Round up a motley gathering of people in Srinagar – locals from all walks of life, tourists and outsiders who have made the city their temporary home for work or business – and ask them to name a few Kashmiri brands, chances are that not many will be able to remember any beyond the most…
How to max your time in Pune The average length of my visits to Pune is just three days – totally insufficient to do all the things that this amazing city offers your palate. So, I’ve worked out my formula for tasting the most, in the least possible time. But first, a disclaimer: I have…
Where there is spice, there are kitchen implements to grind them. And because Asia grows and uses quite a large proportion of the world’s spices, most of the spice grinders have an Asian sensibility. Depending on their job: pounding, dry and wet grinding all have different shapes of implements, they are variously made of limestone,…
In a supremely secluded corner of Gujarat, the 9 gun salute state of Santrampur occupies a rather interesting site in the intersection between three different states: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The present ruler and his wife, HH Maharana Paranjayaditya Parmar and Maharani Mandakini Kumari, are the latest in a dynasty that has been in…
Less than 200 kms from Delhi Airport is a tiny piece of heaven, especially for city-dwellers. Called Alila Fort Bishangarh, it was originally built 230 years ago by a member of the ruling Kachhawa clan of Jaipur. Bishangarh was just one of the forts that was strung out like a necklace around the precious Shekhavati…
If there ever was a model restaurant city in India, it would have to be Chennai. It has always been thought of as uber traditional, but in the last three years, the number of hotels, their grandeur and the sheer wealth of food and beverage concepts puts every other city in India to shame. One…
Travel around Manila in the Philippines and you’ll be struck by how many branches of Jollibee Burgers there are. It’s a brand you are unlikely to encounter elsewhere in the world, because the rather sweet sauce that is Jollibee’s trademark, is a Philippine brand. If you visit Mumbai, you are like to be surprised by…
Cuisine: Burgers and shakes Intro: Yet another import from the US of A Atmospherics: An acquaintance has an interesting theory. “Cyber Hub has such a great vibe that you feel you’re in a foreign country anyway. Which is why food here tastes 30% better than it does elsewhere.” There’s that, of course, but my own…
In Khayyam Chowk, a couple of kilometres from Dal Gate, there’s a row of no-frill, basic dhabas that are fairly clean and respectable. Here you can try the mutton seekh kebabs or tikkas, served on a plate with six kinds of chutney. The best one is Imran Café, misleadingly named because you certainly won’t get…
