Saw this post on Chandu's blog where someone tagged her to list out the top five memorable meals ever had. At the end of it there was an open tag, and of course, being about food, I had to take this tag up. So here are my most memorable meals ever had, in no particular order.
# I was introduced to momos only when I came to Madras. Prior to that I had no clue of Tibetan cuisine and I had not even tried dumplings before. I had my first taste of momos at one of our college fests, from a Tibetan stall. I was hooked and there was no going back. In my final year, the lead singer of my band was Tibetan and once he invited the whole band over to his place for lunch and the only thing on the menu were momos, on request. Out came this huge tub, like the one that carries fresh fish and ice in those fish markets. On opening the tub, I could swear I counted a million and one momos. We shamelessly dug in and went on and on. So, how much did I eat? Ten? Twenty? Thirty? Oh well, I remember counting till forty, then I just did not have the energy to count further.
# While growing up, when ever I visited my grandparent's place, I was always fascinated by the few farm animals they had. I took particular interest in the turkeys, mainly because of the way they looked and the sound the made. On one such trip, my grandmother announced that to welcome us home, she was going to cook up one of those lovely turkeys. I remember watching them the previous day and imagining what they would look like in my plate. The next day, I made sure I never missed any of the action. Right from the time the right turkey was chosen, slaughtered, skinned, cut, cooked and served. Somehow, that taste still lingers and it was the best turkey roast ever, along with the best gravy.
# Does food taste better when you are high? It probably does.How else can I explain that one night in USA where a friend and I developed this craving for something Chinese and something sweet. So we ring up this Chinese take away place and order pork friend rice, chicken noodles, pork roast and one box of sweet donut buns, which were soft, fluffy and sprinkled with powdered sugar. We cleaned it all up no sooner than it arrived. This was the best Chinese meal I had eaten in ages, from what would otherwise be just another take away restaurant. Oh, and did I mention that this carnal onslaught was just after we had finished dinner where we had downed a large Philly cheese steak, with hand cut fries and Pepsi, from Penn Station?
# Staying away from your country can make you crave a lot for the local food. While in USA, I really missed the regular Dosa, Vada and sambar types. Believe it or not, there was an Udupi right next to where I lived. There were other places too, but no matter how many times I went there, it never gave me the satisfaction I was looking for. On my first vacation trip to India, I had nothing but Saravana Bhavan on my mind. I reached late at night, and the very next day I headed out to Saravana Bhavan for breakfast with my close buddies, Paunch and Babu. Idly, vada, dosa, poori. I tried it all. I burped, and tried some more. Considering that I am not much of a VEG fan, I did eat a lot, and was more than satisfied. I could swear a tear rolled down my eye.
# I take great pride in the fact that I can cook. Now I am not the best by any standards, but with some level of arrogance I can confidently say that I can cook better than most people, both men and women. Keeping aside the daily common lunch/dinner, I take great care when I try something out of the way, like maybe a biryani, or pork ribs or a pizza and so on. With all the care that goes into making it and when the outcome is much better than what I expect, it gives me great pleasure. I think my all time favorite would be my biryani. For me, cooking is a personal experience and hence every meal I cook is a memorable one, so that surely finds a place in my top five.
# I was introduced to momos only when I came to Madras. Prior to that I had no clue of Tibetan cuisine and I had not even tried dumplings before. I had my first taste of momos at one of our college fests, from a Tibetan stall. I was hooked and there was no going back. In my final year, the lead singer of my band was Tibetan and once he invited the whole band over to his place for lunch and the only thing on the menu were momos, on request. Out came this huge tub, like the one that carries fresh fish and ice in those fish markets. On opening the tub, I could swear I counted a million and one momos. We shamelessly dug in and went on and on. So, how much did I eat? Ten? Twenty? Thirty? Oh well, I remember counting till forty, then I just did not have the energy to count further.
# While growing up, when ever I visited my grandparent's place, I was always fascinated by the few farm animals they had. I took particular interest in the turkeys, mainly because of the way they looked and the sound the made. On one such trip, my grandmother announced that to welcome us home, she was going to cook up one of those lovely turkeys. I remember watching them the previous day and imagining what they would look like in my plate. The next day, I made sure I never missed any of the action. Right from the time the right turkey was chosen, slaughtered, skinned, cut, cooked and served. Somehow, that taste still lingers and it was the best turkey roast ever, along with the best gravy.
# Does food taste better when you are high? It probably does.How else can I explain that one night in USA where a friend and I developed this craving for something Chinese and something sweet. So we ring up this Chinese take away place and order pork friend rice, chicken noodles, pork roast and one box of sweet donut buns, which were soft, fluffy and sprinkled with powdered sugar. We cleaned it all up no sooner than it arrived. This was the best Chinese meal I had eaten in ages, from what would otherwise be just another take away restaurant. Oh, and did I mention that this carnal onslaught was just after we had finished dinner where we had downed a large Philly cheese steak, with hand cut fries and Pepsi, from Penn Station?
# Staying away from your country can make you crave a lot for the local food. While in USA, I really missed the regular Dosa, Vada and sambar types. Believe it or not, there was an Udupi right next to where I lived. There were other places too, but no matter how many times I went there, it never gave me the satisfaction I was looking for. On my first vacation trip to India, I had nothing but Saravana Bhavan on my mind. I reached late at night, and the very next day I headed out to Saravana Bhavan for breakfast with my close buddies, Paunch and Babu. Idly, vada, dosa, poori. I tried it all. I burped, and tried some more. Considering that I am not much of a VEG fan, I did eat a lot, and was more than satisfied. I could swear a tear rolled down my eye.
# I take great pride in the fact that I can cook. Now I am not the best by any standards, but with some level of arrogance I can confidently say that I can cook better than most people, both men and women. Keeping aside the daily common lunch/dinner, I take great care when I try something out of the way, like maybe a biryani, or pork ribs or a pizza and so on. With all the care that goes into making it and when the outcome is much better than what I expect, it gives me great pleasure. I think my all time favorite would be my biryani. For me, cooking is a personal experience and hence every meal I cook is a memorable one, so that surely finds a place in my top five.
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