Its all silent in here. I just recently got all my Holga rolls developed and I must admit I was overcome with excitement when the shopkeeper handed the developed prints to me in an envelope. Excitement was very quickly replaced with a twang of disappointment when i realized most of the shots were blurry or grossly under-exposed.
But, I haven’t come empty-handed. The shots above were the best ones taken in and around London. Enjoy!
Posted by Amrita on July 12, 2011
http://amritac.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/moments-gone-by/
What spoils the beginning of a promising 4-day weekend?
The sound of a neighbour singing off-key along to his karaoke machine.
I don’t mean to sound mean. I know he and his friends must be enjoying to their hearts’ fullest, considering how the weather today was near perfect. To top it, a 4-day weekend is one of those rare bits in life that make you feel like everything in its place.
Even though work has kept my nose to the grinder, stuff has been upbeat. I’m making a trip to India soon.
I know! I’m wiggling my shoulders in pure joy as I’m typing this!
My mum’s chicken sandwiches, my grandmother’s mutton curry, phuchkas, unending plates of pav bhaji, and of course sweet sweet masala chai. I will also be hob-nobbing with fierce skin-burning sunshine and relatives who will no doubt pore over my stories of London. Both which I enjoy a lot, and will never admit to anyone.
However, I haven’t booked my tickets yet and am in the danger of worrying myself to a frenzy. This almost-vacation is coming in a good time. I’ve already loaded one of my camera and re-charged the other, laid out my sleeveless blouses, flip-flops and packed my larger-than-life shopper with sunscreen. I’m going on a photo-spree for three whole days. The only thing marring this joy would be the fact that my laptop needs repair and is being taken away from me…..correction, being wrenched away from me tomorrow but that’s not what this post is about.
Since I haven’t been spending much time in the kitchen, I have been spending money…on eating out. I won’t even bother mentioning anything about weight. I mean if I am getting fat by eating out, I might as well write and post pictures about it.
I have no shame when it comes to China Town. I can honestly say that I’d be happy to run naked through London’s Chine Town wearing nothing but a Chinese paper hat, waving a lantern in the air and gnawing on soy-braised chicken feet.
Uh, you can replace the image with half-eaten Taro cakes or rolls of sticky rice with minced beef stuffing or better yet, steamed buns with that darkly sweet barbecued pork center. My lunch yesterday included Taro cakes, the addictive buns, chicken feet and pork dumplings swimming in their own heavenly juices. The meal ended with a delicious steamed mango pudding, not too tart not too sweet, and which was accompanied with an eccentric puddle of salty milk custard.
I won’t lie…I have had more than my fair share of Chinese food but I’ve almost never ventured into Chinese sweet/pastry territory. The salty custard was startling at first and I somehow kept expecting it to get better. But it didn’t get better by itself. However, it perfectly complemented the gelatinous mango custard. A lovely end to a lovely meal.
I’ll try not to mention the braised tripe dish (charmingly named ‘Honeycomb’), which although I was open-minded enough to chew through, had too strong a smell for my belly to bear. I’m reminded of Fuchsia Dunlop’s rant about the insides of little piggies and the working Chinese man’s obsession with it all. Yes, I am getting through the book at the moment. Utterly fascinating and engrossing to say the least. Most of all, it makes me want to eat Chinese food all day long, much to my colleagues’ irritation as I keep suggesting Chinese fast food outlets for lunch rather than their preferred English pub. A dry steak over sweet-n-sour chicken?? NEVER.
Happy Easter, you jolly folks! And for those of you in the UK, happy long 4-day weekend!!
Posted by Amrita on April 23, 2011
http://amritac.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/chinese-rants/
Unforgivable.
Unfathomable.
Hopeless.
You can also call me names if you want. I also have a bunch of excuses lined up. But I don’t think there is any chance any of you would forgive me considering how I haven’t been cooking at all (except for a batch of cream puffs that I had made for a friend’s birthday) and to top it I’ve come empty-handed today. No recipe. No anecdote.
I am embarrassed to say the least.
Although you might be interested to know how I’ve settled in London, in an adorable neighbourhood lined with skateboarding teenagers, blossom trees and mothers who carry bake-trays of simnel cake to each other’s house. I’ve also settled into my job, hectic and busy as they come and Addison Lee has officially become my transportation-provider from office to home practically every night. My suitcases and trolley-bags still sit near the door looking like misfits who’re not really happy to be anywhere outside India. My room, although big and airy with enormous bay-windows, somehow has the feel of a polite but chilly butler. The only comfort is the Ikea lamp which glows at night re-assuringly. Its been with me for quite some time now and knows more than I want it to.
However, you might be more interested in how my morning ham and cheese croissant and skinny latte does a lot to cheer me up everyday. Our company chef, Paul has recently discovered my depths of ‘foodie’ness and has made it a habit of plunging into food-oriented conversations with me every time our paths cross in the cafeteria. I grin and complement him on his spag-bol.
I have also gone Holga and have bought myself a Holga 120GN along with a carton-load of medium-format films which are currently sitting pretty in my refrigerator. So you can, from now, expect Holga and lomo pictures of my food. That is, if I somehow manage to find the time to grab my spatula and whip up something. I know, I’m in danger of sounding like a snobby Londoner who goes on about how busy she is and how you have to make an appointment to have a phone conversation with her because she’s more concerned with her new high-heels that help her clack away to glory on the concrete platform of the underground stations.
But believe me that is not the case. I solemnly swear to find time to cook, to eat, to collect stories and to write.
Posted by Amrita on April 17, 2011
http://amritac.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/pausing-to-update/
New Job. New people. New city. And one dream coming true already. I’m moving to London. Will send you all my love from there. Take care.
Posted by Amrita on February 4, 2011
http://amritac.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/and/
My semi-weekend was spent well, loitering about London visiting a few old favourites and a few new ones. On the upside, I loaded up on macarons and strawberry tarts from Laduree and Patisserie Valerie and on the downside, Harrods is still heaving with an unbelievably insane crowd due to the “Sale”.
I like to think that it was this crowd that pushed me brutally towards the Food Hall. And I blame them for forcing me to buy a couple of darling little poussins.
And of course you cannot really go about town in London without spending a few quids on clothes, shoes and accessories. And so I did. A gorgeous Jane Norman number in black and purple, a pair of leather wedges from Aldo and a yellow carry-all from River Island. Bounty? Oh yes.
The whole experience was obviously a break from my daily routine of curling up under the duvet and type away at the laptop and cooking poached egg curries (that invariably get slightly burnt on the underside). Three days, no worries. Ashwin and I lunched at China Town where he tried chicken’s feet for the first time and then keeled over when he realised there were more bones than flesh. But at least he spent two hours learning to use chopsticks at Busaba Eathai over a bowl of pad-thai and a crab soup. We spent Friday evening (after drenching ourselves to the bone in rain) sipping hot chocolates at Freggo, a teeny-weeny little cafe right behind Nat Geo at Piccadilly Circus, the almost dark alley gleaming in front of us. Another lunch included monstrous burgers at Byron, after dragging heavy shopping bags around Shepherd’s Bush. A stroll through the Tate and Burlington Arcade added the finishing touches to the weekend. And that was just what I needed to clear my head and refresh myself.
And now, the pictures.
Posted by Amrita on January 11, 2011
http://amritac.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/my-weekend/
