Pani for your thoughts

Saw a food market this weekend, and they sold panipuri!

They should really make Indian food this accessible.

Paneer or far

Indian food is a go-to for both Mark and me.

Whether it’s nearby like New Bombay in Podium or Naan in Mandaluyong, or far away like the Naan-all-you-can restaurant in Roppongi or the Indian restaurant near the ADBI Tokyo office, we both enjoy a good Indian meal.

Unfortunately, we haven’t had an Indian meal together in a while. But I got my fix of Naan and Masala a few weeks ago, thanks to Ia who sent New Bombay my way.

But the past few days, i’ve been craving for Indian food again.

Which led me to this:

Instant Palak Paneer!

Mark and I usually order this at New Bombay and it’s great! Now, I’m wondering how the instant variety would taste like.

Let’s see how it goes.

Some-Mosas!

Another craving satisfied!

Was finally able to buy Samosas from Assad Mini Mart. Aside from the usual Indian restaurants we frequent like New Bombay, Swagat and Naan, Assad is a great place to get Samosas.

Their crust has the right crisp and flakiness, the filling is packed and spicy, and their tamarind sauce is da bomb! I can actually drink that sauce on its own! (Don't worry, I haven't gone there yet.)

Samosas - check! Naan and Curry with Mark, you're next!

So near, yet so far

Upon seeing this post from The Podium, my mind went into a tizzy and my tummy suddenly craved for Naan and curry!

Yes, New Bombay at The Podium delivers!

As tempting as it may seem, considering The Podium is just 15 minutes away from the house, i’m just worried that it might not taste as great if it’s not freshly cooked. In fact, it might be far off from the fresh, Indian cuisine goodness that Mark and I enjoy whenever we eat there.

That said, i’ll give this one a pass. Will just wait when Mark and I can actually go there, get a seat, and enjoy our Indian classics fresh from the kitchen.

Hopefully, that time will be near.

Bolly ball

Mark and I both love Indian food. New Bombay is one of our go-to places here in Manila. Back in Roppongi, we'd often visit this eat-all-you-can Indian place. Then, near Jenny's office in Tokyo, we'd go to a curry place where it was naan-all-you-can.

So yes, that's how much we're into Indian food. You can say we have a Bollywood palette.

And since we're already into Indian food, we thought, aside from enjoying it, why don't we learn making it?

Which led us to the Authentic Indian Home Cooking Class at Maya Kitchen.

The instructor was Chef Kanchan, a wonderful woman with such a vibrant, positive and happy attitude in life. Aside from teaching us Indian cooking, she also taught us a lot of life lessons that she learned from her kitchen growing up. Then, she was assisted by her daughter, Anjali, which made the entire morning feel like a fun, family affair.

And in less than 4 hours, we learned how to make samosas, Baingan Bharta, and Chicken Marsala! Mark and I did the Marsala, our teammates, Bryan and Kai did the Baingan Bharta, and we all did the Samosas!

We also learned how to make Aloo Paratha, Chapati and Naan, but those were wiped out even before we could take photos of it.

This was definitely a morning well spent, because not only did we learn about Indian cooking, we also learned a lot about life, and made a lot of friends along the way. It was definitely a ball!

We're definitely doing this again soon.

Oh, samosas!

Three cheers for food discoveries!

I discovered a place that sells really good veggie samosas for only P25 a pop!

Looks like this is my new favorite snack.

Convincing portrayal

So, I decided to dress up like an Indian during our Christmas party. I wore a white Kurta with white pants, and a gold-beige-ish scarf with paisley prints.

While going around the ballroom, I saw a client of mine and said "Hi." She just glanced at me and left.

A few minutes later, she comes back and says: "Lester, ikaw ba 'yan?Akala ko foreigner ka talaga! Nagulat nga ako nung nag-hi ka sa'kin. Sabi ko, 'bakit nag-hi sa akin itong bumbay na 'to.'"

Yes, I guess I look like an Indian guy.