Gastronomic Journeys

From home cooked to street food to fine dining and everything in between....

Uttapam from Aryaas - nothing in the bay area comes close! 

Thali lunch at Aaryas-Unbelievably good for less than $2!!

 Dosas from my all time favorite haunt- Gokul Oottupura! The whole gang piling into a 5 seater and off to Oottupura for breakfast most mornings- unforgettable memories :)

Food at Fragrant nature Kollam, pricey but awesome! Another great outing, though the scenery is what I remember this trip most for. Will have another blog on the sights and sounds of 'Gods own country' soon....

Seafood soup @ Fragrant Nature Kochi- beautiful flavors all coming together!

Italian for the Italians in the group :) Pasta and Chicken salad.FN Kochi was an all round hit with continental and Indian cuisine, everything was finger licking good!

Fried plantains, pakoras and limitless hot masala chai, served on the rooftop with a sweeping view of the coastline of the 'Queen of the Arabian sea'- absolutely the highlight of this stay!

Naadan food at FN Kochi, did not quite hit the spot...

But the desserts more than made up for it! Bitter gourd and green papaya desserts in milk , was truly out of the world. Just barely managed a click before it disappeared! Never had anything like this before, just melts in your mouth and leaves you slightly dazed at the exquisite taste bud experience.

And now for the home cooked- saving the best for last! 

Pearlspot fried to perfection!

And a whole dinner prepared and served by my favorite S Auntie 

Sweet corn chicken soup

Chilly chicken

Chicken fried rice......

Feeling blessed at all the memories this blog post is bringing back and feeling an acute sense of nostalgia for all past trips.

My kitchen is under 'New Management'

A week away from my kitchen resulted in a takeover. The new regime has completely revamped the pantry, here's a sample of a typical dinner menu:

Alaskan cod burger with sauteed spinach and freshly picked peaches.

Soba noodles with grilled chicken, radishes,spinach and green peas

http://www.livestrong.com/article/361268-are-soba-noodles-healthy/

Sweet potato salad with soft boiled eggs

Quinoa with sauteed spinach and pine nuts. 

Sauted spinach with garlic, pine nuts, sweet potatoes and cranberries

And my all time favorite, 'Cioppino' night. Including the prep work that went into it :)

Wild blue mussels

Scallops and Shrimp

Simmering in the pot...heavenly aromas!

Picture doesn't do justice to the end result!

Recipe adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/cioppino-recipe.html

And topped off with Peach Cobbler!

Verdict: Kitchen has been sold to the chef under new management!!

A fine summer day in my favourite city.

Scenic beauty, cultural gems, diverse communities and gastronomic delights, sampled them all in a day!

The food:
Sugar beckons after the first couple of miles, hence a stop at Cream for ice-cream sandwiches.Too big, too sweet, should've ordered one to share instead of the rum n raisin AND salted caramel. Nothing great, given all the great reviews, was expecting something better.
Next time will try Bi Rite creamery.

Rum n raisin and Salted caramel. 

Deep Dish Pizza - Classic and Little Star.

Deep dish style pizza for lunch at Little Star Pizza- full of flavor and oozing with mozarella and fresh tomato sauce.

The Sights:

Today's mission was to explore SF's Mission District.

Mission Dolores

Old Mission

Perfect day for the SF skyline. 

Mission Dolores Park

Entrance to Mission Dolores Park

Iconic SF streets and their inclines from the top of 20th st. near Dolores Park

 excellent workout! 

Palms lining Dolores street.

And finally the arts:

https://www.creativityexplored.org/. Gallery houses works by handicapped artists.Happened upon this gem while walking down 16th, what a find! Some works from there presented here, enjoy! 

All in all - a perfectly satisfying day!

"It is a good thing the early settlers landed on the east coast... if they'd landed in San Francisco, the rest of the country would still be uninhabited." - Herbert Mye