Food for thought from a foodie

When I came back from Pune for good, I was in a mild state of shock! My whole gastronomical world had turned upside down! How would I survive without my daily dose of Café’ Frappe’ & chicken drumsticks. What had my life come to? Were my days of aimless frolicking and partying over finally? Would the world of exotic dishes & colourful drinks become a mere dot on the horizon of my life? So over the next couple of months I slowly & painstakingly scrutinized the food-joints & restaurants of Patna, & guess what! I went into a shock again! But this time the shock was of utter relief & joy. Patna had, as it turned out, a range of good restaurants that had somehow cropped up in the city behind my back & there was still hope for a delicious future for foodies like me.
I confess I am no professional expert on food, but in my own esteemed opinion, I prefer to think I am a connoisseur. & it would be a sin to withhold my personal recommendations from the people of this city. I absolutely swear by the Crispy Chicken Wings of Yo China. Ditto for the Chicken Dumplings. Momos of Ming’s Chimney are also a mouth-watering fare. & nothing better to whet my appetite than the sinful concoctions of Kapil’s Eleven. Reminds me of Delhi’s T.G.I.Friday
Being a non-vegetarian certainly has its good points (no matter what conspiracy theories the vegetarians propagate against us!). Otherwise how else would I have ever tasted the divine tandoori preparations of Food World, especially Murg Afghani & Murg Kali Mirch. Something akin to Karims in Delhi. My radius of experimentation with regards to international cuisine here has been somewhat limited though. Albeit I would be lying if I did not mention the deliciously exotic Chicken Lasagne of Maurya Hotel (they especially made it for some food festival, it is not available all the year round).

Coming to the present, I must say I’ve had a memorable experience of fooding in Patna. When we were kids we used to frequent Maurya Lok Complex or Boring Road for Pani-puri & chaat. Not much has changed apart from the fact that we have progressed (by we, I mean Patna & I).
Apart from all this, I feel sea-food is one weak area where my city lacks ground. I hope the restaurateurs are taking notice. Situated on the banks of The Ganges, Patna’s lack of innovation with the fishes is indeed very fishy!
There’s not much choice for lounging here, & none for clubbing. Though there are a couple of restro-bars that have come up like O2 on Fraser Road. I do miss McDonalds, KFC & CCD though. Coffee culture is yet to catch up with patnaites. I still remember my days in Pune, the long hours in the evening, sitting in Barista, sipping my coffee languidly. That was life. & Coffee was a religion.
Also, theme-based restaurants are yet to make their presence felt in Patna. As a customer my primary need of good food & good service has been satiated, but my secondary (& sometimes more nagging) need of a wholesome eating experience has been left unattended. I wish to eat my Biryani in a Hyderabadi themed interior & not just in a place with tables, chairs & air-conditioners! I want my eating experience to be as authentic as the food. The ambience & music have left much to be desired, & this is one area where we lag behind. Winston Churchill once famously flared up “Take away that pudding – it has no theme.” Well I am no Churchill, but I definitely agree with him on the ‘theme’ issue. I hope someone takes the initiative to cover this Achilles’ heel. Why cant patnaites have their own Jazz By The Bay with full on live music & karaoke?

I’ve had extensive exposure to the food & drinks culture of Pune, Delhi, Mumbai & Goa, and I can say with a fair amount of conviction that Patna’s culture has come many notches closer to these cities in the past few years. I remember there was a time when going to a restaurant for dinner was considered very up market & sophisticated in this city. It was a monthly affair at the most (generally reserved for birthdays, anniversaries & passing-out with distinction!). But now, it is an altogether different sight (or shall I say vision?). Patna is growing. I mean the mindset, not the size (well of course the size is growing too). It’s common now to see people out on the streets till very late hours in the night. The nouveau riche segment is growing & the middle class is happily splurging. The jam-packed eateries are a case in point. It is as though our city has slowly got a life of its own & it has infected its inhabitants with its vibrancy.

For me the art of living has always taken a backseat when it comes to the art of fooding. Suffice it to say that I am devouring a bar of 5 Star as I write this article. There is however one classic question that haunts us lesser mortals (read foodies) from time immemorial…. How much is too much? Hmmm… Very serious indeed. Well I’m sure I’ll be in a better position to answer it once I finish munching on my bar of chocolate….

Just fooding around

Ever wondered what is the best food for weekends? Probably something outstanding, to remember the weekend by. And something that gives you enough courage to face the prospect of the dreary Monday that would relentlessly follow suit. So what are we having for dinner today? Why not compile a bucket list of all the dishes and do a selection by elimination routine. Potatoes, paneer, fish, cabbage, chicken, ladyfinger, and the list continues. Now why don’t we get on with the elimination part. Potato is too dull, cabbage is too leafy, chicken is too cruel, ladyfinger is too sticky…thus continues the ditching, and we are left with a handful of tasty options. Hardly do we notice the amount of effort that we put in this culinary selection. Our mental mechanism is so much in its comfort zone where food is concerned that it is hardly taxing for us to make food decisions. Or rather, food decisions are always made to maximise pleasure, thus they are always a welcome respite.
What is it that draws us to the notion called food? Why this obsession? When we are working, we are constantly perceptive to our food requirement of the day. When we are not working, we are busy planning our food itinerary for the weekend. Even in the 3 things essential for survival, roti, kapda aur makaan, food comes a lofty first! So how to justify this web of unexplained association with food and taste? I believe it is a futile exercise. Psychologists would vouch for that. We live, breathe, smell, feel, eat….. No need for justifications here. Research has also proven that our memory is immediately trickled by smell of certain food items. Infact, I am not the only one who uses food as a barometer of emotions and personality. One of my friends went to Goa recently and upon returning posted his photo album on Facebook. It was amusing to see page after page on his travel album, not the stunning landscape nor the new friends he made, but beautifully arranged meals. His method to chronicle the trip, to best recall happy memories, insisted he capture every meal in picture perfection, lovingly preserved in his travel album. Depending upon our individual disposition, we choose to be vegetarians or non-vegetarians. But that still does not take away from the joy of experiencing culinary delights. In India, the culture of food penetrates deeper that its physical consumption. There is scope of wisdom too in the gastronomical world. . "Enjoy meat and dairy products," centenarians would tell us, "but combine them with the use of lemon, vinegar, garlic, fresh green herbs, yogurt and pomegranate juice to dissolve fat that could be harmful to the human organism." Infact, anyone thinking that food is an innocuous subject would soon discover that politics, history, economics and religion have been mighty forces in shaping the cuisine of the region and in determining what people eat. Food is not simply a question of climactic or agricultural feasibility.
So I have made my choice, I will have palak-paneer today. And let me pour rich cream on top, because it is nice to remember there is still a bit of Sunday left.
Bon appetit!