South India: Kingfisher Airlines

Kingfisher Airlines

Because of our tight schedule, we've decided to fly between the provinces in South India that we wanted to visit (Kerala, Goa, Majarashta). India has quite a few budget airlines that flew in these cities. We picked Kingfisher because its website was easy to use. We did hit a snag getting tickets online, because my Visa card would not approve the charges. Amex did approve the charge, but the Kingfisher required bank verification of credit approval within thirty minutes of my booking and required that I call their toll-free US number. Which did not work.

Talk about stress! After some harried searching on their website, I found another customer service number and spoke with the Kingfisher rep, who insisted that I get bank approval. Good thing the Amex rep I spoke with smoothed everything out.

Btw, Kingfisher Airlines is part of the Kingfisher beer empire. Interestingly, its head CEO had been on trial for tax evasion.

Welcome kit: refreshing wipe, free pen, Mentos.

The great thing about Kingfisher is that they will feed you, no matter how short the route is. The meals are included in the price of the ticket. For our Kerala to Goa flight, which took two hours and involved two stops, we got two meals, and declined the third one. The attendants were able to hand out the food really fast, because everything was prepacked in these Kingfisher meal boxes that eerily looked like cigarette cartons.

Breakfast. From left: chickpeas with yogurt; basmati rice with corn and beans; mousse.

Breakfast #2: the mousse made another appearance. Tomato and cheese sandwich. Potato salad.

This meal was served on the Goa to Mumbai flight that we later took. The tomato and cheese sandwich came with a sweet bun and fresh fruit.

We were very pleased with Kingfisher and would definitely fly with them again. I would say that the only gripe I could possibly have was that flights to the Andaman Islands were hard to find at the last minute, but really, this was more our fault for booking tickets really late.

South India: Kerala: Green Palm Homes, Part III

Green Palm Homes, Part III

Yet another interesting part of our stay at Green Palms involved a trip to the local watering hole. We're noticed that Kerala in general seemed to be a mostly dry province. The sale of alcohol is heavily regulated. (Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it is a Communist state?) In fact, they even take down your name and address when you buy beer at the mainland store.

The main exception to this stringent rule is the sale of toddy. As mentioned previously, toddy is the fermented sap of the coconut flower. I suppose that being an indigenous brew, that pretty much anybody can make at home, it would just be too cumbersome to regulate it heavily. Toddy seems to be the brew of choice here in the backwaters.

Thomas gamely brought us to the local toddy shop for a taste. All the patrons were men (no surprise), who were quite discomfited by the sight of all these tourists barging in on their local pub.

I wish we took better pictures of the place, but it was very dark inside. It was a very no-frills place --- a tiny shack with a low door, lit by a single lightbulb. There were two semiprivate stalls with rustic, rough-hewn benches and tables. DJKung went to the bar, and saw that all they sold was toddy in clear, unlabeled glass bottles. We sat with two men at one of the stalls, but they quickly left us. Too bad, we were ready to engage in some local gossip too.

Cheers! Toddy is definitely an acquired taste. I was expecting a strong local brew like the Indonesian arrak (coconut wine), which is great with ice and honey. Thomas said that he gave us the strong, day-old stuff. It was a cloudy thin liquid, just like in the picture. To me, it tasted like rice vinegar!!!

Thomas had hired some canoes for us. He also entertained us with folk songs while they rowed home. It was a magical moment, just listening to them singing along with the swoosh of the paddles going through the water. Once in a while, kids would wave at us, and we would wave back.

On our last night at Green Palms, DJKung and I went for the sunset cruise on a small motorized boat. We had the boat all to ourselves too, and puttered around the backwaters for two hours. Along the route, some people were taking their evening baths or just washing dishes. Some locals were indoors watching tv. Our guide had excellent timing. We reached a big lake and lingered there a bit and waited for the sun to set.

DJKung being amazed at the breathtaking sunset views.

We attracted some hangers-on, who I guess were either in a rush, or were just getting tired of paddling.

Hanging around in the big lake. I like how the coconut trees in the background are of different heights, like notes on a scale.

Overall, we highly recommend Green Palms. It gave us a taste of how life was like in the Keralan backwaters. I felt that Thomas has some ambivalence with how tourism in general is affecting the community. It is a fragile ecosystem--- too much tourism will certainly degrade both the environment and the people's way of life, yet at the same time, some tourism is needed to support the local economy. There is no easy answer, I'm afraid. Nevertheless, we feel especially privileged to have experienced the backwaters with such a gracious and knowledgeable host.

South India: Green Palm Homes Part II

Green Palm Homes

I mentioned to Thomas that I was interested in learning some Keralan recipes. By the first day, we were seriously into their home cooked food. Keralan cooking is heavy on coconut and warm, earthy curries. Each meal we had always had three or more dishes, always freshly made--- curried chicken, squid or potatoes, Keralan rice (with a fat, nutty and starchy grain), onions salads, buttermilk sauce, fried river fish, pickled green mango, chapattis/papadums.

Thomas' mother first gave me a tour of their backyard, where they grow five different kinds of bananas (!!!), mango, ginger, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, curry leaf, mace, tamarind and guava. She explained that when the rains arrive, they start planting their vegetable crops.

Their pantry was chock-full of spices: mustard seeds, fenugreek, cloves, chili powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida (for pickling), coriander, anise, cardamom and black pepper.

She showed me how to prepare two dishes. I just observed and did not take notes, hence the lack of measurements in the following recipes:

Curried chinese potato
(Chinese potato is a local tuber, about 1 inch long and looks like a miniature yautia. It tastes remarkably like a regular potato.)

Ing: coconut oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, chili powder, coriander, chopped onions, chopped chinese potato, chopped coconut meat.

1. Heat coconut oil till smoking. Add mustard seeds and fry till they release their flavor. Add curry leaves and continue stir-frying for approximately 5 minutes, until the leaves release their flavor.

2. Ad turmeric, chili powder and coriander. Mix the now curry-paste frequently so it does not stick.

3. After about three minutes, add the chopped onions, chopped coconut meat and chopped chinese potato. Stir for a bit. Add some water, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally. Dish is done when the potatoes are tender and the sauce is reduced to a very thick, almost dry, consistency.

Keralan Curried Fish
Ing: coconut oil, mustard seeds, curry leaf, turmeric, chili powder, paste (made of onions, ginger and garlic), Malabar tamarind (can use regular tamarind), chunks of firm-fleshed fish.

1. Heat coconut oil till smoking. Add mustard seeds and fry about five minutes, or until they release their flavor. Add curry leaves and stir-fry for another three minutes.

2. Add turmeric and chili powder, continue stirring so it does not stick to the pan.

3. Add onion-ginger-garlic paste and continue to fry until fragrant.

4. Thin the curry paste with some water. Add malabar tamarind and some water, cover and simmer for about five minutes. Add fish chunks, cover and simmer for about fifteen to twenty more minutes, or until fish is cooked through.

South India: Kerala: Green Palm Homes, Part I

Green Palm Homes
Western Chennamkary PO
Allepey, Kerala
community.greenpalms@gmail.com
greenpalms@sify.com



Although we initially planned to rent a houseboat, which is the tourist thing to do in Kerala, we were intrigued with the prospect of a homestay. As opposed to being isolated in your own boat, a homestay involves interacting with the locals and getting a closer view of how they live.

Green Palm Homes was highly recommended by our guidebook. To set up our stay, I contacted Thomas, a bona fide Keralan who provides home stays in Chennamkary. He instructed us to take ferry#50 from Allepey, which leaves at 1pm. He instructed us to get off "at the third church on the left."

Ferry interior. No, the engine was not really too loud. And yes, it was a very local scene. Right away, we knew we made the right choice.

After leaving the town proper, the ferry made pretty frequent stops on either side of the waterways. The backwaters are just unbelievably pretty, with coconut trees and tiny neat houses lining the banks. Beyond the houses were rice paddies.

The backwaters, as we later learned, were carved out by the locals to help with irrigation of the fields. Today, the backwaters are still a major artery for most of the villages, which are not accessible by roads.

Good thing we did not miss our stop! The drifting through the waters was just too relaxing, we were falling asleep!

Thomas' family has been running their homestay for the last twenty years or so. They were very warm and welcoming. Thomas comes from a line of rice farmers.

Thomas, his wife Lila, and daughters Anna and Annina pose with us.

To me, this homestay was the best part of the trip. We stayed with Thomas' family for three nights and learned a lot from them.

Lila made sure that we were always well-fed. She helped Thomas run the homestay. Most mornings, we would see her helping Anna with her homework. She would explain the local customs to us, and ask us questions about life back home. Both Anna and Annina were such smart and cute little girls. They gave us great language lessons in Malaylam, the dialect here in Kerala. In return, we showed then some games and sleight-of-hand tricks, which they really liked.

The experience definitely beats staying in a houseboat!

Typical houseboat. At first glance, they look very pretty, with the woven shell and cute windows. It is safe to say that only tourists rent them. Thomas has seen these boats proliferate over the past few years; during our stay, it was not uncommon to see four or five of them in a row, and usually with just two tourists renting them! I guess it fulfills some "Queen of the Nile"-type fantasies, because you get a cook and a guide with you.

However,these babies have diesel generators to run the ac, satellite tv and outdoor speakers run on diesel. All on a boat that is as big as a bus. I don't know, but there seems to be something with this deliberate flaunting of tourists in a relatively poor country. (anyway, enough pontificating)

View from our room. When dawn broke, we usually heard songbirds first. Then the ferry guy starts his day around 6 am shuttling passengers across the river. We thought he was really cool, because all he did the whole day was paddle across and back. However, when we went on his canoe, he charged us ten rupees (instead of four)!!! Outrageous! ... you haven't seen the last from us, ferry man!

On our first day, DJKung and I joined another couple for a morning walk around the village. Thomas, who served as our guide, pointed out the local flora and fauna. Some of the local plants were the same tropical plants you find in southeast asia (guavas, langka, hibiscus, betel nut palm). Kerala also has a nice variety of birds. We even saw the kingfisher, Kerala's official bird! It was a very bright blue color, but was kinda tiny.

Despite the presence of cable tv and electricity, Chennamkary is still a pretty rural and quiet village. Some of the locals we encountered on our walk were just doing their daily ablutions, washing dishes at the river, or otherwise on their way to school/work on the mainland. Others were husking coconuts, another cash crop. We were also lucky to see a coconut toddy farmer at his craft. (Toddy is the local moonshine made from the sap of the coconut flower.)

Canoe in progress. Teak was originally used, but a different wood is used now due to the decimation of teak trees. I think they use breadfruit wood. The planks of wood are held together by sap.


Banana heart, used in some Keralan dishes.

One of the side canals. This one is clogged with water hyacinth, a recent scourge of the Keralan backwaters. Thomas pointed out that both nonmotorized and motorized canoes have a difficult, if not impossible, time going though these side canals. Further, these aquatic plants deplete the oxygen in the water, which kills the fishes. He predicted that the little canals like these would probably just silt over.

I took a picture of this mechanical mud digger. Thomas explained that the dikes of the backwaters are all manmade. Every five years, the dikes have to be rebuilt due to erosion. The task of this is left to the muddiggers, which are a Keralan caste. Basically, they go to the middle part of the waterways and dig up the mud by hand with metal basins. This mud is used to patch up eroded areas and reinforce the dikes.

Then, these newfangled machines came about that could dig mud much faster. However, they also started causing mudslides. This one looked abandoned to me, although I still did see some muddiggers going about their job.

Kerala was pretty diverse in terms of religion. Thomas stated that Syrians first came around1400s and brought Christianity to the area. We saw a couple of Christian churches, some snake-god temples in peoples' backyards, and some Buddhist and Hindu temples as well. Some of the temples were quite old, that they were below the water level and frequently flooded.

We had a good three-hour walk that morning. We stopped at Thomas' aunt's house for a proper Keralan breakfast---- steamed rice cakes (idlis) with crispy papadum and curry sauce. Also some masala chai and these scrumptious banana leaf-wrapped steamed rice patties with coconut and jaggery (rice palm sugar) filling.

Thomas' aunt's house. This is the traditional style house, circa early 1900.

The next two pictures were taken on a separate village hike. Church services just finished, and people were on their way home.

South India: Kerala: SAS Restaurant

SAS Restaurant
Across from Alleppey Jetty
Alapphuzha, Kerala



One ferry ride (back to the mainland from Fort Cochi) and one harrowing bus trip later we made it to Alapphuzha (Alleppey) to catch yet another ferry to Chennamkary. We missed our 1pm ferry and breakfast at Rossitta seemed like a long time ago. We ducked into SAS Restaurant across the jetty for lunch.



SAS looked like your average place by the bus stations around here. Slightly dim, slightly grubby, and definitely not your typical western franchise.



It seemed that everyone was getting the fish thali, so I promptly ordered one. Pretty much just locals were eating at the time, and maybe one other tourist besides us, so I was confident that the food here was good.

Fish thali. It came with some sides--- yogurt, lentil in masala sauce, shredded cabbage, coconut-tomato sauce, some salty pickles. Naturally, I ate with my washed hands and tried hard to use only the right hand (which is the traditional Filipino way of eating, btw). The food was seriously good, and I received seconds of everything without even asking! This thali felt like the real deal--- a lot of different spices and textures. I am not sure what the fish was, but it was small and bony.

My dish was so good, I completely neglected to take a picture of DJKung's chicken fried rice. He did not say anything while he was eating, so I thought he was really unhappy with it. Plus, he had just one bowl, instead of unlimited seconds, like mine.

But when I tried it... I could not believe how they had Hong Kong style fried rice down so well!!! It had the chinese sausage taste and the perfect wok sear flawlessly. Later on, I read in our guidebook that Chinese food is quite popular among Indians due to centuries of trade, so authentic Chinese is not hard to find.

Oh, and I think this is possibly the cheapest meal we've had the entire trip. The fish thali was 25 rupees and the fried rice, 60 rupees!

After lunch, we waited at the jetty for our ferry to Chennamkary.

South India: Kerala: Rossitta Wood Castle

Rossitta Wood Castle
1/334 Bishop Joseph Kureethara Road
Fort Kochi, Cochin 682-001, Kerala, South India
http://www.rossittawoodcastle.com/

I found this place from http://www.indiamike.com/, one of the better India travel forums out there. Rossitta appealed to me because it looked soo cute, in a Lord-of-the-Rings-shire kind of way.

In truth, it looked a bit darker and older compared to their web page. It is an old building, with lots of wood, and it is easy to imagine that it was a private house from back then. It has a nice-sized ballroom on the second floor that doubled as an art gallery for spooky yoga-inspired paintings.

The courtyard, which is the hotel's best feature, is really just picture-perfect, with these fat wood columns, lots of flowers, and bright colors everywhere.

We picked one of the rooms overlooking the courtyard. As DJKung and I have decided that we were prepared to pamper ourselves (none of that rough backpacking business!), we of course had satellite tv, ac AND our own bathroom.

The room at the top left was ours, so we could hang out at the balcony. Because of the area, however, there were a lot of mosquitoes at night.

Fresh squeezed pineapple juice and a hot pot of coffee is the best way to start the day! (I think the local paper's headline was about the meltdown going on in Pakistan.)

Keralan breakfast. Roti filled with curried potatoes, onions and coconut meal. Scrumptious.

Rossitta was a great location for sightseeing around Fort Cochin. The area is chock-full of old buildings and churches (and of course the fort) dating back to Portuguese times. The island is also home to these beautiful gigantic trees with wide, wide canopies.

The Chinese fishing nets at Cochin are also a popular tourist attraction. These go way back to 1400. The contraption is pretty huge, and basically works with weights on one end that the fisherman use for raising and lowering the nets.

Chinese fishing nets in background. The catch was rather poor when we visited. There are also several fishmongers lining the seafront, and several of them can cook your selections (fish, squid, prawns, shellfish) too!

South India trip: Kerala: Lotus Restaurant

Lotus Restaurant
Located at the courtyard of Rossitta Wood Castle

We were so beat after our transAtlantic, transArabian flight. After clearing customs in Mumbai, we were off on another flight, this one to the province of Kerala (South Mumbai). From Kochi airport, it was an hour-and-a half cab ride to the island of Fort Cochin.

So on our first night, for our first real meal (excluding airport snacks), we decided on Lotus Restaurant, which is also run by our hotel, Rossitta Wood Castle. As the waterfront/fishing area was a mere two blocks away, we were guaranteed superfresh seafood. After taking our order, the cook went off and shortly returned with the fresh catch of the day.

Pan-grilled calamari, with boiled veggies and french fries. You could taste the squid ink too. Yum.

Fish molly. They had kingfish this day. It is a Keralan specialty, where the seafood is cooked in a coconut curry sauce. The sauce was rather thin and could have used more spice. OVerall, it went great with the chapati, which we ordered separately.

Final bill. The USD exchange rate is roughly 50 rupees to the dollar.

South India: Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways

UFC has taken a little holiday to South India these last few weeks, hence the lack of blogging activity. We were too busy having fun-fun-fun! We scored super-duper cheap fares on Qatar Airways, which is launching new routes to India from New York (with stops to Doha). I booked tickets via their online site and it was very easy to use.

Refreshing towel and candies

Travel kit (socks, earplugs, eye cover, earbuds).

Complimentary papers. I like how regional the news is... you can learn a lot just by looking at the pictures, even if you can't read the script.

There were two stand-out features of flying with Qatar that we really enjoyed. DJKung was impressed with their entertainment system. Their library of music, movies and games is accessed via individual touch-screen monitors. It seems that the channels for web surfing and satellite tv are still in the works, though. Movies, of course, are your friend during these long cramped hours in coach class. Besides the usual Hollywood fare, they had some classic stuff. Their foreign movie selection was also pretty good (they even had Filipino movies!)

The food was also better compared with the usual airplane food. I liked that my special request tray was never neglected.

Lacto-ovo dinner. Clockwise from top left: chickpea salad, fresh fruit, water, entree (paneer with green sauce, rice, carrot and green pea curry), chocolate, cheese, dinner roll.

DJKung's dinner tray. His came with pasta salad, raspberry cheesecake, and a beef entree.

Lacto-ovo breakfast tray. Came with raspberry yogurt and more fresh fruit. Entree was sauteed spinach, chickpeas and roti.

With all the time zone differences at this point, I was not sure anymore if this was a lunch or dinner tray. I think the veggies were spinach and squash.

Theivery Corporation at Terminal 5

Under fun:



Theivery Corporation

Terminal 5
Midtown



The last time we were at Terminal 5 was last fall for the Hot Chip show. This venue is huge... there are three levels from where you can see the stage. It does have a weird setup---more like a club than a music venue, since they have quiet spots and you can get to sit down.



DJKung is an avid Theivery fan. He saw their last big show with his cousin. We also saw them last summer for a Summerstage fundraiser.



Here is why I was truly disappointed in the show; for $45 a pop, it was THE SAME EXACT SHOW that we saw last summer, from the lineup of the songs, to all the performers (special mention goes to the annoying bassist who prances all around the stage DURING EVERY SONG and who may not even be reaally playing) to one of the singers who does laps around the stage while singing the spaceship song, to most of their visuals.



Do not get me wrong; it was a good show with a very talented lineup. It was just very disappointing to see the same exact thing.



As for the audio in Terminal 5, be warned that it can get thumpingly and bone-shakingly loud. Which is great for a live show. Theivery did sound much better this time than their show in the park, but the sound was not as crisp as we would have liked (could not hear some of the instruments).

Chanpen Thai

Under food:



Chanpen Thai
Hell's Kitchen



We stopped by this thai joint because it was in the vicinity of Terminal 5, where the Thievery show was held last week. It looked pretty crowded, which is always a good sign.

Mixed apps: clockwise from top: fried veggie spring rolls, potato curry puff, veggie dumpling (I like how it looked like a little goldfish), fried shrimp roll, veggie side.

Chanpen offered Chang beer, which was a smooth, flowery pilsner that went well with the food.

For our main, DJKung got the pad ped (of course) and I had the red veggie curry. We thought it was such a crime that rice was extra. I think it was $3 for a small cup, which was just too much.

Red veggie curry. I do not remember what it was exactly called. Nice spice mix, but nonetheless, it was not satisfying. I think I was expecting a coconut curry.




Pad ped (duck salad). It came on a nice bed of beans and veggies. DJKung said it was pretty good (although I've never heard him nix any pad ped yet).

DJKung's friends got the fish with curry sauce, which we liked. You could taste the kaffir lime in the curry... very nice. They also ordered a noodle dish in a hot pot which we did not get to try.

It appears that Chanpen Thai gets a lot of foot traffic from Times Square.

Brookside Thai

Under food:



Brookside Thai
Bloomfield, NJ



Brookside Thai is one of the joints that we used to go to back then. We decided to check it out recently. One of the things we noticed is that they have undergone a significant redo of the interior---it looks more polished now.

Illustration of songkran, the water festival. Getting splashed looks like fun!

There was a time we liked coming here a lot. It fell out of our rotation when the food kept turning out too much on the sweet side.

We got a nice selection of apps.

Papaya salad. This was excellent---crunchy green papaya with a salty-spicy-sweet sauce.


Curry puffs. The filling is potato curry. Amazingly, this was very light, despite being deep-fried.

DJKung's poppa got the chicken soup. He was nice and full after this.

Pad ped (duck salad). This is always DJKung's fave. The fried duck slices are crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside. Comes with loads of veggies: carrots, lettuce, onions, scallions, and even some sliced apple.

For our mains, we got seafood fried rice and noodle soup (guay tieu gai). The waitress steered us to the fried snapper, which she said was fresh that day.

The seafood fried rice was excellent, with that nice wok taste.

Noodle soup (guay tieu gai?). I call it "pink soup." It was sweet, spicy and salty, with emphasis on the first element. We did not like it; it tasted very unbalanced and rather harsh. DJKung and his pops actually poured their soup bowls back into the main bowl.

Fried red snapper. It was prepared well--- deep-fried and crispy. However, we all agreed that it was not the fresh; the flesh just did not have that firm, clean taste.

I am quite 50-50 as to whether we should put this back on the rotation. On my more generous moods, there are not really a lot of Thai places around, so it seems that we should. On the other hand, I can count the few dishes here that I actually enjoy. DJKung felt that it doesn't quite make the cut.

Superb fare at Stamna's

Under food:





Stamna

1045 Broad Street

Bloomfield, NJ 07003





The UFC Headquarters has officially moved back to Passaic County! We have been very busy with moving out and settling into our new digs. To celebrate, we headed to Stamna in Bloomfield.


Stamna has caught our eye before; it always looks busy and from what NY Times says, it's pretty dang good. Even on a Tuesday night, it was hoppin' in there!





The bar for Greek food for us is Cyclades Restaurant in Astoria, which is the best seafood joint we have ever tried. Seriously, Stamna is up there, too!





We ordered the following:





DJKung's poppa: spaghetti with meat sauce. (I dunno, he was on a pasta kick the past few days. DJKung liked it, said the meat was on the gamy side.








Superfatty: Tzatziki. Yogurt and cucumber dip. Always good; I could eat gallons of this stuff. The bread was also pretty good. Karpathian pasta. Like gnocci. This is a local type of pasta, and one that I never tried before. It was simple boiled buds of pasta, with chalky-type of cheese (goat?) and caramelized onions sprinkled on top. Overall very simple dish. It was a nice side for the seafood that DJKung got. The portion was huge, and the next day tasted reaally good.





DJKung: Chicken soup. This tasted generic to me, but DJKung finished it. Seafood platter. This was no joke. It was phenomenal. The octopus legs and calamari were sweet and super-tender. The prawns were sliced on the bias, and also super fresh. The kitchen obviously mastered how to treat good seafood---- everything had a nice char taste, you could taste the sea and the succulent flesh, and nothing was over- or under-cooked. Deeelish. DJKung got a side of horta (dandelion greens), which went well with the dish. For the price, this platter is a bargain.





We were all very full afterwards. DJKung got the Greek coffee, which tasted a lot like turkish coffee to me (but not good for fortune-telling, however). We also got the fried dough with honey and sesame seeds. They were light and airy.





Stamna felt like a family-owned joint. The service was warm, and the vibe was very festive. You can tell that the locals love this spot. Also, BYOB, and it looks like reservations are recommended. From what the owner/manager tells us, the chef is from Astoria, that's why the kitchen is awesome!