Kobus & Teresa In India: Entry No: 20!!!!

My 20th entry, I think I am doing pretty well. This is me giving myself a pat on the back. Twenty entries means it is week number twenty of fifty one, nearly half way through our time in India. It is a good enough reason to be cheerful on this Monday.

The week again was not much to report on, I did however have a haircut, one that was way overdue. What impressed me from this haircut was the guy cutting my hair remembered me and exactly how I wanted my hair done after he only cut my hair once before late October last year when we still stayed in the hotel. He gives this great head message treatment after the hair cut that I have not really gotten from the other persons. It feels like he is bashing every little braincell I have left while he does it but it feels great afterwards.

I bought myself a bangona or at least I think that is what it is called, I sometimes find it hard to understand my driver. If anybody knows the real name for this please let me know. It is a pot I got to learn about in South Africa, they use it to make their Biryani in it. You will see a picture of it down below. I did however find that the Biryani we got used to and love in South Africa is not the same as it is in India, especially the Hyderabadi Biryani which is a very popular dish. What we are used to from South Africa sounds similar to something they call a Pulao. We invited friends over for Sunday dinner and I decided to make my South African version of Biryani. I think it came out great, the taste at least, the texture of the rice not so much. I love Tastic Rice which is available in South Africa and it is similar to the Uncle Ben's in the USA but I have not found a rice that is the same type of rice than those. Most of the rice here are very sticky and mushy and it does not make a difference how much I rinse and soak it before. There is also a large variety of Basmati rice available but I personally do not like the smell and taste of Basmati. With the exception of sticky and mushy texture the Biryani came out great.

On Saturday we had our second farewell party in two weeks, it feels like we are being left behind alone by the rate people are returning home. But fortunately their are quite a few people here and most of them have a much longer term in India than we do which makes us feel a lot better about our situation. We wish Hillary and Phillip a safe return home, they have done their time in India.

We found a great restaurant in one of the malls, it is City Center Mall. The restaurant is called the Sahib Sindh Sultan and the theme is a train. I quoted a piece from their website and I will post the link to the website as well.

The restaurant is a tribute to a bygone era and everything from the interiors to the culinary experience is reminiscent of a mix of the traditions of Indian royalty and the British Raj.
The restaurant will transport you to the year 1853, when the first Indian train made its run from Bori Bunder to Thane. Much care has been taken to recreate the feeling, with the tastefully done décor, silk tapestry, and exquisite silver ware.
From one end of the wall to the other, there is a Pullman-style carriageway which makes you feel like you’re dining inside an actual train.

You can read more about the restaurant HERE on their website.

We love everything about the place, the service was actually too good. We found that in a lot of the Indian restaurants that they bring the food in separate serving dishes and dish it up at the table. Whenever they see that you are nearly finished with the portion on your plate they will dish up some more. This is sometimes nice because it allows you to order different types of dishes and share, it works better for larger groups of people. We have to remember to only order one dish for the two of us next time we go to one of these places.

The pictures are a little out of order and for some reason I cannot get them sorted out.

Microsoft Office Complex.

Cricket World Cup cake in the Novotel Lobby.

Some of the traffic on the way to pick up Teresa at the office.

City Center Mall. I think they forgot to take down their Valentine decorations.

The "Woolworths Food" of South Africa or the "Whole Foods" of the USA. They sell a good selection of imported products.

Standing in line at the office where Teresa works, the security checks at the gate takes up a lot of time.

Notice the tail lights, not an important thing to have over here. Probably explains why it looks like it does at the rear.

Another picture of City Center Mall.

Inside the Dining Car of Sahid Sindh Sultan Restaurant.

The plate setting, they bring larger plates before they serve the meal.

Another view of the dining car.

Delicious, I had the Railway Mutton Curry and Teresa had some Spinach Chicken dish. We had it with Naan, top right corner.

The server busy dishing up our food.

The condiments.

Bread sticks while you wait for your order.

I had the Kulfi for dessert, a traditional Indian Frozen Milk dessert that I love. You get them in different flavors, this tasted like boiled condensed milk. I nearly ordered a second helping, it was that good.