Shogun - The Restaurant with no Sushi

Monday a colleague asked me where my gang wanted a treat from him. His last day was on 19th June. Someone from my team wanted to try a different cusine as we were exhausted eating north indian and Aapams from Nala's. Next to Nala's in OMR, there is this restaurant called Shogun. Some of us wanted to try Japanese cuisine for a change and particularly the Sushi.

One of them was curious about what Sushi was... We had to explain sushi was "Kozhakatai" stuffed with raw fish. One had to eat it with various sauces given. This raised some eyebrows among the team members. In spite of lot of skepticism in the air, we decided it was SHOGUN this time.

So on the D-Day, we all got ready for the luncheon treat and stepped out of our office. It was 12.30 in the afternoon. OMR was horribly hot and dry. Global Warming has turned Chennai to be less humid. I really miss the sweaty, humid and the hot summers in Chennai. It is no more humid. :( The 2.5km travel was made by rickshaws. Surprisingly, there were considerable number of cars parked in the front.

Excited, we got a nice place to sit and were chatting for minutes. I could see mixed emotions running about the cuisine in everyone's face. I also saw the place was dimly lit and not as tidy as I had expected. The Maitre d' came asking if we wanted cold or warm water. We gave him a stare and he realized what was expected. After testing the chillness of the water, we got the menu card.

Some of us were baffled and mouth wide opened reading the menu card. Some others were looking at us to help them choosing the menu. The people who were expecting Japanese cuisine were roaring with laugh. All the menu in the list were CHINESE and not JAPANESE. Not even 1 was Japanese. We later had to explain why we were laughing looking at the menu card. The Maitre d' was giving us an unexplainable million dollar expression.

So, we went ordening some Hanua Veg soup and Sweet Corn soup. The Hanua soup was hot and not sour. It was good to taste. We then mixed sweet corn and the Hanua to supress the spiciness in the soup. For the starters, fried baby corn was ordered. It was good again. For the Main Course, the non veggies ordered Chinese Choupsey with the white sauce. The vegies went for Szhezuan Noodles and Vegetables & Woodear. It was good again. We were not full yet so a Hanua fried rice was ordered. For the desert we tried the fried noodles in honey with ice cream. This was pathetic! The ice - cream was tasting like frozen milk and nothing of ice cream. There was not much honey added either. The desert was a flop show.

So, I asked if there were finger bowls after struggling with the Fried Noodles with Honey and Ice cream. The Maitre d' said they dint have finger bowls. So I asked where the wash room was. He gave me such a blank expression that I really could not understand what was running in his mind. He said there was no washroom for women or a common place with a simple wash basin. He asked politely if I was alright to use the Men's room. My team mate immediately asked dont you really expect women to come in here? I declined the offer and we waited for our bill. I am really not sure if it was worth to pay Rs.230 per head.

We all came out with yet again mixed emotions - we were bidding farewell to a nice person and had a decent so called Chinese luncheon.

Chole for Bachelors who dont have mixie

My cousin called me on the "good Friday" afternoon to know how Chole is prepared. I was busy logging a defect in office (Yeah I was working on Good Friday! Everyone was working in office). When I was instructing him step by step on how to make Chole, it stuck me I should document my recipes. One of the many reasons for me to start with this blog is to spend my weekends usefully. I dedicate this blog for my reviews on music & movies, cookery and whatever can be added to it.

Here goes the simple Chole for people who dont have much time or extra accessories in their kitchen.

Ingredients

Channa/Konda Kadala - 200g
Onions - 2 Nos
Tomatoes - 2 Nos
Ginger&Garlic paste - 1 Spoon
Oil - 2 Spoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Spoon
Garam Masala - 1 Spoon
Daniya Powder - 1 Spoon
Channa Masala - 1 Spoon
Salt - 1 1/2 Spoon
Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

1.Soak Channa over night and cook it with the same water in pressure cooker and keep it aside.
2.Heat a pressure pan with the oil and add ginger garlic paste. Fry the paste until u feel the raw smell is gone. DO not brown it.
3.Chop the onions finely. If you have the time grate it in a grater. Chop the tomatoes very fine.
4. Add the onion (grated or finely choped) and cook it until u think the raw smell is gone and it is soft.
5. Add Garam Masala, Turmeric Powder and Dhaniya Powder.
6. Add the finely chopped tomatoes to the pan and stir nice. After the tomatoes are cooked, smash the mixture with the ladle until you think its become pulp kind.
7. In some time, the mixutre boils and separates the oil.
8. Add the cooked channa and add the salt.
9. Pressure cook for 2 whistles.
10. After releasing the whistle, add the Channa Masala and boil for 3minutes.

Garnish it with Chopped coriander leaves.

Eat it with bread or Pav which you can get in the near by bakery.
If you think you have time, make some chapathi/phulka and eat it hot.