Why we like Mumbai cabbies

So what if they’re calling for a flash strike this Monday to voice against their unmet demands? I like them still. Here’s why.

They’re honest: Well, most of them are anyways. They don’t misguide you when you ask for directions. They don’t drive you around to hike up the meter. They can be safely depended upon to drive to your destination late at nights, especially if you are alone and of the female persuasion. 

They have attitude: Who would not love the quick head gesture they give you to indicate their willingness to drive you?

They’re good conversationalists: They’re like bartenders who listen to your drowning sorrows. Crib about traffic, the rains, the potholes, or the politicians and they’re there to give you ear – and participate.  

They don’t look: And you know what I mean! They give young lovers space and don’t (or at least try not to) look into the rear view.

Their tricked-out cabs: The pretty decorations, psychedelic roof and its-so-cheap-I-love-it upholstery make the ride so kitsch-ilicious!  

Their music: We love their loud dhinchak stereo. So what if that’s static you hear in the background.

   

A tug at my heart

It’s only been 4 ½ months but it already feels like a lifetime ago. Flashbacks come and go. But the memory lingers still.

The rafting season is about to begin. And I’m itching to see how the river – that was frozen not 5 months ago – flows with full force. I want to go back and see how the ice, that had intimidated and excited us, thaws. I want to meet its people, who in the winter had carried the sun in their hearts, and who will now be warmer than ever.    

I want to taste the thukpa again and see how its taste has changed on my palate. I want to experience its buzzing streets, that in winter lay deserted. I want to feel the cool wind that brings with it green summer, that a few months ago had brought the winter chill.

A place that can be harsh, but equally loving. A hearth for the weary, but one that is only mine. A place that is no one else’s to sully. Or to triumph. That no one else can claim. A feeling that is only mine to experience.

Della delivers

I got a quick fix at Della Adventure in Lonavala, where thrills, spills and frills are only a day-trip away.

I’ve never been to Lonavala and back in the same day. It wasn’t, according to me, something you could do under 24 hours and still manage to have fun. But after a one-day trip to Della Adventure, I’ve changed my mind. Located approximately two hours from Mumbai by road and about an hour from Pune, Della Adventure is the brainchild of Jimmy Mistry, the architect who also designed an award-winning yacht for Vijay Mallya.

Explore

Adventure is what I came looking for and adventure is what I got. The heavily-potholed access road to Della isn’t the best advertisement for the place. But I easily overcame my disappointment once I passed through the main gates. Della offers over 86 activities, extreme sports, joyrides, skill games, a spa and even “the world’s biggest and fastest” turbo charge jet ski.

I decided to try my hand at archery and got a brief run-through of the entire process from the guide. My aim was decent enough, but after shooting the fifth arrow, I realised I didn’t have a good enough arm. The bow and arm support are quite heavy. 

No arm strength was needed for Flying Fox, in which your waist is secured to a harness while you zip, suspended across a long length of wire. But it’s easier to describe than do – I was unwilling to let go of the ground under my feet. It turned out to be the most thrilling two-and-a-half minutes I have spent mid-air.

Of all the activities, though, zorbing deserves a special mention. Two riders are strapped into a gigantic  inflated ball and pushed down a gentle slope for fun. Sure, it’s a predetermined, safe path, but the thrill lies tumbling this way and that as your world is plunged into complete chaos. Don’t try it on a full stomach.   

For those with pent-up energy that cannot be unleashed on city roads, Della has nine All-Terrain and four dirt bikes, which you can drive over an inclined oval track for 10 glorious minutes. Looking to get even wilder? Della is planning to organise trails through the neighbouring jungle. And for corporate groups, there are conference and banquet rooms, a 1,500-seat amphitheatre and a business centre. 

Eat

With three restaurants and a coffee shop, Della has lots of dining options. I chose the multi-cuisine PNF, named after the first letters of Mr Mistry's three children. The restaurant didn’t have the first two drinks I wanted and the third – sweet and salty lime soda – was too salty. The three-course Chinese meal that followed was nice and the huge helping of dessert made up for my disappointment. I recommend their mud cake.

Live cooking at Cafe 24

Relax

The only thing to do after a full stomach under a blazing sun was to relax. I decided to try the spa, which has massages and body treatments ranging from Rs 1,250 to Rs 5,000, and picked the Balinese massage. The spa didn’t have a wide enough range of oils to impress a customer, but I loved that there was a compact shower cubicle inside the massage room. I chose mint oil, which they claimed has a calming effect, and an hour-and-a-half later, I walked out feeling completely one with the world.

Stay

At Della, wood is as ubiquitous as frangipanis – both a favourite with Mistry. Luxury tents and time-shared second-homes are already open for bookings, and Della Resort’s luxury rooms will also be ready soon. So if a one-day visit isn’t enough or proves too tiring, just stay overnight. 

The luxurious tents at Della Camp is just lovely. It offers perfect views and what's more - a whole lot of privacy for those who are keen on it! 

Tents at the park

Since the property is huge and everything is well spread out, there are SUVs to ferry guests around the premises. This is a wonderful idea, but it’s hard to overlook the environment damage it causes. I was alarmed to see that an establishment as big as Della didn’t have any trace of eco-initiatives to offset its carbon footprint, nor any request made to visitors in this direction. This is especially worrying when the management plans to keep the place open 24x7.

What was also distressing to see were three tiny, stinky enclosures holding Labradors, Alsatians, Great Danes and St Bernards just so guests could walk them – for a fee! There were at least 12 caged beasts looking vacantly outside. Worse, they were next to a huge group of ducks – their constant cackling making the canines’ confinement even worse. Della is a delight, but they’d win my complete approval if they were more sensitive to the environment. After all, guilt-free pleasures are the best ones.      

What you need to know

Address: Della Adventure Park, Kunegaon, Lonavala 410 401, Maharashtra

Phone: (Mumbai) 022-67451400, +91-9870989369, (Pune) +91-8605018362, (Lonavala) +91-2114-260000

Email: info@dellaadventure.com

Price: Entry to Della is Rs 100. To use any of the facilities inside, visitors need to buy a prepaid swipe card, for which there is no stipulated minimum balance. Every activity charges a fee, but guests can buy a combo offer that works out to be more economical.

Rate box

Luxury tents (twin-sharing):

Monday – Thursday: Rs 8000 per night 

Friday – Sunday: Rs 12,500 per night

Activities (combo offer per person):

Deadly Three: Zorbing, Archery, Flying Fox: Rs 1,000

Double Dhamaal: Zorbing, RC Cars: Rs 600                            

Cruel Dual: ATV 90cc bike, RC Cars: Rs 600

Fearsome Threesome: Rapelling, Net Cricket, Archery: Rs 600

Crazy Four: Rapelling, Bungee Trampoline, Horse Riding, Mountain Cycling: Rs 600

Swimming: Rs 250

Yoga and Meditation class: (90 mins): Rs 500

The East Indian Kitchen

‘Some of the most interesting cookery books are those which tell you as much about the people as the cuisine which has evolved alongside them.’

The chef as a historian? While the notion may seem incongruous at first, it soon becomes clear that the search for a particular recipe and authentic flavours can lead to, or result from, fascinating journeys down the ages. The cuisine of a people unravels special insights, and raises several questions on how certain foods and spices make their way into a diet.

Enduring Flavours by Michael Swamy combines aspects of the culture, traditions and culinary practices followed by the Christian community – the East Indians of Mumbai. The narrative and recipes are enriched with sketches of artists Eustace Fernandes and photography by Michael and Pravin Pol.

The food is an eclectic fusion of Portuguese, British and coastal Maharashtrian, completely different from its Goan counterpart. The book is in fact a personal search for the essence of innumerable biographies, of roots, and of local history, and it’s author is a Cordon Bleu chef and one of India’s leading food stylists.

Published by Westland and Tranquebar Pvt Ltd

Price Rs 395

Available at all leading bookstores from mid April 2011 and on Amazon.com

Crouching tiger gets ready for attack

India may be dubbed as a crouching tiger but it’s probably just getting ready for attack. After all, slow and steady is what we’ve been always been taught to follow.

So what if China has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy? India isn’t too far behind and is making headway in other, more interesting albiet small, areas. Take travel for instance. While Asia as a continent has been identified to assume a leadership role where travel is concerned, according to Euromonitor Travel and Tourism Forecast Update, India it says is expected to do well in terms of attracting international tourists and business travellers.

The report states that India is set to attract more corporate travellers and inbound tourists. India corporate travel is expected to outpace Asia Pacific in 2011, with business departures from India accounting for 33% of all travel versus 23% for Asia Pacific. Considering the total outbound travel in 2011 in Asia, India will see off about 7.4% of the total travellers.

Indian Flavours
 
Apart from Indian travellers, Indian food does well too and ranks fifth in the most sought-after cuisine by tourists across the world. A recent gastronomy survey conducted by Hotels.com, which is part of Expedia, has found interesting insights into the dining habits of various nationalities across the globe. According to the study, Indian cuisine is loved by tourists across the world and is fifth in the list while Italian cuisine remains the world’s favourite food.

Aussies, Brits, Dutch, Kiwis – all love Indian food as do Indians of course. However, it is no surprise to note that Indians also enjoy Chinese food the most after home-cooked food. The French though seem to like Indian food over Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and even the Greek cuisine. Their affinity to Indian food follows their fondness towards French and Italian cuisines.

Our Asian counterparts, Koreans and Japanese, surprisingly seem to prefer Indian food the least. Italian cuisine, renowned for its pizza and pasta, ranked as the most popular fare among the survey respondents worldwide, followed by French, Thai, Chinese and Indian food. Of the major Asian cuisines (Chinese, Thai and Indian), Thai cuisine finds the most fans among international travellers.

Apart from Indians who enjoy dal makhni and rotis, Aussie travellers rated Indian food among the tastiest cuisines. However, although chicken tikka masala is popular among British, they seem to like Italian more than Indian food.

More than 4,000 travellers from Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and UK participated in this Hotels.com survey carried out from October 25 to November 8, 2010.

For more, read http://blah.burrp.com/travel/destinations/crouching-tiger-ready-for-attack/6565

Whisky wise, pound foolish

The alcoholic beverage may just be a product of fermented grain mash for some, but not without reason is it called ‘liquid gold’ by the rest.   

‘It wasn’t whisky!’ is often a frivolous addendum to the old cliché that dismisses crying over spilt milk. But if it’s the world’s most expensive pick-me-up in question, then it would no longer remain a joke.

Last October, whisky produced by the Dalmore distillery in Scotland broke the six-figure price barrier when it sold its 64-year old Trinitas – named so because there were three bottles produced. Only two bottles were sold then, at a cost of GBP 100,000. Each. This translates to roughly US$ 162,926 per bottle.

One was acquired by a luxury whisky lover in the US and the other by a renowned whisky investor in the UK. The third bottle of the record-breaking spirit will be sold at the whisky-tasting show ‘The Whisky Show’ in London at the end of October 2011. But organisers are keeping the exact details of the exclusive sale under wraps for the moment.

Experts claim that if the bottle was sold by the glass in exclusive restaurants and clubs, it could fetch up to GBP 20,000 for a typical 50 ml dram.

The holy trio

Trinitas is believed to contain some of the rarest and oldest stocks of whisky in the world, some of which have been maturing in the distillery on the shores of the Cromarty Firth for more than 140 years. Dalmore's renowned master distiller Richard Paterson used his expertise to fuse a range of these exclusive malts together.

He claimed this was not about breaking world records but about making the best whisky money can buy.

"The hand of time has been generous and rewarding with the malts I chose to use. They allowed me to create a taste sensation which will never be repeated again and will only ever be available to those that own these bottles. You cannot put a price on that."

One must pay a premium for true exclusivity and quality. Even in these times, there are those who want to enjoy the finer things in life and are willing to pay for it. The Whiskey Show that will be held on October 28-29, 2011 will be held at The Brewery in the heart of London. The Grade II listed brewery is a holder of a City Heritage Award and traces its heritage back 250 years.

Show plan

The barely-two-year-old show, started by Scottish publisher Graeme Wallace, will obviously showcase the best there is in the market. It will have ‘Masterclasses’ each day that will allow easy communication with a distillery representative, classes on whisky and food pairing, whisky tasting, and, of course, an all-inclusive ticket that includes a delicious whisky-infused two course meal for each visitor.

Mr Wallace has also wisely put down a code of conduct for every visitor that is available on the show’s site. Briefed under ‘Show Etiquette’, the 12-point policy is concise and to the point. It remains to be seen how wise the tasters are during the show. And, of course, the one who buys the third bottle of 64-year old Trinitas.  

For more, read here: http://blah.burrp.com/food-drink-nightlife/in-the-bar/whisky-wise-pound-foolish/6575

A marwari repast

If you’re itching to bite into the local foods that Jaipur has to offer, you neednt risk a Delhi belly at roadside stalls. Instead, try the many restaurants in five-star hotels in the city that bring the local flavours onto your table in style.

There are two kinds of travellers in the world – those that demand the same kind of food they are used to at home and those that prefer local dishes wherever they go, just so they get a complete feel of the place. This is especially so when it comes to Rajasthan, which is as rich in its heritage as it is in terms of gastronomy.

The state’s largest city and its capital – Jaipur – was once also a capital for the Rajputs and other royalty. With such monarchal reputation, can it be far behind where food is concerned? The city is known for its rich and spicy food; dal baati churma, gatte ki saag and ghevar feature in the top ten foods to be had here. We sneak into the city’s five-star hotels’ kitchens to find out what is on their menu this high season.

Dal baati churma

Subrata Kumar Roy, corporate chef at Hotel Mansingh’s rooftop restaurant-and-lounge bar Hightz, recommends these local dishes: Jodhpuri gatta, papad mangodi ki sabzi, aloo pyaz ki sabzi, laal maans, palak pakodi chat, paneer kasula, and Rajasthani lamb chop. According to Chef Roy, while domestic tourists prefer to order local cuisine, international guests aren’t far behind. “Foreigners, particularly British, German, American, Australian, Malaysian, Singaporean and the French prefer local cuisine, including vegetarian dishes,” he says.  

Most chefs like Rakesh Ghai at ITC’s Sheraton Rajputana Hotel believe that Rajasthani food being largely vegetarian is a myth. “You will be surprised to know that Rajasthani food is mainly non-vegetarian.  That’s why three out of the top five local dishes that we are serving at Jal Mahal restaurant have meat:  laal mans, maans ka soola and murgh Jodhpuri. The other two are kair sangri and gatta curry,” Chef Ghai says.

Kair Sangri

The specialty restaurant at Shiv Vilas, Jaipur – Sheesh Mahal – ensures that they maintain the authenticity of all local dishes, and adjust to tailor-make it if need be. Executive chef at the hotel, Chef Anurag, lists five local dishes that have made it to the top this season: laal maans and safed maans, achari kair sangri, aloo kande ki subzi and stuffed gutta.

In unison

Those with a slightly more sensitive palate need not worry; they can tuck into the many international cuisines as well. Hotels always keep a mix of authentic Rajasthani cuisine and international offerings. At ITC, its at a 35:65 ratio with roast chicken, spaghetti bolognese, lasagna and grilled fish, roast turkey and carved ham featuring as the main dishes on the international menu. This despite the fact that heavy snowfall in Europe has hit the tourism industry in Jaipur, as around 70 percent of tourists from the European nations have cancelled their bookings in hotels.

Chef Ghai says, “We always have a fifty-fifty mix of international and local dishes. So our Oriental Bay, as the name suggests, serves Oriental food.” This includes: sayap ayam (Malay-style marinated chicken wings grilled and served with hot garlic sauce), tod man pla (Thai fish cake mixed with Thai spices, fried until golden brown and served with fresh cucumber sauce), Thai coconut soup (mild aromatic soup prepared with coconut milk, galangal, onion and lime juice), mala xia (wok-cooked king prawns with chilly flakes and Szechwan peppercorns), and chinese eggplant and string beans in flaming wok (fresh Chinese eggplant and string beans, prepared with scallions, garlic and ginger, tire-fried in chef’s special sauce).

Ashish Bhasin, executive chef at The Oberoi Rajvilas, also rates laal maas at the top of the local cuisine list, followed by murgh tikka makhani, chicken tikka, tandoori raan, shammi kebab and gutta curry. He has also churned up some interesting dishes from around the world on his menu. At the two restaurants in the hotel – Suryamahal and Rajmahal – he has Thai curries, mezze platter, lamb racks, and tenderloin steak.

Sweet tooth

Coming to what many consider the most interesting part of the meal, hotels give special attention to dessert. According to Chef Anurag at Shiv Vilas, foreign tourists find the variety of Indian desserts very exciting. “So we always have multiple choices in Indian sweets as well as international ones. Indian tourists on the other hand find foreign desserts very interesting since very few hotels in the country serve authentic foreign desserts,” he says.

Ghevar

However, Ashish Bhasin at The Oberoi Rajvilas, has kept mostly international options this season - French pastries and chocolate fondant. In comparison, Chef Subrata of Hightz restaurant at Hotel Mansingh prefers to keep mostly Indian sweets. He says, “Indians always prefer Indian sweets and almost 80 per cent of foreigners love our ghevar, gulab jamuns, kulfis and jalebees. At Sheraton Rajputana, Chef Rakesh prefers to have more of Western desserts since “foreigners find Indian desserts too sweet”. No prizes for guessing what the Indian tourist prefers – both, of course.

Glossary

Dal baati churma: Flaky round breads baked over firewood served dipped in ghee accompanied with dal (a mix of 5 lentils)

Gatte ki saag: Granflour cubes cooked in yogurt gravy

Papad mangodi ki sabzi: Raw popadum pieces cooked in split yellow gram

Aloo pyaz ki sabzi: Spicy potato and onion vegetable in garam masala

Laal maans: Spicy red meat

Palak pakodi chat: Spinach deep fried in split yellow gram flour, served with tamarind chutney

Paneer kasula: Cottage cheese dish

Maans ka soola: Lamb kebab  

Murgh Jodhpuri: A chicken dish prepared in a traditional way

Kair sangri: A dish made with three berries

Achari kair sangri: The above dish prepared in a slightly different way and eaten as a pickle

Safed maans: White meat prepared in the traditional way

Murgh tikka makhani: A chicken dish

Tandoori raan: Spring lamb leg cooked in spiced yoghurt and roasted in tandoor

Shammi kebab: Ground beef dish

Ghevar: Disc-shaped sweet dish made from oil, flour and sugar syrup

Gulab Jamuns: Sweet dish made of deep fried dough consisting mainly of milk solids

Kulfi: Milk-based frozen flavoured dessert

Jalebees: Deep-fried batter in a shape of pretzel soaked in syrup

Shiv Vilas
Near Durga Temple, N. H No.8,
Kukas, Jaipur-303101
Phone: +91 141-2531100
E-mail: info@shiv-vilas.com

The Oberoi Rajvilas

Goner Road

Jaipur – 302031

Phone: +91 141 268 0101

E-mail: reservations@oberoigroup.com

Hotel Mansingh

Sansar Chandra Road, Jaipur - 302001

Phone: (91-141) 2378771 (7 Lines), 5118771 (7 Lines)

E-mail: sales.jpr@mansinghhotels.com

Sheraton Rajputana Palace Hotel, Jaipur

Palace Road, Jaipur - 302006

Phone: (91)(141) 5100100