Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin

You must be wondering what does that mean ?

It is a famous Japanese restaurant chain present in several countries around the world.

Here I am talking about the one at the ION mall at Orchard Road in Singapore.

First, what is Tonkatsu ?

According to Wikipedia, Tonkatsu (pork cutlet),is a Japanese cuisine invented from cutlet. It consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet one to two centimeters thick and sliced into bite-sized pieces, generally served with shredded cabbage and/or miso soup.

I did not go for the pork, but went for the chicken. The sticky rice with the fried chicken is absolutely delicious and you must try it. First of all, I love the Japanese sticky rice, and the Curry Udon that I have had in the past in Japan always entices me a lot. It felt like almost having a curry dipped rice dish when I tried the Udon in Tokyo. And, it did not have any meat at all !

But the same thing now with chicken is simply outstanding. I am sure that there are actually many Japanese restaurants in Singapore which serve this kind of food. But this one at ION is good and worth trying.

The sticky rice here was not so sticky, it was glutinous all right, but tasted good with the chicken curry. It was served with miso soup and ginger on the rice. Easy to eat, nice when you are slightly hungry and goes well with green tea.

Overall, this restaurant was a new find for me, and I am sure I will visit again during my next trip to Singapore. Remember, one has to queue up in the evenings, but I can tell you it is worth the try. Japanese restaurants take the pain out of ordering by showing colourful pictures of the dishes, so you got to just point and order ! Enjoy the food !!

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
7th April 2012
Mumbai

Hot Winter

I live in Mumbai which is a constantly “challenged” city.

It has a number of problems which makes living difficult for its denizens. However, it is also the most creative and professional place in India as a whole. The competing cities only specialize in certain areas or certain industries, none of them have the vastness and the depth of Mumbai.

It is also a fact that the city has a constant flow of immigrants and huge number of slums around the city. There is huge shortage of space and so it has the maximum premium in the country. Traffic is just short of horrendous and the infrastructure is creaking under the heavy weight of a growing population (of people and vehicles).

Over the past couple of years, the city has also been affected by global warming of sorts. We are in December now, and the day temperature has persistently stayed well above 30 deg Celsius. Today the maximum temperature is reported as 34 deg Celsius and the minimum is 24 deg Celsius. Forecast for the next 10 days is the same, and this is far higher than the usual temperatures in December. As I was travelling on the roads today, I could feel the heat which was more penetrating as the body’s expectation was different.

What do you call this phenomenon when the temperatures are at least around 4 to 5 deg Celsius higher in what is supposed to be winter season ? Actually there is no winter, it is just it should be a little less hot than normal !

Delhi is having its real winter, with temperatures at 10 deg Celsius lower than those of Mumbai. As we enter January, the day temperatures in Delhi are likely to be in single digits.

What we are experiencing in Mumbai is nothing but the impact of global warming. The impact of the sea and the winds has changed over the past few years, leading to higher temperatures.

It is not a great thing, and could be harmful in the long run as the sun’s harsh rays are going to have a bad impact on our skin. What can be done ? I haven’t seen much of a commentary on this phenomenon in newspapers and that concerns me.

So, we at Mumbai are having a “hot winter”.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
4th December 2011
Mumbai

Delhi’s Lovely Weather

I was in Delhi for couple of days earlier this week.

I knew from long travel experience that Delhi has fog in the early mornings and pretty cold weather at this time of the year, which also happens to be its best season, with lots of international and national conferences driving up hotel rates and airfares !

From mid November till around third week of February is considered as winter in Delhi. Temperatures have fallen to somewhere in the region of 4 degrees Celsius a few weeks ago. When I was in Delhi, the temperature ranged from 8 degrees to 19 degrees.

I love that weather, which we do not get in Mumbai.

Lots of locals in Delhi can be seen wearing woollen clothing and huddling around. But I had always enjoyed it with a simple jacket just to shield from potential winds. Delhi and most parts of North India get cool weather which sometimes resembles that of the colder countries in the Northern Hemisphere. I think Delhiites are lucky, as they get to enjoy truly the four seasons of the weather !

One evening, I left my hotel for the nearby mall to have dinner. It was around 17 degrees at around 7 PM. When I came back at 9:30 PM, it was 6 degrees. Amazingly cool and with a slight wind, it was a fantastic evening !

I understand that cold weather diseases do catch up with people in Delhi. But that happens in Mumbai as well when the temperatures drop towards 20 degrees every night, though Mumbai’s weather cannot be termed as winter season. Variations in temperature during the day, when there are wide variations of more than 15 to 18 degrees from the maximum to the minimum temperature do cause some impact, especially in the children and old folks.

I was lucky not to have been affected by fog during my flight landing and take-off at Delhi Airport. I continue to wonder about the massive Delhi International Airport, about which I have already written earlier – there is no easy and quick way to get out of this airport – takes a very long walk indeed !

On the whole, visiting Delhi at this time of the year is an enjoyable experience. I will be travelling again to Delhi in the next few days and hope to get more of that weather soon.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
22nd January 2011
Mumbai

Delhi Airport T3 Terminal

I have to write about my latest experience of first-time arrival at Delhi’s new Terminal T3, after it opened for domestic flights around mid November 2010.

It is an amazingly huge construction, with many aero bridges, saving time for passengers in the disembarkation and embarkation procedures. It reminds me of Denver Airport in Colorado, U.S., which also is very huge but lacks a character of its own. That is what exactly Delhi’s T3 is – very huge, but no character.

But before I come to that aspect, let me first describe my experience. I arrived from Mumbai, and was at first, really taken aback by the hugeness of the T3 Terminal. It is unbelievably huge, especially in a country which does not believe in building the requisite infrastructure for a billion people in anything, be it cities, transport, roads, buildings, or anything for that matter. Where we should have 6 lanes on each side of the highway, India is still trying and struggling to build 4 lanes on each side of the highway. So, it is a pleasant surprise when you see an airport terminal potentially capable of handling some 40M passengers annually, and is purportedly the sixth (or the eighth ?) largest airport in the world. Oh, I thought that makes me proud.

Well, there is a challenge to every such thing, especially in India. While the infrastructure has been laid out, no body seems to have thought about the difficulties of passengers who have to navigate the length and breadth of the terminal. First of all, the wash rooms are at the middle section of each travellator length, so one has got to either spot the same early (before getting into the travellator) or make a time-consuming U-turn to reach the toilet in case one is in a hurry. Secondly, the travellators are a tad bit faster than usual, making it difficult for slow, older passengers to safely position themselves. Thirdly, it took me more than 20 minutes to reach the exit point, my guess it is not less than 2.5 KMS of fast-walking on the travellator and the carpeted area (which is tougher to drag the baggage). There were no trolleys when you arrive at the gate, so you got to fend for yourself by pulling or pushing your bags.

I just saw one golf-cart vehicle for ferrying passengers in all this 2.5 KMS of walking, so what would the older people do ?

And, unfortunately the wash room I visited was not clean (remember we are talking about a brand new airport terminal). When I reached the exit, I was received by the car driver who told me we have to again walk quite a bit to reach the car in the new, cavernous car park. He was smiling, so I knew he understood the lengths to which passengers are forced to walk. The car park was indeed huge, resembling overseas airport car parks. We located the car, and when we drove out, I was told it is a long drive of some 7 to 8 KMS from the old airport terminal, so I better be prepared to come some 30 minutes earlier when I depart.

Well, one can hardly do anything about a completed terminal, except to ask for better services. When I departed from the same terminal couple of days later, I found the departure area to be better organized, resembling the larger U.S. airports. The Security area followed almost immediately from the check-in counters, and the shopping area was right after Security. But it was kind of jammed in with too many shops in a rather limited area, and the lounge was lousy to say the least.

I was not surprised to find out that one has to walk a rather long distance to reach the departure gate. Long travellators again ! But very few shops in that long section of the airport.

Where was the planning done ? Did they not see Singapore Airport ?

Well, this is at least better than anything we got !

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
4th December 2010
Mumbai

The Andaman Islands

Just returned today from a week-long trip to The Andaman Islands.

I will surely find some time in the future to publish some amazing photos, but thought it fit to mention a few things in this first post on the islands.

First, it is surely worth a visit for all beach and island lovers, who also are fond of beaching, snorkeling and scuba diving. There is nothing much beyond the sea – it dominates everyday life in The Andaman Islands.

Second, do not go on a package tour – you will miss out on all the fun, and also on some of the most important places to see and experience.

Third, some of the beaches like the Radhanagar Beach in the Havelock Island, and the Jolly Buoy Island beach, are simply world class – still unspoilt : I was surprised at their cleanliness, and the thorough checking on one’s personal belongings to ensure that we do not carry plastic bags. So clean beaches are a distinct possibility in the crowded Indian sea resorts.

Fourth, credit cards are not widely accepted, better to carry plenty of cash around.

Fifth, safety procedures are not commonly and widely followed, so take care of yourself all the time – please note that this is not Thailand or Indonesia or Malaysia. Amenities are basic, locals are simple people, ATMs are rare to find, few hospitals around, not many good eating places, et al. So go prepared for all eventualities.

Sixth, beware of mosquitoes – they are of the real pinching variety : cover yourself and use repellents – again go prepared.

Well there are other points, but I thought it is important to record some of the key points here before proceeding. Also, take note that the airfares to The Andaman Islands (Port Blair) are expensive during the tourist season, due to the low competition they have – just three airlines competing for all the business with high prices, which are costlier than the flights to Singapore !

However, my conclusion after the trip is that notwithstanding some of the downsides, it is really worth a visit. You will enjoy the trip. The itinerary could be Port Blair – Havelock – Port Blair, with day trips to Jolly Buoy Island off Port Blair ; Barathang/Parrot Islands (which I planned to visit but dropped). I would spend more time on Havelock and may be go to Barathang next time, if I can manage one more trip !

While there are more than 550 islands in the Andaman & Nicobar, only less than 40 islands are inhabited. The government has deliberately maintained the others as mostly jungles. While the tourist flow is not comparable at all to even one resort in Thailand, I guess it is better strategy to maintain the pristine nature of the islands rather than barter it away for tourist dollars. I found mostly Indian tourists, with very few Western tourists. So, it appears that the A & N islands remain as one of the most undiscovered parts of India. Even for Indians, I should say !

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
14th November 2010
Mumbai

Delhi BRTS

I was in Delhi this preceding week, and read in the newspapers that violators of the BRTS(Bus Rapid Transit System) lane would be fined INR 1,000 as compared to the previous low figures which people easily paid off.

And, I hit the road that some morning of this news appearing in the media, and what did I see ? Violators are aplenty – may be they don’t read the news. The BRTS was designed to move buses along dedicated lanes at a higher speed without getting caught in the usual vehicular traffic, which is very dense in Delhi which has over 2M vehicles.

I saw many cars and motorbikes on the bus lanes speeding past in between speeding buses. I was not sure whether these violators understand traffic rules. When caught, they will plead their way out stating that they are some powerful person’s kin or they have some very urgent work to do, or they are rushing to hospital, and what not. Enforcement of rules in Delhi (and mostly elsewhere in India) is very problematic as violators defy the policeman who catches them and speed away.

The only way is to monitor the BRTS lanes by video cameras which will catch the number plates of these offenders and deny them renewal of driving licenses, with imposition of heavy fines. E-governance is the way to go, eliminating physical human handling on both sides (enforcers and offenders) as happens in advanced countries. Another way is to link the driving license to the income tax system, where the registered owner of the vehicle will be identified and fined for payment collection via the income tax portal. The Unique Identification ID cards will pave yet another way.

Delhi’s traffic was quite clumsy this time around, with the rains disrupting the traffic all over Delhi. If a rain can cause so much disruption, imagine what can happen if some major disturbance hits the traffic in Delhi. City planning is still not OK even after pouring billions of dollars…….

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
15th August 2010
Mumbai

Subsistence Costs

I was having lunch at a food court in a prominent mall in Singapore yesterday.

I could not fail to notice the cost increases which were getting passed to the ordinary customers. The people you see at a mall are the microcosm of the country itself – mostly average consumer, trying to eat out on a weekend, along with his family. They do a multitude of activities at their chosen mall – ATM transactions, window shopping, getting things fixed, hair cut, real shopping, casual shopping, et al – but the most important thing they execute is having lunch or coffee or dinner. Simply because they do not cook and do not wish to work during the weekend making lunch or dinner, I guess.

The prices of ordinary food articles/items have gone up by over 30 to 40% in Singapore – same is the case in most other places, but here the contrast was remarkable. We all know that subsistence costs are a lower percentage of discretionary expenses in more developed countries, as compared to the “developing” or “emerging” countries. What this means is that, food costs for example, are lower in developed countries (it should be the other way around, if you care to think about it !). However, with incomes falling, employees getting laid off by companies which cannot successfully tackle the economic downturn, zero pay increases, etc., the food costs become a bigger proportion of income/expenses.

That is at constant food prices. If the food prices rise, for whatever reason, you can imagine the impact. I am sure that this factor has had a big impact in the lives of Singaporeans, especially in 2008 – 09.

I noticed the cost that affected me. For a simple lunch of “Yong Tau Fu” which consists of a few selected vegetables/taufu/greens + noodles, cooked in hot water right in front of you, it used to cost around S$ 3.80 in yesteryears. Now, I had to pay S$ 5.30, an increase of 40%. Well, I am not incorrect to say that there has been a significant increase in the cost of food in Singapore.

Well, let us look at the formal restaurants – last evening I went to dine at a classy one in downtown. A dish which should typically cost S$ 16 was priced at S$ 24, an increase of 50% ! May be the upper middle class can bear a little more burden, I guess.

Well, whichever way I looked around, it made me wonder how the average Joe is coping. It should be pretty hard, I think.

I decided to take a walk around the shopping mall, and read the sticker prices of some items on display. I always thought that Mumbai was costlier for almost everything, especially electronic items. Was I shocked ? Yes, I found that the price of iPod Nano in the Apple Store at Singapore was around US$ 15 more as compared to the same model at the Apple Store in Mumbai ! May be the rapidly appreciating Indian Rupee is playing some tricks here, or the relative strength of the S$ vis-a-vis the US$ is having some impact. Don’t know, but it was surprising.

Well, well, Singapore needs to once again re-learn the art of being competitive. It is a country which has constantly re-engineered itself over the past four decades, and I am sure it would do so again.

It was interesting to see the impact, though.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
25th October 2009
Mumbai

Some More Pics…………from Dharamshala & McleodGanj

DSC08957, originally uploaded by padmavs.

Gorgeous View of the valley

DSC08942, originally uploaded by padmavs.

Another great view……..Camera is working

DSC08938, originally uploaded by padmavs.

The German Bakery at McLeodGanj – Good food but greasy pasta

DSC08927, originally uploaded by padmavs.

Diwali Decoration at the Kangra Valley Resort…….where we stayed

DSC08924, originally uploaded by padmavs.

Great work on the eve of the Diwali !

DSC08911, originally uploaded by padmavs.

Shiva Temple surroundings……

Hope you like these pics………could not continue the upload due to the limitation on the Flickr site, limiting the upload beyond 200 photos for a month !

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
6th Nov 2008
Mumbai

Some Pics from Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh

I took a lot of digital photos, but I should confess that I am losing interest in the ability of pure click-n-shoot digital cameras. All the more so, after I saw some fabulous shoots of my erstwhile colleagues ET and DD recently. ET probably uses some advanced digital camera but I simply cannot believe the quality of her photos. DD has become a Digital SLR aficianado for the past couple of years – I have seen him with a Lumix and recently with a Canon. He steps out of his home with the SLR everytime, I guess.

Here are a few pics I took. More should follow soon, ofcourse. I missed taking the Dalai Lama when he was passing by, since I could not obviously wish him and take photo at the same time. And, his car was moving rather fast anyway.

Let us see below………Enjoy the pics and make it a point to visit the State of Himachal Pradesh at the foothills of the mighty Himalayas one day. It would be, I promise, a great holiday. With pure crisp mountain air and good clear water – to breathe and drink, respectively. Away from the polluting cities.

DSC08848, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

A Beautiful View of the Dhauladhar Mountain Range surrounding Dharamshala

DSC08851, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

In the Heavenly Clouds

DSC08854, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

A tree which grows at high altitudes, I guess…….

DSC08855, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

A Tibetan boy, playing with stones, at the edge of a cliff, near the Yoga Centre – nobody around him to take care……

DSC08870, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

Another short-range view of the mountains………

DSC08881, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

Microwave and Mobile Towers……everywhere in Dharamshala

DSC08895, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

A Tea Garden at Dharamshala, about a Km from the hotel resort where we were staying – We went on a “Tea Garden Trek” which took all of 2 hours !

Hope you liked the pics ! Have a wonderful week ahead !!

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
02 Nov 2008
Mumbai

Torturing Tourists, the Indian Way

No, I did not mean torturing “terrorists” here.

I mean, Tourists of the domestic variety, who have long been neglected by all parties.

Over the past couple of years, I have belonged to this variety of folks in India. Due to the high levels of tolerance for poor environment, road conditions, facilities, and the like, the domestic tourists of even the upper middle class have gradually come to reduce their expectations, or rather, accept things as these are in practice. Rarely do they express their feelings, or able to counter criticism of the conditions by other people. The approach is – let us not worry about the journey itself, let us enjoy the destination – though the destination might as well be plagued by similar issues.

Let me amplify things a bit here with the specific example of our recent holiday to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. We flew to Chandigarh from Mumbai, which was all right. More about Chandigarh and its beautiful layout in a later post, should I say I was amazed ?

From Chandigarh, there are routes to many hill stations in the Himalayas, so it is a natural enroute destination. Chandigarh is a Union Territory and serves as capital city to both the states of Punjab and Haryana.

We had booked a Scorpio SUV to take us from Chandigarh Airport to Dharamshala, a distance of 235 Kms, which we were told could be covered in approximately 6 hours. That should not take more than 3 hours in most developed countries, but it is OK given the conditions in India.

We were mentally prepared for actually 7 hours ! But, what was very surprising is that in Punjab, one of the wealthiest states of India, the roads were not great. As bad or good as we have seen in many other states. The highway was broken off in several places, and diversions were commonplace. There was rash driving, which is an accepted fact now in India for us – only these drivers do not reduce speeds on broken patches of the road, leading to huge bumps. Anyone with a back problem had it for sure.

As we entered Himachal Pradesh, I expected the road conditions to be better. It was, initially. But did not take too long to deteriorate, especially on the mountain road. At many places, stones were strewn all over the road, and sandy patches of road replaced the tar road. Quite dangerous for normal drivers like us, but not for those driver demons. Not only they keep the speed to 60 KMPH at the minimum, they also do acrobatics, trying to overtake lorries and buses on what is essentially a 1.5 car width road ! Amazing, and very dangerous.

This drive kept me very awake, I was in the front seat and had the opportunity to closely monitor the traffic situation, road conditions, and drivers’ behaviour and idiosyncracies. Don’t think I want to do this again.

Around 2 hours worth of bad roads before we reached Dharamshala in 6 hours and 15 minutes.

I thought that atleast the roads in Dharamshala would be good. Not to be. I was told by one of the restaurateurs that all roads are getting relaid and should look great by next year. Let me see. I thought that the presence of the Tibetan Government in Exile atleast should have necessitated better quality of roads.

However, having said all this, Dharamshala, McLeodganj, and Palampur are some of the best places that we have seen. Strongly recommended. May be you can find some extra money to fly from New Delhi to Kangra Airport which is around 12 Kms from Dharamshala, thereby reducing major pain of driving. But one thing about driving in these places though – the scenery is simply great and you would miss all of that in a flight !

More to come soon……..

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
01 Nov 2008
Mumbai