Tian at The Maurya

The Maurya in Delhi has a new restaurant. Most first time visitors to this grand hotel venture into one of the two iconic Indian restaurants here, Bukhara ord Dum Pukht. However, I have been here several times, and had eaten at Bukhara only recently. Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise to find a new Asian restaurant that had taken the place of My Hunble House on their rooftop.

Opulent Jaipur

This was my second visit to Jaipur and a business trip at that.  I was here for an annual CEO summit: three days of round-tables and panel discussions held at the luxurious Fairmont Hotel.  While the location of the hotel can be inconvenient because of its distance from the airport and the city centre, the hotel itself is another splendid example of five-star opulence in a city that boasts of top-notch resorts.

Roadtrip to Rudrapur

When I first realised I will be travelling to Rudrapur I confused it with Rudraprayag, a place made famous by the famous British hunter Jim Corbett.  Rudrapur is a small town in the Himalayan foothills of Uttarakhand close to the Nepal border.  Much to my surprise, our road trip from Delhi turned out to be quite a delight. Clearly, there has been much progress in the network of roads here during the last 15 years, since I last took a car to the highways in this region.

MTR, Nagarjuna and Meghana

Bangalore’s rapid growth into a cosmopolitan capital has ensured a steady stream of new and trendy restaurants.  Expat chefs from Italy and Japan demonstrate their skills daily in fancy new dining spots while local chefs showcase fusion and flair in chic settings. I have reviewed several in this blog earlier.  This time I wanted to do something different. I went back to the city's roots and discovered local eateries that existed and flourished before the city’s new and modern avatar and its upscale dining options came into being.

Pune Dining Update

Lately, we seem to have been in the mood for casual eat-outs than fine-dining ones in Pune.  Therefore, it has been a hunt for new early morning breakfast options, interesting cafes to chat over a hot beverage in the evenings or a good burger place for comfort dining.

Dune Bashing in Dubai

After innumerable transits through Dubai airport, I finally had my chance to actually step out into this ‘city of gold’ in the Middle East.  Featureless sandy landscapes and dust storms were all I could see as my Emirates flight began its final descent. The barren landscape was only broken by man-made glory as our pilot brought us into a smooth landing.  Dubai clearly demonstrates both the triumph and excesses of mankind, of how you can make the impossible possible when you combine oil-money with clear vision!

Fort Jadhavgarh

Among the princely states that ruled India before the Mughals arrived, the Marathas were known as one of the fiercest in battle. This was proven several times as the mighty Mughal armies were defeated in spite of superior numbers during the early 17th century.  These Deccan Wars are probably the longest recorded military engagement in Indian history - they were on for a period of about 30 years.

Jottings from Singapore

I had two more days of day-long meetings in Singapore. I would walk from the Ritz Carlton hotel where I stayed this time to our Suntec City offices through a labyrinth of shopping areas and malls, all interconnected to each other. Of shopping and food there are no dearth of options here; a variety of ethnic Asian cuisines jostle for space with Western ones in tidy food outlets clustered in and around the shopping malls.

Soccer and Food at Singapore

Singapore has a fancy new stadium that opened earlier this year. Among some of the cool things the stadium has been designed for is its multiple ‘modes’.  You can go from an Athletic mode to a Football mode by moving the lowest tier of the spectator seating that will hide the tracks!  The other cool thing (literally!) is the blast of cool air that is pumped from under the seats to keep the spectators comfortable in this balmy city-state.

Trace at SF and More

I have stayed at the W Hotel in San Francisco several time, but I had always ignored their restaurant Trace. Given all the great restaurants in downtown SF, I never gave it another thought.  Turns out Trace can be a great place for a dinner, especially if you are in the hotel and don’t want to venture out.  Like most trendy places in California that cater to the younger swish set, this one pairs fresh, local produce that is easy on the palate with smartly dressed, pretty waitstaff that are easy on the eye!

Foodie Trail in NYC

New York was remarkably warm and bright when I landed. If the weather here is so hospitable what else can possibly go wrong? Shortly after checking into my hotel, I decided to take a stroll in the welcoming outdoors and found myself looking up at the tall steel and glass buildings that make up the city’s familiar skyline; however, it was the older, darker building that caught my attention - the imposing facade of Grand Central Station.

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.

Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse

Alice Waters is probably among the most influential figures in American food and cooking in recent times. She moved into Berkeley California in the early 60s as a young, single woman with a talent for cooking and much less else.  Over the next 40 years, she would go on to open and run one of the most famous restaurants in the country and in the process redefine what American cuisine was about.  Waters opened Chez Panisse in 1971 and over the years this restaurant has won several awards and together with its famous owner spearheaded the movement towards locally sourced and organic food.

Yan Ting at the St. Regis Singapore

Yang Ting at the St. Regis in Singapore promises to dish out innovative interpretations of Cantonese classics.  Inspired by culinary masterpieces from the Ming dynasty, this elegant restaurant showcases a fine-dining experience that is best savored over a long and lazy Sunday afternoon lunch. Which is why the Weekend Dim Sum is such a great opportunity to show up here if you don't mind the families and resulting higher decibel levels.

Greek in Pune

It was a pleasant Sunday morning in Pune when we began contemplating lunch.  A quick search on the Internet threw up a new name, and one that seemed to have several fans. Greek food in Pune, really?  That sounded exciting enough to try out.  So off we went to their Sunday lunch buffet. The restaurant itself is a cross between a roadside shack and a real restaurant, which is why I had never noticed it even though it occupies space right on North Main Road between ABC Farms and Hard Rock Cafe.

Aveline

Foodies in San Francisco, there is reason to rejoice! Aveline, which opened its doors in the Warwick Hotel in the theater district, is one of the best things that has happened to the dining scene in this city lately. Chef Casey Thompson's new restaurant is my top recommendation right now for those looking for a fancy dinner night.

From Iran With Love

Iranian food continues to be called Persian in the United States; not sure if this is the Freedom Fries phenomenon at work! Iran’s ancient culture dates as far back as 2000 BC, sharing borders with then Indian territories. Just going by the names of culinary ingredients and food alone, I can see some influence of India and Iranian influences in each others' cuisine.  Sabzi, shorba, chai, sherbat, dopiazah, koofteh, and lobia are words that mean the same thing in both Persian and Hindi. While India discovered the fragrant rice dishes garnished with dry fruits, Persia took back spicy curry recipes that influence its stews to this date.

Hops & Hominy

The quirkily named Hops & Hominy is a recent attempt by three friends to bring a modern version of Southern cuisine to San Francisco.  Located in a small alley near Union Square this restaurant succeeds in putting together a killer combination of quirky cocktails, a beer list from American micro-breweries and finger-lickin’ Southern dishes.

Food with a View

The Marina Bay Sands is now one of the defining landmarks of Singapore.  The three iconic curved towers supports a boat-shaped SkyPark on the top that houses a large infinity pool, restaurants and a garden. As you can imagine, the views from the SkyPark on the 57th level is spectacular. Ku De Ta is one of their several trendy restaurants with a club lounge located right here on the top of the city.

Gourmet Bites

I ate at several new restaurants around the world during the past few months.  Some I have written about, but others never got their own post.  I also had a chance to return back to some old favourites.  Here’s a round up on the best experiences of the last six months.

A Weekend at Gulmarg

This was my first ever trip to Kashmir. I am always excited when I travel to a new destination, but this was particularly special.  My wife and I were getting a chance to attend a summit at Gulmarg over the July 4th weekend; with much of our colleagues in the USA on vacation, this was when we could get some time off from our daily routine.  This was also the first time in quite a while when we would be traveling without our daughter.

Dinner at Plume

Plume is an extraordinary restaurant that can instantly transport you to an earlier age, one of unhurried opulence, with French food so amazing you can save that trip across the Atlantic.  Set within the luxurious and classy Jefferson Hotel located only a few blocks away from Washington D.C.’s most famous address, this restaurant is characterised by multiple segregated dining spaces, immaculately dressed tables, crystal chandeliers and soft classical music in the background.

Along the Potomac

I was back again in Washington DC, but unlike my last few trips this one was for an industry event that was being held in a resort hotel on the banks of the Potomac.  The Gaylord Resort and Convention Center is a large hotel set in National Harbor, an area that is specially designed for recreational tourists.  Restaurants, shopping and waterfront bars abound, and in line with the trend now-a-days, you also have the 'Capital Wheel’ if you wish to get a bird’s eye view of this capital city.

The Brooklyn Shuffle

Pune needed a good burger place and now we have it!  The Brooklyn Shuffle opened its doors several months back, but I got around to visiting only recently. Located in the heart of Koregaon Park, right opposite Post 91 in the Sanskruti complex on Lane 7, the restaurant is quite a delight.

Briefly Orlando

I was in Orlando on business, which is rather rare. Instead of having to spend the days outdoors lining up for rides, here I was stuck in a conference room while the day was bright and sunny outside.  However, what we missed during the days, we made up during the evenings.  A couple of dinners at restaurants here were quite memorable and here’s a brief summary of my impressions.

Cinque Terre

“If you ever get tired of life, bypass the therapist and  decamp immediately to Cinque Terre.  Here five crazily constructed fishing villages, set amid the most dramatic coastal scenery on the planet, ought to provide enough to bolster the most jaded spirit.”  That is how Lonely Planet describes this amazing place, and I could not have done a better job.   Our two days here were a delightful addition to an already memorable Tuscan vacation.

Dining in Florence

Italy and good food are synonymous! This is particularly true in Tuscany, the land that produces much of Italy's Chianti wines, porcini mushrooms, rare truffles and Pecorino cheese among other delights.  While Tuscan cuisine have evolved from simple peasant fare that tend to involve offals and four-finger thick steaks, there is enough for the non-adventurous foodie too.

Touring Tuscany

The famously pretty Tuscan countryside was lush and green in its spring-time glory.  As we drove out of Florence, we saw undulating landscapes dotted with Tuscany's signature cypress tress, vineyards and olive trees stretched out all around us.  We spent most of our time in the Chianti area, home to the famous Italian wine, that is dotted with small farms producing dairy, meat and wines.

Home of the Medici

Since our first family vacation in Paris, we had never been able to find more than a week in Europe at a time.  While we made many memories during our trip to Rome, we had also wished we had more time to spare to explore more in that part of Italy.  This time, we had nothing to complain about!  We had all of two weeks to spend in the crucible of the Italian Renaissance and the heart of Tuscany: the city of Florence.

Delightfully Swiss

I was in Zurich on a short business trip and I decided to make up for not finding the time here while on my Switzerland vacation a few years back.   I had then taken the train directly to the picturesque hill town of Grindelwald, without getting out of Zurich airport.  This time I was lodged at the atmospheric Hotel Schweizerhof right in the heart of this city.