Author: manuscrypts

  • Thulsi N Thyme

    Kyunki sauce bhi kabhi herb thi. Two can play at that game eh? But seriously, a restaurant with a name like that does manage to grab your attention. I’d been seeing the name a bit at my regular online haunts, but this was one time when one column led to another. Well, almost. I was covering Poshvine (if you’re a foodie in Bangalore, you should check it out) for my startup column, and seeing Thulsi N Thyme listed there, went ahead and reserved a table via Poshvine.

    TnT (from now on) is located on 100 feet Road, Indiranagar, after the 12th Main signal when going from Koramangala, (map) above Touche and Cream Centre. For now, only the 4th floor is open though they plan to expand to the next soon. The resturant has, what they call an Indopean theme, in terms of the menu. The alfresco section, with the tree canopy around, did manage to provide a wonderful ambiance, despite the mild rain and strong winds that played havoc with the menu card. In a wonderful display of un-snobbery, one of the service staff even quipped that they should probably look at heavier menu cards. Nice 🙂 The plan is to provide some kind of screens soon. On to the menu (there is a beverage menu too, and they seem to have a decent collection of wines, cocktails, mocktails….)

       

    (click for larger image)

    In addition to the Indopean menu, there was also a pure North Indian 2 pager. We started with an Asparagus and Red Capsicum soup. A deliciously thick soup, and presented well. The red capsicum portion hit the spot but the asparagus portion disappointed slightly, and the hard garlic bread didn’t help either. We then tried the Burrah chop Lazeez, which was reasonably good. The meat was tender, and the char grilling only a couple of notches below perfect. There seemed to be a cardamon twist to the mayo(?) that came with it. Quite good, as was the tapenade.

    For the main course, we asked for the Stuffed Chicken Makhani and the Baked India Salmon. The fish was wonderfully cooked and the only small let down was again the bread. The stuffing in the chicken was goat cheese, which together with the subtly flavoured risotto, ensured that we were stuffed too. 🙂 Unfortunately that meant we couldn’t try the desserts. 🙁

    The thing that works for Thulsi N Thyme is the balance they maintain between the Indian and European constituents in the dishes, and yet manage to bring out both. It’s quite a fresh take on the dishes we’re used to. Well worth a visit, and if you want to make it a bit more special, go back to the top, and get there the same way I did. 🙂

    Thulsi N Thyme, 4th & 5th Floor, #762, 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar Ph: 25271555/666

  • A social club of one

    Sometime back, I read a post on @daddysan’s blog on choices and how we “defend freedom of choice but we criticize those who exercise it because those choices may not be concurrent with ours.”  To be noted that the thrust of the argument is not on ‘labeling’ products/services per se, but labeling the people who consume it, more so in cases when it’s a personal choice and doesn’t endanger or even affect others in a significant way.

    I found this post interesting because I have always been intrigued by choices and their significance, not just from the perspective of whether they are choices at all, but also from that of the judgmental robes we like to wear. The last time I had written about the latter was in the context of expertise. But a comment on this post gave me quite a new direction for thought. More on that in a bit.

    In the context of the post itself, though I understand that labeling (and battles around them) has probably been around from the time the species became 2 in number, I think the publishing power that the internet created has taken it to a whole new level. So while “people who smoke/drink versus those who don’t”, “people who apply coconut oil on their hair versus those who don’t” and so on have had battles fought with much fervour, the internet’s ability to aggregate opinion has escalated many issues to war levels, like the examples daddysan has used.

    And so I wonder if it has something to do with the ‘Like’ necessity that has increased its hold over our lives recently. Social endorsement, even from total strangers. When I am a consumer of X, and you chose to buy Y instead of X, it is as though you have not ‘Liked/Retweeted’ my awesome intelligence in choosing X. Peer reaction was probably a major factor in my choice, whether I acknowledge it or not, and in saying that I have gone wrong, you have invoked my ego and brought up the subject of whether I chose X purely for its tangible or even intangible benefits or whether I chose it to conform to some section’s decree. Now, you probably didn’t mean to do any of this, and also are under some sort of peer review process yourself, but that’s irrelevant and it’s now war. Just like many of the Likes/shares/retweets are from people I don’t even really know, the war just brings in all sorts of strangers and camps.

    For the record, I have exactly one Apple product, which was gifted to me, and if it has any iron parts, it should be rusted by now. I read Chetan Bhagat and when I get a chance, take potshots at him. Just can’t resist. 😀 I think Ponytail sucks, and again, don’t lose a chance to crack a line at his expense, but I have held back much since the time he made a movie with the awesome Funny Deol. Joke sako to Joke low is the policy.

    But, enough. The comment that made me think was made by Jo Chopra McGowan, and it was about how individual choices add up, affect others, and could probably end up in impacting popular culture/lifestyles etc. I’d never thought of it that way. But yes, most of us/our actions influence at least one other person, and so the chain goes. More often than not, our reasons for doing so remain un-shared, and somehow one personal choice could create a conformity wave. Obviously the easy way to stop it is to make conscious choices and that brings us to the vicinity of square one. 🙂

    until next time, unheard mentality!

  • Abandon : A Romance

    Pico Iyer

    I’m quite a fan of Pico Iyer’s travelogues, so this was a book that had to be checked out. The protagonist is John Macmillan, an Oxford-educated Englishman, in California to study the work of the Sufi poet, Rumi, and complete his thesis under the guidance of his professor Sefadhi. On a trip to Damascus, he happens to meet a reclusive professor, who requests him to carry a package to California, to be handed over to a Kristina Jensen. While doing that, he happens to meet Camilla, Kristina’s sister, who, despite her flighty and fragile nature, makes inroads into his life. And then starts a journey that’s part a search for an Iranian manuscript, part an inward search for John, much like the sufis – “We are even mysterious to ourselves, they believe: a part of us going through the rituals of our daily life, while another part, a deeper part, cries out for whatever it is that can take us back. The stranger whose voice we recognize as our own.“, “..for the true Sufi, the looking is the key. Even if you don’t know what you’re looking for.“

    The word ‘Abandon’ too can be seen from different perspectives – from the Sufis’ mystical version of abandoning themselves to a higher power, John’s need to let go of his notions and caution, and Camilla’s seemingly unconscious way of living her life in abandon, even as she fears that John might her leave her because of it. To me, the novel by itself was a kind of ‘abandon’, just like John’s thesis in the book – as though the author worked on a structure for some part before, towards the end, he let the work chart its own course.

    I do think the book might have a lot of subtext that deals with Islam, its interpretations, and its relationships with the rest of the world, but I’m not really qualified to explore those aspects. Even otherwise, its a very good read, in which there seem to be layers hidden beneath each statement, waiting to be uncovered, just like the excellent poetry that is shared within.

  • It’s not just a car..

    He stood watching the children play with the car. The car reminded him of himself. Ravaged by fate, time and humans. He still remembered the day he had left it at the crossroad, trying to escape the cops. Five years ago. Time to start afresh. Maybe he would start with finding the car’s original owners.

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

    For those unfamiliar with the genre, that was a 55 word story, something I haven’t done in a while. The story behind writing this is probably more interesting. I met Ideasmith for the first time recently, and the first thing she asked was why I no longer wrote them. I could only smile. The 55s were a phase. So this one is specially for her. 🙂

    Later the same day, I met a few other friends for dinner. The conversation somehow moved to how, on a cold morning a long time ago, I had abandoned my first vehicle (the ‘famous’ Kiney that fell in love with the mechanic and found excuses to visit him) in front of the workshop because I couldn’t take it along to our new accommodation. By that time, many of its parts had been spared for the newer vehicle. The conversation thus moved on to abandoned cars. You must’ve come across a few parked on the road – without tyres, insides lined with dust, torn seating, the model usually belonging to an earlier era, and now either ignored or the local kids’ play item . I have always been fascinated by them. For me, they are like snapshots in time. The end of some story. A cross road. A decision. To move on, the car not factoring in the rest of the story. The humans involved and the circumstances that made them abandon the car is always a potential story. Just like the 55 above.

    until next time, it’s a caaaar story 😉

  • Kumarakom

    The review was first published in Bangalore Mirror.

    Thanks to HSR Layout’s proximity to Koeramangala, some would say that it is one of the first areas that have been earmarked for expansion in the Mallu global domination plans. So it’s no surprise that Kumarakom, after opening outlets in Chennai and the international Malayali homeland Dubai, chose to set up shop here. Kumarakom is better known as a tourist destination in Kerala, located near Kottayam, and with the Vembanad Lake as its backdrop.

    Kumarakom in HSR has a the BDA complex as the backdrop, but makes it up with an ambience that immediately transports you to Kerala – a décor that includes a few mural paintings, a charupadi in some areas, a chuttuvilakku, and even right down to the boat-shaped salt’n’pepper holder on the table. The music, though, moved from Malayalam movie soundtracks to 90s pop and then lounge music in the space of two hours.

    The menu does provide a range of options from traditional Kerala cuisine, and if for some reason, those fail to impress you much, there are some Tandoori and Chinese options! Here’s the Kerala cuisine part

     

     

    In case soups work better for you, the mildly spicy Kozhi Kurumulaku soup (chicken and black pepper corn respectively) would be a good bet. We ignored the Veg Spring Rolls, Chicken Lollipops and Katti Rolls and decided to go for the ‘Chenda Muriyan Kappa with Mulaku Chammanthi’ (tapioca with chutney in case you are Malayalam challenged), Stuffed Squid Fry and Green-masala-fried fish. The last two items were not available, so we switched to the more standard Koonthal (squid) Fry and promoted a main course dish ‘Karimeen Pollichathu’ to opener status. I was initially quite dismayed on account of the minuscule Chammanthi (chutney) provided with the Kappa, but soon found that they had perfectly nailed the spicy green chilli-salt flavour, a small quantity of which can last several rounds of Kappa. The tapiocas too had been boiled to perfection. The Karimeen Pollichathu is priced according to size (so ask beforehand) and cost us Rs 400, but the Pearlspot fish grilled perfectly, with a banana leaf wrap, and a spicy sweet and tangy ‘secret masala’ was totally worth it. The squids in the Koonthal Fry were perfectly fried and the masala had permeated enough to make the dish wholesomely flavourful.

    The main course is easily skewed towards non-vegetarians, though the creamy, coconut milk-based Vegetable Stew would find favour with all. It is difficult to identify a favourite among the non-veg main course dishes, because the masalas involved were only separated by fine nuances. I would pick the Duck Roast, for its coconut milk-based mildly spicy, thick gravy, and meat that was tender. The Mutton Roast, a dry dish with a tasty curry leaves flavour, would be a close second. The Naadan Kozhi curry is also a coconut milk-based preparation and is a thinner version of the Duck Roast. The Meat Roast could’ve been better, as the masala was more fluid than usual, and missed the generous coconut sliver presence that makes the dish special. The Prawns Fry got the frying part right, but lacked the zing that the squid’s masala had provided. The Fish Moilee was a bit of a disappointment on account of its blandness. The soft appams with crispy edges proved to be a favourite, and the amazing pace at which they appeared at the table was only matched by the speed with which they disappeared soon after. The ‘alcoholic’ version – Kallappam (Kallu = toddy) managed to get the flavour, albeit mildly. The Porotta was also perfect with just the right amount of flakiness. The Puttu was a mild disappointment as it was a tad too powdery. The Thattu Dosa was unavailable for comment.

    On paper, the dessert options would make you salivate in anticipation – Ela Ada, Ethakka Appam, Ethakka Roast, Jackfruit with Coconut and Paani, and so on. But we were brought back to earth with the now familiar ‘Unavailable’. The Caramelised Dried Ethappazham turned out to be a bit too syrupy and had less-than-ripe bananas and the Ada Pradhaman was quite insipid too.

    Kumarakom does quite a good job of delivering authentic Kerala cuisine, and considering the portion sizes, the pricing is also just right – Rs.900-1000 for two. The non availability of certain dishes is thankfully compensated by the tastiness of those that made it to the table.