A food-obsessed post. Don't say I didn't warn you!
Walked into the Spencer's daily close to home today, and made a discovery that made my day. They stock-
(i) Dorset Cereals- yes that one owned by Prince Charles- which, even in Boston was only available in the higher-end grocery stores such as Whole Foods. Expensive even by American standards, each packet sells for Rs.450 here. Ah, Whole Foods...
(ii) Kikkoman soy sauce. Real, brewed soy sauce. The brand my Taiwanese roommates (and I) used to favour.
(iii) Pad Thai sauce, Oyster sauce, Thai green curry paste. Chinese-style candied ginger and black bean paste (which is quite wonderful, btw). All this talk of Chinese food makes me crave for Gourmet Dumpling's scallion pancakes with that divine dipping sauce, and ma po tofu. Ah, Chinatown...
Who are these denizens of T.Nagar who cook Thai & Chinese food? I'd really like to get to know them!
(iv)Prego pasta sauce. We preferred Newman's Own, however. Least tasteless of the lot.Capers! Sun-dried tomato pesto! Canned chickpeas! Apple cider vinegar! Dried cranberries and dried pineapple! Almost like being in America again.
I've missed a few things, I'm sure.
I'm sure some of these things have been available in Madras for some time now, but only in places like Amma Nana, or Nuts and Spices. To find these things in a neighbourhood grocery store with nary an expat in sight was well, a bolt out of the blue. I can't get over this!
Must now scope out the shops that expats frequent to see what bounty they might yield... Btw, does anyone know where one can get good, fresh tofu in Madras?
Oh, and look what's become cool in America! Now what, plastic baskets are going to be all the rage next?
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18 comments:
> (i) Dorset Cereals- yes that
> one owned by Prince Charles-
> which, even in Boston was only
> available in the higher-end
> grocery stores such as Whole
> Foods. Expensive even by American
> standards, each packet sells for
> Rs.450 here.
Almost ditto emotions happened (joy at finding, disbelief at price) when I discovered that Banana Nut Crunch was available in a local grocery store.
> I'm sure some of these things
> have been available in Madras
> for some time now, but only in
> places like Amma Nana, or Nuts
> and Spices.
T Nagar is hardly the back of beyond that way, no? Is it? Seems very hep to me nowadays.
> Btw, does anyone know where
> one can get good, fresh tofu
> in Madras?
How desperate are you? I probably know someone who might know. Or possibly know someone who might know. And so on...
Nilgiris should have tofu. Does Madras have a Naamdhari's? If so, you should it find it there as well.
Really now, you sound like one of those NRIs gone away for decades and back in the motherland all prepared to resign oneself to its backwardness, only to find that the tramlines on Mount Road have been replaced by Ford dealerships and the next door maamis have taken to wearing Nike sneakers. Back home's cooler than you think, you know.
In the big spencer's daily i go to normally (near VN road) theres a fridge now only for cheese, panner and tofu.
Theres a lot of soy products - milk and stuff - i remember wondering who the heck will buy tetrapacks of skimmed soy milk :)
It cant be fresh - but the thing is - u shud pick a big branch - and im sure u can get tofu alright
But hey the other guy is right about the NRI thing - kind of over :)
Ludwig: Heh. But wouldn't buy Dorset Cereals even if it was only 1/4 the quoted price. But Banana Nut Crunch is a different matter altogether!
T.Nagar isn't the back of the beyond, true. It's just that I was surprised to find a few somewhat esoteric ingredients at a fairly junta grocery store.
Not that desperate for Tofu (yet), thanks :)
Eye: Last I checked, Nilgiris tofu was frozen solid. Not good. Aiyyo now, don't call me NRI :( I'm perfectly aware of how things have changed (not that much, I was away only been two years!). It's just that that particular Spencer's Daily is a place I used to frequent before I left, and it didn't stock anything fancier than oregano. And I went to Nilgiris the other day, and it hasn't changed one bit. So here I walk unsuspectingly into Spencer's to buy a Fanta, and look what they have! Of course I'm going to be surprised!
A: Ya, that's the same Spencer's I'm talking about. The one opposite Sigru, no? As to accusations of being out-of-touch NRI, see above :P
Okay, okay, you don't need to get defensive, firang lady.
:P
Alternatively, you could always buy soy milk and make tofu at home. Might turn out rather more decently than the frozen stuff at the store. Makes sense?
Poda! :P
Make tofu at home?! You must be joking.
p.s. You're prob. the best person I know who can answer this- where does one obtain good booze in Madras?
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~hansen/recip/tofu.html
What, you want high-class likker aa? There used to be a shop in Bessie's where you could get the good stuff. Don't think it's there any more. My dad usually gets his from the club.
Bangalore's more my turf, sorry. This should help tho: http://chennai.metblogs.com/2006/06/28/boozards/
WV: "rigmo" - the fifth Beatle who stayed back in India for to study them veda things...
Yes, someone I know is craving foreign sarakku. Amma Nanu used to sell it, I thought. They don't seem to, anymore. Thanks for the link...
Amma Nanu? Who's that? Mork's mother?
Did I say Amma Nanu? Heh. Meant Amma Nana, of course.
hello hello - a bit late with the respnse i guess.
but - sure seems like there are TWO spencers daily on thanikachalam road - one is urs (close to pondy bazaar road) and other (behind which i live) is past the Prachar sabha junction and near the point where Tchlm Rd meets VN Road (close to the tirumala thing) - this ones bigger than urs im pretty sure.
Theres also one subhiksha, one or two other chainstores - not to mention about a dozen pottikadais - all along the, what, less than 1 kilometer strip ? mind boggling, i say
A: Huh, I think we both speak of the same Spencer's. I just searched in google maps, and there's just one in the vicinity of thanikachalam rd. One thing's clear, we live *really* close to each other! I know that Subhiksha- that's a few steps away from my place...
Remember to Watch out when u walk after dark - um,atleast from the week after this one - u might just be stalked :)
Right, heh. Maybe I should delete that comment?
im getting this Nazgul style hood my size & this 'scream' style plastic mask when i arrive LOL
Oh you were referring to yourself? :P You know, we should probably catch up sometime...
will do - will msg whn i get back - the hood and all :)
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