Birthday dinner

Tania & I went back to “It” restaurant at “The Grand” hotel for my birthday. It was a lovely night & we had a great meal. I’ve attached photos for your drooling pleasure:

A tower of mushrooms with asparagus for Tania

A combination of lobster & prawns for me(avacado's weren't quite so nice - nowhere near ripe)


A lamb chop/osso bucco combination for Tania

A chicken & turkey combination for me

Chef Alfonso (a very nice bloke) made Tania a complimentary Zabaglione

My Zabaglione

What does a $US20,000 carpet look like ??

The day after our at-home dinner, Tania, myself & a couple of friends went carpet shopping at Mr Shabir’s. He showed some lovely carpets...including this magnificent, antique (it’s over 100yrs old) piece that is only $US20,000 !!

Tania absolutely adores it; I think it’s a lovely piece but neither of us could justify spending that much money.

Instead, the five of us walked out with a variety of carpets (not telling how much) to “try-before-we-buy”. They let you do that here: take home carpets to see how it looks & feels before you commit to buying the piece. I think it’s a great idea.






An update to this story: we had the carpets for just under two weeks & while they looked great at the showroom, they just didn’t work with our furniture. A call to Mr. Shabir & he came out one night during the week with a selection from the showroom. We ended up replacing all the carpets we took home from the showroom, with ones that look much, much better (& cost much, much more).

A dinner at home

For a change, instead of going out, Tania & I hosted a dinner at home with friends from the High Commission.

It was a very simple meal (photos for your drooling pleasure):



A selection of nibbles (incl. Bruschetta with tomato/onion/basil or caramelised onions/goat’s cheese; polenta squares with truffle paste/truffle oil or caramelised onions)



Lasagna ala Sandro with a healthy, leafy salad

Tania’s chocolate dessert (not so healthy & so rich that none of us could finish it !!)

Sights of Mumbai

Some of the things we saw wandering around the city:

Mumbai - Dinner at Indigo Restaurant

Dinner on the Saturday night was at this lovely restaurant called “Indigo”, again located just behind the Taj Palace, in this lovely, Victorian-era house.

Compared to dinner the night before in “Rat Alley”, this was going to be quite a different meal (& the bill reflected this – let’s not go there !!).

We were sat down & then presented with a menu titled “Dinner with Ms. Tania Wilson” which listed a special menu for our dining experience. Mind you, the ordinary menu listed some quite mouth-watering choices as well so it made deciding quite difficult (just look at http://www.foodindigo.com/dinner.pdf).

Our menu consisted of the following:

Pre-starter

Potato and Green Garlic Soup (with shaved Truffles and Pine Nuts)

Appetizer

Crispy Duck Confit, Orange Segments, Onion Marmalade (with Bitter Greens & Port reduction)

Roast Mushroom & Goat Cheese Tart (Baby Greens & Walnut & Dressing)

Main Course

Pork Tenderloin, Braised Swiss Chard, Caramelized Onion & Bacon Mash Potato (with Fennel Apple Slaw, apple & cinnamon jus)

Semolina Crusted Pan-Seared King Fish Steak, Beetroot & Cashew Upma, Ginger Brococoli (with a tangy tomato sauce)

Green Garlic Risotto, Fennel, Asparagus & Leeks (with Parmesan cream)

Dessert

Indigo’s Hot Amaretto Souffle (yum !!)

The meal was served with matching wines: a Yalumba 2006 Shiraz Viognier for the pork; a Tasca d’Almerita 2007 Regaleali Bianco for the Fish; a Mount Nelson 2005 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with the risotto & a Ferreira Porto Tawny with the dessert (the port went down very well as it’s been some time since I’ve had a sticky...they’re not that easy to get your hands on here)

The potato & green garlic soup

Manfred also decided to have the soup (it's a Coriander Chicken Broth with Tortellini & Crispy Okra)

This is the Confit of Duck (very tasty !!)

This is the Mushroom & Goat's Cheese tart

This is the green garlic risotto

This is the pork dish

This is the fish dish




This was the pouring of the sauce into the souffle

This is the Calebaut Chocolate Marquise, Torrone, Baked Yoghurt with Spiced Strawberry Coulis

Still the fall out from the Commonwealth Games continues...

Here's an article from "The Age" newspaper about the Indian government's auditor's report on the Games:

Uproar in parliament over Indian Games fiasco

Ben Doherty
August 10, 2011

"Due dilligence was conspicuously absent" ... a new report has condemned Delhi's 2010 Commonwealth Games. Photo: Jason South






NEW DELHI: India's calamitous Commonwealth Games last year cost 15 times initial estimates, running up a $US4.1 billion ($4.05 billion) bill against a $US270 million first budget, the country's auditor has found.

A new report to Parliament said preparations for the Games were deeply corrupted, tainted by favouritism and ran hugely over budget.

The 744-page report, which has not been released publicly but has been widely leaked, also said a quarter of tickets went unsold and that three times as many tickets were given away as at previous Games. The event made only $38 million in revenue.

And the imbroglio over the Games - intended to be a display of India's status as an emerging global superpower but marred by delays, cost overruns and a bridge collapse - has caught up two of the country's most senior politicians, with opposition parties turning on the office of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit.

The report found the Games boss, Suresh Kalmadi - who is now in jail facing a raft of corruption charges - was appointed by order of the Prime Minister's office despite ''serious objections'' from others in government.

It also found Ms Dikshit cost the government $US7.8 million by insisting the Games used imported street lighting in Delhi. ''Her 'active involvement' in luminaries [street lights] were imported at far higher cost than the domestic ones.''

The entire Games preparations were shambolic and wasteful, the report found. ''The modus operandi … was: inexplicable delays in decision-making, which put pressure on timelines and thereby led to the creation of an artificial or consciously created sense of urgency.''

Games contracts were awarded at exorbitant rates, often without any competition or bidding process.

''Appropriate due diligence was conspicuously absent at all levels.''

The Indian parliament's monsoon session descended into chaos on the back of the report.

Both houses were adjourned on Monday and yesterday as opposition parliamentarians disrupted proceedings, haranguing the speaker and yelling across the chamber.

The largest opposition party, the BJP, has demanded the resignation of Ms Dikshit, who does not sit in the national Parliament but is a member of the ruling Congress party. She has refused.

This article was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/world/uproar-in-parliament-over-indian-games-fiasco-20110809-1iku3.html

The problem with monekys in Delhi

Here's an interesting article from the Telegraph (UK) about the monkey population in Delhi:

India's civil servants caught up in Delhi "monkey wars"

Indian civil servants have been caught up in "monkey wars" after larger primates deployed to scare marauding macaques away from government buildings started coming under attack from their quarry.

More than 90 per cent carry tuberculosis, they swarm central government offices, prowl the landings, and bite through essential internet cables Photo: GETTY

By Dean Nelson, New Delhi
4:12PM BST 08 Aug 2011

There have been a number of attacks in the last year by macaques on langurs in what appears to be a reversal in the jungle pecking order in Delhi.

The implications are serious for those living in the heart of the Indian capital where the macaque population has grown unchecked in recent years amid a widespread reverence towards an animal which reminds Hindus of their monkey God Hanuman.

Many in the capital feed them on Tuesdays and Saturdays, which are marked as "Hanuman days." However, a series of attacks on members of the public has led to calls for the "monkey menace" to be dealt with.

More than 90 per cent carry tuberculosis, they swarm central government offices, prowl the landings, and bite through essential internet cables. Many attack people carrying food and even residents relaxing on their verandahs. Delhi's former deputy mayor was killed when he was attacked by a macaque on his apartment balcony and fell to his death.

In schools, government buildings and embassies, including the British High Commissioner's residence, the "monkey menace" has been kept at bay by a handler with a langur on a long chain. The langur is allowed enough rope to prowl the walls and ledges of the compound, leaving its scent which scares away the macaques.

Dr N P S Chavhan, a Primatologist at the Wildlife Institute of India, said the langurs deter the monkeys as part of a double act with their handler, each making noises to intimidate. "It's quite possible, the monkeys have adapted to the intimidation and fear of langurs and hit back whenever possible," he said.

Anuradha Sawney, a member of the Animal Welfare Board of India and owner of a monkey sanctuary just outside New Delhi, said the macaque's increasing boldness was down to its growing numbers in Delhi and its capacity to adapt to changing circumstances.

"If there are a lot of macaques the group will be strong and they will not be afraid to fight," she said.

Diljan Ali, a langur handler, complained that the government hires monkey men to confront the macaques but refuses to compensate them when their animals are defeated. "(The macaques) are very smart. They know when they have the advantage.

They attack in numbers and when they do it's pre-planned," he said.