Confessions of a Food-Holic

A lot has been said about Chennai's food habits..often referred to as the land of idli-dosa and vada. Well...in just 4 months, I've realised there's much more to it than said. All u need is thodi is mehnat, thodi si bhukh and sum gud company :). And ofcourse next time..if ever u end up in Chettinad land...u know whom u shud contact first ;)....Read on

Confessions of a Food-Holic

Dawn-dusk, noon-night, they are always full,

Murugan ka Idli is super cool.

For sasta, sundar and tikau Parotta Kuruma to load,

Get down at Sangeetha’s on Eldams Road.

The most authentic and spicy Chettinadu delicacies by far,

They are the Karaikudi’s and the Anjappar.

Bringing you the Hyderabad ka nawabi feel,

Go for an unlimited lunch at Andhra Meal.

But if you are a Tandoori Chicken ka fan,

Do try out at the all new Afghan.

Quick grab of Shawarma Roll with an Arabian Knight,

Sea Shell is the place to halt ur bike.

If u are Chinki Khana ka dewaana,

Must go places are Wangs Kitchen and Mainland China.

And to add flavours from Bangkok, KL and Jakarta

Dig in at T-Nagar’s Pelita.

Jab yaad aaye ghar ki Gujarati Thali, :(

Karo jaake Mansukh ki plate khali. :)

Aur jab yaad aaye sadaa Punjaab da Khana,

Bole to The Dhaba ya Dhaba Express me hi jana. :D

Known for its Sasta and Hygenic street food,

Sandwich near Alsa mall is real good.

Missed ur breakfast coz u woke up late,

Dont worry, there’s Fresh-o-Fresh mate.

Be it office, be it home, be it dinner, be it lunch

Always contact Mr. Krishnan from Food Punch :P

Delivering biryani at your doorstep faster than ever,

Just dial Thalapakattu – The Chennai Rawther!!

Out for a team lunch when company pays the bill,

Copper Chimney is the place where you can eat at will ;)

Shudh shakahari with prices just right,

Cream Center and Eden are a veggies delight

Going on a continental date with ur GF??

Please Don’t Mess With The Skinny Chef ;)

Pious ambience, French coffee and a winter mist,

Set up your evening date only at Amethyst. ;P

With Hukka and Strawberry Shake at Blitzz,

You’ll never give ur Friday night cricket match a miss.

For Weekend Party with dance, chics and booze,

10D, Bikes n Barrels, Geoffrey’s, Zara’s and Breeze is where you cut loose. B-)

And after all this, if you are suffering from Monday morning hangover

There’s always a masala maggi with a red label tea at my place waiting for you to come over :):):)

Sweetest Deadline Ever

An odd Saturday... Sumwhere in Chettinad land, there’s a tall guy(TG) sitting at his T3-26 desk planning to leave office early n hav a couple of large RCs at his latest Adda ,The Andhra club in Chennai (strange but true...). Its 11AM and he gets a call from a female colleague (L1) sitting sum 15 desks away who asks him to hold on. Shortly another female colleague (L2) joins in...sum 1500kms away from Delhi office and then the surprise entry...a lady manager (PM) joins in...sum 1000kms away in Mumbai.

PM: Hello L1,L2 hope u r doin well...how it goin in ur cities??

L1,L2: Yeah..All iiizzz well....some blah blah..(Smiles all around)

PM: Hello TG..Howr u?? Its been a month since u joined us and we’ve hardly interacted (we actually never had :P)...ive been really busy travelling these days with all these client meetings..

TG: Hmmm.. i know dat...(the other PM made me work 60hrs in 4 days for the ppts which u PMs presented :-X)

PM: Anyways.. .team we have an emergency now...the XYZ client has sent us an urgent requirement...

TG: (??? Clueless...I thought it was an introductory call..client kaha se gaya :P)

PM(contd.): TG...ive already spoken to ur local PM..ull b working on this project from now on for the next 3 days atleast...

TG: ok...(still clueless...but wat project is she talking abt???)

PM: L1,L2...since uve been working on this project already...sumone pls share all the necessary files with TG...

L1: ok..ill do dat.

TG gets a new mail in his inbox immediately...

PM: So L1...ull do this blah blah blah...and L2 u take up this blah blah...

L1: aye aye PM

L2: aye aye PM

TG :(No comments)

PM: TG...r u there??

TG: ya ya...(desperately trying to run thru the ppt which he had jus received... but ??? still persists)

PM: So TG..ull do the remaining blah blah balh..

TG(hesitantly): ok(but why me :(...i don’t hav a clue abt it)

PM: Gr8...So any questions team??

L1 & L2: yes...some blah blah blah...

PM(replies): blah blah blah....

TG: (was still goin thru the ppt meanwhile...but still clueless...was wondering wat question to ask :P)

And then from nowhere... came the SWEETEST DEADLINE EVER...

PM: Hey team...one more thing...”I don’t wanna see any of u guys working on Sunday i.e. tomorrow” (which means we had to do it today itself!!)

L1,L2: Hmmmm...

TG(WTF!!): But hey PM...u mean...(then pauses for a moment)

Theres a sound of a baby crying...

PM(interrupts): and yeah team...”I am working from home today”...so in case of any queries u can call me up on my cell...

L1,L2: ok

TG: (had questions to ask...but the PM answered them all with her last 2 statements :P)

PM: Gr8...Bye all (all smiles)

L1,L2: Bye PM (all smiles)

TG: (With his head glued to his monitor...Bye Bye RC :()

Mad-raa(t)s ke Macchar

Arz hai (Based on a ture story)....

Odomas bhi ab ho chuka hai Bebas,
Kyunki unki(macchar) kismat me tha Paul the Octopus

Jet ko bhi maine kar diya Eject,,
Kyunki uska bhi fuss ho gaya Rocket

All Out bhi karta raha raat bhar Shout,
Par uska bhi ho gaya total Rout

Hit ki smell bhi ab lagti hai total Shit,
Kyunki wo na bitha saka apna Strategic Fit

Good Night bhi raat bhar karta raha Fight,
Par use bhi kar gaye wo Bite

Bachi sirf Mortein, jise jalayi maine Teen,
Par wo bhi na bacha saki meri ratoon ki Neend

Hey Ishwar..Ab tu hi kuch kar,
Mere Ghar ko in aatankiyo se muqt Kar,
Uff!! Yeh Mad-raa(t)s ke Macchar!! :P

Chettinad Diaries

Episode-1 Day-0 se Day-0 tak

21^st Dec 2009, the first ever day-0 of my life and probably one of the most important days of my career too...”socha tha is din duniya jeet lunga...but apni to lag gayi :P”. Inspired from the movie Kaante, this is what was going through my mind, sitting on the edge of Nariman Point with 3 more friends on this dreadful day. What followed next for sum 200 odd days was even more miserable and the lesser I mention it the better it is.

Cut! Cut! Cut!...next shot pls

Hmmm...so then came yet another day-0 of my life, 11^th July 2010, the day before I was supposed to join a “strategic growth consulting firm” at a location not so “strategic”, where leave aside “growth” and u need “consulting” services for mere survival...(dats wat I was told abt d place..no offence!!)

So the day began at 4AM and soon I was on a window seat some 12000ft above the sea level with a thick layer of clouds underneath and a rising sun from the east. Wow!!! A Kodak Moment!!! Bas ab 1 cup “hot coffee” ho jaye...So in comes a “smoking hot”, tall (almost 6”) air hostess serving with a 32 all-out J to each n every passenger in front of me. An innocent smiling me asks for a coffee and she obliges, but this time...not a single piece of white calcium to be seen L (koi na...aise bade bade desho me aisi choti choti baatien hoti rehti hai :P). So I peep outside the window again sipping my “cold”(now :() coffee and guess what... Yet another Kodak moment!! Wow!!...Sum 2-3 kms in my line of sight, I see an aircraft piercing through the rising sun at 800kmph, with thick dark clouds underneath. Wish I had a camera then!!! But soon after, the thick dark clouds vanished, and the sun came beating down. I could feel the heat of it on my window seat as I realised that I was now in a not so “strategic” location.

So welcome to Chennai...jaha H aur M free me milta hai..aur jaha Tarang, Tharang, Tarangam, Tharangam...sab ek hai :P. It is also the home of Chennai Super Kings (dats wat the welcome board at arrival terminal read). And jab baat ho cricket ki...to Guruprem to hai hi :). So in comes one of the characters of my “Kaante scene” in his dazzling metallic grey “swift” with his ‘lambe haath’ coiled all over the steering wheel, though he wasn’t “swift” enough to be there on time and had arrived only after all the passengers of the next incoming flight had left the airport :P. But koi na...der aaye par durust aaye...aakhir dost hai apna J.

On our way to my hotel, Guruprem feels hungry...so we stop at Murugan Idli for b/f. Even though a coffee there was as expensive as the one in my flight..i m sure it wud hav tasted much better specially after wat I had been through in the morning :P. Anyways I make a cautious start by ordering a standard Idli-Vada-Sambhar (price same as that of a coffee!!) which to my surprise was served alongwith 5 chutneys..and trust me...it was the best south Indian food I ever had in my life. All of a sudden my apprehensions for the south Indian food which had been hovering arnd me for the last fews days began vanishing :).

So we move on and sumhow find our way through the streets of Chennai to my cmpy guest house “Kailash”. We enter the reception area and Ooh La La...a big pause... 3 blondes (1 mom with her 2 hotties..i guess) who were in town for a ‘social’ cause, trying to access the wi-fi near the reception lounge. I was happy that I wasn’t the only foreigner in the guest house :P. Fir kya...me n guruprem with spirits higher than mount “kailash” decide to spend our entire free time for the next 10 days getting wi-fi'ed at Kailash guest house reception lounge. I need to “socialise” in a new place ;)

We check in n freshen up at my room. Its 11.30AM and we move again, after crossing almost half the city and taking numerous right turns (i guess..it cud hav been done with a simple L shaped road too :P)we finally reach Guruprem’s place, the tallest building in the locality just like his longest hands :P. After having a fantastic lunch (Thnk u aunty :)) n a quick nap we move onto a very popular shop in Chennai which has been delivering quality vision to Chennaites for the last 40 years n y not...It had the ‘K’ factor working for it..It was “Soni Optiks” afterall :). Who says Ekta Kapoor discovered the K factor, its been working for more than 40yrs now!!!

Interestignly my dear frnd who also happens to be an optometrist is the 3^rd generation owner of it, and is one hell of a businessman. First he makes one of his customer weep by trying out the brand new lenses on her eyes and then up-sells anti itching lotions and cross-sells a ‘polarized’ sunglass to her as a complementor to the lenses. Well...dats a SIMSR MBA for you :D. (sab ganda hai par dhandha hai ye..:D

With all the ‘hot’ money in his bank a/c now, he takes me to a hot n happening hukka bar “Blitz” known for its ‘hot crowd’. No surprises here as well..as the only hot thing in the entire crowd was the poor coal burning on top of my hukka :P. The excuse...its FIFA finals today...so its a guys day out..crap!!!

Its 9.30PM n I m hungry now...time for the most awaited “Chettinad Chicken” at ‘Anjappar’..and it lived upto its expectations. Being spicy, it brought me to tears but trust me every tear spent was worth it..jus loved it n hopefully will hav it many a times in d future too . It was post dinner sutta time n very aptly we smoked a “black”...smoking away the dark black times we had been through in the last few months...n perhaps a sign of changing times :)

It was FIFA finals tonight and to add to my perfect day-0, Guruprem invited me to join his family at a pub to watch the match. But I guess I already had too much for the day (the length of my blog says it all :P) n it was time to sink in the feeling with my eyes closed. So I come back to my room thinking again “ab fir se duniya jeet lunga.....(lets c what happens now)...to be continued only if my readers survive this :P