Varq at the Taj Mahal Delhi

Traditional Indian dining experiences have always been about tastes, flavors, even fragrance and tables laden with a variety of savory and sweet dishes.  You almost always begin with an empty plate where food is served while at the table.  This is true of even Bengali and South Indian festivals where multiple dishes are served at the beginning in quick succession and placed in very specific locations in and around your plate.  Pre-plating is quite an alien concept to Indian cuisine.

Mumbai Madness

Bombay has something for everybody.  Whilst its days are crowded, dusty and sweltering, its nights are quite chilled out and fun. There is something for every taste: in food, drinks or in the right spot to soak in the vibe and energy that never seems to wane.  With my wife's birthday just around the corner, we decided to do something a little different this time by spending a weekend hanging out together in this City of Dreams.

Sinful Desserts

Michael Krondl, in his brilliantly engrossing book Sweet Invention, notes that desserts were never a human necessity.  Unlike the rest of our food, desserts were purely a craving that reflected our culture and still do. Having traveled a good part of the world, I can see he is right.  The exquisitely crafted creme brûlée, pot de crème, and tarts are as much a reflection of the elaborate and formal French as apple pies, sonkers and s'mores are for the casual, easy-going Americans.

Tim Ho Wan

You know you are near Tim Ho Wan, the dim sum specialists in Hong Kong, when you see the large crowds outside. Names are called, people settled into closely packed tables, and orders are rapidly taken - with nary a smile or small talk. That don't seem like a place to attract attention from the high and mighty Michelin guides, does it?  That it did is testimony to the deliciousness they dish out daily to a growing number of patrons.  When it received its single star in 2009, Tim Ho Wan became the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world!

Gourmet Seattle

I have decided to nominate Seattle as the city with the most quirkily named restaurants! Where else can you find eating places such as The Whale Wins, The Walrus & the Carpenter, or the delightful Brimmer & Hilltap that opened its doors only recently.  Some research quickly yielded the fact that the creativity of their owners did not end at the names alone.

Meandering Through Seattle

The rains welcomed me as I landed in Seattle, but that wasn't unusual in itself. Rains are a given in this lovely sea-facing city on America's north-west coast. The Emerald City is known for its Mediterranean climate, rains and lush green surroundings as it is for its hi-tech companies. However, much has changed from the last time I was here in the early 90s. People then knew the city for its two iconic companies, Boeing and Microsoft.  Now the big boys here are Amazon and Starbucks, both of whom are making big moves into India right now. Seattle has continued to grow rapidly; I was not surprised to learn that this city is the fast growing major city in the USA.