Videsh Diaries - Settling In

More than a month away from home has been a journey of mixed feelings. The joy and excitement to meet new people, explore new cuisines, learn at the workplace have somehow been offset by memories of family and friends in India who I miss much. How I wish to wrap up work in office and get home to hot supper made by Aai and chit chat endlessly on the dining table.
Now the day ending meals are linked to pointers like my hunger (which I always am), energy (yo-yos) and willingness (I can be a sloth at times). One day its a hot brothy yong tau foo, other day mee goreng and on those junk craving days its a sambal chicken burger with cheesy fries. My sweet tooth surely gets its way around here - icy kacang, pandan churros, Gong Cha bubble teas.
Dad arrived few days back and voila, my India food stock was replenished. I have substituted chapatis with theplas (ODing on neat Gujju food) and there are khakras, bhakris, ladoos to munch on. I guess I am eating more of Indian snacks here than I did there. However have bid goodbye to Parle biscuits and a hi to Khon Guan biscuits.
Mornings start with a cup of "Kopi C Kosong" and when its too hot with Iced Milo. These are the beverages which surely fuel the fast walking and hard working Singaporeans. In the initial days lunch break at 12 felt weird but now the tummy growls by 12:15.
The initial stay at the service apartment has been comfortable so far with the only efforts being to cook meals (when felt like) and make my laundry (Ironing my clothes is a favorite stress-buster).
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Food Trysts The Aussie Way

After a 15 hour long journey I reached Sydney late on a Monday night. So my first meal in Aus was a Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken ordered in my room.I was well fed on the flight where Singapore Airlines served high notch gourmet food one would never expect up in the air.

The Book My Chef feature on the flights is great and I enjoyed my roasted chicken stuffed with mushroom and cheese and served with buttery polenta. The selection of beverages and snacks onboard is phenomenal and I tucked into my favorite ginger ale, nuts, mocha and cookies. A special mention for the Chicken Noodle Soup which was extremely comforting as I enjoyed all the latest Hollywood flicks sprawling on the A380 recliners.

My first day in Sydney started early at 8 in the workshop and the chai lattes served in the office cafeteria helped me stay fresh and awake. After a fruitful day 1 at work we headed to the city for an official team dinner. The venue was Sails at Lavender Bay which had a brilliant view overlooking the Harbor Bridge, Luna Park and ofcourse, the Opera House. It was a four course meal with all the frills and finery. The micro greens and goat cheese salad tasted as good as it was plated. The entree was Seared Scallops with pickled mushrooms and a dash of white onion puree. The best was yet to come which was the main dish - Roasted Grimaud Duck Breast with cous cous, watercress and toasted almonds. The carrot and orange garnishing on it blended well to satiate my "Masterchef Australia" dreams. The dessert that night was a yoghurt parfait again served the fine dine way.

Sails at Lavendar 

The rest of the week was hectic at work barely allowing time to explore around but one of the days headed to the Cockle Bay Wharf with the steak-loving colleagues. I went easy with grilled chicken for the main course and the fried calamari was great. My tryst with the Aussie gelatos started this evening when I tried the Salted Caramel one at Gelatissmo

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Over the weekend I headed to the city and stayed near The Rocks. Simply loved the harbour area with the blue seas, fleeting seagulls and the heritage architecture. Burned the piled on calories with morning runs covering the Opera House, Royal Botanical gardens, Macquarie's Chair and Harbour Bridge. The breakfast on Saturday morning was a quick pick-up enroute Taronga Zoo from the Renaissance Cafe - grabbed a Chicken and Mushroom Pie and Skinny Cappuccino. Thanks FourSquare for the recommendation as the pie was the best I have ever had with creamy filling and buttery crust.
Lunch on the go was Salted Caramel Magnum - it was silver to celebrate their silver anniversary in Aus. Mid-evening indulgence was Matcha Frappucchino and old fav McDs chicken burger. Gorged on my food enroute the ferry to Manly Beach. Breezy winds, choppy water didn't deter the surfers there and I simply closed my eyes to soak into the atmosphere.
In the evening stepped out for some pub crawling with my American colleagues and went to the bustling Opera bar, the Stitch and the Glenmore rooftop. The later one is a rooftop beer garden with scenic views of the Circular Quay and soulful Irish food.


On Sunday the plan was to head to the happening Bondi beach. Before that made a fuel stop at the Fine Food Store in the Rocks. This place was packed to the brim at 8:30 in the morning. Ordered Buckwheat Waffles with Candied Pecans and Blueberries served with Dulche de leche icecream and caramelised bananas. The only thought that raced in my mind as I devoured each bite was when will be the next time I would get to eat such a delicious waffle breakfast. Washed it down with a macchiato which had pretty latte art. The 8 km walk from Coogee beach to Bondi was scenic and breathtaking at every bend we took on the boardwalk perched on the ocean. The heat left us wanting for lemonades and delicious food - which was Aussie fish and chips and mezze platter. Joined in the outdoorsy locals here in sunbathing and dipping in the ocean.  "Messina" gelateria of the Masterchef Australia fame is located near the beach and we waited in the queue for our turn. I treated myself to double scoop - one of their legendary Salted Caramel with White Chocolate chips and second of Peanut Butter Cookie crumble. Foodorgasm at its best this experience was !
My trip to Sydney city centre was incomplete till I reached Adriano Zumbo's flagship store. Made my way to the Star and treated myself to awesome macaroons or as they called "Zumborons".

The rest of my trip was work, work and work. However I discovered a gem of an Italian restaurant in my workplace vicinity called "Via Napoli". I ended up going here two nights in a row with the team. Brilliant pizza, appetizers and pastas. I ordered fried mozarella, Zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta, margherita pizza and two types of gnocchis. Infact the gnocchi which is handmade from potato and semolina was the best I have ever tried and that was what made me try both the variants in my dinners here.

The Australian cheese is extremely fresh and perfectly used in most cuisines. Brie with crackers, Blue cheese with pears, cheddar on toast are fabulous yet simple combinations to try. The seafood (tried prawns, mussels, barramundi, basa) in Australia is of excellent quality and yummy to dig in. Made my way to Coles and shopped for cheese, weetabix, timtams, chocolates to last me for a while. The flight back was superly comfortable thanks to SQ hospitality. Munched on nuts, sipped my latte and enjoyed some more movies. What a memorable trip this was to the continent of Australia :D

Murugan Anna's Idly Shop

Braving the Chennai rickshaw ride I reached Murugan Idly shop this weekend for my lunch. It has a very humble ambience and the menu is a one pager with so many delicacies. We ordered the most obvious Idlys, Onion Uttapam, Butter Dosa, Rava Masala Dosa, Masala Dosa, Tamarind Rice, Tomato Rice and sweet Pongal. Seriously, all of this and we repeated most of the items.

The food is served the traditional way on banana leaves with varied chutneys of which I liked the pepper based one and the moolgapuddy.The idlys were hot and soft, just perfect to dig in.The tamarind rice and tomato rice were both tangy and yummy.

The onion uttapam and butter dosa though were high on calories but who cares when they melt in your mouth. The masala dosa variants were satisfactory too. The sweet pongal was different and nice.

Murugan Idly Shop aka MIS also has a sweets corner where I picked the milk pedas for home and they were delicious.

On the whole I loved this place and heading here the first thing I land in Chennai next.

Nikki's Rating: 4.5/5

Vanilla goes Nutty Sundae

When the tummy rumbles in the middle of the night or you are unable to sleep because of unsatisfied cravings look no further. Necessity is the mother of invention and this sundae is an absolute brilliant concoction of it.
What you need:
> Plain Vanilla Bean ice cream (I used the Walls one and you may just about use any leftover icecream)
> Nutella ( I shall award a Nobel to the founders )
> Peanut Butter ( Used the Planters' creamy one but hey you can try the crunchy too )
> Dry Fruits ( Walnuts, pistachio went in this )
> Finally, Oreo cookies ( Love the Chocolate cream ones )

Method:
Scoop out the ice cream in a large dessert bowl and this becomes you base.
Toss a spoonful of nutella and peanut butter over this.
Crumble the oreo cookies and add it to this dreamy sundae.
The final toppings are finely chopped dry fruits.
Voila! Your sundae is ready to be attacked.

Love this one for the sweet, salty and nutty taste. Quick to make and much faster to finish off.

Namma MTR since 1924

 A foodie's trip to Bengaluru is incomplete without eating at MTR. Had breakfast at their Indiranagar outpost. Ordered Vada, Chow chow bath, Neer Dosa, Masala dosa. The medu vada was crisp, tasty served with a good chutney and sambhar. Neer dosa was thin yet fluffy and paired with a tangy tomato chutney and a caramelised grated coconut. Masala dosa was comforting but fairly okay. The show stealer was the chow chow bath with two mounds of the savory and sweet bath aka sheera. Made in ghee I relished each bite and this is what shall bring me back here. Wash down the food with their famous filter coffee and left happy !

Rating: 3.5 / 5
Location: 6 outlets in Bengaluru

Getting Slurpy at Ambretto

Tucked in the cozy suburb of Dadar-Matunga is the newly opened Ambretto, a startup by two engineer foodies Anuradha and Sagar.
On my entry I was floored with the fresh interiors, big smiles and knowledgeable servers who guided me through their brilliant sandwich and salad menu.
To start with I ordered the Bite Club Empanadas, which inside its freshly baked crescent dough, has sumptuous, creamy Pesto Chicken filling. The portion was good and truly appreciated the small details as to the customised wrapping paper and plastic boxes in which the food was served.
Along with the food do order their refreshing Black Currant iced tea.
In addition ordered a submarine and a salad for a takeaway and after a 30 min ride home we ate the "Pirates of the 'Curry' Bean" sub stuffed with Caribbean styled curry marinated chicken strips, and the Meaty Fajita salad customized with lime cilantro and ranch dressing and the special fajita spiced chicken and peppers.
Totally recommend adding the fiery Sriracha sauce to your sandwiches which is not available at many other eateries in India.
On the whole - applauds for their food variety, quality, service and next time you drop by or buzz them for a delivery - surely ask them for their suggestions as "Hell Yeah !" they know their food well.

Rating: 4.5
Address: 8, The Nest, Manorama Nagarkar Marg, Opposite Starcity Theatre, Mahim, Mumbai

Dine and Drink the JamJar Style

Tucked in the quaint seaside locality of Versova it's easy to miss JamJar Diner but here were us locating the place from Google Maps GPS at 10 am on a Sunday morning.

The turquoise blue exterior opens up to a well thought architectural delight with a well placed Jukebox, arrays of books and games, with three different seating areas being the bar, tables upstairs and couches on a mosaic terrace.

We opted for the breakfast menu wherein my friend ordered the Giant Jamjar Popeye and Coffee + Hazelnut Shake and I went in for the Pepper Garlic Chicken sandwich topped up with Peanut Butter + Banana + Chocolate Shake.

The food is not only delightful to the eyes but great on the taste buds and the JamJar name is appropriate to those shakes being served in cute jamjars.

The service was friendly, prompt and I like places where the servers know the food selection inside out.

This was my review for the breakfast and can't wait to visit again for a lovely evening out to try their other fare !

Peanut Butter + Banana + Chocolate Milkshake served in my JamJar :)

JamJar Diner - Nikki's Rating - 3/5
7A & B, Arram Nagar 2, Behind Washing Bay, Yari Road, Versova, Andheri West, Mumbai