Back after a break

This break has been three weeks too many. Yes, yes it has been for some very good reasons but I did miss filling in this space. So here I am trying to make up for lost time.

In the beginning there was  Chaos!
While I was filling you in with the details of my tomato expedition, I was also busy running around to get myself a Schengen visa. Now most of you who have been through the process must be tut-tuting and itching to commiserate with me; I accept your sympathies in anticipation. If you think you want to go beyond feeling my pain and help making the whole Schengen visa process easier for yourself and fellow Indians (or your Indian friend, neighbour), make yourself heard here.

Back to that crazy week  in August 2011: 

Sampling Pub food outside London

Following is an excerpt from an article of mine that appeared in the travel website Indian Compass. 

In a previous Indian Compass article, I ranted myself silly over why pub food in London is avoidable. And yet, fish & chips, savoury pies, Sunday roast and English breakfast that makes pub food is the closest thing to traditional British cuisine. So not sampling it at all would be a shame.

Of scones, jam, cakes and more…

Only she could make a hard boiled egg sound like culinary heaven. But it was her evocative description of food that made many a mundane meal taste much better.  What chance did dal roti have against Pork pie, sausage rolls, mince pies, scones and clotted cream…

Following is an excerpt of my ode to the queen of food writing (acc. to me) -Enid Blyton, published on Indian Compass.

What’s better than great food?

Answer: Great food that goes easy on the pocket.

One of the things that I have done religiously over the last two years in London is to make sure I ate out at as many exciting places I could. Of course it helped that I have friends, who like me, live/love to eat. But in a city like London, to be able to sample all the good and/or exotic stuff that’s out there, you need to be either loaded (which I ain’t) or well-connected (which I am). No no. I don’t mean mooching off your contacts or friends and family; I mean know the people who know good places to eat at reasonable and at times cheap rates. All that information has been bottled and showcased in this article on the Indian Compass. Do give it a read and let me know what you think!

Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/l2SV72

Fun, frolic & of course Food

The weekend gone was filled with fabulous sights, sounds and tastes. Reason- we finally made the long-due trip to Bath. In the last year-and- a-half that I have lived in the UK, the city of Aqua Sulis (or Bath) has been one destination that was in my top-three must-visits. And boy did it live up to my expectations! The weather gods were kind and let the sun shine for the two days that I spent here; it toned down the severity of the cold weather. Also, the beauty and energy of the place made the chilly winds easier to ignore.

Pulteney Bridge on the river Avon