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lprovenSometimes I get very annoyed with Past Liam.
I had two favourite Asian-foods shops in Brno. I looked up a few here, and in three-and-a-bit years in Prague, I never visited either.
Well, I've finally got around to it.
A couple of weeks ago, I found Orient Food in Holešovice. I spent about £60 in one go and staggered out with all I could carry. It's a good thing I didn't make it there with Ada a month ago, on my previous attempt to visit the place. She was on foot, which means progress was slow and inefficient at best. (Although she did great and was a little star – we went all the way into the city centre, to I P Pavlova (named after the great Dr Pavlov, who I am sure would be delighted at how a billion humans now jump and reach for their pockets at a mere hint of vibration). Foreigners affectionately call the station "I P Freely". That time, we went to the Candy Store where I stocked up on Marmite, crisps, biscuits and beer. Especially custard creams, which Ada picked for me and put in the basket. She gamely tried to carry it, but it was rather big for her.
(She put quite a lot of things in the basket, in fact – she very much enjoys putting things in other things. Today, while we were Skyping with her grandma, she raided the kitchen vegetable drawer, found a bag of onions, and after playing with them in the kitchen, she brought the bag into the living room, and unpacked the onions onto the sofa. And then back into the bag. And then out onto the sofa again. Then back into the bag. Then she gave her mum an onion. Her mummy told her to give daddy an onion too... so she took mummy's onion back and handed it to me.
I spent some time sweeping up onion skin this evening.)
Anyway. Back to the Oriental Potraviny. This time, it was more like a spicy orgy to make a Fremen sietch proud. Biriani paste and mix, plantain chips, frozen parathas, Bombay mix, some Tetley masala chai tea-bags, and more. I have been sadly missing a lot of my favourite spicy foodstuffs.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ednun and I made quite a few shopping trips for such things in the Before Time.
I never knew Tetley's made masala teabags! The box proudly proclaims that Tetley's is now a Tata company. Tata, if you don't know the name, is a Mumbai zaibatsu who make everything from coffee to cars. I only knew the tea from my beloved and much-missed Sri Lankan restaurants of Colliers Wood. For tea, I especially recommend the Apollo Banana Leaf. (Prague's only Sri Lankan has closed down, and I am dismayed.)
Turns out, it's great. Being the real Indian deal and not some watered-down British version for feeble white people, it has a strong punch of both spice and tea. Wonderful morning pick-me-up.
Well, today, I visited the second such grocery store on my list – and discovered it was within walking distance of my old flat on Charles Square. How did I not know that? Swagat do both retail and wholesale, so although smaller, there's a quite different selection, including multiple blends of masala tea at 25% discount. I was recommended Wagh Bakri and I bought a tub of leaf tea.
And lo, I now know the recipe for masala tea! Well, the ingredients, anyway. I don't recommend making your own; I have no idea about the quantities.
I had two favourite Asian-foods shops in Brno. I looked up a few here, and in three-and-a-bit years in Prague, I never visited either.
Well, I've finally got around to it.
A couple of weeks ago, I found Orient Food in Holešovice. I spent about £60 in one go and staggered out with all I could carry. It's a good thing I didn't make it there with Ada a month ago, on my previous attempt to visit the place. She was on foot, which means progress was slow and inefficient at best. (Although she did great and was a little star – we went all the way into the city centre, to I P Pavlova (named after the great Dr Pavlov, who I am sure would be delighted at how a billion humans now jump and reach for their pockets at a mere hint of vibration). Foreigners affectionately call the station "I P Freely". That time, we went to the Candy Store where I stocked up on Marmite, crisps, biscuits and beer. Especially custard creams, which Ada picked for me and put in the basket. She gamely tried to carry it, but it was rather big for her.
(She put quite a lot of things in the basket, in fact – she very much enjoys putting things in other things. Today, while we were Skyping with her grandma, she raided the kitchen vegetable drawer, found a bag of onions, and after playing with them in the kitchen, she brought the bag into the living room, and unpacked the onions onto the sofa. And then back into the bag. And then out onto the sofa again. Then back into the bag. Then she gave her mum an onion. Her mummy told her to give daddy an onion too... so she took mummy's onion back and handed it to me.
I spent some time sweeping up onion skin this evening.)
Anyway. Back to the Oriental Potraviny. This time, it was more like a spicy orgy to make a Fremen sietch proud. Biriani paste and mix, plantain chips, frozen parathas, Bombay mix, some Tetley masala chai tea-bags, and more. I have been sadly missing a lot of my favourite spicy foodstuffs.
ednun and I made quite a few shopping trips for such things in the Before Time.I never knew Tetley's made masala teabags! The box proudly proclaims that Tetley's is now a Tata company. Tata, if you don't know the name, is a Mumbai zaibatsu who make everything from coffee to cars. I only knew the tea from my beloved and much-missed Sri Lankan restaurants of Colliers Wood. For tea, I especially recommend the Apollo Banana Leaf. (Prague's only Sri Lankan has closed down, and I am dismayed.)
Turns out, it's great. Being the real Indian deal and not some watered-down British version for feeble white people, it has a strong punch of both spice and tea. Wonderful morning pick-me-up.
Well, today, I visited the second such grocery store on my list – and discovered it was within walking distance of my old flat on Charles Square. How did I not know that? Swagat do both retail and wholesale, so although smaller, there's a quite different selection, including multiple blends of masala tea at 25% discount. I was recommended Wagh Bakri and I bought a tub of leaf tea.
And lo, I now know the recipe for masala tea! Well, the ingredients, anyway. I don't recommend making your own; I have no idea about the quantities.
- Tea (Camillia sinensis) flavoured with:
- Cardamom (Elletaria cardamomum Maton)
- Clove (Syzygium aromaticum)
- Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.)
- Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum)
- Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)
- Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)
- Long Pepper (Piper longicum)
Yes, they helpfully included all the Latin names. I have, however, fixed the spelling of a couple.
I will report back once I have tried it, but if you can, seek it out. If you've had coffee-shop chai, this will be a revelation. The real deal is a far cry from the weak Western version. It mirrors an experience I had in Tooting some years back. I visited a newly-opened Indian vegetarian restaurant, Saravana Bhavan, with Ednun, freshly back from a work trip to Gurgaom. When I led him in, he clutched my guiding elbow excitedly and told me that if the smells and the sounds were anything to go by, this was the real thing and the food would be amazing. Well, it was good, but not amazing.
I recounted this tale over a vindaloo to the late and very much missednesacat, who told me that what I had to do was to go back there, ask for the manager, and tell him that I didn't want the food for British customers, I wanted the proper stuff that they'd serve to Indian customers.
Well, I went again, with Eddie again, andfeorag, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
charlies_diary and pndc if I remember correctly, and although embarrassed, I did as Nesa had told me. The manager was quite indignant at the suggestion, and informed me that all customers got the same food prepared the same way...
... But this time, the food was excellent.
By a happy coincidence, just by the hotel that my employers put us in when we're in Brussels for the FOSDEM conference is the Belgian branch of Saravanaa Bhavan. It usually closes just about the time I arrive (after the cheap evening Ryanair flight from Prague), but last year, I hot-footed it straight from the airport to the restaurant and just got in in time to be served... and went again on my way to the airport on the way home, too.
As a wise man once wrote:
I will report back once I have tried it, but if you can, seek it out. If you've had coffee-shop chai, this will be a revelation. The real deal is a far cry from the weak Western version. It mirrors an experience I had in Tooting some years back. I visited a newly-opened Indian vegetarian restaurant, Saravana Bhavan, with Ednun, freshly back from a work trip to Gurgaom. When I led him in, he clutched my guiding elbow excitedly and told me that if the smells and the sounds were anything to go by, this was the real thing and the food would be amazing. Well, it was good, but not amazing.
I recounted this tale over a vindaloo to the late and very much missed
nesacat, who told me that what I had to do was to go back there, ask for the manager, and tell him that I didn't want the food for British customers, I wanted the proper stuff that they'd serve to Indian customers.Well, I went again, with Eddie again, and
feorag, charlies_diary and pndc if I remember correctly, and although embarrassed, I did as Nesa had told me. The manager was quite indignant at the suggestion, and informed me that all customers got the same food prepared the same way...... But this time, the food was excellent.
By a happy coincidence, just by the hotel that my employers put us in when we're in Brussels for the FOSDEM conference is the Belgian branch of Saravanaa Bhavan. It usually closes just about the time I arrive (after the cheap evening Ryanair flight from Prague), but last year, I hot-footed it straight from the airport to the restaurant and just got in in time to be served... and went again on my way to the airport on the way home, too.
As a wise man once wrote:
In this time, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness.
