OH ONE MORE THING ...

If you think I was full of it as there must be something not quite perfect .. well, you are right on the money. For US$50 one does not get a view. This is my balcony and what I see when I open the curtains, which is why they have remained closed. Apparently petty thefts and burglaries are still common and despite police coverage and neighborhood vigilante residents are simply not convinced, hence this prison like set-up is de-rigurer all over. I am told 'there is nothing to worry about' which I am sure is the case, until we have to worry about it.

Que Sara Sara ... at least I know someone cannot possibly get in from the outside, look at my fortress! 

STALLEN HOSPITALITY

CX697 was delayed in Hong Kong so it was 105am when we landed in Delhi last night. Believe it or not there was a long queue at Immigration. Flight time was 5.5 hours but it took another 2.5 hours between getting off the aircraft to entering my room at 330am.

Stallen Suites in Defence Colony, a suburb of Delhi about 8km from the city center. I do not have a single clue where I was and the diver meandered through one circle to another because the subdivision gates were closed after certain hours and it was almost by luck we found it.

Speaking of old world charm, what a breath of fresh air. For starters I had to sign a huge register, IN BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE, the Receptionist quietly reminded me .. with the 'age' column front and center. I dared not look at his face when I put down 66 as I could well be their first guest over 40 judging from earlier entries. The setting was '80s, a tad tired but very homely. BTW the theme of my cooking sojourns is "Back to Basics" and the Stallen has met all my requirements of simplicity, efficiency and practicality. The sheets clean, the shower works, the in room WiFi flawless and the cabled TV stations a-plenty including amazing Indian cooking shows. All of this, plus breakfasts, for US$50 a night! Welcome to my reality check, the world I love, and missed.

STALLEN SUITES & APARTMENTS
A-153 Defence Colony New Delhi 110024
(91) 11 461 70124
www.stallenhospitality.com    

CURRY SOJOURN

You must first of all forgive me for not quite finishing the blogs on our recent European trip to Paris, the Rhone and Amsterdam. There are quite a few outstanding but my days seem so laden with trivia day in and day out I just cannot find time to focus on what needs to be done, timely. Be that as it may, the next 10-days will have precedent over other entries as this is my Curry Sojourn, in New Delhi.

I promised myself I will have 10 different culinary experience under my belt between age 60-70 ... In-Shalla ... I covered 6 already, and India is the 7th. Starting with formal training at Le Cordon Bleu I have been most fortunate to have exposure to the rudiments of Thai, Contemporary, Turkish, Japanese and Spanish cuisine. None of these was 'cooking holidays' but rather intensive workouts on what I label Food Anthropology.

The time has come for curries and from Tokyo and Barcelona I became spoiled by the 1-on-1 formula and this is exactly what I shall get from Chef Usha Agarwal here in New Delhi so ... stay tuned!