Discovering Mahabalipuram

Mahabalipuram is an ancient town on the outskirts of Chennai that was a flourishing sea-port for hundreds of years (1-100 AD). This town was a vital part of the trade-link between the Coramandel coast of India and the Far East - a link hidden to Arabia and Europe, who thought of India as the single source for all exotic spices. In reality, mace and nutmeg - once among the most treasured of spices - actually came from islands of Indonesia and Malaysia via Mahabalipuram and other nearby ports. This fact was cleverly hidden by Indian merchants who traded these spices to Arabs for large profits on the Malabar coast .

Mahabalipuram is also home to some of the most extraordinary stone sculptures from the ancient world, the time when the Pallavas ruled the South. India has many rock-cut architectures from even older times and in larger scale, such as those in the Ellora and Ajanta caves. However, what makes Mahabalipuram special are the free-standing monolithic temples carved out of single granite rocks and the exquisite hill-side stone reliefs - some of which sport the oldest known Devnagari scripts along with scenes from the Mahabharata.

It seems like every rocky hillside and stone formation became the canvas for these artists of old. Their ebalorate reliefs and life-like statues tell stories that have lasted thousands of years. They have lasted in spite of the assault by salty ocean sprays, the tides and the infrequent tsunamis and hurricanes.

I was attending a business event very close to this old seaside town and my host offered to be my guide to these ancient wonders. Thank you, Mani! This was a well-spent two hours that made a far greater impact than my history books at school ever did.

The large, detailed relief popularly called Arjuna's Penance shows Arjuna praying for divine support before entering the big war. One can see the Gods and demons looking on in awe. Another interpretation of this relief has Bhagirath praying to bring the goddess Ganges to the earth. On one corner, you can even see a pious cat praying to fool the mice into coming closer - some of our folk stories are that old apparently! The large elephant in the middle of this (and other reliefs) lead some to believe a Buddhist influence exists in these art-forms.


Another relief, this time within the confines of a hall with pillars - all carved out of a rocky hillside - shows Krishna holding up a hillock to protect his fellow villagers from heavy thunderstorms unleashed by Indra. In each of these detailed artwork in stone, the detailing of these popular scenes from Indian mythology is quite amazing.



We drove past a gaint granite stone balanced precariously on a hillside and got down again to stroll around the Panch Rathas i.e., the Five Chariots. These are five monolithic temples in the shape of chariots each made in a different style and named after a character from the Mahabharata.





Finally, I visited the Shore Temple which has been the landmark most associated with Chennai. Early European travellers refered to this location as the Seven Pagodas, setting off a legend about a city under the sea. Interestingly, the tsunami of 2004 uncovered more ancient underwater ruins that has given recent impetus to archeological expeditions. Who know, maybe the other six 'pagodas' are indeed waiting to be discovered under the sea after all!


By the time I returned to my hotel, it was dark. The pepper-fried squid on the in-room dining menu was particularly delicious! Try it, if you are ever at The Trident in Chennai.

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Dinner at Stax

Stax is the Italian restaurant in Hyatt Regency, Mumbai. Located very close to the international airport, this hotel is a popular choice with business travellers flying in and out of Mumbai. Stax is a feast for the senses. With exciting contemporary decor and ambiance, this restaurant is never too crowded and always an excellent location if you are looking for a quiet evening over Italian food.

The degustation menu looked tempting but I was looking for something simpler tonight. I started off with the tomato soup with roasted Canadian scallop, fresh thyme and crispy Parma ham. The soup was excellent and revived me instantly; the only gripe I had was with the fact that there was one single piece of ham and one scallop in this large bowl of soup.

The bread was good as was the tomato-pesto-olive oil dip. I chomped away happily as I waited for my entree to arrive.

The home-made tagliatelle was sauteed with artichokes, scampi, carmelized capers and tomato with extra virgin olive oil. This signature dish was pretty good.

While the food doesn't touch the stratospheric level, overall this restaurant has promise. The service cannot be faulted and the overall ambiance is wonderful. The dinner didn't leave me feeling heavy and I breezed through the check-in process at the airport feeling rather energetic at midnight.

The flight to San Francisco was eventless. I watched Angels and Demons on the flight and a few episodes of Mad Men. BTW, Bose has finally upgraded their noice-cancelling headphones with the new QC15. It improves on a product that was already very good!

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Trendy Tamarine

Like I read somewhere, Tamarine can be best described as a book you can judge by its cover! Stylish and sophisticated with an entralling bar area of bamboo and glass this restaurant makes an impression the moment you enter. Waiters in Prada black and dining rooms seperated by heavy black curtains add to its trendy elegance.

This restaurant run by Anne Le and executive chef Tammy Huynh, is contemporary reinvention of modern Vietnam cuisine. I have already reviewed their other classy restuarant in San Francisco, Bong Su. I was already looking forward to another great experience.


We ordered some starters including the Tamarine Spiced Wings and the Spring Rolls. The spiced wings were served with a pineapple-jicama slaw and a gingery sauce. Wasn't particularly great. The spring rolls - we had ordered a vegetarian version - were filled with beansprouts and mint with a hoisin chilli sauce. It was ok-ok, nothing to rave about.


The Clay Pot Cod was thankfully much better. The Alaskan black cod was carmelized in onion, black pepper, garlic and molasses and was extremely tasty.



The Hoisin Lamb Chops were very good too. The dish was made in hoisin, garlic and rosemary grilled chops served with baby bok choy and sweet potato fries. Nicely done and the sweet potato fries were an interesting touch.

I have to also mention the Empress Fried Rice which you have to order every time! Sticky rice, garlic, leeks, ginger and eggs go into making this fabulous dish. It is served with a sweet soy drizzle.

There were a few other dishes on the table, some of which I didn't sample. Others not particularly remarkable. The Chili-Lime Aubergine is grilled Japanese eggplant finished with onion oil, scallions and a chili-lime fish sauce. The Curried Long Beans is beans sautéed in red chili, kaffir lime leaves and onions. The Sake Mushrooms have Shiitake mushrooms, garlic & sugar snap peas wok fired in an oyster-sake sauce.


Overall, I would say the food is good if you select carefully. The decor, ambiance and service cannot be flawed. What I enjoyed most was the company tonight: my friends, Mythili and Shekar - thank you for a wonderful evening!

PS: I just now realized Bong Su in San Francisco closed earlier this year. Sad.

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Farallon And Ryowa Ramen

A study in contrasts: one extravagent and ostentatious, the other small and simple. Farallon and Ryowa Ramen. Farallon, located within a block of Union Square in San Francisco is an unique restaurant that recreates an opulent undersea environment with jelly fish lamps and coral reef walls. In complete contrast, Ryowa Ramen brings the small noodle restaurants of Tokyo into the heart of Silicon Valley. A three-sided bar and a few tables with a television showing one of those kawaii Japanese talk/game shows completes the decor.

First, my visit to Farallon. The interiors are very much the highlight of this restaurant, especially the bar area. I nibbled on my bread and sipped a Pinot Noir as I looked around. The restaurant was crowded on this evening as was the bar.


The baby Arugula salad with aged balsamic on a carpaccio of French butter pear and sweet coppa - thin slices of Italian pork shoulder - was absolutely fantastic. I had been a little worried seeing the mixed reviews when I was planning to visit this restaurant, but this was a promising start!

My entree was the Hawaiian Ahi-tuna. Grilled rare, the tuna was served on a bed of roasted French fingerling potatoes, gypsy pepper piperade and Niçoise olive tapenade: the latter two being exotic European sandwich spreads made of pepper and olive respectively. This dish seemed huge but I was able to polish it off. While I liked the interesting play of flavors and textures on the palate, I would not rate this dish as extraordinary.

The bittersweet chocolate custard cake was served with Gianduja sauce, vanilla bean chantilly and hazelnut crunch. The Gianduja is an Italian chocolate that is flavored with hazelnuts. Again, the dessert was good but short of amazing.

Net-net, there were some hits, some misses, but I will remember Farallon as much for the food as for its unique ambiance.

Now, to Ryowa Ramen. A colleague (thanks Joe!) took me to this little place in Mountian View for lunch. With few seats, Ryowa fills up quickly; however, we were early and found seats at the bar.

The lunch consisted of a large bowl of ramen noodle soup garnished liberally with Japanese bbq pork. I ordered an extra serving of pork. The dish came with pot-stickers and fried rice. I chose the Shoyu broth which was very flavorful as was the pork.

The lunch turned out to be absolutely great: completely authentic, hot and delicious and completely filling! The pot-stickers were so-so, but overall this was a good meal.

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San Francisco Love Parade

I woke up late on Saturday and walked down to a diner close-by for brunch. Mel's Drive-In is a recreation of the popular restaurant chain from the 50s. Retro neon lighting, quaint juke boxes and super-busy staff behind the bar dispensing fried eggs, toast, orange juice and coffee. Quite a charming place to begin a lazy weekend.



As I walked back to my hotel, I began noticing something strange: girls and guys in costume. Wondering what was going, I walked along with them and came across a large parade in Market Street. Floats blared out dance music and hordes of young girls and guys in costumes swayed and danced to the music. Others just lined the streets as the parade made its way slowly towards the City Square.

LovEvolution is a dance music parade and festival organized every year. The parade starts from 2nd & Market Street in downtown San Francisco with about 25 floats heading west down Market Street. The floats arrive at Civic Center plaza where they park to becomes 25 stages on transformed festival grounds with food, beverage, a live electronic and performance stage, and outstanding revelry.


With 25 different DJs belting out electronic dance music and about 100,000 people filling the city center, it was one big party through the day! It was a windy evening and clearly alcohol was helping keep the under-dressed partygoers warm; there were some completely stoned and drunk as can be expected. However, the mood overall was cheerful and full of fun and the after-parties continued late into the night.


I strolled out much earlier and decided to get some dinner on my way back. I went into Ame at the St.Regis, a place I have dined before.

The sake, Miyasaka Yamahai, was dry and earthy and warmed me up as I waited for my starters. The Trio of Sashmi was a great start. The crudo of halibut with horseradish, the salmon with a thin slice of of cucumber and tartar sauce, the red snapper with string beans were a study in contrasting tastes and textures.


The cream of Sunchoke soup with foie gras tortellini had promise but was ruined by excessive saltiness. The broiled sake marinated Cod in Shisho broth was heart-warming and as good as I remembered.

The grilled quail on risotto was wonderfully tasty with a hint of gaminess; it was a whee bit difficult to dig in with a regular sized steak knife - one of those times when I would have loved to dig in with my bare hands! The wheat berries, pioppini mushrooms and foie gras sauce enhanced the taste considerably.


The dessert - Green Tea Affogato with pistachio ice cream - was interesting to say the least! It was like having chikki with green tea and ice cream. :)

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Oysters in Santana Row

No seafood quite captures the essence of the sea like the oyster. Unlike previous times, I was determined to be a purist and enjoy them raw on the half-shell. I was at Bradley Ogden's fresh seafood restaurant, Yankee Pier on Santana Row. Like a wine-menu, the oyster menu can be daunting for first-timers. However, the extremely friendly and helpful waitress explained some of the basics quickly.

I chose half a dozen of the Hama Hama Pacific Blue oysters, specified as not too sweet and not too briny. The shells were larger than I had expected and it was great fun slurping down the raw oyster with the briny seawater and slowing figuring out its very complex taste. They had provided a couple of dips and finely shredded horseradish along the oysters.


After that, I settled for the Alaskan King Salmon, grilled medium-rare with the middle still very pink and on a bed of sauteed spinach and jasmine rice. Excellent combination: the flavor of the salmon and the fragrant rice complimenting each other.

The dessert was a butterscotch custard with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Decadent and completely delightful! This restaurant is always dependable for an evening of excellent seafood. They also have lot of seating space both indoors and outdoors.

The weather throughout this visit has been extremely fickle. While I enjoyed some unusually warmth during the weekend in downtown San Francisco, the temperature dropped precipitously the very next day. But I did get a chance to try some interesting stuff - keep watching this space!

BTW, my previous visit to Yankee Pier is posted here.

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Pan Asian in Kolkata

Kolkata has been home to some of our country's earliest immigrants from China. During childhood days, I remember stories of the most exceptional handcrafted shoes in Kolkata's China Town - the only Indian city to have one. And later in life, I would be constantly directed to the Tangra area in China Town for the best Chinese food in that city. Some interesting blog posts on those Chinese who have remained behind can be found here and here. Sadly, what remains now is a dilapidated area inhabited by a decreasing number of the older generation.

Pan Asian continues this heritage by bringing its eclectic mix of Chinese, Japanese, Mongol and Korean cuisine under one roof at the ITC Sonar in Kolkata. Interactive kitchens with seating around them encourage contact with the chefs with bespoke culinary options. The Chinese kitchen features delicacies from Sichuan and Beijing provinces. The Mongolian Brazier facilitates the cuisine of the Mongols dating back to the days of Genghis Khan, whose soldiers grilled meats on their battle shields heated over charcoal. You can choose combinations of meats, seafood and vegetabls with seasoning and sauces. Then there is the Japanese Teppan Grill featuring Teppanyaki and the Korean Bar-be-que and Hot Pots with in-built grills in the tables. If that is not enough, there is a Japanese sushi and sashimi Bar.

Tonight I began with a small plate of salmon sashimi and then followed with a Mongolian stir fry: fish, spring chicken, spring lamb, pork tenderloin, shitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, carrots. Salad oil and the chef's condiments. Noodles.

The sashimi seemed fresh and tasted pretty good. However, without Japanese chefs at the bar tonight, the cuts weren't the same calibre. Also, the wasabi wasn't the best - far less intense than the real thing.

The Mongolian stir fry was excellent. Lots of seafood and meat and the right amount of spices and condiments. Completely filling too!

For dessert, I tried the amazing jasmine tea creme brulee. Vanilla bean ice cream on the top. Bewitching! A thin layer of creme brulee with specs of carmalized topping and a large dollop of home-made ice-cream. I strongly recommend this dessert to anyone who visits here.


The restaurants at the ITC Sonar have some of the friendliest waitstaff, especially in their speciality restaurants. I also enjoyed some very Bengali selections during breakfasts such as Radhabollobi with Cholar Dal on one day, and Kochuri with Ghugni on another. Finally, the Kayakalp spa is luxuriously laid out across lotus ponds and swaying palms.

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Aaheli in Kolkata

For a taste of authentic Bengali food in Kolkata there is no better place than Aaheli. Located in the historic Esplanade area within Peerless Inn, this restaurant serves up elaborate local cuisine in a traditional setting. Local paintings adorn the wall and brass oil lamps on tables enhances its unique Bengali experience.

Traditional Bengali food consists of multiple courses with a clearly defined order in which these are eaten. As a person who spent most of his childhood outside Bengal, I remember being chided by my aunts when I offended their sensibilities by ignoring these 'rules'. While all courses are served together in bowls around the plate, one is expected to know which one to start with and which one comes next. This elaborate ritual is still the norm in many homes in this city steeped in history.

A Bengali meal always demands leisurely attention. The secret to relishing it lies in lingering over every course and letting its layers of taste unfold. Steaming hot gobindobhog rice forms the center of every Bengali meal. Its richness springs from the variety: warm dal and fritters give way to the more complex notes of vegetables, finally culminating in the spicy magic of fish and meat.

I began with the Aam Pora Sharbat, a tangy drink made of raw mango and seasoned with mustard seeds.

When they brought the large brass plate of rice and pooris and explained the contents of the many bowls surrounding it, I was reminded of my many elaborate meals during summer vacations in Bengal during school days. Those days, the journey from Mysore to Kolkata took an entire three days by train. I still remember the verdant green surroundings, lotus-decked ponds, tube-wells in the bathrooms, varieties of fish for lunch and dinner, and of course sweets of all shapes and sizes. Not much has changed!

The bhaja-moogh'er dal is a distinctly Bengali twist to the popular Indian lentil dish. The lentils are lightly roasted before being cooked and tempered giving it an unique taste. You eat the dal with some rice and the fritters.

The chorchodi, a medley of leafy vegetables cooked with eggplant and whole spices in mustard oil is a favorite of mine. This simple dish was excellent and I polished it off in an instant.

The sorse dharosh, okra cooked in a paste of mustard was good too, but not terribly exciting.

The bhetki paturi, fish wrapped in banana leaf and steamed with spices and mustard paste was tonight's stand-out dish. It was brought sizzling to my table, and the heady aroma of mustard and the freshness of the fish was nothing short of delicious.

The Ilish bhapa is fresh-water Hilsa fish - from the famed waters of the River Padma in Bangladesh - steamed with a coating of yogurt and spices. The fish was fresh, as tasty as ever and amazing. Of course, if you aren't Bengali you may have some trouble with the numerous thin bones that make eating this fish as troublesome - and as fulfilling - as eating crab.

The chingdi mach'er malaikari was next. Another common delicacy, this dish is made of jumbo prawns in a very delicately spiced gravy of coconut milk. The preparation here was good too, but not particularly outstanding; actually, I think I like the one at Oh! Calcutta better.

There was a portion of ghee bhat and pooris accompanying these dishes. Ghee bhat is the Bengali version of pulao, with rice tossed in home-made ghee, raisins and cashews before being steamed.

Finally, the desserts. A traditional Bengali sandesh followed by payesh. Payesh is the Bengali name for kheer or payasam. The best is made of notun gur or khejur gur, date palm jaggery that is harvested during the winter months.

Along with everything else, I also enjoyed the aam khejur'er chutney, a thick sweet-sour chutney made of dried ripe mango and dates.

All in all, a very satisfying meal. There were many more items on the menu I would have loved to explore. Exotic items include those made of thod and mocha, the stem and flowers of the banana tree and probably unique to Bengali cooking.

Aaheli is located within the Peerless Inn at 12 Jawahar Lal Nehru Road, Esplanade. Ph:2228-0301

For visiting foodies, other options for Bengali food in Kolkata include:

13 Parbon, 49C Purna Das Road in Golpark. Ph: 2463-2016. They serve age old Bengali cuisine in a refurbished way. Try their boneless Bhapa Ilish.

6 Ballygunje Place at that address in Ballygunje Phari, Ph: 2460-3922. Try their Daab Chingri.

On my evening to Esplanade, the streets were crowded as only Kolkata can be: a teeming mass of people as far as the eye can see. The occasion: shopping for the coming Durga Pujas. Other than for this dinner in Aaheli, I didn't venture out into of the ITC Sonar much. As I write this post, Durga Puja is being celebrated by Bengali everywhere. Durga Puja is to Hindu Bengalis what Christmas is to Christians and Ganesh Chaturthi to Hindu Maharashtrians. It is as much a cultural expression as it religious, celebrated with much pomp and splendor. Wish all my Bengali readers a very happy festive season!

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