Greetings from India (Mumbai)-Part 1

Well i've been in India for a week now, and it is more than I could have dreamed. Mumbai (most of the locals still call it Bombay) is the NYC of India, and I've been describing it to some friends as: if you could imagine all five boroughs of NYC crammed onto Manhattan island. It is so densely packed. Rich and poor together on top of each other. I have not yet seen Slumdog Millionaire, but a couple people that I spoke to here have, and they said it is a stunningly accurate portrait. I look forward to seeing it when I get home. As I figured going in, it was much safer than we would believe in the West, although signs of 26/11 (days before months here) abound, with constant newspaper coverage of the international political repercussions. I stayed in the Fort section of the city, which borders the Colaba section. My hotel was across the street from the glorious Victoria Terminus rail station. It looks like the Banff Springs Chateau, and not Grand Central. This was one of the main sites for the terrorist attacks, and security was tight. My hotel was clean and well appointed. It was about a 15 minute walk south into Colaba, past the Mumbai stock exchange, to the Gateway of India monument, which sits on the harbor. This is where the terrorists disembarked. The Taj Hotel was across the street, and you could still see the affects. Security was like a military base, and the first floor is still boarded up, but they are taking guests. The southeast corner roof still has the fire damage. It was moving to say the least.

The media in India appears to be significantly more free than the U.S. corporately-owned press. Journalists here offer much more scathing critiques of politicians and businessman than virtually all of the U.S. media, with the exception of maybe a Vanity Fair. There are many an Anderson Cooper here. I've been amazed at the voracity of the editorials and normal columnists. Anyways, on a less somber note, I spent the weekend in Mumbai and it was wonderful. Walking around the streets seeing the Raj-era buildings, you can see the British influence everywhere. But the city is so alive. From the moment I stepped off the plane I could feel the energy. This is the second city that never sleeps. Literally, the activity dampens from about 4:30-5:00 am and that's it. You get used to the incessant honking, and the throngs of people. When I get home I'll upload some photos, but I can't now.

As for the food. OMG. I ate at Indigo (photo above) the first night, this is an uber-trendy restaurant that Conde Nast ranks as number 58 on the world's best restuarants. It has a cool bar, lit up with soft blue and violet neon. Fully stocked (Guiness included), with anything you could want. I started with a Kingfisher, the Indian national beer. Repeat after me: Anheuser Busch, you are not even close to being the King of Beers. Kingfisher killed it, and that's just India's entry. Italy's Peroni, or the Caribbean's (correct?) el Presidente, the list goes on and on. The food was international, and it did not disappoint. I started with an appetizer special: goat cheese gnocchi with roasted garlic and pinenut butter. It melted on my tongue. My main course was a lobster risotto with black olive tapenade, it had a peppery flavor that was exquisite. As my brother and sister-in-law joke, of course I had the risotto. It's one of my faves and combined with the tapenade, also a favorite, it was a match made in culinary heaven. My dessert was a hot cappaccino souffle, and it was one of the top five best desserts I've ever had. It was prepared and served to perfection. The menu offers other apps such as pan seared confit duck leg, lobster bisque with crab ravioli, and a cured salmon and cream cheese torte with tangerine oil and caper berries. Other main dishes included a saffron risotto of roasted pumpkin with shallots and walnut cream, grilled tiger prawns with fennel and saffron dressing with watercress salad, tobiko and caviar, and a beef tenderloin glazed with radish, chickpea mash and kalamata olives. Other desserts included a rasberry marscapone tart with canola bean sabayon, chocolate plum fudge, and a Bailey's chocolate mousse with of course Bailey's cream poured over it. Hungry yet? The service was impeccable.

The next night I had dinner at Khyber (145 Mahatma Gandhi Rd), something of a Colaba institution, having been open for about 70 years. It is The place for Northern Indian cuisine (what, you thought I was going to come all the way here and not focus on local cuisine?). This place is decorated with a Moroccan feel. There is no sign out front, save for a small statue. But it's located on the corner right across an alley from the Rhythm House music store. They are known for their kabobs. They put out a starter with three bowls including baby red onions, mint/basil chutney and Indian pepper pickles. The pickles were amazing, and I soon found out were common with most Indian meals. Several different types of pickles are sliced, and then red carrot sticks are added to a spicy red chili sauce. Unbelievable. I started with a kabob of prawns tikka, that was 'r u kidding me good'. Spicy, and charred just right. The garlic naan was also broiled to perfection, and absolutely dripping with butter and garlic. My main dish was a paneer marshawala. Paneer is the Indian word for cheese. It has a tofu texture, and was prepared in a mild red sauce. I needed to order a second basket of naan to soak up all the sauce. My dessert was a caramel kulfi (indian ice cream) and a cinnamon coffee. Again, the food and service were exceptional. The only unfortunate item was ordering a mojito. It was poorly made, and I ordered it against my better judgement, but a couple next to me had also ordered them, and it sounded good in 90 degree weather. Whatever.

I went for breakfast at the famous Leopold's Cafe (hey if you go to NYC you're going to the Carnegie deli right?). As advertised, it was filled with westerners. But since it was the eponymous moniker of the cafe in Shantaram, and also the scene of carnage on 26/11, I wanted to partake, as well as pay respects. It's really a glorified diner with a bunch of American posters, including several of the ones with Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Elvis situated in classic paintings. There was one with them crossing Abbey Road like the Beatles. But the service was good, and the western breakfast was well done. I had a masala omelette (i've since had several of these, and this was about middle of the pack; masala implies it's got peppers and onions), toast and jam, and tea. I also picked up a liter of water for my day of siteseeing. Breakfast was cheap and good which is what it should be. If you want extravagence, you're talking brunch. I paid for breakfast, and made a donation to the fund for families of the terrorist attack victims since several employees were killed.

The next morning I had breakfast at Monty's (Cafe Mondegar). This was similar to Leopold's, but I liked the atmosphere better. It also catered to westerners, with a black and white checkerboard, 1920's motif. Breakfast was about the same as Leopold's. You might ask why I headed to a similar place (and they are located 2 blocks from each other), and the answer is that I wanted to do a little shopping, and both are located in an area with lots of vendors. And there were few other options for a 'safe' breakfast. The service here was slow, and back home I'd add 'painfully' to that description, but on this trip, time meant nothing.

As for the street food, against the advice of Passport Health, I had a few samosas throughout the day. Mmmm. And no GI issues, so just make sure you're watching them cook them so that they are fresh out of the boiling oil and you should be fine.

The one unfortunate food issue was the fact that after trekking about 2 miles through a very crowded district, in a humid 90 degrees, the Parsi Dairy Farm on Princess Street was closed. It was Sunday, but everything else in the area was open. This was supposed to be one of the best ice cream places in Mumbai, and I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to partake.

Anyways, I'm in Darjeeling now, and I'm eager to continue exploring. I'll try and get to Part II of my series, which will cover both overnight train rides (Mumbai to Delhi, and Delhi to New Jalgaipuri). Both were memorable.

Later friends,
MT