Everyday Asia – feast or famine?
Yes Everyday Asia… you have been sorely neglected!
Yes there are a bunch of partly written blog posts sitting in your draft folder…
Yes your phone is full to bursting with photos from various adventures…
Yes you were busy busy busy!
So… if you can’t write juicy little separate posts, just do a quick round-up… yes?
Here goes! (more…)
Eid Mubarak!!!
For all my friends around the world who finally broke their fast – Eid Mubarak!!
There is no mistaking the joyous celebration that comes with Eid.
INDONESIA
A couple of years ago I was in Indonesia during Lebaran (Ramadan). I will never forget meeting a friend at a mall, lining up for food with the throngs. All places to sit were full, plates heaping with delicious smelling feasts.. with everyone waiting.. waiting… waiting for the ‘gong’ to signal the sun had set and it was time to break the daily fast.
During that period, I stayed in a penthouse apartment in the central part of Jakarta. I had the most amazing view of the non-stop fireworks that started in the build-up to Eid then an ear splitting crescendo that kept roaring back over and over in jubilant bursts all night.
INDIA
Back in Bandra, Mumbai, we live next door to a mosque. The call to prayers weaves its way into the daily fabric of our lives. So it was no surprise when the spattering of fireworks signalled it was finally time…
Even better. a friend from Karachi / London invited us to his mother’s home in Mumbai for the feast! It was a carnivores carnival of delight…
So to all my Muslim friends here (India), there (Indonesia) and all around the world – Eid Mubarak!!!
Celebration time! (Islamicartdb.com)
Related posts:
Tokyo Day 1 – Wandering around Shinjuku Nichō
I promised a few more details and pics of my Japan trip… so here goes!
Before I left Mumbai, I consulted with a friend who lives in Tokyo for what to do in my ONE free day… His advice was:
- Airport to hotel only long enough to check-in and dump bags
- Head straight to Tsukiji – Fish Market – noting that while I would miss the really active early morning, even the outer edge is remarkable
- Walk to the Hamarikyu Gardens and have the maccha green tea
- Take a boat from there to the Asakusa Kannon temple
- Catch the subway back to the Hotel
- Nap (he’s done enough overnight Tokyo – Mumbai trips to know!)
- Go to the Robo Bar for the evening’s entertainment
It sounded ambitious but amusing.
And the reality? Far from the recommendations! (more…)
Makar sakranti / pongal feast
You know it is makar sakranti when every street corner in Mumbai is bursting with kites.
Known as makar sakranti in Maharashtra and pongal in Tamil Nadu, it is a time to celebrate the end of winter with flying kites and feasting!
It is also a time to get rid of the old and welcome the new. (more…)
Manitoba, Muffins + More in Singapore
One of the best things about my recent trips through Singapore was meeting up with friends. And the food. How fab is it when they combine?
An old University of Manitoba friend invited me to meet him and his wife at this lovely little cafe The Muffinry on Telok Ayer. Little did I know til I reached, that this charming place is actually theirs! (more…)
‘Pop’ home for ‘pop up’ Assamese
I ‘popped’ home to Mumbai on the weekend and found myself at a ‘pop up’ venue for a home made lunch of various Assamese delicacies. Expect by now most are familiar with the concept – enjoy fab food outside of the traditional restaurant setting with other ‘foodies’.
In this case, our venue was a funky store Sanctum, our hosts The Secret Ingredient and our chef the beaming energetic Gitika. (more…)
“Let’s go out for dinner!” aka the Puncak un-plan…
If someone says to you “Let’s go out for dinner Saturday”… you can be forgiven for having visions of a civilized sit down dinner, a glass of wine, a little desultory conversation..
However, that’s vastly underestimating my friends.
What did we do?
Hop in the car and drive from Jakarta to Puncak… braving macet in the city and macet on the winding road up to Puncak pass. (more…)
Fusion Soup – Massaman Pumpkin
One of the delightful things about living in Asia is access to a great variety of vegetables the easy way one can fuse flavours just by combining a little of this with a little of that!
While home, I had a hankering for pumpkin soup… but decided to give it a Thai twist! (more…)
The Emma G Days… a tribute to taking a chance!
Once upon a time there was a young lass, who had a crazy notion to run a late night vegetarian café! So she gathered her friends and friends of friends, they pooled their meagre resources, wrangled a Student Business Loan… And voilà! “Emma G’s Deluxe Eatery” was born 25 years ago!
It was a moment in time. Most of us were around 19 years old, we were fearless of failure, didn’t actually care about making money, just wanted a home for aspiring artists, musicians, writers, students and sundry misfits. (more…)
Everyday Asia 