Love, Care, SHARE

Have you tasted some foods which, if you do not share with a particular person, don't taste the same good 'self'?
I have tried it many a times. Hot and Sour soup hasn't tasted the same in last 18 months since Nearly Headless Nick left. There is no fun having Hot and Sour soup without fighting with Nearly Headless Nick over who would get more Shiitake mushrooms.
Ditto about the Greek Pizza. It has never tasted better with Pea-NUT not around. NEVER EVER!
Call it love if you may.
I love my Pea-NUT and Nearly Headless Nick.
Cheers to them!

Mister Master Chef

Attitude, suits some perfectly. One of those people of course is Skeeter (maybe kidding, maybe not). And the other is Gordon Ramsay. I have read, heard and seen so much about this attitude thingy of his, that I thought it would be but unfair not to share it with people who read this blog.

So, the story goes like this:
Gordon, was once asked by a Japanese journalist (a she) how can he "still" call himself a working chef when he ran 11 restros in 4 different countries, and was simultaneously making two TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic?

So, Mister Master pointing to the Armani jacket this journalist was wearing, said: Did you ask the store where you bought your jacket from, if f*****g Giorgio stitched every f*****g button on your f*****g jacket with his own f*****g hand?! Heeee

Point being, Mister Master has invented his dishes and trained all people working under him to follow his exact style and what you get to eat at Ramsay restros is the exact f*****g replica of the dish as it would be if made by Mister Master. :)
You can watch the last 3 minutes of this video to see the same incident being narrated by Mister Master himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZF5EI_JWj0

I love Attitude, if it has substance. Do you?!

Skeeter and the Fairy Dust

Skeets loves to pamper herself royally, when she has the time.
The last time she did eet, she made herself breakfast comprising a potato-ey, cheesy, grilled toastie. It was accompanied by barbecue flavoured crisps, a sexy Dilito's Jalapeno sauce and the healthiest drink the world can offer: Coke. ;)
Sat on a couch, with some LOUD music on, and enjoyed this:

Proceeded to make Rajasthani gatte ki kadhi and aloo (no pic). Being in the kitchen (during winters and only by the mood) is therapeutic for Skeeter. And spices, will remain the first love. No giggling there!
And then, after mooning about all day, Skeets took out that precious can of Spaghetti to gobble it down by the sparkling moonlight.

It's Greek for me!

To make a morsel enter my mouth, the texture, the flavour, the aroma, the colour, are all put through an acid test. Call me what you like, but believe me you, I have been like this all my life. As a kid, I would go to the kitchen and inspect mom-made food to see if the four of these are okay. If not, I would declare 'I am not hungry'. Of course at that point in time I never knew I would grow up to be in love with food.
Later, a lot of additions were made to this list (which are often written about at DFZ).
I once opined that food courts at shopping malls can never serve good food, and hence should not be even thought about unless you are dying of hunger and cannot drag yourself to a good restaurant nearby, or far away for that matter. Little did I know that I would soon trounce my own opinion (proudly so), and throw it down the tallest tower. Ha!
Wow! I am finally talking (read writing) about Wow Italia, the one place whose mention can make my stomach growl and howl. This place has left me awed for quite some time now; this is the place I would love to visit again and again and yet again. They do, inarguably, the best Greek Pizza in or around town.
Stationed in the food court of The Metropolitan Mall in Gurgaon, for money the size of the smallest black mustard seed ('maybe' I am exaggerating), Wow Italia serves me their chef-d'oeuvre Greek Pizza topped with Fresh Garlic, Feta cheese (my favourite), Black Olives, Parsley and Green Beans. If I die and go to heaven when I have Costa Hot Choc, after having this Greek Pizza, I enter a state of blissful trance.

Wow Italia also hold the distinction of being the first eatery to own a heartfelt personal note hand-written for them by Reeta Skeeter on a circular sheet of paper which comes beneath the Pizza on the Pizza tray. :D

Also, I would recommend their Pasta (Spaghetti is the best bet) with Dansih Gorgonzola. This pasta is falvoured with Rosemary and topped with Capers, Black olives and Parsley. Yum!
Do visit. You will NOT regret.

Little wonders

At times little things that you want, HAPPEN. My case was something like this: I used to interview celebs and commoners. When all this was at its peak, I had people coming to me and asking me to 'please' write about them. I remember this particular incident. About 4/5 years ago AK came to me and asked me to do a story on her. Half-heartedly I started doing it (I was sure the Editor would say NO to it later on). The fact that she wanted me to write about her put me off, for I should have been the one asking her to talk to me. Anyway, the story got published in TOI and that was that. Years later, I read about her on the front page of TOI. And I was like :O That was her fate. O' course she is a famous artist now and all that.And with incidents of the like happening on a day-to-day basis, I wondered [I was a kid then ;)] if a day would come when I will be written about. Lo and Behold!
Click on the image to enlarge and read :)

The Classy Glassy: Costa Hot Choc

Hola Boys and Girls!
Finally, I unleash what lies inside the 'Glassy' for all those who have been dropping in umpteen questions about Skeety's love for the Glassy(s).
The term Glassy refers to a glass in which Skeety is served her drinks [soft ones mostly ;)]. The Glassy has, and always will play a quintessential role in Skeety's drinking rituals.
Here are two random facts about Skeety:
* Skeety can get high on any drink she likes.
* She does not like being disturbed when she is enjoying her drinks and can get really angry if disturbed.
And now the POP = Point of the Post:
Skeety has a reason to rejoice as Costa Coffee has re-opened at Shopprix Mall, Noida (yeah I know this is the first time Noida is featuring on this Delhi blog). And in the Glassy lies Costa Hot Choc.
Man, is she at a loss of words or IS SHE?

Skeety's poison, Costa Hot Choc (wish she could rename the chain that), is best served with two sachets of brown sugar, a generous dash of chocolate powder, and that, preferably at a moderate temperature as tongue-burning has become a ritual with her at Costa. *Grin*
Oh yeah NOT TO FORGET, it should be in the Classy Glassy (take away cup/mug/glass for you). The drop dead gorgeous colour of the Classy Glassy's exterior is Skeety's eye candy.

And then of course there is the rich creamy texture, the light brown-ish colour, the slight nutty taste of the Hot Choc itself. Skeety dies and goes to heaven for the 30-45 minutes long drinking session. Oh Boy!

Coinciding with the re-opening of Costa is Skeety's newest discovery in Noida, which would make her shut up and stop cribbing about the place: the chaiwala near Skeety's office. He serves good ealichi tea @Rs.3 a glassy. Pata ni kahan chup ke baitha tha ab tak (Don't know where was he hiding all this while?!)
Another random fact about Skeety: Tea tops the list of Skeety's LDOMW: Lovely Drinks of the Muggle World. Costa Hot Choc comes a very, very, very close second.

Mustard Sting...ting ding

It is sarson season in Dilli, and I savoured the first offering of the season only a few days ago. Give me Mustard Greens any time and you won't hear a 'no'. I absolutely relish the mix. And I take pride in being mommy's veggie supplier. She instructs me, and I go out to the market/mandi/Big Apple/Reliance Fresh, wherever time permits, to find her the best and freshest possible produce. For this season's 'first buy', I walked to a rickshaw vendor. He combined bathua, soya, palak and of course sarson and chopped it for me (they do it on request) in his hand-driven chopping machine.

And since I am talking Mustard here, I might as well add about my obsession of using Mustard oil in my cooking. When cooking with Mustard oil, you have to be a little patient else you get that bitter taste in your food which all (barring some nerds) dislike. The Mustard oil, unlike clarified butter and vegetable oil, takes a lot of time to heat up. But, as I have a penchant for elaborate cooking procedures, waiting for it to heat up is no issue for me. The simple 'stir and serve' does no good to my creativity as far as the kitchen is concerned. That perhaps 'may' explain my prolonged absence from my place near the cooking stove (yes it remains that for me, no matter what fancy names you may want to call it).

Anyway, back to Mustard oil: Many consider it unhealthy, some call it outdated compared to the much celebrated Extra Virgin Olive Oil, yet others make the weirdest face expressions to display their hatred for it. I confess I was one of them too. But then that was 'Once upon a time'. Now, I propagate its use in the same manner as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar promotes The Art of Living. It does wonders to your hair (heat it and add 4-5 small cubes of camphor after crushing them), to your digestive system and what not. And then, the ones who create a lot of noise over their dislike for Mustard Oil should not forget that ages ago, when there was no Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Vegetable oil and blah, Mustard oil was the sole medium of cooking.
I do the simple stir fry aloo with Mustard oil, which is a personal favourite. It takes about 45-60 minutes to prepare. Then there is the 'On Special Request' gobhi aloo dish that is relished by all in the house; of course it is done by me in Mustard oil.
And then to add some zing to the mustard sting is this silly little boy called Brother Bear. He hates the smell of Mustard oil. Every time I cook in it, he comes out of his room shouting curses at me. He even goes to the extent of making some hilariously outrageous statements that the 'smell' of Mustard oil causes 'rashes' on his body. Now, how absurd and silly can it possibly get?

Adventures at the Moon-lit square

I take one step and stop to look around. To my right (down), is sitting, a paanwala engrossed with filling and wrapping the paan (betel leaf) as per his customer's order. I look up across the street, there is this famous Indian sweets and savouries shop, Haldiram's, which is running to a full house. I walk a few more steps. There is this vendor with his small mobile stand, selling moong dal ke gulgule (fritters of an amazing sort) surrounded by customers shouting orders. I take a few steps more and I reach Ghantewala, the much acclaimed sweet shop of Chandni Chowk. Get a few rasmalais from there. White ones. Yes! White! Gol and chapet. That is round and flat ones. I walk down again. Another few steps. Reach Kanwarji's. Madhouse this. Mister P loves this shop. He says nothing can beat this place. I keep shut here, as I still haven't tasted all that Chandni Chowk has to offer. At Kanwarji's, I got. Hold Your breath. I got Malpudas, Paneer ki Jalebis, Kachoris with HOT aloo ki subji, Aloo ke lacche (I chose medium spicy ones), and Dal bhuji (maximum spice variety) which might be known to some of you as Dal Moth. I am yet to taste the Malpudas and the Aloo ke Lacche. The rest of everything was good. I am bereft of words more than these.

A winner, however, was this list that my eyes rolled upon. It is a list of Mirza Ghalib's favourite food. And I found that unke aur humare zayke kaafi mel khate hain.

Chic and Choko la

Tucked away in one of the lanes in the PVR Priya complex, Choko la houses WICKED desserts, toothsome chocolates and commendable breads. On my last visit, I had Tiramisu in a glass and Passion fruit with Mascarpone. Yes I had both. No heee hawwwing now, ok?

And then I found the perfect companion for myself in this tiny little bottle of fiery pepper sauce known to you as Tabasco. I carry it in my purse all the time for I never know when I may need it to make the blande taste sizzle.

Mixed curries

A 'mix' in culinary terms signifies a blend of flavours, a blend of spices, and essentially a whole new taste. A new taste, that is derived from an amalgamation of some pre-existing ones. If we remove 'mixing' from our culinary diaries, then perhaps, we will have a very sorry culinary world. Blends would go, paving way for the bland.
Picture your pasta sprinkled with salt (oops that again is mixing pasta with the salt) bearing no olive oil or cheese or herbs or vegetables (whatever your regular mix be). Or perhaps pasta bearing only herbs while the other ingredients remain absent.
So, point put forth.
Period.
Now, there is another form of mixing that takes place at À la carte restaurants. Quite different from the kind of mixing mentioned earlier. This one is gross. I, in particular loathe it. The waiters, maybe due to lack of training or sheer frustration, while serving, pour the curries onto your plate in a manner that they get mixed with each other. Thus, you get this horrible mix. No, no, don't get me wrong. It is still nice, delicious etc. BUT the curries lose their original flavour. The two dishes that you ordered are now one, or for that matter none.
.

Anguish over the table

Okay, and since I am cribbing here, I might as well crib some more. Twice in one day, I had to almost beg waiters to come and take my order. Once, at Costa (C.P.), and the other time at The Chinese (again C.P.). Now can't they just make sure that the waiters are 'always there' for the customers? Maybe there can be one waiter stationed (at a good point) just to make sure that no guest at the restaurant aggravates the already bad spondylitic condition by turning round and round and round and.... Huh.

That's the way eet ees

Pea-NUT, Blazing boy and Nearly Headless Nick, all get embarrassed when dining out with Skeeter. The reason being that she takes out either the mobile (with the flash on) or the camera and starts clicking the food before eating, after eating and just about anytime she feels like. Now Skeeter makes an innocent face with a pleading expression (I will die if I don't kinda thingy) and mostly manages to get a "kill you" nod from them to go ahead and shoot. In between, Skeeter also gets "stop-it" stares from them. And does she love it? She does and doesn't. Loves it because she knows that she can have liberties with them around; doesn't love it because the pictures don't come out nice as they keep making her feel so conscious and guilty all the time. Period.
Today, I tell you about the much-awaited visit to Side Wok @ Khan Market. Now what attracted me to this place was the location apart from the so many reviews. The galli in which it is situated, is a sleepy, lazy one. So much so that I can almost hear it yawning. And for some reason I just love to walk down that place for the heck of it. This time, I walked up, up the stairs I mean. Attractive entrance that. The ambience was a welcome change from the regulars.
The food was decent. I absolutely loved my non-alcoholic Pink Mojito. They did a good job on that. The start with the Sushi platter (vegetarian o'course) was a disaster, no matter how lovely it seemed to the eyes. A birdie tells me that Side Wok is not 'the' place to try Sushi for the fist time. Point taken. Next came the Phad Thai noodles and the Stir Fried Chinese Greens with Roasted Garlic. Phad Thai noodles were regular but nice. I can go back for them. The stir fry was quite authentic and delicious.
Main course done, since we were in an indulgent mood, we ordered a dessert each. I ordered Crispy Nutty Rolls with Vanilla ice cream and Pea-NUT ordered a Chocolate Mousse. The Crispy Nutty Rolls with Vanilla ice cream were too greasy and spoilt the flavour. This dessert was not treated subtly and hence the result was bad. The Chocolate Mousse was okay.
The waiters are talented. Very. They are adept at playing hide and seek, hence resulting in customers being anguished over fetching them to take the order. Well, even if that is not done on purpose, the management should assure that a waiter is visible from every damn seat.
I have a second visit lined up to this place, because I couldn't have enough of it the first time. Besides, the menu is dotted with dishes from Burma, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore. They could well get the South-East Asian Cafe (the theme which they had in mind while designing the menu and the place) status, if they pay some attention to the quality and authenticity.
Ah yes, you can view the Side-walk from Side Wok.

Top of the city

If I visit a certain restaurant the second time, the first visit ought to have been excellent. So, is the case with most people, I believe. The third visit is what judges the credibility of the eatery in question.

My second visit to Le Cafe (Fashion Designer Ravi Bajaj's rooftop cafe at GK-I N-block) after a superb first one (few month's back) was ummmmm... disappointing.

With the Ogre-sized hole that the bill left in my pocket, I did not expect to be served a cold grilled sandwich in the least!

***********************************************************************************
Enter, Ravi Bajaj's. Head, for the lift. The smell of the Mandarin oil (burnt in the oil-burner) makes you feel happy and relaxed.

Enter, the lift. Exit, the lift.Enter Le, Cafe. What a place! What a place! Ambience perfect. Just where one would love to unwind on a hot sticky sunny afternoon. Arrive, the Menu. It says: Spring 2007. They claim: to change it by the season. One can choose from: Soups, Light meals, Salads, Sandwiches, Pastas, Omlettes and Scrambles, Le Cafe specials and beverages. I chose: Capres - A grilled sandwich with tomato, mozzarella, olive oil and basil served with your choice of bread. Ordered: Capres with Ciabbata bread and Iced Tea for a drink. Settled, in the oh-so-dreamy ambience. The meal arrives on time. Impressed, not for long. One bite, and I know why it came so quick. They did not care to let the griller be on for long; saving electricity perhaps. They love their mozzarella, not melted and stringy (slurp), but ugly, fat and rubbery! Huh! Did not expect that of a place which Ritu Dalmia had helped set up. Then came walking to me, sitting in a brown jacket, held by a waiter, the bill. The big FAT bill. And along with that, a comment sheet. Ah! Grabbed it and penned down my displeasure. Got up, to exit. The manager or someone stopped me, saying Ma'am I am really sorry. Next time, this happens, you MUST return the meal straightaway. Now, now now! Which hungry person would like to wait another 10 minutes for the meal to be re-heated and stuff of that sort?! Hence, I had eaten. Otherwise also, I do not like to return my meals, howsoever badly they are cooked (only at restaurants or cafes ;) ). Politely turned to the the man with that smug of a smile and said, 'I do not visit restaurants for that. Thank You.' Embarrassed, he said the 'sorry' word again.Now the big question: Will I ever go there again? Perhaps another time, yes. Only for the ambience though, and quite expecting what to get for food.

This day, That year

The culinary journey of Miss Reeta Skeeter (in blogsville that is to say) completes ONE year today.

Happy Birthday blog dear!

Wish I could bake you a cake. I ate and drank on your behalf, instead. Hope you are happy to hear oops... read that. I ate bhel puri and drank lemonade, besides other things. And for the readers here's a treat. I am showcasing my favourite hangout at Janpath today. If I visit Janpath and don't visit this shop, the visit is incomplete. DePaul's is the name. It stands in the Janpath marketplace since 50 years + now. Ain't that cool?! I have enjoyed each and every visit here to the fullest. Their Cold Coffee (which is what they are immensely popular for) is to die for. The range of flavours they have on offer includes Vanilla, Mocha, Cappucino, Hazelnut and what not. My favourites are the Hazlenut and Mocha ones...Here's a quick peep at the counter, that looks the same since I was a kid.
This place is highly recommended.

Thrilled to bites...

...as always, I am.

Food, ummm, rather 'good' food, lifts up Skeeter's spirits like nothing else.
On a gloomy Sunday, completing work early at office, she went to Khan Market to book her copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Sadly, the market was closed, as it is on any other Sunday. Memory weakness is at its best with her. Duh!
The idea of heading back home seemed boring. She headed to her favourite place in town - Market Cafe, instead. Unaccompanied. It did not matter as it would have at other eateries around town (funny stares you know). She chose a 'perfect' corner table as her abode for the next two hours that she was there.

And now, comes the food. The Chef was to prepare 'Baked Goat's cheese on Walnut bread with Za'tar' for Reeta Skeeter. It should have been 'Goat's cheese on baked Walnut bread with Za'tar'; some mistake there while preparing the menu card. Anyway, the waiter was to serve the same with Pepsi.

Goat's cheese, known to commons (hehe) as Feta, is her new fetish, the Feta fetish. Not many people like it; you got to love your cheese to love or even like Feta. And Feta can be sheep's milk cheese too. If purchasing you got to pick yours carefully, else you would end up tasting the other version.
Coming back to the dish that she'd ordered. The portion was enough for her. The price was a wee bit on the higher side, but was definitely worth it. They could've baked it a bit more. Next, she ordered 'Coffee Explosion'. This was a sundae. From the bottom to the top it contained: Crushed brownie, fudge sauce, coffee ice cream, coffee powder sprinkled on top of the ice cream, nuts all over and two biscotti. It tasted heavenly, and made up for all the coffee Skeeter has not had to have in about three years now. But by the time she reached the bottom , she had to STOP eating, else she would've fell sick. It was too heavy on her tummy.
In all, it was an enjoyable afternoon with the self. She looks forward to many more!

Tea, Snack, Main Course and Dessert

It wasn't planned. But it happened. And it did good. It rejuvenated two tired souls.
We indulged, feasted, shopped, tattled and were transmuted to two new beings.
Tea, we did not drink, but shopped for. We shopped at Needs, the superb supermarket situated in DLF Phase-IV, Gurgaon. Needs has the most amazing variety a supermarket can house. No wonder it has become my favourite. Below is the picture of the array of teas and biscuits,cookies,shorbreads, they have on offer. I was stupfied by the variety. I still am. I have never ever seen so much variety under one roof in Delhi!!!

Bangkok 9
This cute little eatery (read Thai and Oriental Cafe) is tucked away in a warm little corner of the food court at The Mega City Mall, Gurgaon. We ordered Po-Pia Thod or Thai Spring Rolls for starters. Wrapped in rice sheets and deep fried till golden brown, they are the yummiest crunchies once can have. If I visit Gurgaon and don't eat the Phad Thai noodles (which we ordered for the Main Course) here I feel like the trip lacked something. This was the reason, that in the midst of the then ongoing Gujjar clashes, when I reached Gurgaon with a plan to have a Greek Pizza, I ended up having Phad Thai noodles at Bangkok 9. Phad Thai noodles, that's my best bet at Bangkok 9. They are tangy, soft, juicy, crunchy and have My Peanut!!!
AND AND AND more than anything else, Pritika (the one who accompanies me here and everywhere) and Bangkok 9 are the ones behind my resurrected interest in the delicious Thai cuisine. Pritika is the one who told me that Thai food is not all about Coconut (which I truly, deeply hate). So this post would have been meaningless without a mention, a salutation to the duo.
Costa Coffee
And then came the Dessert, 'Chocolate Travoletta', a titillating delight that can be sampled at Costa Coffee cafes around the town and beyond. I am not too sure if I spelt the name of the sinful delight right. It costs about 28 INR and is inarguably the best chocolate dessert any cafe can attract me to.

Rude Food - A Matter of Taste

Not much has been happening on the food front. The daily diet of Miss Skeeter is becoming rather boring. She just eats what she gets to lay her hands on. Not good! Perhaps she is not feeling very well. Nevertheless she shall bounce back. She plans to make a conscious change in her dietary intake.
Meanwhile, Miss Skeeter visited this restaurant named Urban Pind in GK-1,N-block. She ordered some Pizza which had four different kinds of cheese on it. She did not like it much. Though she did relish her 'Pink Panther'. The weather was awesome as it was raining! So overall the visit to Urban Pind was not bad. Miss Skeeter happened to have two days off in a row which is a rare happening. She enjoyed to the fullest!
A Matter of Taste: She watched the first episode of the seven-part series of 'A Matter of Taste' hosted by Mr.Vir Sanghvi. As expected, the show was awesome! Mr.Sanghvi explored how the Indo-Chinese food came into being. He also formally agreed to accept the Indo-Chinese food as a separate cuisine. This indeed was a big step.
Next Sunday 8.30pm on Travel and Living, he would explore the Sino-Ludhianvi cuisine. Skeets looks forward to that, and all the other episodes and hopes she gets to watch them all :D And for all food bloggers the show is a MUST WATCH!

Shopping for mama...

...is what I love the best!
It is a visual treat and I just love to be with the vegetables :D

When its summertime and the time to dine

Much has been written about Dilli ki Garmi. And now its time to sit up and beat the heat!

Cool! Ain't it?

In the past few days, i've been trying to find places to chill. Saltz @ GK-1, M block is a lovely place to chill out on a hot summer Sunday. When you don't feel like doing anything head to Saltz, sip their Thai Cold Coffee, order a Gelato of your choice and sit 'n' stare by the window seat (they hv a few).

Veg Siomai
Braised Thai Noodles

My maiden visit to Saltz came on last Saturday. I was accompanied by a Thai food lover. In the company of this Thai food lover I am learning to appreciate Thai cuisine as this person orders stuff for me that does NOT contain coconut. And now about the ambience, food and masti: Ambience was excellent! The place is done up in blue, light silver and white. A perfect summery joint! Highly recommended! Food was only 'ok'. But the fact that we can order Gelato from the Gelato parlour downstairs makes it cool as u don't necessarily hv to order food. The menu is influenced by the South-East Asian region. It has many Thai items as must be apparent by now. Service again is only ok. There was only one more table occupied still the service was slow. If you are headed for a quick lunch or hunger is getting on to you, this is so not a place to be.

While we waited for our lunch, we checked out the GK crowd from our window seat :D One that amused us the most was a gentleman sitting under a tree and reading a newspaper. He was so lost in his own world that it appeared as if he was sitting in the balcony of his sea-facing apartment and readign it. LOL.

Can u spot him?

Anyway, we ordered Veg Siomai (Indonesian Steamed dumplings) for starters. They were simply yummilicious and were served with some hot red sauce. For the main course was ordered Thai Chicken Curry by the Thai food lover and I ordered Braised Thai Noodles which were served with Black Mushrooms and greens. The Thai Chicken curry was adjudged not good by the Thai food lover. My verdict for the Braised Thai Noodles was Pass. They were a bit bland, but that is the way they were supposed to be. The dessert was what we enjoyed the most. But sadly I've forgotten the name. However, a pic follows :)

Last words: Saltz was Sweet :)