Mooli's Kathi Rolls, Calcutta Still Rules Supreme

I am so not a follower of fashion, otherwise like every other blogger in London and beyond I would have made it to Mooli’s a long time ago.

Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing that I am not a follower of trends. It does allow me to see how a place performs over an extended period of time, and then I can decide whether I should eat there or not. As we all know that any place in the beginning has teething problems and they take time to iron out, but on the other hand if a place is charging you money and it is not perfect then they sholdn’t be charging you anything. Alas they always do.

Anyhows, as I was recently in Calcutta, who are the kings of the kathi roll, to which mooli sell a form of, except in Calcutta they use fried paratha instead of roti or chapattis. I am kinda missing the food, or the spice of it, but unfortunately Indian food in England is not that good. But I did become slightly addicted to kathi rolls on my few days in Calcutta. I must have tried at least half a dozen street stalls in my quest to find the perfect one. To which I did. It was slightly greasy, but the filling was amazing. So spicy and tangy. 

With this in mind we were looking for something light to chow on. It could have been Yslla Yalla and its Lebanese filled wraps or maybe give Mooli’s a try. Why not indeed.

The shop is small and cosy in a trendy sort of way. One of the owners was playing speed chess on the street with passers by. If they won, they won a mooli roll. The guy who was playing when we were there was eating a baguette from a chain coffee store.

Mooli’s has 5 fillings in their rolls. The fillings compared to India are different. Well it is not so much that they are different, they are suited to the local clientele that is all. In India they normally have either a chicken or veg filling. Both kinds are spicy, as the local population like them that way. Mooli’s filling whilst very yummy, but were not that spicy, even though we were warned they were. Maybe it is eating raw chilli’s with my meals over the last 10 weeks that has numbed my taste buds. Could be.

We opted for the Punjabi goat with cumin potatoes and salsa, and the Goan pork with pomegranate salsa which came with a ton of lettuce filling. Both were very nice to eat, although the goat was a little bit more tastier than the pork. Maybe that is due to me only really eating mutton in India. (Mutton in India is goat, not old sheep)

The pork mooli had too much salad filling and not enough pork inside, but other than that they were ok for a lazy Soho light lunchtime snack.

I’m not sure if I would return there any time soon to munch on some more, but if I am in the area and hungry and have a fiver to spare. You never know.

Look, I got through that whole blog without bitching about the incredible mark up on a simple rolled chapatti. Phew.

Foto Friday # 15

The street food in Calcutta is some of the best in India. This stall sold the best kathi rolls that i ate in Calcutta, and I ate quite a few.

Maggi Noodles at 13,000 feet

Just to mention the word Maggi noodles and most people will look at you with either total disgust or a complete look of pity. Well, I would, as they are pretty crap. Not a foodies idea of a good meal. But believe me, when you are freezing cold and wet you will woof down a bowl of them.

Maggi noodles are a part of travelling in the Himalayas. At one point everyone has eaten a bowl of them, especially in the more remote regions of northern India. No one likes to admit it but we all have done it. I have met people who whilst eating maggi noodles actually denied that they have ever eaten them.

My most recent jaunt with a bowl of noodles happened just below the Se La pass in Arunachal Pradesh. After driving up to 13700 feet, and thoroughly freezing our arses off. We were in desperate need of some warming up.

We never even stopped at the pass, as after being stuck in the mud on the way up, and having to push our way out in the rain. We were pretty damn cold. There were moments in that trip that I thought the end was nigh. Maybe something to do with those long drops to my left.

So just below the pass we noticed a small truck stop. Chai time. Unfortunately this particular stop never had chai. I know. A truck stop without chai. What is the world coming to?

The owner did however have maggi noodles on the menu. Well that was all she had. So 5 bowls of noodles with extra chilli were ordered.

She ushered us into the dining room, where small plastic stools were set around a wooden stove, with a 32” flat screen tv was playing the latest Indian soap operas. Damn that fire was good. My feet were pretty cold by this point. Actually my whole body was slowly freezing up.

These were probably the best bowl of maggi noodles I had ever eaten. She made some mean ones. The amount of liquid was perfect with the cut noodles. The extra chilli made the bland “masala” powder a little bit more spicy, and perked me up quite a bit. The hot liquid warmed us up no end.

The added bonus of a glass of hot water at the end of the meal, just made us warm up that little bit more. Yes, we were that high.

We did stop an hour or so later on, but that Yak Thukpa was good, but somehow that bowl of maggi noodles has now reached heavenly highs, that I am sure no bowl of noodles will reach in a long time. 

I'm Back and a Sunday Roast at The Albion (Again)

After 10 weeks of travelling through 5 countries, spending countless hours couped up in a Toyota Innova on a daily basis. Inspecting around 200 hotels, doing more sight seeing than a Japanese tour group, and eating at more hotel restaurants than a Michelin Guide. My mad trip has finally come to an end. Phew. I'm kind of amazed I lasted the full distance. There were moments in Burma that suggested I wasn't going to make it. But somehow I rallied on and pushed on through to the bitter end.

My final day on this exotic trip consisted of eating steamed idili's inside the brand spanking new Terminal 3 at Delhi airport. A great south Indian breakfast dish, which came with all the trimmings. A coriander, coconut and a chilli chutneys, plus a lovely sambhar that struck all the notes for a goodbye meal to India at 6am. 

I resisted the temptation to eat bad burgers or subway sandwiches at Muscat airport, knowing full well the delicious food that was going to be put in front of me on Oman Air. I can not remember what I had, but it sure soaked up the 2 double rum and cokes I had beforehand. 
As I probably won't be eating any form of Indian food for at least a few days till I start work on Wednesday. I was in the need of something completely different from the last 10 weeks. Hey as it was Sunday, so why not do a roast. Now, where was the best roast we had eaten in the last year. 
For some reason, Islington was mighty quiet on this Sunday lunchtime. Maybe the media types had escaped town on this Bank Holiday weekend. Thankfully they had, as a reservation at the Albion was easy to come by. Phew.
Today was not the best day for eating outside, especially as it was not steaming hot, with humidity hitting 90%, so everyone was chowing inside. Another phew, as I was not sure I would have lasted the entire meal outside in the cold.
It was a no brainer as to what I was having. Rare Roast Beef with all the trimmings. Lina had the Belly of Pork. Now something has happened since my last visit earlier this year. The portion sizes have increased somewhat. Excellent news. I mean they were not small in the first place, but now they are more in keeping with my size of belly.

The roast beef was bloody juicy and rare, although slightly to thickly cut for my liking, but it ate very very well. The pork, of what I was allowed to eat was soft and tender. The trimmings were as I would expect form the winner of the Observer Best Sunday Roast Award 2009 were plentiful and great. It's been a long time since I'd eaten parsnip and I cherished every moment of it. 
All this was washed down with a lovely pint or two of Black Sheep bitter. Again something I had missed over the last 70 days. I am going to make up for this lack of bitter that is for sure. 
I really must visit the Albion more for Sunday lunch, as it ticks all the boxes on what I expect from a great lazy Sunday afternoon meal.

Tibetan Thukpa

Thukpa is Tibetan noodle soup. Very similar to other noodle soups, that you may find in other parts of Asia. But this is from Tibet, and when you are up in the mountains over 3000 metres, this becomes the best noodle soup ever.

What makes a truly great noodle soup is the stock base. Nearly all the thukpas I have eaten have had an amazing base to them. Not quite up to the standard of Hanoi’s infamous Pho. But it comes a pretty damn good second place.

Sometimes you get fresh noodles, other times it is those pre made egg noodles. Sometimes, and god forbid you even get maggi noodles. Although saying that, eating a hot bowl of maggi noodles at over 4000 metres when your feet and body are soooo cold. All thoughts of how crap they are go out the window.

You always get a small selection of vegetables inside your thukpa, this depends on where you are and on what season, but normally it is either bok choi or cabbage.

The meat is very dependant on where you are also. Chicken or beef are the norm, although in Nepal they use buffalo a lot. We found one place in Arunachal Pradesh, just down form the Se La Pass on the way towards Tawang that was selling Yak Thukpa. A new one for me.

A very flavorsome meat, but not the best in the world. Very chewy, but that maybe just the bad cut we were given. Who knows. But the yak momos were not that good either. A nice animal to look at, but not so good to eat.

I remember almost living on Thukpa on my first trip through northern India and Nepal. It is such a filling and warming meal that gives you some stamina to brave those dark, cold winters nights up in the mountains. Plus for me it is a soup full of good memories, some of the best times I had travelling have been in Ladakh and Nepal.

So on this short trip through the Himalayas I ate as much thukpa as I could. Unfortunately it was not enough, as my schedule did not allow me more than a few days in Nepal, and about the same in Arunachal Pradesh. But it was good whilst it lasted.

Foto Friday # 14

This wood burning stove produced some of the finest Thukpa we had in northern India. The same simple eatery also hand made their own noodles and momos, which were pretty damn fine also.
Amazing things come from simple places sometimes.

Momo’s

Momos are little crescent shaped pieces of heaven. Those little delights that I have been eating since I first hit northern India and Nepal back in the late 90’s. Yes I am that old.

They are made of very simple flour and water dough, not too dissimilar to making raviolis really. The dough is rolled as thin as possible, but not to thin that it will split in the cooking process. The filling is spooned into the centre then they are either made into the more traditional half moon shape or a more round dumpling type shape. They are then steamed over a soup or a stock base, which is served along side the momos in small bowls. A very hearty and delicious snack. It’s never a meal for me, just a starter or a snack.

They are really popular in Nepal and anywhere that Nepalese or even Tibetans hang out. But they can be found all over the Himalayas from Ladakh in the west to Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh in the west.

Pork filling is really popular, but anything can be put inside. I’ve even tasted momos with a vegetable samosa filling. Controversial I know.

They are normally made as a crescent shape but in Bhutan they make them more as a dumpling, in the Chinese style of dumplings. The ones in Bhutan were not the best in the world as the dough was slightly too thick, and sometimes not cooked properly. Potbelly stickers.

The best ones I had on this trip was at a house in Kathmandu. The lady of the house made the most delicious ones I have tasted in an age. The filling was pork, but subtly spiced and with a touch of coriander to give them that freshness. Lovely.

To make momos, you need to fashion the dough into small circular flat pieces. The filling is then enclosed either in a round pocket or in a half moon shape or crescent. The dumplings are then steamed over a soup or stock, this is in turn served with the dumplings, as well as a chilli sauce or even soy sauce if you like.

They can also be steamed and part fried, or even deep fried, not my favorite way of eating momos but some like the crispy coating.

They are very similar in a way to the Chinese Jiaozi. But it is really in Nepal that they are shown to their highest grade.

I’ve never found a decent momo in London, although I always meet someone who knows someone whose friend ate some as good as in Nepal. An urban myth if you ask me.

Foto Friday # 13

A Yak living a tranquil life up near Se La Pass at 4175 metres (13700 feet). Strangely enough I had some Yak momo's and Yak Thukpa about an hour or so later. Interesting meat.

Foto Friday # 11

The great Indian Thali dish. 

Goodbye to Bhutan

This should have read Hello Bhutan, but it has been a really busy 10 days, what with hotel visits, trekking, eating and drinking. I have not had time to do anything. 
So sadly as you read this we are on our way to Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India. No idea what to expect, but I am leaving behind a great unspoilt country that I am going to miss. 

Foto Friday # 10

A fine cup of coffee served to me at the end of a 12 hour journey. Cost 5 rupees.

Going Vegan in Haridwar

It’s taken me nearly 2 weeks to get my Indian companions to eat somewhere that wasn’t in a hotel. That first group of Delhi boys had organised every meal in a hotel. For them this was a bit of luxury that doesn’t come around all that often, so they made the most of it. I have to give credit where credits due, the food in the hotels here has been pretty good. Only once or twice did it taste like it was out of a jar. One place it was so bad we never even finished the first plate, a bit embarrassing as we were dining with the owner. Then again he never ate anything that night. A wise man.

So after arriving at our hotel in the Holy and Vegetarian city of Haridwar. The city of Shiva the Destroyer. They were forced to eat out of the hotel, as the restaurant had closed. Phew. Without even trying I had succeeded.

So onto the streets we went. The two new Delhi boys looked a little lost and scared, even though one of them eats out every day, but he is a bit posh. I choose the nearest place to our hotel, it reminded me of the places that I used to eat in when I travelled around India. It was grotty and more importantly it was cheap. Back then I had no money, and was travelling very economically.

Plates of dhal, mixed veg curries, roti were ordered and placed on our table. A feast fit for a king. I am getting pretty good at eating with my hand now, kinda got it but not quite. It will be interesting when I return to London though.

I’ve also noticed that people here, eat a lot of bread at first, but will always finish the meal with some rice. To mop up some of the remaining dhal or curry sauce. Our first attempt wasn’t bad. It wasn’t brilliant but it was ok, plus eating with people in a crowded restaurant is a bit if a change. A good one.

Amazingly I managed to get them to eat out again the following day, mainly as we had missed the restaurant at the hotel again. I knew I shouldn’t have asked so many questions at that last hotel visit. He he. Plan worked.

The next joint served up some of the best food I’ve had in India. Really good veggie food. It was a cleaner than my last choice, but the quality of food was ten fold. A constant flow of people made sure the food was fresh.

A smaller meal this time of dhal fry, channa masala and a mixed veg curry went down a treat. The dhal fry was tasty and spicy. I’ve made channa masala before but nowhere as good as this one. Roti and rice were the accompaniments to a great cheap meal. Shame we were leaving the following morning, as I would have loved to have eaten there again.

I have to say though the buffet breakfast at the hotel was really good as well. All south Indian food. Lovely spicy curries are just what the doctor ordered for first thing in the morning. Ask my cousin, he always has a curry for breakfast. Mainly because he falls asleep drunk, and doesn’t eat it from the night before. 

Retro Deserts in India

I have noticed that Indians love their puddings. Everyone on these trips with me has eaten a pudding after their hefty meals. I’m not really a sweet eater, so I am giving them a miss, mainly as I am trying to shrink my ever increasing waistline.

One pudding I had to eat though as it was a real blast from the past was cold custard and sliced banana.

I haven’t eaten this since I was at Junior school in the 70’s. It was a real surprise to have this put in front of me. I couldn’t say no.

It even tasted the same as well. Definitely from a tin, the thickness gave it away as well as the sweetness. Not to dissimilar to Birds. I think I went through most of my childhood eating cold custard, and eating this gave me so many memories I was almost crying with happiness.

The banana was soft and ripe and is the perfect partner to thick cold custard

The only difference was the inclusion of some shaved coconut, which added an extra note to it.

I’ve seen it on many a buffet table now, that dish at the end all on its own crying out to be eaten. Thankfully my willpower is strong and I can say no.

Now I wish I could say no to everything else put in front of me, then I might be able to loose some weight.

Hosted Lunches …

A major part of my life at the moment is visiting hotels for an inspection. These can be fun or they cannot. It all depends on the person who is showing you around. Some actually enjoy their job and take great pride to make it as entertaining for you as it can be. Some others (who I shall not mention) try and make it a living hell, by reciting from the hotel pamphlet. I wish she would have just giving me the leaflet and let me be. That hour is lost forever. I cannot get it back.

Sometimes, but not so much in India as in Oman, we get hosted lunches or dinners. These can be fun also, but again it all depends on the person who is eating with you. One or two have been painful, but most have been really enjoyable.

We’ve also had in Oman as well as in India some unhosted lunches, where you are just plonked into an empty restaurant and given a menu to order from. I have learnt quickly that when we are at an unhosted meal, the food is going to be crap, and it generally always is.

I would say that the majority of people working in hotels in Oman are form India. Well Kerala to be precise. So all the food is really south Indian food. Excellent I say.

This is not just because the rich Omani’s will not work in these jobs, it’s just that they have figured out that that they do not know how to run hotels and cook Indian food that well. So they get in experts to do all these things for them. But the links between Oman and India have been going on for centuries. They have deep trading links, and a mutual respect is given from both sides. Yes a lot of Indians do the real crap jobs, but it’s not like the UAE here where they are treated like shit. All the Omanis I spoke to liked and respected the Indians there in Oman. Where as in the UAE, and Dubai to be precise they are not respected nor liked. They are there to do the crap jobs, and that’s it.

So Oman has been eating Indian food for centuries and it’s a bit like in England where Indian food has been taken over as the norm now. Except in Oman where it is sooooooo much better. We got to eat really good south Indian food every day. I was expecting to see a lot more middle eastern food as I know from Lebanon, Egypt etc, alas no. It’s Indian all the way. 

Our first hosted lunch and for food it is still the best. The Chedi in Muscat. We were also staying there as well, and so far after nearly 4 weeks, it is still the best hotel I have stayed in.

After the tour of the hotel we were taken to the restaurant for lunch, now as it was my first day in Oman I opted for a traditional Middle Eastern mezze starter. All the usual suspects were there and tasted amazing. Now, Oman is well known for its fish, so a main of the grilled mixed seafood platter went down a real treat. The lobster tail was just so delicious. So moist and yummy. It’s not every day you get to eat lobster, so why not. Although I had just had it a few days before in Belgos. More on that at a later date.

The most fun dinner was at the Hilton in Salalah. The food from the Sri Lankan chef was blinding. Melt in the mouth chicken tandoori. Oh My Gawd. It was so good. But the company of the sales manager and his assistant was just great. Really nice people and they were genuinely happy to be with us. Plus they comped our rather large bar bill afterwards. Gladly we were not drunk or that would have been bad. Very.

A few meals came as a bit of a surprise, these were from small roadside cafes, serving the local Omani’s and Indian expats. They were cheap and cheerful but were delish none the less.

It’s just polite to do the hotel visit before being invited to eat in their restaurants. But sometimes you are just wanting to go straight and eat and miss the hotel tour altogether.

In India it’s a different thing all together. The hotels generally do not do hosted events. Not the big ones anyhows, as they can survive without our custom. But the smaller hotels like the Shahpura House in Jaipur for example needs every bit of custom they can get. So they scratch your back we scratch theirs. That seems to be the Indian way of doing business. But I have to say the lunch they gave us was pretty fantastic. The Lal Maas was sublime. Not quite as red and fiery as it should be but pretty damn good none the less. The mutton (as they call goat) was melt in the mouth. The hotel was very nice as well, and worth praising for what it is even without the great food.

But to be honest I am getting rather fed up of hotel food. I miss the India I know. Those cheap eateries in the street that seem to give you the best food of all. I miss interacting with the locals and finding out how they prepare their dishes. In hotels the kitchen is right off limits, although I managed to sneak a quick chat with the head chef at the Anãnda Spa Resort. I so wanted to eat there, but we were only offered tea or coffee. Damn.

I am slowly heading to Nepal where a buffalo steak awaits me. 

Foto Friday # 8

These veggie pakoras were being cooked at a small roadside stop on the way up to Almora in northern India. They went down great with some coffee as an early morning breakfast.

A Working Trip

After several months of mulling around Islington doing nothing, I finally got a job. Yeahhhhh…. I decided not to go back to cheffing and I am back in travel. Well it pays more and the hours are much better than being a chef. Unbelievable but yes it’s true.

Before I actually begin working though, I am being forced to go on a 10 week working trip through Oman, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Burma. This is all being paid for by my new company. I know. This never happens in the travel industry.

So as I am writing this from Corbett National Park in northern India. No safari, just hotel visits.

This educational is for me to get acquainted with all the products that I am going to sell, plus as I am also going to see part of this trip through the eyes of our customers, so I will be able to know what is the best for them.

Now you might think this is all very well, and I am sitting in 5 star hotels, lounging around by the pool, being pampered by the hotels in their spa facilities.

Unfortunately not.  I wish it was like that, but it isn’t. Since arriving into Oman, and now India. I haven’t stopped. I’m doing 12 – 14 hour days. (So actually not that much difference from cheffing), but we are mainly sitting in a car being driven around from town to town, sight to sight, hotel to hotel. All very dull now.

This is a definite working holiday. Looking at my schedule, I am never in a city or town for more than 2 nights. Most are going to be one. Not a lot of time to do my laundry, or anything else. In the 3 weeks I have seen more than 70 hotels.

I was going to write this sooner but sleep always got the better of me. So I hope to write a few words on this trip and the food I’m eating and the places I’ve seen.

The first one will be on hosted lunches in Oman. All very exciting. Not.