Leaving Bangalore

It is now January 2 and we are preparing to leave Bangalore for Chiang Mai, Thailand. We’ve had a wonderful time but it will be good to settle into a place for the next two months. Our flight isn’t until 1:00 AM; we’ll arrive in CM around lunchtime Tuesday. (Chiang Mai is exactly 12 hours difference from EST.)

Dan and Mahesh returned Saturday afternoon from visiting the orphanages near Vellore. They had a great time, including a picnic outing with the children to the fort.

While they were gone, we went to a special Andhra Pradesh restaurant, where we had biryani served on banana leaf.

That evening, Nina made a snack of small idlis (rice cakes) with onion, etc., in them. Very nice! The special pan makes lovely little rounded balls to be dipped in a sauce.

Sunday we celebrated the New Year with a visit to Barbeque Nation. We first went to this restaurant when we were here in 2007. It is now a major chain all over the country. It is definitely a place to go rarely, as you will see.

First, they came around with pani puri, a common street snack.

Then they loaded up the barbeque in the center of the table, the specialty of the house. We had appetizer/starter skewers of fish, prawns, chicken, paneer, pineapple and mushrooms. I ate so much that I couldn’t enjoy the next course, which was a huge buffet of many different wonderful curries. There was also a dessert bar.

During the barbeque phase, a server came around with smashed potatoes. They don’t look very appetizing, but they were absolutely delicious. I remembered them from earlier visits. I’ve tried to make something similar, but it didn’t quite match up.

The next post will be after we are in Chiang Mai!