New York, New York…one only has to mention that name and a smile immediately erupts on everyone’s face and they start waxing lyrical about their love for the Big Apple. No less is everyone’s view that it is truly one of the greatest, if not THE greatest city in the world for food – long gone is Paris’ dominance, for New York is apparently where the most exciting food and surely the most varied food is to be found, so for a first visit, it was only befitting that I spend a fair 2 weeks slowly expanding my waistline, beginning with Southeast Asian fare.
read more »
May 28, 2012
Kin Shop, New York
December 15, 2011
Andhra Bhavan, New Delhi
Having spent a few years in the Indian capital, but mostly as a student, I faintly remembered a few of my favourite haunts that, many years ago made for some great eating. Whilst many of them I would probably not go back to, the memory of one came back as a strong urge to revisit. There is something to be said of a place which is completely chaotic, yet incredibly organised, that serves at least a couple of thousand people for lunch and that when you went there last, 12 years ago, it served fabulous spicy vegetarian food.
Andhra Pradesh Bhavan which is the state representative house in Central Delhi has a canteen where one goes and gets a ticket, then waits around for the number to be called so you can be seated. I say chaotic because the constant flow of people and the relay of messages shouted across the hall in coordination makes this place quite unlike any normal restaurant that most non-Indians might be accustomed to. What’s on offer is a thali, a vegetarian thali with the option of buying non-vegetarian dishes also there. We just went for the vegetarian thali and, having stood around for about 40 minutes, were finally seated.
.
Now this is when the organised chaos came into perfect balance – a steel thali was immediately placed before us before a server came around with 4 different vegetable preparations – dal, aubergines, potatoes etc. Soon after him, someone else came around with poppadums, puri’s (deep fried roti-like bread), then another with sambhar and rasam, then another with rice. Time to tuck in!
.
.
The best part about all this is that it’s all you can eat – people just keep coming around and topping and refilling. The food itself is simple. Simple, yet not dripping with oil and erupting with a myriad 0f flavours – each preparation being differently spiced, each having its unique personality, each so incredibly light, fresh and satisfying and it won’t upset any tummy. Of course, there’s a few spicy pickles and chutneys on the table to add a bit of extra zing and a bit of yoghurt and dessert to finish.
.
For many of you reading this, the thought of a purely vegetarian meal can be quite disturbing, yet a trip to Andhra Bhavan is worth a visit on everyone’s trip to Delhi, and for those in Delhi, it’s worth many many visits!
.
Overall Experience: 6
Food: 8
Recommend you go: 8
November 23, 2011
Rasoi by Vineet Bhatia
My expedition of discovering London’s best Indian eateries has been quite a roller coaster this year. Just a week short of going back home to India, I thought I’d give it one last shot at one of the more upmarket and well known haunts, Rasoi by Vineet Bhatia. A chef who’s been making marks since being one of the first Indian chefs to win a Michelin star for his restaurant Zaika, and also started the trend of modern Indian food, Vineet went on to open Rasoi after Zaika and was soon given a star again. To curry or not curry? What on earth is a curry? That by which name Indian food is so well known, and as Lizzie Collingham in her brilliant book “Curry: A biography” explains, is not a defining term for a dish, but rather a western generalised description, an Asian version of gravy, coined during the days of the Raj. Nevertheless, an anthropological discourse on food is not the order of the day, and before I get even more carried away on the matter, lets see what there was on offer.
read more »
November 7, 2011
Ba Shan
It’s pronounced Ba-Shaan. It’s from the Hunan region of China, coming under the broad umbrella of Sichuan cuisine. That further translate to some fantastic spicy cooking! I’d initially wanted to go to Barshu, but The Skinny Bib recommended we go to this instead. As long as it was fiery, I was game! For the history buff , Hunan is the province where Chairman Mao grew up – that explained the numerous pictures of Mao across the restaurant, adding that bit of historical intrigue for the uninformed.
read more »
