they were a little undone too.

The curry reminded me too much of something I might’ve cooked – it was too home-made, and not in the comfort food way. Having said that, I still thought the gravy was something excellent. There were vague suspicions of something-slightly-burnt in the curry, which prompted my friend to say that another web review [here] he had read was along similar lines. But definitely not enough to complain about (much).

The place hurries you not a bit, so obviously we stayed on for coffee. We all loved the banana crepe and waffles, though the “maple syrup” was suspiciously like honey. I thought the coffee was fine too.

Pinch factor: considering the basic settings, a little much ouch

Food for 3: rs.840

I want to give their breakfast a shot, the idea of a lazy breakfast is too appealing to resist, and they seem to have some interesting options. And yes, breakfast is an all-day affair here.

Take 5

Too loud music at TGI Fridays prompted an impromptu visit to the friendly, neighbourhood “dinner with jazz” joint. Not that impromptu really, considering I had called to make reservations only to be told it opened only by 19:00, a contradiction to the Times review I had read. The phone-answerer was none too helpful (and deliberately dense, I suspected), and a quick hanging up ensured my mood remained upbeat.

The place is getting dark..too dark to see…oh wait, that’s a song. Dark, which made me suspect the food, since the rule of thumb is supposed to be that the louder the music and the dimmer the lights, the worse the food. That thumb was lying, I’ve eaten at great places where I ended up picking food off my neighbour’s plate ‘cuz it was too dark to tell the difference.

Albeit dark, I liked the place. And while no live band was on, the soft jazz in the background added to the mood. Cut to two hours later when they suddenly started playing much louder music. And no jazz that, but since it was ’80s pop we could handle it. Seating, while good looking, was surprisingly uncomfortable — either too low seats, or too benchy. Can’t comment on the offside where more standard dining seats were available [we didn't sit there], but isn’t a lounge area supposed to encourage lounging?

I had my signature virgin colada, the mocktail version of the pina colada. And I liked. But I thought the drinks were terribly overpriced though at that point, we had just come out of TGI Friday, so….relative, isn’t it? ..we thought it cheap.

The chilli beef appetizer was popular with my friends, and while I thought it was pretty good, I felt the pieces were too chunky. A few hours and more friends later, we ordered dinner, which disappointed me thoroughly, especially at the rates we were paying. Everything looked so good and a friend had highly recommended the food here, so my salivatory expectation was high, to say the least. The beef steak in pepper sauce had a mean sauce and mashed potatoes, but they seemed to have overcooked the meat thereby rendering it too tender, ’twas a tad burnt (!!), and a little fibrous to boot. I think the chicken steak proved better, at least my friends seemed to like. My fish soup looked rich and creamy, and so it was, but I cannot figure how a creamy soup could be so sour.

Take 5 doesn’t get my vote on food, though it seemed a nice-ish place to hang out, the funny seating notwithstanding. A round with a live band might be a lot more interesting.

Pinch Factor: ouch

Food for 3: rs .1000

Liquids for 4, including my mocktails: rs.2600

Nevertheless, an overall 6/10 rating. It was pretty!

The Conventionality of Unconventionalism

The “oh (s)he’s so unconventional” tag is broadly applied to people in one or more of the following categories:
a. those with multiple piercings, beyond the “conventional” ear lobes
b. those with tattoos
c. those in off-the-beaten-track careers, like a DJ or a wildlife conservationist (ahem)
d. those who listen to rock, particularly of the death metal kind
e. those who dress “different”, whatever that means

There is this tendency to label you, as it were, on primarily external and obvious “symptoms”. And the average unconventional, oxymoronic as that may be, also tends to feel the need to conform to the stereotypes of the Unconventional. But the very act of conforming makes you conventional, albeit with different standards.

I believe if you want to be unconventional, you can’t. Its not an aspirational goal. You either are or not. And a true unconventional cannot be defined, thereby defying categorization and labelling.

I find such people fascinating, you can never understand them or analyse. And its not because they try either, they simply are. Too often, its seen as a “bad thing” or “different” but the entire concept of the uniqueness of human nature stands violated if it were otherwise. The flower children were not unconventional, they were simply anti-establishment and different from the norm of the day, but within the circle of love, one was largely like the other, thereby contradicting the unconventional tag, and hence also contradicting the “too different is bad” line of thought.

As with many things, the (un)conventionality depends on which side of the fence you look from. Aah. Another variable in the complexity of human equations.

The Ugly Duckling Revealed

Oh spare me the beauty-is-from-within lines. Face it, if you aren’t a pretty face, no one is really going to pay attention. Having said that, and as one who is not uhmm….(un)conventionally beautiful (damn), I have, over time, come to believe that beauty is as beauty feels (and does, definitely).

As Ms.Paltrow said, “Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.” — aye aye.

If you want to feel beautiful, you have got to pay some attention. No, the ill-fitting clothes and unkempt hair don’t not matter just because you’re loaded with attitude (the vice-versa converse also holds true). Ahh, so here’s a quickie self-help guide:

1. You can’t change some aspects in the way you look. Don’t even try. You can’t get shorter or taller, fairer, thinner (unless you put in some diligent effort and this is just a quickie guide). So, as any stylist will tell you for $50 an hour, highlight assets and camouflage the rest. But most of all, revel in who you are and how you’ve been created.

2. Dress well. Really. Spend some money already.

3. Love your hair. Again, don’t try to change it (too much). I have wild, unruly curls and I always say you gotta love your curls. Just take good care of your tresses, find a good stylist, and be happy. Your best investment really is a good hairdo and shampoo.

4. Feel good about yourself - others will notice. This includes the whole nine yards of self-development, relationship building blah blah. Yawn. Go read a management book on how.

5. And since beauty is also as beauty does, be good. Ask your mom how.

Yes, I walk into a room with too many models and I feel insignificant. The ugly duckling resurfaces. Then I remember I had a 4.2/5 GPA in B-school (gloat gloat, in your face, baby) and I feel good. Well, not really. These girls are bombs, and they make you feel blah though they probably haven’t even noticed you. Oh, that’s worse. So then I tell myself I’ve read Tolstoy and Kundera and Marquez. Well, something’s gotta work. And something usually does. These moments are rare (phew), I don’t think I’m a piece-of-art, but I do think I’m okay. More than.

 “I’ve developed into quite a swan. I’m one of those people that will probably look better and better as I get older – until I drop dead of beauty.” – Rufus Wainwright

“Just” a Housewife

A recent discussion with a friend led me to think of how we view the homemaker (housewife) role. A lot of stop-gap working women see the domestic life as their ticket to easy street, assuming the hubby can afford it (ahem). Being a homemaker means you no longer need to get to work at a particular time, there are no deadlines to meet, no crabby bosses to please. And, your hubby and kids are happy since you’re making these wonderful meals for them and watching soaps in your free time. The women who have to continue to work (since hubby still doesn’t have a six figure salary) resent the demands of being forced to maintain work(ugh)-life balance, which they could’ve had only if they weren’t darned working, grrr.

Cut to the other side – women who were “forced” (for want of a better word) into the domestic life. They would have wanted to work, have a career, make their own money (!!) but domestic demands regulated they be home. For them, being a homemaker is opportunity lost, endless time in cooking and cleaning, and just no rewards for all the work. Yeah yeah, the kids have their moms full time and really I love my kids and want only the best for them, but but…. you get the drift.

The perfect middle path, as Buddha ’d liked it, would be that you want to be where you are. No guilt about latch-key kids, no feelings of opportunity lost, no negativity. Just happy, even if it’s a constant race against the clock.

As daughter to a stay-at-home mom, I know I was glad for a “full-time” mom growing up. The highlight of our day was the evening snack mom would’ve creatively (yes, that’s the word) made rivalled only by the school snack, oh the anticipation of opening that snack box. But today, as a woman looking at another woman, I wonder about the choices she made. Her domestic life definitely was not the easier route.  No deadlines? When you have three kids that need to be sent to school in time, breakfast and snacks ready, you can’t get slack on timelines. No people to please? I like to think we were non-fussy, but I know we were none too easy to please either. Work-life balance, cutting some slack? When there are no boundaries between work and life, it all becomes one fuzzy whole, and no one cuts you any slack. Would my mom have had it any other way? Perhaps not, she’s one to be happy with her choices. Or perhaps yes, just to see what lies on the dark side of the moon.

So really, where does this pivotal role fit in? I’m old-fashioned enough to believe a woman needs to focus more on home. Oooh, there, I said it. Before the feminists cry foul, I also believe it always takes two to tango and both partners definitely need to be involved in making a house a home. Also that focusing on home cannot and should not be at the cost of your individuality. In reference to an earlier post (here), I finally believe you make a choice, including whether you’re going to be happy with that choice.

The Art of Cooking

As a good friend once said, you can go on about gourmet cooking but when it comes to your daily meal requirements and you’re the designated (usually by force) cook, it has to be a sustainable and replicable process, as should all processes be. Add time-bound, and we have the usual operational suspects.

I enjoy cooking but only “fun cooking”, as I put it. The kind you whip up in style, and lets you finish with not a drop of sweat on your brow. But since I am mostly home-bound (literally) now, the fun cooking quickly petered out to mandatory ward-off hunger-pangs gigs. Read I was in the kitchen a lot more. Also read I felt “domesticated”, a feeling I have resisted too long to succumb to now. And hence was devised my 5-point plan:

1. Lose the coconut. Raised on coastal cuisine, I love it. But it’s just too much work. Yes, even the break-into-chunks-and-blend “shortcut”. The only shortcut I allow is when I can buy the coconut, scraped and ready, with the only work being to add it to the poriyal (or thoran, depending on where you’re from).

Alternative: onions are your friend – make good use of them. Duhh, not in your poriyal, in your sautéed veggie dish.

2. Go Continental, or any cuisine that has more all-in-one meals. Pasta with its sauce base, steak (albeit usually accompanied by mashed potatoes and blanched veggies – how difficult is that?), chinese noodles (all veggies thrown in), chicken biriyani….you get a wholesome meal with usually less than half the effort of a typical Indian meal.

On single-dish complete meals, we don’t feel short-changed, as it were, if we ensure the following:
a. a mix of nutrients
b. a mix of textures: crunchy, silky, chewy (in a good way) – its all got to be there. Even your single-dish pasta provides exactly that with its mix of pasta (obviously), cheese, peas n’ carrots etc.
c. a mix of colors: continuing with the pasta example, we have the green peas, orange carrots, green leaves adding color to an otherwise “bland” looking dish. And red ketchup (ewww) for the finale!

3. Keep it balanced – don’t forget the carbs: an “easy” breakfast of eggs, bacon, veggies, and juice seems fuller (that means the next meal can come that much later) if you throw in some bread even. Mashed potatoes if you want it fancy.

And then, don’t forget the vitamin givers. Read salad. Proteins usually manage to sneak in through some lentil, meat, or egg.

4. Cook wisely: if you do want to go Indian, make more rice at one go. Yeah, you Northies – rice. I love chappattis but not the time it takes! With enough rice to last at least 3 meals, you only need to worry about the rest and not the “main dish”, again. 

Keep a base of onion-tomato gravy, chicken (or veggie) stock and the like ready, always. These go into more than one dish usually, and it’s so much more culinary when you can just mix all the ingredients in a pre-prepared base.

5. Love your pressure cooker. Yes, the noise gets to you and it is a little scary sometimes (!!) but besides saving cooking gas, it means that much lesser time in the kitchen.

And God help you if you’re the one who has to do the dishes finally (I don’t, much to my domestic help’s chagrin). Invest in those stovetop casseroles and pans – you cook in them, serve in them, and leftovers are stored directly in the fridge in..you guessed it, them. If this breaks the bank, then just go with steel dishes that serve all the above functions.

Cooking, I have found, can be enjoyable even when it’s of the mandatory kind. But I strongly believe (as is my credo when it comes to other things also) that working smart, not hard, is the answer. And really, if the people around you are the kind who appreciate a dish better when so many more hours were put into it…then, fake it!

More is not always more, but not everyone has to know your less is more. Don’t be apologetic about your “shortcuts”, proclaim it. You’re just not allowing the stove to reign. You do.