Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…
Seasons alternating.
Wine and song…
Also alternating.
Tag: food
Confessions of a non-shopaholic.
I hate shopping.
Not surprised?
I’m twenty-something. I live alone, and have a decent income.
I still hate shopping. And I don’t mean navigating crowded streets and striding through stacks of flashy clothes. That I kind of enjoy. But what I hate is “shopping”. Online, on mobile, offline — I hate ’em all.
Because shopping is over rated and has way too many choices. You might have heard of the paradox of choice: the more choices you have, the more problems you have.
And that’s my problem. I can’t bear to think that there are hundreds of different types of — everything.
It happens all the time. I walk into a store thinking about jeans. And what do I see?
Denim jeans, pencil jeans (is that a real thing, or am I just being Indian?), straight fit, slim fit, stretch jeans, torn jeans, faded jeans, cotton pants, maxis, knee-length pants, bell-bottomed pants, and more on a list of never-ending pants.
All that, in one store. After seeing that, I walk out thinking I can manage for at least another couple of months with the pairs of jeans I already own.
Sometimes, when I feel brave, I go through every type of jeans and pants in the store — for about an hour or so — only to realize, nothing fits my style or my size. And I’d leave hating myself. That’s enough to keep me away from shopping malls for a few months, before someone starts commenting on my dressing. Again.
It’s a vicious circle. But it’s only vicious when you’re looking to spend.
Sometimes, towards the end of the month, I go out shopping. Just for the fun of it. I carry just the amount I’d need for essential getting-around, and go shopping.
I look through windows. But I also walk into some stores and lace through the smooth fabric, take in the glow of new clothes, enjoy a silent joke at the woman who sneaked in more than three outfits into the dressing room, and roll my eyes at the price tags.
And then I get out for an ice cream. I prefer dark chocolate. But that’s a rare find, and I’d find all these other flavours I might like. Like chocolate, chocolate & vanilla, chocolate with chocolate chips, double chocolate, death by chocolate, chocolate & coffee, white chocolate, and a more chocolaty goodness.
By the time I finish reading the options, I’d have made my decision. I’d go straight home, switch on Friends and never leave my bed.
The Dhabba Experience
I hadn’t heard of this restaurant before my team mates told me we were going here for a team treat.
A bit of digging told me there were 10 of the same restaurants and that they serve good seafood. A lover of prawns, I set my mind.
Even as we got in to the cab, I could feel my insides expanding with excitement. I was a little ashamed too, it was just food after all. But again, it’s food!
I was all ready; my phone was fully charged and so was I. As we got down from the cab, I started clicking pictures of the surrounding. I was going to write an impressive review- complete with photos and all.
It was a large extravagant area – for a restaurant. Felt like walking into a huge holiday resort in the making. There was a big play area for kids and even a separate section of the restaurant for pure vegetarians. Sadly though, it was too hot for a soul to enjoy the slides and rides.
We walked inside and my excitement settled a little – we were finally there. It was now all about food.
We took our seats – three tables of it and I began looking around. It is a Punjabi restaurant and to reinforce the mood were paintings of Punjabis – beautiful work by the way. The ambiance within the restaurant was perfect – almost empty. Which is unsurprising considering it’s somewhere in the middle of nowhere – on the highway. There were a couple of small groups, and they were quiet too. The lighting was mild – not that it needed much, it was in the middle of the day. And being so, it was so hot outside but so cool inside. The tables were of stone and with the air-conditioning set at 18 degrees, the atmosphere was welcoming.
The service people were a little less welcoming though. Can’t blame them too, they were probably shocked to see a group of 15 people thronging into their restaurant with no regard for, well, anything.
Anyway, without much ado, we ordered.
We began with hot and sour soup. I’m not much of a soup person, but I loved it.
They didn’t have many of what we hoped to have – like the tandoori momos for instance. I was looking too forward to tasting that. We ordered prawns salt and pepper, fish fingers, mutton something and a couple of chicken somethings for starters.
None of them was spicy enough for me, but the taste was good. Prawns salt and pepper was a bit too salty with too little pepper, but I’d surely recommend this place anytime.
Moving on to main course, the biriyani was dry, I heard. I didn’t try the biriyani but the taste was good – judging from the way my team mates devoured. Another friend mentioned that the fried rice was great too, but I’d vouch for something else. My love for the greens tempted me to order pudhina (mint) paratha, and it surprised me, as always. But thankfully, it did not disappoint. It didn’t look too appealing; my team mates’ eyes widened at the sight of it – not to mention that my jaw dropped. I recovered soon enough though.
It tasted good – the pudhina powder added a little bitterness, just the way I like it. To accompany the paratha, I had ordered prawns chettinad masala and a chicken dish – I forgot the exact name.
The menu was so extensive and the names of the dishes were difficult to remember. The best thing though was that the taste was worth remembering.
At the end of it all, I decided to top it up with lime soda. Because I suddenly remembered that I had been suffering from an upset stomach for a couple of days. Just the day before I survived on liquid salts.
Coming back to the lime soda, it was too salty for me – pungent. But it did do its duty; I digested it all without much trouble.
Anyway, my colleagues ordered a variety of ice cream, gulab jamun, milk shakes and funnily enough – carrot halwa.
Ha, that carrot halwa! Not to taste; reminded me of sweet paan.
With an unmistakable burp, our treat ended and we walked out, satisfied and satiated.
After a few minutes of idling and selfie taking, we re-boarded our cab and came back to office – only to look forward to going home.
P.S: My very first restaurant review. Any thoughts, folks?
Rings
Guess it’s the caffeine
That acts like morphine –
You’re calm as a pup
Once you’ve had your cup.
Looking for Happiness?
“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
It’s such a momentary thing, isn’t it? Happiness? We hardly seem to know what might make us happy.
From something as small as an acknowledgement from someone who matters a lot, to something as big as winning a million dollars, happiness is everywhere.
But the weird thing is that despite being such a ubiquitous emotion, a lot of us spend so much time and money looking for it elsewhere.
Such a paradox. So typical of us humans.
So I decided to make a small list. What makes me happy? It was harder to list out that thinking of listing it out. Anyway, here goes.
Caffeine: Who doesn’t love coffee? Or caffiene perhaps. I’m an avid tea drinker as well. Depending on my mood, I reach out for a cuppa or coffee and it keeps me happy — until the next cup. There’s something about a hot beverage that nothing else can compare to. It doesn’t matter that I live in the Southern hemisphere where the current temperature is 75 degrees with a forecast of over 100 degrees for the whole of next week. Despite the heatwaves, sometimes some caffeine brings happiness.
Good reads: The first drug is for the body, the second one’s for the soul. When both combine, it’s the perfect weekend. It’s so satisfying to enjoy a well written book with some well brewed beverage. With those two, I’d need nothing else. And happiness is everywhere.
Family: This one’s tricky. Parents can be tiring to be around with. But at the end of the day, nothing matters as much as spending a flawless day with family, sharing homemade lunch and a conversational afternoon tea.
Friends: Much like family, only younger. And noisier. When I’m in the mood for some reminiscing, my friends are my go-to solace. Personally, it rarely happens to me, but when it does, it brings so much joy.
Food: In a line of comforters, food is always a priority. It’s amazing how a well-prepared dish spreads warmth and makes you feel satisfied with yourself. A candy bar, or some ice-cream. Better yet, an all time favourite home made mutton gravy, or soup — with salt and pepper in perfect proportions. No hotel can ever get that right. I’ve always ended up disappointed in a restaurant — not spicy enough, too salty, or sweet.
But when made at home, with care and precision, a few kitchen lessons – and for once, you’ll enjoy your own cooking. The real happiness in eating, comes when you indulge in a dish you made from scratch. Ah, the pride! Doesn’t matter that it lacks your mother’s touch, at least you’ve learnt to master your own happiness.
There’s my list. What’s on yours?
The Chaos Within 