I realize my updates on this site have been getting fewer and farther between. I wish I could say it is because I am so busy with the Lord’s work over here, but I seem to find plenty of time for doing all kinds of other things so that wouldn’t really be accurate. Rather it really doesn’t take long for a person to settle into a new environment in such a way that the exotic is merely normal, and the strange is commonplace. Very quickly your senses which were at first overload attempting to register and categorize everything lose their sharpness and assume it is all the same thing, so that if you are not actively seeking to notice it all loses focus. I will try to do a better job keep this site updated with regular material but I am not going to promise anything.
Since Dave’s recent return my life has seen more activity. For one Dave knows many restaurants around the town and likes to visit them. Generally speaking I don’t think about eating until I need to at which point I either hit up a place I already know about or make a sandwich. I haven’t done too much exploring of my own since coming here, at least not when it comes to cuisine. This last Saturday Dave and I headed out to the Taj Coromandel a ridiculously fancy hotel that cost something like $500 for their cheapest room, but that houses a very fine Sunday Buffet. And although the buffet is a little on the expensive side it is affordable as long as you don’t go too often. I wish I could tell you about what I ate there but honestly I haven’t got a clue what most of it was, other than that it was delicious. I know they had some Maki Maki which was excellent. Also the waiter asked if I wanted anything from the grill and I ended up with some lamb which was incredible. Dave wouldn’t try it because he kept says he thinks about how cute lambs are, this coming from a guy that wanted a picture of a Prussian Soldier on his business card. There was also some kind of chicken with sundried tomatoes and mushrooms stuffed inside couldn’t tell you what it was called but that didn’t stop me from eating it. All this and I haven’t even gotten to the desert table yet. And of course there was the yogurt which was absolutely superb I would go back just to eat their yogurt.
That was the Taj, now today we just got back from an Italian place that is only blocks from my house, but which I had never run across before. The owners were obviously born and bred Italians and the food seemed as genuinely Italian as one can get in India. Anything made from beef is always suspected. You just can’t find good beef in India. That is one that I know I took for granted in the US, the quality of beef. What we generally think of as low quality beef is still beyond anything I have ever found over here. So generally if you want a really good meal you avoid anything that is made out of beef. That however is obviously not too much of a problem in an Italian restaurant. I was very torn about what to choose, but finally was able to settle on some promising looking chicken lasagna with the internal promise that I would return soon to test the rest of the recipes. Whether I will or not remains to be seen, but if I had not promised myself that I would I would still be there drooling over the menu. The lasagna did turn out to be quite excellent, the only down side being we were not allowed to order wine. It is Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday today and to celebrate nobody drinks alcohol (talk about a different culture).
In the end I would suggest that anyone interested in what the food was like ought to come and try it themselves. This genuine Italian meal cost me a mere $12, including drinks, appetizer and tip. I suppose you could find it cheaper in Italy itself but then you would miss out on the stimulating Rickshaw races, and the buffalo rides that are given away free in the streets. Take care and have a good night.
- Matt