Sunday 15 November 2015

The Corruption of Food.

Food is the controlling force in my life. A passion, an obsession; and it is because it means so much to me that this current corruption of food as I'd like to call it, angers me. Like most things in India, when something gains momentum, everyone wants to do it. Everyone wants to be a part of it whether they're good at it for not. Clear examples are cricket and Bollywood but unfortunately, it's a lot tougher to get into either of those professions. It requires a million hours of hard work and infinite dedication and then, only if you have something extraordinary in you, you become something special.

The food industry in India, with particular reference to Mumbai has gained so much publicity over the last couple of years. Let me clarify, I'm not talking about chefs and restaurateurs who have their own restaurants and work hard at them everyday, I admire them. Really. I'm talking about the new crop of 'food people'. Social media is great and it's safe to say that I'm addicted to it but it really does, in this case, have its setbacks. It all started when the internet allowed anyone to write anything for everyone to read. Some benefited from this, their talent was recognized and they found themselves new careers that they loved. Others, regrettably wrote mediocre stuff and still thought they were good enough at it that they should make it their full time job. What right do I have to criticize these amateur go-getters? Well, it's the interenet and I can say whatever the hell I want. Seriously though, I grew up watching stalwarts like Jamie Oliver, Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston excel the way they do in their respective fields and their gift left me awestruck. The Masterchef Australia Challenge in which the contestants had to cook a dish based entirely on Matt Preston's review of it taught me just how good the man was at his job as a food critic.

Coming to that term now,"food critic". It still means something to the few purists left in the world. To a budding chef like me weeks away from graduating from Le Cordon Bleu, it means consistency, sound knowledge and sublime writing skills. Now answer me this, do you see any of the above attributes in the 'foodies' you follow on Twitter with over 10k followers? If you do, I'd like you to introduce me to them. Getting the chef label is easier than getting the food writer label, by easier I mean it's less confusing. You train to be a chef, you work at restaurants, you're a chef professionally. Whether a good or bad one, doesn't matter, it's still your profession. Food writers or food critics do not have their work so easily cut out for them. The only way they can establish themselves is by letting their readers do it for them. A self proclaimed food critic is a fraud.


Another thing that annoys me beyond imagination is that somehow, on my Twitter timeline, the words food blogger have become synonymous with the words food critic. Let me lay it out for you, if you write a blog about food, your're doing it cause you like doing it, no one's stopping you. But the day you call yourself a food critic based on this blog without any validation from your audience, you're heading down the wrong path. The interchangeable nature of these two professions reached a horrifying peak when I switched on my television and saw these bloggers, most of whom I've met and not been entirely convinced by  their food knowledge, appear as food critics on Masterchef India! I just couldn't believe it. A franchise which has people like Matt Preston at its helm was now comparing inexperienced ramblers of food to the great food critics of the world.

Still not sold? Read a food column by Nigel Slater in The Observer and then read through one of those 'top food blogs in Mumbai' by one of the 'foodies' you follow and tell me which one you like better. If you say the latter, we really have nothing more to say to one another.

The food blogging scene in Mumbai has become classically Indian, one of give and take. You tweet good things about our Winter Menu and we'll give you free food and a little social media exposure. This is fine since both parties are getting what they want and are surprisingly satisfied but we're losing the main plot here, the thing that started it all, the food. SO many restaurants are getting away with serving below average food because the "critics" that come to taste their food are only there to praise it and more importantly, tweet about it.

Associations, one in particular, have made the love of food into a lean, mean, profit-making machine. They have the word food in their name but publicity and propaganda is where their real talents lie. Bad puns, old school SMS language and vile photography skills is what their social media feed is full of. I'm not saying what they're doing is criminal, I'm just saying they're doing it under the false pretext of loving food and sharing the love for it together.

Loving food isn't greed. Loving food is tasting, thinking and pondering over a meal discussing what you love and hate about it. Thinking about the flavours and ingredients and whether they fit or don't. Food is art. Like any artist, you need that passion in you. That passion which causes you to get seriously upset when you pay good money for a bad meal. It absolutely doesn't involve getting dressed, eating free food, telling the chefs you love it cause they expect that in return for all the free food and the middle men, the associations who 'hooked you up' with this opportunity. It's sick. It's repulsive. I've been to these events a few times as the glamour of posing as a food critic was enigmatic. But like all alluring things, when you get closer, you see it for what it really is, in this case, a business, a profit machine. No passion, no sincerity, just a laugh, some substandard food, and fake compliments.

I've been wanting to write about this for a while but thought about just letting it go and not let it affect me but then I see 5 star hotel franchises call self proclaimed food critics to judge chefs and I find it plain ridiculous and quite frankly, insulting. The annoyance grows when you're literally training to become a chef and these incidents get more irksome because it's like an attack against your people; the chefs. The ones who got into this whole shindig to do what they loved - cook good food. And here come these under-qualified writers who talk to them about their food without sharing even half the knowledge and passion, it's abysmal.

Lastly, all I want to say is, don't get enamored by the glamour of it all, it isn't real. Chef's who put it all on the line to give you a piece of them on a plate, that's real.

xoxo
D

Thursday 15 October 2015

Eating My Way Through Bombay.

Sick Devika, sick. Your last post was in August. It's October now. Let's not even get into the whole Cake Challenge debacle. Remember that? When you promised your readers, no matter how few, that your next post would be up soon and (wait for it) have lots of cake? What happened? Where the hell have you been? Where's the discipline? Where's the commitment? What have you become?

SORRY.

Yes I do remember The Cake Challenge because it's still kind of on. The victims I lured in have also started asking questions. They've eaten a tonne of cake, to what end? Can I please just have an extension? Can I fill you in on what I've been up to instead? So maybe, MAYBE you'll be a bit more understanding? I finished my second term at culinary school in September and went back home after 6 months for a twenty-day break. Twenty days of waking up at noon, getting a up of chai handed to me, wearing freshly laundered clothes without having to launder them myself and basically melting in the unholy Bombay heat. I'm quite anal when it comes to making plans and I need to have lists. Lists make me feel under control. Lists calm me down. HENCE, coming to the title of this post; I made a list of places I wanted to go to in Bombay, old haunts and new arrivals that I'd heard so much about. Of course I have pictures, how can you even ask?

Let's begin, shall we?



MADRAS CAFE.

Of course I've been here before. I dream about this Upma Podi every morning cause it's just that good. A better upma, you'll never eat.







 HAKKASAN

I was lucky enough to be at home for my mother's birthday which we celebrated at Hakkasan. Incredible meal. All these dishes were outstanding, try them and you'll know what I mean. I'd pick Hakkasan over an Asian restaurant at a 5 star hotel every time.

Golden fried soft shell crab, flaked almonds, curry leaves. GAH.

Hakka braised pork belly with supreme soya sauce.
Perfectly cooked pork, gnarly, sticky sauce, candied kumquats.

Steamed Indian Salmon with a homemade chilli sauce. You can tell by how beautifully flaky it is JUST how well it's cooked.






SODABOTTLEOPENERWALA

The quirky new take on Bombay's old school Irani cafes, a lot of items on this table were a hit and a miss but the hits were out of the park. Went to far with the sports analogy didn't I? Have the Salli Mutton, the Berry Pulao & the Falooda, I vouch for them.
Four people, infinite food.

Falooda with real saffron strands dude!





THE FATTY BAO

I'd heard so much about this place that I had to go see what the fuss was about, and let me tell you, I wasn't highly impressed. Most of the food ordered was highly average, a few things however, stood out. What were they you ask? Why I've taken pictures of just them!


BBQ pork belly, green apple kimchi, hoisin sauce, sesame oil & scallions. Couldn't really fault it.

Tempura sea bass with curry mayo and pickled Chinese cabbage.
Hey, at least their baos are good!





PRAKASH

If you don't live around Shivaji Park and don't have any Marathi friends, you'll probably not have heard of this place. Completely old school, no frills, authentic & cheap. They don't even have paper napkins! You have to share tables with strangers, take a Marathi person along to engage with your waiter and try and catch him before he swoops past. You haven't lived in Bombay till you've eaten Misal from Prakash and in my case, Sabudana Vada as well.

Misal

Sabudana Vada with the best peanut chutney.
 THE BOMBAY CANTEEN

After the amount I'd heard about how good this place was, I just had to try it out. Trust me, it wasn't easy. I tried making reservations a few times but always struck out. Finally on an afternoon most unexpected, my friend and I walked in and were seated almost immediately and how glad I was that I didn't give up. Excellent menu, great food and kicking vibe. Go here.

Excuse the gross picture but I had to put it up cause these pulled pork tacos in a thepla were the bomb.

Mandeli fry, tamatar chutney. Best.

Cheese stuffed grilled Bhavnagari chillies. So hot, so delicious.

"My Uncle's Coconut Mutton Curry" with lotus root, lemongrass & fried onion masala. Lots of good, tender pieces of mutton make this curry even more appealing.

Coffee Rasgulla with salted caramel ice cream and peanut chikki. I love it when desserts are creative and interesting and  when the flavour combinations work out! 


Okay? Convinced? THIS has been the reason behind my disgusting delay and petulant procrastination. Forgive me this time? You always do :)

Now that I'm back to the grind, maybe my discipline will act up again, maybe not. Either way, I will surely be back with what I promised, cake and even more deliciousness.

Until then, hope you enjoy this post!

xoxo
D

Tuesday 11 August 2015

Rogue.

Have you ever done it? Abandoned what you're supposed to and do what you want to do? Just for a day? The idea has always seemed so romantic to me. They always do it in the movies with some super exhilarating song in the background, signifying the shackles they've broken. Okay, so I wasn't that much of a maverick. I didn't quit my job and decide to move to a different country or anything because I love what I do! Sometimes though, sometimes, it all gets to much. People get intolerable and work gets monotonous; no matter how much you love it. At this point, I think, you owe it to yourself, you owe yourself one day and that's just what I did. I cut one class (relax, parents) and decided to roam around London by myself, doing what I wanted, eating what I wanted and buying what I wanted. I even had my own 'Devika Goes Rogue' playlist starting with 'Turn Down for What' as I dramatically changed out of my chef whites, into my Muggle clothes and walked out into the streets of London.

Every Escape Day needs comfort food and I had mine (sorry My Fitness Pal, you're not going to be happy about this- but my stomach sure was!)



SHAKE SHACK
Shroom Burger, Crinkle cut fries


I can't even imagine the calories I'd have to log in for that meal and I don't want to! Today was my cheat day, it's allowed.

As if that meal wasn't enough, I decided to have some gelato cause, why the hell not? It was magical, one of the best gelatos I've tasted. The next time, I'm going to try pistachio - and I'll let you know how it is.



VENCHI
Cremino: Alternate layers of fresh gianduja chocolate and hazelnuts.


After this, with that feeling you get when you've eaten too much of a good thing; at the point of explosion but happy, I walked over to Oxford Street for some retail therapy.

Since I'm not a fashion blogger and don't know how to make clothes look good in photographs, I'll tell you what I got myself; a pretty duvet cover with sequined butterflies in the corner, an oversized Hogwarts tee cause, necessity and 2 new pairs of glasses cause I'm obsessed and can never have too many. I was quite pleased with loot and how much I'd walked to acquire it. Maybe I'd burned at least a spoonful of that gelato.

Trust London to literally rain on my parade at the end and so I made the journey home, marvelling at how pretty the city looks even when it's grey and gloomy <3



RAINY LONDON
I took this picture a few weeks ago just to show you how pretty rain in London is <3


Now I'm home, showered and all ready for the rest of the week. I may even be bored of myself (no wait, that can never happen :P)

I also need to tell you guys about some 'fieldwork' I'm doing for my next few posts. The word is in inverted commas cause you're going to be like," Oh, how hard she works for her blog" extremely sarcastically when I tell you what it is. It's called TheCakeChallenge so gather from that what you will ;)

For those of you who follow me on Instagram and Twitter will already know what it's all about. I'll explain the rules, the crazy individuals I lured into doing this challenge with me and post loads of CAKE in the next post so do not miss it!

As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments below :)

Hope you enjoyed reading this,

xoxo
D

Sunday 31 May 2015

The Fast & The Fabulous.

As promised, here I am talking about some quick and (mostly) nutritious meals that students shouldn't find too hard to make. I've heard so many of my friends not knowing what to make for themselves so I hope this helps! I'm writing mainly with reference to the UK, so the prices of ingredients may vary if you want to recreate this someplace else.

I'm a huge fan of merging meals; brunch, tea, supper. I love how they're inbetweeners and hence you have to make just one meal for the an entire half of the day. So lets begin!

TOAST, AVOCADO, FRIED EGG, BACON.
(Brunch)

Ingredients:
Bread (loaf): under £1
Eggs (6 pack): under £3
Bacon: under £3
Avocado: £1 each

All you need to do, is scoop out the flesh from half an avocado, sprinkle some salt and some freshly cracked pepper and a dash of oil. Then, mash the avocado with a fork till it's spreadable. Spread the avocado on your slice of bread and then toast it. Next, fry some bacon with a drop of oil. Once it's done, make the fried it in the same pan so you have all the nice bacon fat and juices flavouring your egg. Then build it like I have below and add a last dash of olive oil on top. Done.





WARM CARAMEL WAFFLE, GREEK YOGURT, BERRIES.
(Breakfast)

Ingredients:
Caramel Waffles from M&S (pack of 8): below £4
Greek Yoghurt (small): below £1
Blueberries : £2
Raspberries: £2

This is the simplest to make. Buy a packet of caramel waffles from M&S. They're not too expensive and there are loads of 'em in one. Pop one onto a pan until you see the caramel oozing out. Next, spread some cold Greek yogurt onto the warm, oozy waffle. Lastly, place the berries of your choice on the waffle. The difference in tastes and texture is just great. Also, you're incorporating some lacto bacili and fresh fruit into your system.




GRILLED CHEESE, BACON, ROCKET SALAD.
(Brunch/Lunch)

Ingredients:
Bacon
Bread
Rocket: £2
Red Leicester: below £4
Emmenthal: below £3
Mayo: below £2

First, make the grilled cheese sandwich. Spread mayo over two slices of bread and place the 2 cheeses on the non-mayo sides and make a sandwich. Yes, you're going to use the mayo to grill the sandwich. No, it's not going to taste disgusting. Since mayo is basically an emulsion of egg and oil, it makes for the perfect frying fat. Grilling the sandwich with mayo will give you a gorgeous, crispy crust. Take the sandwich off once both sides are golden-brown and both the cheeses are melting beautifully. Next, fry off the bacon. Lastly, get a handful of rocket out of the bag and place it on your chopping board. Add a pinch of salt, some fresh pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and use your hands to coat the leaves evenly with the simple dressing you've just made. Perfect for hangovers and even more perfect for long days






TOAST, AVOCADO, SCRAMBLED EGGS, FRESH CHILI.
(Breakfast/Brunch)

Ingredients:
Bread
Eggs
Avocado (half)
Red chili (1 packet): below £2

Prepare and mash the avocado as before, and toast it with a slice of bread. Crack an egg onto a pan with a bit of butter on a low heat and start breaking the egg with a spatula. Soon, as the heat increases, the egg will start to cook and come together. Take it of the heat when you can still see a bit of liquid in the egg and season with salt and pepper. Add these gooey eggs to your avocado on toast. Then, finely chop some red chili and sprinkle it on top of the eggs. Finish with a dash of olive oil.





 EGGS ON TOAST, ROCKET SALAD, ROASTED TOMATOES, EASY GUACAMOLE.
(Brunch/Lunch)

Ingredients:
Bread
Eggs
Rocket
Avocado
Chili
Garlic
Cherry vine tomatoes: below £3

Smash a clove of garlic and throw it into a pan with some olive oil. Once it's hot, add the tomatoes and then lots salt and pepper. Turn the heat down and let the tomatoes soften and take in the flavour of the garlic and olive oil. Meanwhile, make the easy guac. Chop half an avocado, chop some chili, chop some garlic and mix all of these together with some salt, pepper and olive oil. A squeese of lemon would also taste great. Then, do what you already know, fry off some bacon, make some oozy scrambled eggs and the simple rocket salad. Take the tomatoes off once they start looking blistered and beautifully roasted. Now tell me that this isn't a beautiful meal after a hard night.





THE HUMBLE MEZZE.
(Supper/Dinner)

Don't worry! I'm not going to tell you to make hummus from scratch. Most of this is store bought, just tweaked.

Ingredients:
Rocket
Hummus: below £3
Pimento stuffed olives: below £4
Ham: below £3

Make the simple rocket salad like I said before and place it in the corner of the plate. Next, pick out some olives and place them next to the salad. I usually find the hummus in the stores here a little too sour so I tweak it by adding some crushed garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. The sourness works great in this mezze though as it acts like a salad dressing and balances out the dish with its acidity. Lastly, place a slice of ham on the plate. This is great for when you want to have a glass of wine in front of your laptop and haven't had time to make any dinner. Also, once you mix the ingredients together, it becomes a stellar salad!





CHAI & CROISSANT
(Whenever)

This is my absolute go-to meal. Buy the strongest tea bags you can find (they still won't be strong enough) and make chai like you would usually. Then, buy a croissant from Sainsbury's (they're gorgeous) and pop it in the oven for like 5 minutes till the top is crusty and the butter is awake. Then it's all just a case of tearing, dipping and smothering. Sigh.


That's about all for now, how about I make it a monthly series though? New combinations, new ingredients. I hope this helps you guys out, even those who aren't in the UK, I'm sure you get the idea. Almost 7 fast and fabulous meals that will fill you up and still be easy on your wallet. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and also if you'd like me to talk about any particular ingredients in my next post. Now I'm off to enjoy my Sunday like a true Londoner; at the pub!

xoxo
D

Sunday 24 May 2015

Whirlwind.

It's been more than a month since I moved to a new country to learn more about my passion and to be honest, I have no idea where the time went! Seems like only yesterday when I was unpacking my suitcase and getting ready to start my new life; apprehensive, nervous. Now, I'm smack bang in the middle of it and absolutely consumed by it. My first month was so eventful. It was a month of firsts and a month of exciting celebrity run-ins. I'm going to tell you all about my first term at culinary school, and my life in London.

Don't worry, I can see your attention wavering trying to figure out which celebrity I ran into, so that's the topic I'm going to broach first. I remember a few months ago, I watched The Duchess and was absolutely in love with Keira Knightly's object of affection outside her passion-less marriage to Ralph Fiennes. Then, I watched Summer in February cause Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey was in it and fell in love with the ruthless painter in the film instead. Then, I watched Captain America and simply adored Howard Stark and his genius. Any guesses? That's 3 films and 3 clues I've given you. So there we were, a group of exhausted, budding chefs at our usual pub having pints cause we deserved them after our long day and there was DOMINIC COOPER!

I quite honestly, forgot how to act civil and was fangirling to the highest level. In Bombay, we see celebs around all the time and somehow we're used to it. But here, in London, an actual Hollywood actor, I just couldn't believe it. I told him how much I loved him in Summer in February and he said,"Oh thank you! Barely anyone's watched that!" Then my friend said she'd take our picture and I said no, I look fat in pictures, I'd rather take a selfie and he said,"Don't be silly! You're lovely!" (In his British accent, yes) and that's how I went home with a selfie with Howard Stark.

Hello Howard Stark!

Okay, on to Fangirl moment no.2 : The Time Nigel Slater Called My Lemon Meringue Tart Beautiful. For those of you who haven't watched the film Toast, do so now. It's based on Nigel Slater's life and you'll know the significance of the Lemon Meringue Tart then. So I made my first ever lemon meringue at school and the only thing I could think of was the film so I did what I usually do when I feel strongly about something: tweet. I tweeted the picture of my lemon meringue and added that I was having a Nigel Slater moment. I posted this tweet at night after school and went off to sleep. I woke up to a tweet from Nigel Slater saying my meringue looked beautiful! Nigel Slater called my lemon meringue beautiful. When I open up my own place, that's the validation I'm going to boast about when people ask me about my lemon meringue. Nigel Slater liked it, do with that what you will. Hmph.  

My lemon meringue tart with confit lemon julienne.

The stampest of approvals <3 


Deep breaths. Okay. Okay, I'm good now.

 Let me talk about the rest. I made my first ever Creme Caramel from scratch and my first ever Creme Brulee. I even made puff pastry from scratch. Also, I now know how to fillet all kinds of fish, thank you very much. I also murdered a crab by throwing it into a pot of boiling water so I'm also equipped to see Thestrals now. It's almost the end of my first term and it's been amazing. The exhaustion is so fulfilling and I am now two more terms away from being a chef. Amidst all this work, I've managed to find time to explore London, my favourite city. I also had my best friend come live with me for ten days and it was amazing. I have so much food to show you and so little space, but here it is anyway-

I took this picture cause it reminded me of that part in the movie Notting Hill when Hugh Grant walks Julia Roberts home and made me feel all fuzzy inside.

Crepes au citron

Pear & Almond Cream Tart

Regents Canal looking like something from a fairy tale.

Me having some leftover apple tart that I made at school.

Super sexy filet of trout with lemon, almonds, beurre noisette and some badly turned potatoes

Best friend visits

This is a recommendation right here: The regular Cod and Chips (with a side of mushy peas) from The Rock and Sole Plaice in Covent Garden, since the 1800s. 

Fruit tart. Made with puff pastry from scratch.

Clearly, I need to improve on my masking and piping.
Genoise a la Confiture de Framboise
Apart from making all this gorgeous food at school, I've had to feed myself as well, on a budget. What I usually do is club two meals together and make one giant plate of food, balancing the nutrients as much as I can. My next post will be about exactly that; quick, easy and affordable meals students or just busy people living by themselves can make. I'm really looking forward to writing it.

Hope you enjoyed reading this and I plan to come back with my next post real soon! Until then, follow me on Twitter & Instagram @devikambing and let me know any other thoughts in the comments below.

xoxo

D

Tuesday 7 April 2015

Flapjacks, Shortcake & Promises.

*avoids judgey eyes*

It's been really long, I know, but can we get back to that later? I'm going to butter you up, almost literally first and then make my promise. It'll be worth it, I swear.

Shall we?

So last month I made quite a few things for the first time, namely flapjacks and shortcake.

I ended up making flapjacks as I was idly browsing through my twitter feed and saw the latest BBC Good Food post. It was a caramel, cranberry, chocolate chip and pumpkin seed flapjack recipe. Interesting right? That's exactly what I thought. Plus, I had some homemade caramel in the fridge as well as some dried cranberries. Chocolate chips are a constant in my fridge and lastly pumpkin seeds. Didn't have any of those but had a sizeable jar of sunflower seeds which I absolutely adore. The combination is a winner and you know you've got to make it. I did, and they turned out amazing. I was so happy with them that I took more than half a dozen pictures of them and called all my friends over to try them. A lot of people asked me for the recipe and I told them where it was. For those of you who didn't find it, or who didn't know about it till just now, here it is, go make some right away!
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cranberry-pumpkin-seed-caramel-flapjacks

These are perfect with a cup of tea in the evening and also breakfast energy bars

TA DA!

Chewy, buttery, crunchy, tart, brilliant.


Next, I made an American favourite, strawberry shortcake. Once you read the recipe, you know its going to be light and delicious. Remember, shortcake is different from shortbread, so when you're looking for recipes, the American ones will tend to be more authentic. I used a Martha Stewart recipe and it worked really well. Here it is http://www.marthastewart.com/336107/strawberry-shortcake

The recipe says heavy cream, but you can just as well use regular cream, I did and it worked really well. Also, the recipe says wait for them to cool down before cutting them, that's really important so don't be impatient cause they will crack.A shortcake is a cross between a biscuit and a cake. The biscuity texture makes it light, but because it is a little cakey, it becomes the perfect, delicate dessert.

Dust some icing snow and you have a banging, luxurious dessert!

Here's how mine turned out-

Sigh <3

Swoon.
Now that I'm done with the first two, let me get to the last and most serious one, the promise. There is no recipe for it so you're just going to have to take my word. I'm starting a new chapter in my life, a chapter that will include a lot more cooking, learning and food. Finally, my passion will hold my entire focus and there will be nothing to distract me from it. I hope to share this experience with you guys and hope to give you a lot more exciting content.

As always, I'd like to thank you guys for your support on Twitter and Instagram, you have been amazing and for those of you who aren't following me, you can on @devikambing.

Tell me how your flapcakes and shortjacks turn out! Whoops, you know what I mean ;)

xoxo
D

Monday 2 February 2015

What I Ate On My Birthday: 2015

Hello guys! My newly renamed blog tells me my last post was dated November 6th. That's just shameful. Procrastination has been a cruel mistress. I'm sorry. Let's move past all this negativity and talk about happier things- it's 2015! Woohoo! How did you spend your NYE? Doing something horribly commercial and mainstream in Bombay, or spending some much needed quality time with your family away from the city? I'm sure you've gathered which plan I chose judging from my obvious bias. Haha. So, January is over already, and so is my birthday (cue sobs). I turned 21 this January which is quite a special age for us humans and especially for us Indians. We're (kind of) legal. Alcohol consumption is less frowned upon and (groan) we're finally 'adults'. I spent my birthday doing what I love, eating and spending time with my family and friends. I do this extremely juvenile where I declare the entire week MY birthday week. Yes, I'm sure it's annoying for some people but hey, it's seven times the celebration, so you can't really complain. I had some great meals that week and I'm now going to share them with you. All these pictures of dishes are highly recommended so do go and try them out.

Meal #1
ELLIPSIS.

CHICKEN & WAFFLES
Fried chicken, waffles, srirarcha, bacon, maple syrup.
If I could explain to you just how well these flavours and textures work together, I would. But I can't. So you'll just have to go try some yourself.

PORK BELLY BUNS
Steamed buns, pork belly, kimchee.
I saw Rohan Joshi of AIB recommend this dish so often, that I had to trust his judgement and order this. It paid off and how! I've had pork belly melting in my mouth before, which it did, which was sublime. But I've never had buns so soft and light that they melted in my mouth as well. Top notch.



ROCKY ROAD
Cookie ice cream, dehydrated chocolate, brulee marshmallow
My friend recommended this to me and we bond over our love for comfort food so I ordered this dish. Don't let the Heston-esque description and presentation of this dish fool you- its the ultimate comfort food and so fulfilling.


Meal #2
THE TABLE.
THE SPARKLER
Freshly squeezed orange juice, passionfruit sours topped with Chandon brut.
What's a birthday without some bubbly? My favourite Mimosa in the city. Try it. (Also, my first legal drink so boom boom clap!)

CHICKEN LIVER PATE
I liked the crostinis more than the actual pate only because it had some sort of tart component missing. I'd have loved an onion marmalade, picalili or just some raspberry jam to go with this.

ZUCCHINI SPAGHETTI
Zucchini slices acting like spaghetti, toasted almond slivers, olive oil & and mound of fresh parmesan.
Really loved this dish. So clean and so interesting. 

FISH TACOS
It's not a taco till it's a soft taco. This was, with the most incredible mole sauce to go with it.

SUCKLING GOAT
Loved the presentation. This was my brother's main and he loved it.

THE TABLE
Brioche bun, medium rare Angus beef patty, caramelised onions, pickles, sharp cheddar.
Perfectly cooked patty. Great, simple flavours, little low on the seasoning.
The peeps over at the table birthdaying my dessert. This tart was so great.

Meal #3 
CAKE

HAZELNUT CRUNCH CAKE, Le 15.
I've had the miniature version of this cake a million times and was so glad when I heard they make full-sized versions of it as well. I'm still eating this cake. I adore it. *finishes off last slice* 

I'm positive I put on a reasonable amount of weight, but everything's forgiven during BirthdayWeek ;)

I really do hope you save up, and go try all this food, I can't recommend it enough.

And that's a wrap on yet another episode of #WhatIAteOnMyBirthday. Hope you enjoyed it!

As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments below and know what I'm upto on FB & Twitter @devikambing

xoxo

D