THE MOMO BLOG

Yes. This is the post you were waiting for-the one about momos..or dumplings..or whatever. Not that this is the first time I’ve written about momos, but you and me, both know those steamed (or fried) packets of stuffing are worth it. Aren’t they?

You’ll find them all over town-EVERY town. Each nook and corner has this person swarmed by groups of people chomping away at the happiness on their plates. But the five places I’ll be telling you of, here, are different. The happiness they serve is greater, denser and absolutely more fulfilling. Life’s like that you know, some of us get to eat the rainbow and the happy sunshine, all on a winter evening. So Guwahatians brace yourselves. I’m gonna tell you of five places where they serve momos that are more than momos on a plate. And the best part? The prices are reasonable given the treat your taste buds are going to receive. By the way, this list is in descending order, i.e. number 1. being the best and the 5^th being one of the bests.


1.

                         

     The first place on my list is a new joint in Geetanagar called Ziya. It’s the two months old baby of Mr. Mousum Phukon who is putting his heart and soul into sculpting Italian delicacies to suit the Assamese tongue. Being a professional chef himself, Mr. Phukon has worked in different cities of India as well as in the international hotel management industry. no wonder, the quality and hygiene of food at Ziya is impressively maintained. 

With your very first step into Ziya, meaning ‘the meal’ in Turkish, I’m sure you’ll love every second that follows.  Be it the simple furniture, the checked table cloth, the contrast of colours on the roof, walls and floor or the spotless and shinning cutlery. Everything in here is tuned to perfection.The interiors of black and white are calm, composed and friendly. The waiters are impressively dressed and very well trained. There’s no slamming of food on the table or dirty glasses or impure tap water. And their simple presentation deserves a standing ovation. The best part though, is that you could belong to any age group and yet feel comfortable in your surroundings here. Let’s hear it for them folks!

Served for a hundred bucks, with your plate of chicken momos, you’ll receive a bowl of the momo broth which, they’ve clearly paid extra attention to. There are bits and leaves of coriander swimming in the soup, which adds a spark to the texture.  And did I already mention the two complimentary chutneys you receive as well? No, these aren’t that typical red momo chutney. It’s something better, way grander and, if I may call it, ‘CLASSY’.  The first one (the one on the extreme left) in basically made of fresh garlic, coriander, ginger and olive oil. And the second one is made of tomatoes and it tastes how crazy would taste if it tasted good. The tiny steamed sacs are generously stuffed with the best kind of grated chicken you’ve probably ever had. A single plate of these are enough for you to stay away from dinner not because they’re greasy or anything but because they’re light and full-filling, a quality rarely found in momos these days.

                                                               chicken momos

For those of you wondering, they do cook a host of other dishes. I treated myself to their Sea food starter and Mushroom Khichidi and OH MY GOD I’m never ever ever ever going to forget what I ate today. It was AWESOME! More than that actually. It was mind bogglingly good.

                                                                        sea food starter

                                                                  mushroom khichidi

Also,they are getting their winter menu out within a week, and from what I saw and tasted, I guarantee you’re missing something huge if you aren’t feasting at Ziya. There’s more to come about this place, but that’s for another post. As of now, GO GO GO GET THERE!!

Ziya is an oasis in the Assamese fine dining industry and has the capability to be the single outlet that defines this industry as a whole.

You can find Ziya @
 https://www.facebook.com/ziyaguwahatiand
https://www.zomato.com/guwahati/ziya-zoo-tiniali

2.       Very very closely followed is the ultra-popular ‘NAGAMEEZ’. If you are a true Guwahatian, you already know everything there is to be known about this place. And even the fact that their momos can melt your heart. It’s a heart wrenching love affair between your taste buds and their momos. And the soup they dish out with their plate of momos..wow!! 

      They best time though, to treat yourself here is the winters. There’s nothing that can warm you up better than their soup and spice up your life greater than their chilli-tomato chutney. You’re going to be served six steamed chicken momos for Rs. 250, alternated with slices of salad vegetables.

 Drooling already eh?!



3.

‘Lakhimi Seva’ on Beltola Road is prone to getting over-shadowed by the hustling and bustling ‘Beltola Bazaar’ on Thursdays and Sundays. But otherwise, it’s hard to miss.

Though the atmosphere here is not as chic as Ziya, it’s good enough for a few snacks. The cherry on the top is the bakery that runs parallel to the restaurant. They waiters here are just simple boys taught to attend politely to customers and trust me, they try their level best to do so.

Okay! Let’s just focus on the momos. Here, you’ll be treated to six momos for Rs. 50 and they are undoubtedly fantabulous. You’ll mostly find fresh onions and coriander when you stir the soup and the chutney, it’s simply delicious. Though the dumplings are great when you eat them regular style and everything, I discovered another way to please my digestive system. 

The next time you’re here, remember the following steps:

a.       Scoop the chutney into the soup bowl and mix .

b.      Cut a momo into two and imitate a bull-dozer with your spoon,

c.       When you have the momo piece on your spoon, carefully dip it into the soup. Be certain not to drop the wanton into the soup but you should have a good amount of the liquid on your spoon.

d.      Now when your spoon accommodates your own island, relish it and feel the difference.



4. Well..yes, I do realize I kept you waiting for longer than you anticipated. But life’s been crazy the last few days, as a result of which I couldn’t give the blog as much time as it deserves. So given the circumstances, I at last managed to treat myself to another plate of these gorgeous beauties. If you are a Guwahatian and  love momos, this place should not come as a surprise to you.

QUICK PICK is a very popular hangout and serves tremendously good food. it's got two outlets-one in Silpukhuri and the other one in Dighalipukhuri under Cafe Coffee Day. The tariff is reasonable and practical.

The fresh and light mayo served with the dumplings is hardly the best part about the entire experience. And the bestestestest part folks, is that you get to choose from a variety of chicken momos and..and they serve TEN irresistible pieces of these sexy packets for ninety five bucks!!! Can you imagine that? THEY SERVE TEN MOMOS-the highest I’ve seen dished out on a commercial plate so far.

The soup, though a tad bit bland, is good if nothing more.

You'll be served two dips-the first one I guess, is a blend of different spices with tomato (the orange one) and the second is pure tomato ketchup..not the pure as in 'PURE' one..but the pure as in the 'PURELY' commercial one.

Okay! So now's the time for the tip-mix a part of the mayo with a part of the orange sauce; dip your momo into it and BITE!! Repeat if you like. I absolutely LOVED it.

WARNING: DO NOT..DO NOT..DO NOT USE THE ISLAND FORMULA MENTIONED ABOUT IN THE LAST PLACE HERE. IT ISN'T GOING TO WORK! :( There's going to be absolutely no difference!!

 If you are a frequent visitor here, you’ll swear by their ‘Drums of Heaven’ and ‘American Choup Suey’, each of which like every single plate of edible stuff served here is filling enough for two.




5.


ABOUT THE  FIFTH PLACE, WELL..I'M STILL LOOKING FOR IT. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

FIVE SECRET PLACES TO EAT THE BEST FOOD IN GUWAHATI

Like every other place, Guwahati has its own ethnic food. Being one of the north-eastern states of India, Assam is well known for the limited use of artificial flavoring agents in our delicacies, which, does not translate to, ‘our food is flavorless’. This flavor, that we claim not to be lacking, is generously added with natural ingredients to satisfy our palate. Be it onions or garlic or coriander..you name it, we pick it, wash it, chop it and cook it. And our advantage? Well..the local stuff is good and bountiful.

This post is for all of you out there who crave to relish good and hygienic home cooked food at reasonable rates.

Again, this list is in descending order, i.e. the first place serves the bestestestestestestest food and the fifth serves the best food. You understand what I did there don’t you?

    

1. The first and foremost place you should right away visit is what is known as ‘Baideor Dukaan’. ‘Baideo’ is Assamese means ‘elder sister’ and ‘Dukaan’ means shop. The name translates to ‘Elder Sister's Shop'. ‘Baideo’ as she’s popularly known, is a simple middle aged woman who’s been feeding empty stomachs since times immemorial. Her humble shop is nothing but a hut made of bamboo sticks and posts without any electricity which means, Baideo and her husband shut shop at around 5P.M. Yes, that’s how early sunlight disappears in this part of the world and in the winters, 4.30 P.M. is the limit.

\

                                     

          Baideo and her beautiful smile.

       

Inside her humble shop.

For breakfast, you’ll find Baideo and her husband happily frying puris, cooking a ‘sobji’ (a dish made of vegetables) and brewing tea. As the clock strikes 11 A.M., preparations for lunch begin. Her basic plate of food comprising of fresh steamed rice, dal (lentils), two sobjis and a spoon of pickle, is the same for every customer who can then avail their choice of an add on dish from her menu of chicken, fish, pork and eggs. A plate of her basic food costs around Rs. 30 and for whatever you choose from the non-vegetarian dishes, you pay an extra 50 bucks.

 Baideo's basic plate of food.

                             

Want some chicken?

How about some pork?

Do you eat fish?

   If you’re worrying about the hygiene of the food, RELAX. She’s extra careful about that. This eatery is situated on the hill that proudly houses the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital in Bhangagarh, opposite the ‘Boy’s Hostel No. 4.’ And this is exactly to where Baideo’s regular customers belong. Doctors..well..’docs-to-be’ actually would never ever eat in unhygienic places now, would they?

Baideo at her work-station.

2.





              WANT LIP SMACKING GOOD FOOD?



                                                   WATCH THIS SPACE.. 

YOU WERE NOT RAPED

It’s not that I don’t empathize with you. He let you down. He probably cheated. You feel used, I understand. And I sincerely feel sorry for you.

But I don’t understand how when you had consensual sex while you were dating and you promised to marry each other, it was both of you ‘making love’ and the moment he broke his promise, it became him ‘raping’ you. I’m sorry lady, but the truth is, he dumped you! Yes, he used you, but you weren’t raped. Rape is when a monster irregardless of your consent claims your body. Usually he does not have your consent. Did I mention that he does not even regard the necessity of your consent?

When you claim your previously love-making sessions fuelled by desire and passion on both sides to be ‘rape’ once he dumps you, you are exploiting an immensely serious word and a horrific act, which leaves victims scarred for life. Very few recover from what they experience though none of it is their fault. When you term your circumstances for what they aren’t, you are diluting this grave crime that we call ‘molestation’. 

He might have played you but it was with your consent. As brash and uncivilized as it sounds, you agreed (literally) to share the bed with him and one thing led to the other. You permitted him to do what he did. You were partners to what occurred. And now, you unfortunately are confusing the meaning of the word. Had you been in a relationship with him and he’d forced himself on you, it’d be rape-what you claim it is. Or even after your consent, if he did what you hadn’t permitted him to, it would be rape.

He betrayed you lady. That is what he did. You shouldn’t have attached sanctity to love making if you treated it as a condition to marriage and then indulged in it before you were married. He didn’t rape you. He broke his promise and let you down. Yes, he broke your heart. Yes, what he did is unforgiveable. But it’s a relationship gone wrong. He stabbed you in the back.

I absolutely, whole-heartedly support our war against rape and that includes identifying when it has occurred and when it hasn’t.

ARE YOU BEING HEARD?

There are so many things I’ve learnt from being treated unkindly, right from feeling like a doormat to being unheard and unseen, I’ve been through it all. I cannot claim my opinions to have not been valued, because for that, the fact that I’d even uttered a few words needed to be acknowledged! Yeah. There were times I’ve even been cut mid-sentence and a completely different topic was started, not even remotely linked to what was being discussed before.

Like it usually happens, I over-looked these occurrences numerous times until I noticed how much it happened. The next thing I did was sulk and sulk and sulk. I was in a sorry state. I avoided speaking if discussions were held in groups or even included a third party. I felt let down, insulted and extremely unwanted. My self-esteem had taken a blow.

Once I got over all the sulking, I began to analyze and deduce the conditions when this occurred. Call me desperate if you may, but I wanted to be heard. I realized a number of details I hadn’t paid attention to before. A major one being some people are ill-mannered assholes who don’t want to let other people speak. They think there’s a spotlight hovering above which they’re being immensely deprived off when a voice other than theirs is heard. These people do not let anyone else speak. A-N-Y-O-N-E. There’s nothing that can actually be done of them.

But something important that I actually stumbled into was, the question, “DO I VALUE MYSELF, MY WORDS, MY SELF-ESTEEM?” Sadly, the answer in spite of what I wanted to believe in, bordered on negative. You’ll know once you question yourself impartially. This is what triggers the problem in the first place. Your voice does not bear the firmness required. And that, my dear, is the truth. Nothing’s going to actually change if you don’t work on this basic aspect.

The magic to letting them know that you’re seriously saying what you are, is continuing what you were saying before they interrupted you. Start with, “I was saying______(continue whatever you were saying)______” and in extreme cases, follow up with “__ before you rudely interrupted me.” You’re going to love the expression on their face.

Apart from the self-esteem thing, what counts is also if you’re assertive enough, which probably you aren’t. One thing worth remembering though, is that with different people, the degree of assertion required is going to vary and you, my dear will have to recognize that or else you stand at a risk of being labeled ‘too bossy’ or ‘too submissive’.

They next time you interact with them, notice. They'll hear it-sure. But did they listen?

No matter what, you under each and every circumstance require to remember that-

YOUR OPINIONS, YOUR VOICE-IT MATTERS. YOU MATTER.

REVIEW: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (ALERT!! mild spoilers ahead)

After bumping into it on many self proclaimed lists of ‘best books’, I signed into my Amazon India account and placed an order for ‘Me Before You’ by Jojo Moyes on 25^th November, 2013. But it just sat there on my bookshelf waiting to be read all these days as I went for it each time only to end up living through a completely different book.

Having picked up a love story after ages, I dreadfully flinched when the presence of the  exhaustingly exhausted ‘poor girl meets rich guy’ basic plot seeped into me. If you’ve read even a few love stories, you’ll recognise this theme to be highly exploited and over done. Though disappointed, owing to my inability to leave a book half read (until it’s so painful that my eyes and the pages both bleed), I read on.

As Louisa Clark went on with her story, there were bits when I turned to look away from her life yawning and actually reading in bed just so I could fall asleep quicker. This ceased to be true once the very truth of her work contract dawned upon us. And from here on, I turned each page desperate to know what would happen next. Would Will really kill himself? Was it alright for him to do so? Would he be able to look at the brighter side of things? Would he recover? Was it possible? Was there anything else up with Mrs. T apart from Will? Who was that lady with red hair? And oh my, did I just read one of the most sensitive love stories! It was great. Had I been who I was when I read Cecelia Ahern’s ‘P.S. I Love You’, I would drown in my own tears. I cried all through P.S. I Love You and three days after I finished reading it. But that was who I was and not who I am now. When I turned the last page of Me Before You today, I shut the book and sat quietly, head tilted and eyes shut for a while. That is the impact the climax had.

No doubt the narration is a bit dragged in places and the story tends to blur at times also occasionally confusing your brain cells. I don’t think it’ll bother you once you get used to Moyes’ writing style. But one of the most remarkable traits that I've noticed in the narration is the simple but conscious style of presenting the story from the view of other members of the cast just so the story may progress and then reach a point from where it may sound 'normal' for Lou to take over again.

Don't forget to tell me what you think of it when and if you live it.

WHY IS IT?

You know, I’ve been thinking for a while about our country, The Republic of India, not having established a certain solid guideline or decorum of what people can and can’t speak about on a public platform, especially considering our lawmakers, public figures and other prominent personalities.

Why is it that a person can have the audacity or even the courage of attacking another’s personal life even when it’s irrelevant to their topic in discussion?

Why is it that, when our country is already getting a lot of unwanted attention considering unsafe living environment for women, that public figures can openly on satellite channels make baseless obscene and derogatory comments about women?

Why is it that people do not consider thinking twice before making a remark about a woman?

Why is it that certain people who have repeatedly offended women are not at the first time given a suitable lesson so that he dare not think of doing it again?

Why is it that the other women in the household of the person who has outraged the modesty of another woman forget that they are women too?

Why do they forget that it could happen to them also?

Why, when our country is fighting to empower women, especially after the 

16^th December, 2012 tragedy, have we not yet learn to respect women?

Why is it that when someone, not specifically a prominent personality makes disrespectful comments about a lady, that it is nothing shocking for our society?

Why is it so normal?

When are we going to begin respecting the gender the majority of us worship for strength, prosperity and knowledge?

WHEN ARE WE GOING TO LEARN?

WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?

BOOK REVIEW: THE LITTLE HEARTS

Anything about books or authors is music to my ears. So when I received an e-mail from Mr. Ravi Kumar R asking if I’d review his book, I agreed after we exchanged a few conversations. And this post is exactly that-an honest review.

Book Name: THE LITTLE HEARTS

AUTHOR: RAVI KUMAR R

PUBLISHER: BIBLICA PUBLICATIONS

CHIEF BOOK EDITOR: Mrs. SASI SUDARSANAN

BOOK EDITOR: GOPI GANESAN

GENRE: FICTION

Well, yes, the story is oozing with substance and aims to stir debates within your intellect. However, there’s a difference between certain thought provoking questions or facts and an abundance of them. You really need to brace yourself for pages of questions about political stuff, superpower and all, for which, honestly, you might already have the answers. Some of the philosophical sightings don’t really gel well.

The love story between the protagonist and his lady love Priya is very interesting with a dramatic climax. But at the same time, is pregnant with certain ‘pick up’ lines that are not only cheesy but also unbelievable when the narrator cites the lady’s reactions to them. He needs to get real!

Though, the book is filled with a lot of knowledge and questions about religions, belief systems, inequality et al., you can’t help the pounding in your head because of all the wrong grammar. The party pooper however, is the repetitive use of the same words very closely and even within the same paragraph. Also watch out for similar meaning words used together and various words used where the job could have been completed with the correct use of a single word. Every bit of the reader in you will undoubtedly make you wish the editor/proof reader had done a better job or the author had taken more interest at essay and prose writing back in school, especially when the narrator explains the obvious or unnecessary in a few situations. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE READER’S INTELLECT.

All in all, if you plan to read it, do so for the love story which actually is the most entertaining part in the book.

Note: As you read through the book, you will realize that the narration is quite immature and majorly feels like a translation. I think the immature part can be justified keeping in mind that the narrator is only 18 years old though he sounds like a 13 year old.