In the Bowl Bistro @ Seattle

Finally, I get to review my one of my favorite Thai restaurants in Seattle. In the Bowl has the widest variety of Thai food at prices not really reasonable, but proportionate to the portions. How often do you bump into a Thai restaurant that is all vegetarian? I feel relieved because I can order anything without asking the hundred usual questions like "Does that have fish sauce? Oyster sauce? It is all veg, right? I mean there is no sea food or no meat of any kind in it? How about shrimp paste?" Phew!!

This is a tiny hole in the wall, with the tables on one side,

and the kitchen on the other.

 Some things to expect when you go there:

1. There is just one cook (and a helper) and one waitress who run the show.  It  takes atleast 20 mins for the food to reach your table. When the restaurant is packed, it can take longer.
2. There are only 7-8 tables, but we usually go for lunch at noon and are seated right away.
3. The open kitchen is right next to where you sit, so it can get really hot in there. They do have a couple of fans, but it hardly serves the purpose.
4. You get to pick the type of noodle (Udon, mung bean, rice etc) and the type of rice (brown, white or wild rice medley). You also get to pick faux chicken, beef etc or tofu.
5. When you order an entree, for $3 more, you can get 3 or 4 pieces of any of their appetizers. Although, when we ordered the entree and an appetizer, the appetizer never came and we finally just cancelled the appetizer.
6. When you order fried rice or the stir-fry entrees, you get a complimentary dessert. But keep in mind that the dessert can be anything. We got a couple of pieces of Orange!!
7. Service can be a little lousy at times, but you hardly notice it once you start digging into the food.
8. The family believes in Hindu Gods and you will get to listen to a lot of Hindu religious music being played in the restaurant. It's kind of a different environment. Very peaceful and soothing.
9. The food is great and the variety is awesome! Definitely worth trying out their specials!

Here are few pictures of what we ate: Yellow Fried Rice -Stir fried rice with yellow curry paste, carrot, onion, snow pea, broccoli, pineapple then top with coconut milk. We asked for soy chicken and white rice. It was excellent!

and Garlic Mania Noodle - Stir fried homemade garlic and herbs sauce topped over steamed noodle with sesame oil, sesame seed and served with steamed mixed veggies. We asked for mung bean noodle. Absolutely delicious!

If you haven't been to this restaurant, I highly recommend checking it out. You will be stunned by the variety!

Baan Thai @ Chennai

We heard that Thai restaurants in India are one of a kind. With tons of vegetarian options, you will never find anything like it here (US), we were told. Curious cats that we are, we decided to check out the fairly new Baan Thai, expecting to plunge into some Indo-Thai fair. We realized once again that great expectations don't always lead to great food.
Baan Thai is located on Khadar Nawaz Khan road in Nungambakkam. The road is very popular but the restaurant was hard to find.It is tied up with Kobe Sizzlers. Valet parking saved us the rut of finding parking on a weekday afternoon.
The restaurant is very classy. Nice interiors. Food, pricey, ofcourse. In India, Thai food is meant for occasions, isn't it? So, may be you can foot the enormous bill occasionally. The service was great. Especially after I told the waiter that I will be reviewing the food. I swear, I didn't tell that to get his attention. He was curious to know why I was more interested in taking pictures of the food than eating it. But even otherwise, he was quite attentive. Always ready to serve the dish and catering to our needs of hot sauce and plum sauce.

There were lots of veggie options. We ordered a couple of mocktails to start with - Blue Lagoon and a Virgin Mojito.

We settled on Tod Mun They - Tender fried vegetable patties with mildly spiced thai herbs. Amazing! I have never had anything like that before. Delicious!

Yod Kow Pod Pad Hed - not as complicated as the name sounds - Mushrooms and Baby corn tossed lightly in black pepper sauce. Very simple. Now, this dish did not have anything Thai-ish in it. Shouldn't I be getting the flavors of kaffir lime leaves or watercress or lemon grass or basil or the like? For a moment it felt like I was sitting in Wang's Kitchen, eating their Indo- Chinese food. Disappointing. I told the same to the waiter, when he appeared concerned about my disapproving frown.They do have chefs from Thailand in their kitchen. What could have gone wrong, I wonder.

Next came the Pha Bamee Tow Hu - Fried yellow noodles with vegetables and beancurd.

The same Wang's Kitchen-ish feel. Sigh. I would suggest ordering dishes that have "Thai" in the name. You know, like Thai green curry or Thai fried rice and try your luck. May be you will then get to taste real Thai! I would call it an Asian restaurant, rather than a Thai restaurant.It can do much better in bringing out the Thai flavors.

Sangeetha Vegetarian Restaurant @ Chennai

The first thing we do the day we land in Chennai is - head to Sangeetha for breakfast. It is a ritual we have religiously followed. We can't wait to relish piping hot pongal, vada, sambar, chutney and poori, while sitting at a table on the sidewalk. They now have branches in the UK and other countries.

It is a vegetarian fast food restaurant, more popular for breakfast. It is one of the few restaurants that has maintained the ancientness. Stainless steel jugs, plates (covered with plantain leaves), tumblers and cups, uniformed waiters, the same old tables and chairs and the same fabulous food! Nothing has changed.

Just a five minute drive from home, we reached there at 7: 00 am, and sat at a table on the sidewalk. The waiter came by.

A: "Menu irukka?" (Do you have a menu?)

Waiter: "Sambar vada, pongal vada, masala dosa, ghee roast, uttapam, rava dosa, onion rava,.............."

Me: "Poori irukka?" (Do you have poori?)

Waiter (noding): "Irukku."( Yes. It's there.)

Me (to A): "I'll have a poori."

A (to Waiter): "Oru Poori, Oru pongal vada." (One poori, one pongal vada)

Waiter: "Approm?" (What else?)

A: "Avalodhan" (That's it for now.)

Steaming hot Poori and Pongal arrived within 10 minutes. The Poori came with two smallish sized bowls of  different tasting Potato gravy - Potatoes cooked with onions and green chillies with turmeric and other spices. Excellent!

And, the Pongal was smothered in a generous portion of ghee :) It came with Sambar and chutneys (usually unlimited, but was sufficient for the amount of pongal and vada it came with) - Tomato garlic chutney, cilantro chutney and coconut chutney. All very fresh and as tasty as homemade.The Vada was very crispy and inviting.

We reminded ourselves of the calories that will be consumed later in the day and in the days to come, and forced ourselves to leave the restaurant before being seized by an insatiable urge to order something else off the menu. An excellent place for south Indian breakfast!

Cream Centre @ Chennai

During a recent trip to India, I got to sample some of the fine cuisines from around the world under one roof. Yes, from Soups, Salads and Sandwiches to Lebanese Falafels to Mexican Enchilladas and Nachos to Italian Pastas and Pizza to Indian Thalis, Parathas and Chaat! And, all vegetarian at that! Located in R.A.Puram, Cream Centre is one of those new age restaurants that is popular among people of all ages and races. Some of the dishes are even made in Jain style upon request. A run down house in the center of the city is refurbished and remodeled and converted into a trendy restaurant. Is that the trend these days? Must be....and I totally love it!

The insides were earthy and uncomplicated.Very funky.

We visited Cream Centre twice in a span of two weeks. It is usually packed even on week days. The service is a little sloppy sometimes, but the food more than makes up for it.The first time we went, there was an Italian Connection Festival going on.We got the Malfatti Napoli - Golden fried cottage cheese, american corn & spinach dumplings baked with a combination of mozzarella & aged gouda cheese on a garlic-pepper cherry tomato sauce and finished with fried basil.

It was served with spiced garlic bread.

Despite the three different cheeses, the dish was very light. The tomato basil sauce with a hint of garlic was awesome! This is something I have never had before.I have been to tons of Italian restaurants, but have never seen anything like this. A truly innovative creation. I later learnt that Malfatti is Italian for hand rolled dumplings and Napoli is Italian for Naples. They have tons of other pastas and thin crust pizza that's definitely worth trying. Molto deliziosa!


Next came the Sizzling Paneer Chili - Paneer and bell pepper sizzling in soy sauce with rice on the side.

It was more Chinese than Indian. The flavor of soy sauce dominated all the other flavors. The paneer for some reason tasted and looked like tofu. Just to make sure we got the right order, we checked with the head waiter, and he swung his head from right to left and enlightened us on "Chennai Paneer" and "Mumbai Paneer" ! Hilarious, I know. I wouldn't recommend this dish. It wasn't as delicious as I expected it to be. There are a lot more out there, so save your appetite for the rest! The second visit to CC will be covered in a different post. Watch this space!

Chaat Paradise @ Moutain View

Chaat is a plate of savory snacks, typically served on road-side tracks from stalls or carts. Most Chaats originated in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, but are now eaten all over south Asia. Many of the Chaats are a fusion of cultures. For instance, Pav Bhaji (Bread/bun with cooked and mashed vegetables) reflects a Portuguese influence, in the form of a bun and Bhel (Sev) Puri was created by a Gujarati migrant to Mumbai.The Chaat speacialites vary from city to city.

Back home, when we feel like having Chaat, we just walk down the street to the road side Chaat stall, where the Chaat wala would be busy making paav bhaji, pani puri, samosa chaat, et al. We just tell him to keep the pani puris coming and eat plate after plate. After a few burps and belly strokes indicating the stomach is really full, we waddle away from the shop. This is a daily ritual when we visit home.

I was delighted to stop by Chaat Paradise on the way to the airport. They make authentic Delhi Chaat and is run by the people from Delhi.We went there at 2:30 pm and it was just gearing up for the evening. Mostly, people where stopping by for takeout.

Apart from all kinds of Chaat, you even get thalis, rotis, parathas, biryani, and entrees like saag paneer, malai paneer and many more. They even have Chaat Combos in their menu! You get a choice of any two Chaat, Pappad and Soda/Tea/Coffee for just $8.50!Amazing deals.We ordered a combo, consisting of Hara Bhara Bhel - puffed rice, sev (a fried snack shaped like thin noodles made from besan flour), and mixture (a mix of different types of fried snacks mixed together), as the base of the snack, tomatoes, onions, potatoes and chilis added to the base and topped with chutneys. Different chutneys impart a sweet or spicy flavour. There are two popular chutneys used, a sweet one made of dates and tamarind, and a green spicy chutney made of coriander leaves and green chillies.

and the dahi batate sev puri - mini puri shells filled with stuffings and topped with sev, yogurt and chutneys.

The round, puffy puri shell is first broken on top and partially filled with the main stuffing of mashed potatoes or chickpeas. A little chaat masala is added for taste, as well as a pinch of salt.Sweet tamarind chutney and spicy green chutney are poured into the shell on top of the stuffing. Finally, sweetened beaten yoghurt is generously poured over the shell, and the finished product is garnished with sprinklings of crushed sev, moong dal and finely chopped coriander leaves.

The Chaats were flawless and totally perfect! The best I have had in the US. If you are visiting the Bay Area, make sure to stop by this awesome restaurant. If you live in the Bay Area, I don't know what to say - I am jealous!

Cafe Carmel @ Carmel

On the way to Big Sur, we stopped at this place for lunch in the beautiful town of Carmel. Carmel is like a story book town where different kinds of trees border the streets and the colourful flowers decorate the lovely houses.You will find tourists walking all over the town heading to cozy little cafes swarming with people having coffee or chatting over lunch or some even just starting the day with a nice scrumptious country breakfast.

We found Carmel Cafe on one such stroll and decided to have lunch there. It's like a typical bakery/deli where the menu is written up on the wall and all the baked goodies leer at you from behind the huge glass counters hoping fervently that they will soon move to a warmer home, aka your belly.

We settled for a grilled veggie burger - Veggie patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, house dressing served on ciabatta.

The burger was excellent. Crunchy ciabatta with the moist filling was very appetizing. And the dessert was an apricot pistachio something. It was not too sweet and was perfect.

A fantastic cafe for those days when you crave a sandwich/soup and the like.

Egg Masala

I had posted A's Egg Curry sometime before, here. That was an elaborate one. Here's A's quicker version of Egg masala. More gravyish and goes well with rice or roti.

He browned the garlic in oil, and threw in the onions and green chilies.He added turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, egg kuruma powder and salt and sauted them for a few minutes, and then, added the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes were cooked, he added 2 cups of water and let it thicken.Meanwhile he boiled the eggs, shelled and removed the yolk from them. The eggs were gently tossed in the gravy. Finally he added a dash of whipping cream, to make it a bit creamy.

We ate it with malaysian parathas. Very yummy!!