Food and Moods
I am at that stage in my life where I have stopped over-explaining myself or justifying my line of action. I read something quite awe-inspiring the other day. It said, convince yourself that you have done the best that you could, rather than spending your life convincing others that you did. Spot on and unmistakably correct, I have to say! But I have noticed, the moment I feel insecure, thoughtful or pensive, nothing cheers me up like good food. It neednt be from posh hotels or restaurants. Hot podi idlis, buttery masala dosae or a vada pav can do the trick. The funny thing is that the more high-calorie the food is, the more the satisfaction! I doubt a bowl of boiled sprouted beans could conjure up the same state of bliss. There is a correct correlation in the secretion of dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin in calorific foods that do the trick of mood elevation. Others do it by exercising and the smart ones (like yours truly) do it by masticating! On one such rather gloomy day, I received a massive package which emitted the most heavenly aromas. On closer inspection, it was a package from a new S.E. Asian cloud kitchen called Shoyu. When the tag-line read premium Pan-Asian delivery by offering restaurant-quality dishes at home straight out of the box, I was more than sceptical! I have been at the receiving end of soggy noodles and limp dim-sums, and I know that Pan-Asian food tastes like cardboard when cold. But what impressed me was the thoughtfully designed eco-friendly packaging customised to preserve the three Ts, temperature, texture and taste, that ensured every dish arrived just right. Brilliant! Shoyu is the brainchild of two young entrepreneurs, Varun Tripuraneni and megastar Naga Chaitanya, two foodies who wanted Bangalore to experience their already successful chain of cloud kitchens. Their produce is fresh, their menu is vast and innovative, and one can see the meticulous planning and execution of their enterprise. Just the way it should be. Brains, beauty and brawn! Maybe the bigger restaurants and hotels should take a leaf out of their books on how to sustain the flavour and temperature while delivering their food. Bia Sandhu, Shyam Kumar and Alka Dev Whitefield is in another country altogether, and travelling to and fro with unorganised traffic, the mysterious Harry Potter-esque railways (metros that are perennially under construction), to belching trucks and buses, autos and two-wheelers with a suicidal complex, the journey from town is fraught with danger! But, when one reaches there, the amazing views of the orange sunset from the pool deck of DoubleTree by Hilton are sublime. Their GM, the dapper, Shyam Kumar invited us for the launch of the picturesque Captain Chips deck serving hot grills, cocktails and small plates on a cool winter evening. The evening was perfect, with a small group of people (who had braved the traffic), a crooner and a very attentive staff serving some amazing cocktails. A lovely star-lit evening! This brings me to the absolutely horrifying state of the roads and traffic. We cannot get away by saying Bangalore has great weather anymore. There are more than enough monies and intelligentsia represented in namma ooru. If they cant fight for our beloved city, then we must. It is ridiculous to comprehend that an 8 -10 km stretch sometimes takes two hours to traverse. Lets act, not expound! (The writers views are personal)
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