आई भवानी तू वरदायिनी व्याघ्रांबरधारिणी

Going Bananas

Every time I pop into Baskin-Robbins, I feel like having a scoop of each of the flavors on offer. Well, maybe not of the chocolate ones. But still, the sight of the deserts on offer make all thoughts about calories and cholesterol go flying right out the door. My all-time favorites are Praline & Cream and Honey Nut Crunch. I could see a lot of new flavors this time around. The guy manning the counter suggested we go for the one containing orange peals and cream, Peal & Cream, I think it was called. I am glad I listened to him. It had a refreshing taste. A must-try for anyone wanting to try something new.

The other flavor we went for was Banana Caramel. Now, for the record, I am not a fan of banana. But since there was 'Caramel' involved, I didn't mind the combination. Trust me, it was a blast! Despite the fact that the desert contained fairly huge chunks of banana, I couldn't get enough of it.

Now that's what's called 'Going Bananas'!

China Garden, Khar (W)

Chinese used to be my favorite cuisine a few years back. To be sure, I still enjoy a dish or two. But frankly, these days you can order food in any Chinese restaurant without taking as much as a glance at the menu. The same old hot and sour soup, wantons, spring rolls, Manchurian, Schezwan, chow mein, fried rice, pot rice, chilli chicken and noodles. Better to eat at home than pay for the run-of-the-mill dishes!

Then again, it gets boring to go to the same restaurants for the weekend meal. So I decided to try out China Garden at Khar (W). The decor is pretty soothing - a waterfall with turtles and koi fish at the downstairs reception, a tall statue of Buddha on your right as you step out the elevator and muted lighting. The menu had a couple of new dishes on offer. Here is the thing - on one hand you want to try something new and on the other, you want to stick to the tried-and-tested ones because there is no guarantee that the chef will be able to do justice to what is promised on the menu.

So we chose the middle path - fried chicken wantons, chicken in black bean sauce and steamed rice. The wantons were crisp, the chicken at the center was perfectly cooked and the accompanying sauce was a perfect blend of the sweet and sour tastes. If I can make a suggestion - in addition to the sauce served with the wantons, try the black (this is spicy!) and red ones kept on the table. The wantons taste great with the mix.

Fried Chicken Wantons

The chicken in black bean sauce was a big disappointment though. The gravy needed a bit more salt. But I suspect that even with the right amount of salt it wouldn't have tasted any different than any usual Chinese gravy. There wasn't absolutely anything to connect it to the 'black bean sauce' mentioned on the menu. Though the dish contained fair quantity of chicken pieces and they were perfectly cooked, the gravy had failed to soak into them. Lastly, the pieces of bell pepper were too chunky for my taste.

Chicken in black bean sauce and Steamed rice

I might make a visit or two there but definitely not in near future.

A few books worth reading:

Heroine Of The Desert
No One Takes My Children
Keeping Hope Alive

A site worth visiting:

royafilmhouse.org - check out the Movies section.