Two New Airports & More
Other Chennai Posts:
Two quick business trips this month took me to the cities of Hyderabad, Bangalore & Chennai. Given how much news the new airports in Bangalore and Hyderabad have recently generated in India, I was looking forward to checking them out first-hand.
For the Hyderabad trip, I had to stay in Mumbai overnight so I could take an early morning flight from there. I drove into the Grand Hyatt late in the evening from Pune and headed straight for dinner.
Note: Bangalore Airport photo credit: Soumik Kar.
The M is the Grand Hyatt's principal Western restaurant, and offers a grill, martini bar and a wine library. You have to walk down a flight of stairs from the upper lobby to enter the main sitting area. Contemporary and airy with geometric patterns, this restaurant has an open kitchen and a large bar. I ordered a starter of grilled zucchini with goat cheese as I awaited my martini. Incidentally, M offers almost 40 different varieties - from the sinful mint-chocolate martini to a variety of fresh fruit-based martinis! My entree was a grilled sea bass with garlic butter. A baked apple pie with ice-cream to soothe my sweet-tooth and I was off to bed for my early morning flight to Hyderabad.
The Jet Airways flight to Hyderabad landed on time at the spanking new Rajiv Gandhi airport. I noticed an ample amount of space that will make further expansion in the future easy. There is enough space for newer extensions to the main airport building and lots of parking. The airport is a huge improvement our our older ones. While flying back, I also found I could check-in bags without needing to first scan them manually at an x-ray machine like is common at every other Indian airport. It was also good to see a bookshop, coffee shop and fast food restaurants after the security checks and within the departure area.
At Hyderabad, I spent the entire day in meetings with the press at the Coffee Shop of the Taj Krishna. I had been here ages ago and still carry memories of the aromatic biryanis I ate daily in downtown Hyderabad. No luck this time since I had to rush straight back to the airport to catch the evening flight back.
During the trip to Bangalore and Chennai a few days later, I got VIP treatment from Kingfisher Airlines. One of the Kingfisher girls escorted me to the lounge and then to the aircraft while an attendant took care of my hand-luggage all the way into the plane. On disembarking in Chennai, they even had a special bus to take me to the arrivals lounge directly without having to wait for the other passengers. I could easily get used to all this attention from the pretty Kingfisher girls! :)
Bangalore airport too looked well-planned and seemed to have space for future expansion. While people say the airport building and infrastructure are just enough to sustain today's passenger volume, it didn't look too crowded to me. Again, here too, the Departure area has quite a few shops and restaurants after the security checks which is a relief. The airport looks and feels similar to the one in Hyderabad. Actually, if at all there is at all anything negative to these gleaming new airports, it is the fact that they lack character and look the same.
People have been complaining about the one-hour drive from the airport to the downtown areas. I can't see why that is such a big deal. Most cities abroad have their airports outside the city limits too; it is a good 40 minute drive from Houston International to downtown (and that on American roads which are much faster). The road from Bangalore airport was wide, multi-laned and traffic moved fast until we hit the downtown areas which were - as usual - crowded.
I stayed at the Oberoi in the heart of downtown Bangalore. My work got done by lunch and I had the rest of the day to myself. The Oberoi is an oasis of tranquility with its large gardens, trees and balconies filled with violet flowers. I walked into the Rim Naam Thai restaurant set in the gardens and surrounded by a water body. The food they serve is excellent too!
The recently renovated Oberoi Spa is run by Thailand's famed Banyan Tree. The 60 minute Oberoi Massage is a must for anyone who has the time to spare.
On a colleague's recommendation I walked out of my hotel for dinner. The Karavalli restaurant in Taj's Gateway Hotel on Residency Road is a brisk 20-minute walk from the hotel. There was a cool wind blowing which made the walk pleasurable in spite of the traffic and the construction of Namma Metro (Our Metro in Kannada). Karavalli serves cuisine from the Malabar Coast that straddles Kerala, Mangalore and Goa. Since I was alone and yet wanted to sample their popular dishes, the waiter offered to bring me small portions of three starters and two curries.
The Prawns Sukha Karwari was deep-fried, crunchy prawns tossed with a fiery red masala. The Karimeen Pattichatthu, their signature dish, is made from fresh fish caught in Kerala. I also learnt some interesting details on how this fish is caught. Apparently women pile their hair on top of their heads and submerge themselves to sieze the fish by their tail. Men, on the other hand, hold a lamp and a butterfly net to snare the fish attracted to the light. The Karimeen Pattichatthu is a shallow-fried dish flavored with exotic Kerala spices.
The other dish I remember is the Meen Polichatthu, a fresh black pomfret, marinated in Malabar masala, and wrapped in a banana leaf before being pan-fried to perfection.
Every dish seemed to be hotter than the previous one. I was quite sure I will soon have smoke coming out of my ears! The Kozhi Malliperlan, is a delicacy from Kerala made with succulent boneless pieces of chicken with vegetables, coconut milk and fresh spices. The Karavalli Mutton Curry, another signature dish, same in a dark red gravy done in South Canara style. In Mangalorean villages, the tradition of cooking over open firewood stoves in clay pots continues. They usually cook oily fish in a blend of spicy masala to enhance the taste, while regular, fresh-water fish is cooked in a coconut-based masala.
After all that hot, spicy food, it was nice and refreshing to nibble on Bebinca with Coconut Ice-cream at the end. Bebinca is made of many layers, each of which is partially cooked before the next layer is applied. This is probably the most popular dessert in Goa.
After a day in Bangalore, I was back at the Le Royal Meridien in Chennai. I had a busy day here; other than for a quick lunch at Kumarakom, I had very little time to myself during the day. It was late when I returned and I decided to try the Kayal, the sea-food restaurant before retiring.
I ordered their signature Coriander Prawns and ended with a fruit-salad. While the ambiance in the restaurant was good, the food was just ok. Nothing to write about. However, do try the Karavalli if you are in Bangalore (and you can handle really hot food!).
The next day began early with a mess up with my credit card that led me to miss a couple of early morning conference calls. I had to then quickly rush to the airport for my flight back to Pune via Bangalore. While Jet Airways continues to be efficient, have they lost that little edge in service quality, especially when compared to Kingfisher? Maybe it is only the extra attention I got from the Kingfisher girls that made me feel so. :)
Other Bangalore Posts:
During the last few days of our week-long vacation in Goa, we ventured out for some sight-seeing and shopping. The capital city, Panjim (or Panaji) is almost an hour's drive from the hotel. Like always, I enjoyed the drive through green country-sides and fishing villages, along the sea and winding rivers. We watched brightly colored houses go past, many of which still have a distinct Mediterranean touch from Goa's Portuguese past. 
In the late 15th century, Vasco Da Gama became the first European to set foot in India. He first landed in Calicut followed by an arrival in Old Goa. The Portuguese arrived here with the intention of getting control of the lucrative spice trade and ended up setting up a permanent settlement. Goa became part of India well after India gained independence from the British in 1947. It was only after the Indian Army wrested the colony in 1961 from Portugal that Goa became part of our nation again.
We headed straight for the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa. Built in the late 17th century, this cathedral houses the body of St. Francis Xavier which attracts thousands of Christians every year, especially during the public viewing of the body every 10 years.
We then drove down to nearby Panjim and luckily found a Government outlet for local handicrafts. Since Goa is a popular tourist destination for foreigners, especially Europeans and Israelis, there are vendors from every part of India selling their handicrafts here. However, we were interested only in Goan-made handicrafts and arts. We found interesting stuff made of sea-shells, coconut shells and jute. We also bought a bunch of paintings made on wall-tiles. Finally, we stopped to pick up the mandatory packets of famous Goan cashews from Zanty's for friends and family.
Since it was past lunch time by the time we drove back to our resort, we took our driver's recommendation and had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf which is a restaurant located on the bank of the river within walking distance of the Leela. We ordered a variety of fish and chicken dishes and washed them down with chilled beer. Though the day was now humid and hot, we enjoyed our spicy lunch as we watched the fishing boats go about their daily routine on the far bank.
Among the five-star resorts in Goa I have stayed in, I think the Park Hyatt had the most interesting rooms, while the Taj Aguada had the best food and the Radission White Sands the best swimming pool. The Casa de Goa has the best 'local' Portuguese feel while the best beach is at the Leela.
On the day we were checking out, we woke up to the pitter, patter of rain outside. The monsoons had finally come to Goa; and, what perfect timing!
An hour later we at the beach once more. It was still early in the day, the breeze was cool, and we were enjoying the tranquil morning filled with the roar of the ocean punctuated only by the excited squeals from our little girl whenever a wave washed over her feet. She and her mom went hunting for sea-shells and by the time they had their hands (and pockets) full, the sun was getting warm and we headed back to our room.
The buffet lunch wasn’t anything to write about. A variety of Indian, Italian and Chinese items that tasted good, but mostly simple fare. Thankfully, I had chosen to take meal credits rather than a package that limited me to only the buffet meal. I made a note to try other restaurants during the rest of our stay here.
We spent the afternoon in the swimming pool and sipping tropical cocktails from the Poolside Bar. The swimming pool is good but unremarkable (when compared to the Park Hyatt or the Radisson White Sands in Goa). In any case, we spent the greater part of the day splashing around until it got close to sunset. Then we returned to the beach to see the breath-taking picture of the evening sun setting over the red-orange Arabian Sea as flocks of birds on the horizon headed home.
We stayed back until dark and then returned to Susegado for some more seafood and wine. Our daughter was well asleep by the time we decided to head back; the wait-staff had already called one of those electric golf-carts to drive us back to the room.
Day Three was the day of the Spa. After my experience at the Leela, Bangalore, I was hooked on the Shirodhara+Abhyanga package which I repeated here. The masseur was well trained and the 90 minute massage lived up to my expectation. The little one wanted to watch a movie on DVD, so we spent the afternoon within our room. We were glad we had packed more clothes than we usually do. Due to the humid weather, wet clothes took forever to dry here, even within the air-conditioned room.
In the evening, we decided to eat at Leela’s signature Jamavar restaurant. They had a special Kerala fixed menu on this day. The starters of Lamb Stew with appam bread was the best part of the menu! That was followed by Tiger Prawns 
In my opinion, the Jamavar, and Leela in general, doesn't score very high on food. And I make this comment having tried both their Bangalore and (now) Goa hotels. There was a time when I loved the buffet dinners at the Leela in Mumbai, but they certainly are no longer in the same category as the Taj or the Sheraton any longer.
The rains had not yet begun, but the day was humid and hot. The cold towels and the bottles of water in the car came to good use! After about an hour's drive through the Goan countryside we reached the resort. Designed to look like the old Hindu palaces of 
The Conservatory Premiere room we had booked was fairly large and split into a bedroom and a sitting area. Both areas boast of LCD TVs and the room is equipped with a DVD player, which came in handy for my little angel who could get her daily dose of 
Almost immediately we dressed for the beach and went out to quickly explore the property. First, we ventured towards the riverside. Here, Leela has it's shopping area and Casino (I think this is the only resort-hotel in Goa with a casino; the only others are on ships that are anchored offshore). The Riverside Italian restaurant is located on the banks of the Sal river. We could see many fishing boats anchored on the distant bank of the river, where fishermen seemed to be selling their day's catch. We walked back towards the beach, which is on the other side of the resort. The garden in the Leela has a section devoted to Indian spices and fruits: mango, jackfruit, black pepper, cloves, etc.
Past the swimming pool, we went, along the resort's golf course, and we we finally found ourselves at the beach. The beach here was quite perfect. White, clean sand and mostly deserted as far as the eye could see! While my wife and I lay back under the swaying palms drinking in the scene, our little angel gleefully went to work with the sand. A couple of beers later, I was already marveling at how much fun this was. No cellphones, laptops and Blackberries after such a long time! After splashing around for a while, we dragged our reluctant little girl back to our room.
We went back to the beachside Seafood Grill, Susegado, for an early dinner. This restaurant not only served us the best seafood we had eaten in a while, they also had the most friendly and helpful waitstaff. We chose a sea-bass from the day's catch on display. They cooked it in two different ways for us: a spicy Goan masala-covered fillet, and the other with garlic-butter, both grilled to perfection. We were so delighted, we ordered another sea bass and requested an encore. As you can expect, with so much fish under our belt we were quite stuffed.
Susegado is located right on the beach, and as the cool, briny breeze blew in from the Sea, we could hear rumblings of thunder announcing the onset of monsoon. In the distance, we could see flickering lights from anchored ships on the distant horizon, even as the sound of crashing waves rose to a crescendo. The thatched roof, flickering lanterns and the candle on the table added to the lovely ambiance. We had to reluctantly drag ourselves away from here and back to the room since our daughter was already quite sleepy and had to be put to bed - ah, the joys of parenthood! :-)
The eating protocol consists of smearing 
As we sipped on our drinks and enjoyed the cool breeze, I perused the menu. Aha! I finally find the really ‘exotic’ stuff on my menu. J Does Fried Bamboo-shoot Worms, barbecued duck tongue, and fritters of chicken soft bones sound exotic enough to you? A colleague who was out with friends the last night even found dog meat – and said it tasted like pork. Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn’t order any of the above! Instead, I let my hosts take me on a culinary journey of Chinese small plates that included shredded eel, shredded mushroom with dry red pepper, pork with hot chillies, greens in garlic sauce, chicken soup (with skin and bones included, but rather tasty!).
When Indians think of Chinese food, we always think of noodles and fried rice. This time in Beijing, I don’t remember having noodles at all in any of these elaborate dining experiences. Actually neither did we have too much rice. The duck was wrapped in thin pancakes; otherwise food mostly consisted of meats and greens! Hospitality extends to the dining table. My local hosts would quickly fill my glass with wine without waiting for the waitress to do so.
