Thursday, November 05, 2009

Allez Cuisine

The highlight of my trip back to India was the week I spent with my friend Sunnymorn. And I’m not just saying that because she reads this blog and would kill me for saying otherwise. Other than amusing Facebook comments back and forth, I hadn’t spent time with her in ages and we were more than ready to make up for lost time.

Sunnymorn and I are good at many things, but two of the things we’re best at are shopping and dining. And much to our husbands’ chagrin, we don’t believe in budgets. After visits to numerous FabIndia outlets and the hunt for a new cell phone for yours truly, we could hardly be expected to celebrate our long awaited reunion at the local McDonalds or Sagar Ratna.

We lunched at some great spots both on our own and with her son, the Little Prince. The highlight of our dining adventures, however, was definitely lunch at Wasabi by Morimoto at the Taj Mahal Hotel. This was my second Masaharu Morimoto experience as Hubby and I had been to his Philadelphia restaurant several years ago.

The surprisingly well-priced sushi selection included a several fixed priced lunches, which included salad, soup, and lots of sushi. Much to Sunnymorn’s chagrin (and vague mortification), I requested to have their classic lunch set as a vegetarian selection instead of enjoying the tuna and salmon sushi she had been waxing poetic about all day. To be fair, Sunny was worried that I would be paying for the typical vegetarian sushi plate of cucumber and bell pepper rolls. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

When the wooden plank was placed before me, I couldn’t even identify most of the vegetables before me but I knew for certain that there were no boring cucumber rolls in the mix. Mouth watering, melt in your mouth, delicious, food-gasmic, amazing – I said this and more about the eight pieces of sushi I inhaled between snippets of gossip and shared memories. Even though the Iron Chef himself wasn’t there to oversee the restaurant, his vision certainly was – and it showed. Everything from the service to the tea was perfect and we weren’t even done eating.

I hadn’t come all the way to India to eat sushi and not have dessert you know! We ordered dessert and in the battle of who ordered better, I won hands down: my lemon tart came with instructions! First I had to bite into a special lemon. Then I chewed on a yucky tasting bean for one minute before spitting it back out. Then back to the lemon. Finally I was allowed to eat the bliss inspiring, orgasmic lemon tart. The idea was that this bean was able to change the flavour of the tart lemon into a sweet treat. I still tasted the divine flavor on the edges of my palate hours later. It was sincerely that good.

I love Sunny for many reasons not the least of which is that she’s super cool, let me do my laundry at her place, and knows many of my most embarrassing secrets yet doesn’t hold too many of them against me. (If she ever tells you about an extremely hung-over drive to Gurgaon where I probably permanently damaged a friend’s garden - I have no idea what she’s talking about. Really.) Most of all, Sunnymorn is always game – for sushi, for shopping, for hunting down dryer tubes or just chilling out and texting each other from across the room. I would have had a good time in Delhi anyways but thanks to Sunny, I had an awesome time.

(Note: Many of you asked me to blog about the food in India and this post was probably not what you had in mind. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten and I promise fulfill your request in the coming weeks.)

32 comments:

Midlife Roadtripper said...

"If she ever tells you about an extremely hung-over drive to Gurgaon where I probably permanently damaged a friend’s garden - I have no idea what she’s talking about. Really.)"

Hahahahahahaha! Now that sounds like fun. I think I would like to try one of the orgasmic lemon tarts. What fun to eat in such an incredible chef's restaurant.

Helen McGinn said...

Mmmm...sushi.....next you'll be telling me you went to India and had haggis....*L* Looking forward to more food posts! xx

SunnyMorn said...

Mmmm went to Wasabi again yesterday, and yup I had the Lemon Tart in honor of you! And yes the miricle bean was GROSS. That said it did make the tart sublimely delicious!! Miss Ya!!

Betty W said...

That lemon tart sounded in a way gross and in a way heavenly. I guess that´s why it was so unusual.
I am a very "conservative" eater, so I don´t think it would be for me, Indian food, but the passionate way you write about it, makes it sound worth a try.

LadyFi said...

That lemon tart sound wonderful!

Please tell me more about that first picture... looks more like beans or lentils being weighed?

illahee said...

yay for good friends to spend fabulous times with!!

Zuzana said...

How wonderful that you can keep such a strong connection with a friend that lives so far away. I feel the older I get and the more I have moved it is difficult to keep friends and making new ones (outside of blogger) is impossible.
The food you describe sounds absolutely lovely, beats the boring sandwiches I am having for lunch.;)
Have a great Friday,
xo

Amanda said...

It took me an hour or so, but I've finally caught up on your blog. I've missed your adventures!

Unknown said...

If you find a CROCK POT..buy 2..I will pay you when you get here! (I know we can buy them in England but then we have to switch the plugs)

Anonymous said...

Lemon tart---my favourite! However, I'm not sure about the magic bean. I did see a CSI (or some such program) about magic bean parties so--you must have had the magic bean that changes flavours!
merthyrmum

Sahildeki Ev said...

Oh such a yummy experience.. Sushi in India.. I will keep in mind..

Susie said...

Ok...I completely endorse food posts!! I love to read about what is on people's plates around the world:-)

Sandra Wilkes said...

How interesting! I've never been to India but my neighbors are from India and I have Indian food there sometimes. Your blog makes me think of Eat, Pray, Love with your travels. Enjoy it to the nth degree. What great experiences!

Christine Gram said...

Sounds like a wonderful friend. And my mouth is watering for a taste of that tart!

Lydia said...

Was it miracle fruit? I've always wanted to try that!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_fruit

Ooh, I want to go make some lemon curd RIGHT NOW!!

Betty Manousos said...

Sushi in India. I 've learned something new.
Love your adventure!
Have a lovely week-end!!
hugs hugs

Liz Mays said...

Your lemon tart experience was completely fascinating! I so love your posts!

~Kristen~ said...

Thank you so much for your kind words on my blogoversary post! I have been enjoying reading your blog!!! :-)

Anonymous said...

canada is awesome...i loved banff and the rockies...holy smokes! :)

Mocha Dad said...

Sushi is good no matter where in the world you have it.

Melissa B. said...

What!?! No curry for you? But mmmmmmmmmmmm...I heart sushi and lemon. AND the Taj Mahal Hotel. Here's to abandoning our budgets!

sprinkles said...

There's nothing better than sharing excellent food with a good friend!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Nothing like having friends you can catch up with and it feels like you haven't skiped a beat. Sounds like a wonderful time!

lizzy-loo said...

yum, sounds amazing. how wonderful to have a bosom friend. moving like we do it can be easy to lose touch with the people we meet from place to place. it is always nice to meet that one person you know really connects and will always be there no matter how far apart

Brenda said...

I love my friends who like to shop and eat!

Sushi in India was not what I was expecting. . . . cant wait to hear more!

Anonymous said...

Oh I shouldn't have read this...I'm so hungry!!!

prashant said...

next you'll be telling me you went to India and had haggis....*L* Looking forward to more food posts! xx Work From Home

N said...

I always enjoy good restaurants and it's hard to find a decent sushi place in Montreal.

Nicole said...

You've made me hungry :)

Hi! I'm Janola. said...

Oh, how I miss real Indian food! The chinese food there was also fab. The only place better for food than Delhi is probably Hong Kong. **drools**

Unknown said...

I love the food posts. The sushi looks divine! Vegetarian? Wow... I am amazed!

Sandy said...

I don't understand how it's been so long since I've visited. But I'm catching up today! This visit sounds fantastic. I've never thought much about visiting India but by the time I'm done reading your posts, I'm going to want to book the flights.