Burma Burma Review

The only good part of travelling all the way to South Mumbai for work is that sometimes when you get time to step out for lunch, you can go and visit some very interesting food joints.

A vegetarian only Burmese food joint definitely falls in the category of places i have been dying to check out.

The place is located close to Rhythm House and Kala Ghoda Cafe and if it is your first visit then its best if you put the GPS on and try and locate it on foot in the narrow lanes where chances of a car getting stuck are very high.

Its a quaint little place with nice interiors. I did not feel transported into a Burmese land when i stepped into the restaurant but thought the Burma man in the logo was very cute.

Samiza Hincho (means Samosa Soup when translated) was high on the recommendations from friends who had been there before and it was truly amazing. We had decided to share a bowl and regretted that decision at the first spoonful (I cribbed a lot bout it).

The soup was followed by Chilly Tangy Chickpea Tofu. At the first bite it felt odd as even though the dish mentions chickpea tofu, you expect the taste of soy tofu. But couple of bites down the taste kindof grew on us and we liked the dish.

Then came the Tea Leaf Salad. I have had it before in Burma Superstar in San Fransico and cause of that had high expectations from the salad. It did not disappoint and was really tangy and crunchy.

We also ordered Manday Meeshay which kind of reminded me of soupy noodles with veggies. The waiter initially refused to give us more than 2 bowls to share it (as per him the portion was only good for 2) which made us not want to pay the service charge, but we are difficult to say no to. Anyway the dish was mediocre and even the Brown Onion and Roasted Chilly steamed buns were average.

There were some super hits and misses in our order but the place is nice and serves good food at a great price point. Worth going back to at some point.

The dessert was at La Folie which is a couple of minutes walk from Burma Burma and serves some unforgettable goodies.

PS: If anyone wants a free uber ride then use my referral code po5ym

Things that I would do if I was jobless

Since we are in India let me clarify that the image says "Working it" and not "Working IT (Information Technology) :P

Depends...

You know... 

• Am I jobless without any savings (like right now :P) ???
• Or do I have tonnes of them (my magical figure of 7 crores in the bank)??

So first let's talk about being almost broke and jobless..

• I would (it kills my cool quotient - but all points for honesty) search desperately for a new job!!!! Loser me
• Go back to my hometown to get rid of almost all personal expenses :) Daddy dearest still lovingly looks after me. Also who can pay these killer rents in MUMBAIIIII
• In-between frantic job search  - I'll keep myself busy - writing this blog offcourse 
• Watching TV series on my mom/dad's laptop because - let's face it, my laptop died years ago and I have managed these years with my "official" laptop... Which I am pretty sure the company would take back as soon as it quit
• Get rid of my smartphone and move to Nokia Asha (if they still make those). Because I might need cash... and Olx might look inviting.. And also who will pay for all the data and calls?? Thanks to my job I haven't paid a single phone bill in 7 years!!!
• Make numerous business plans for my own enterprise - might not act on any one of them coz of lack of FUNDING
• Make numerous travel plans too!!! - might not have money to execute them but HEY kill me for being optimistic!!
• Eat home cooked mommy's food!! Undoubtedly the best privilege of being jobless
• Get married - it’s an option! Though not  good one :P For all you know I will get terribly bored and need a change

Now for the fun part... The utopian world of being jobless with 7 crore in the bank!!!
I don't have to think about this one.
I'll spend the rest of my life travelling. One country every month....

I even have a photo list ready on my Pinterest broad. Aptly titled: Travel Bucket List (http://in.pinterest.com/surabhinegi/travel-bucket-list/)

No points for guessing which one I most identify with :)

My English Speaking Rickshawalla

Everyone who knows me well will attest to the fact that I hate taking ricks from the airport as most of the rickshawallas think you are an outsider and try and take you for a ride (pun intended).

So last time when I landed in Ahmedabad from a super late flight, I warily eyed all the queued up rickshaws trying to pick the least shady looking driver. Its then that this older gentleman approached me and politely asked in ENGLISH "Ma'am can I offer you a ride in my Rickshaw. Dont worry I will take you safely".

This question asked in fluent English did not just make my jaw drop but also got me curious enough to hop onto his rickshaw. Once we started heading to my house, I couldn't control myself and had to ask how come he could speak so well in English?

So he started telling me his life story. He had lost his father when he was 16 years old and as the oldest child he was forced to skip school and start earning by being a rickshaw driver.

He did well for himself and got his younger sisters settled and then married a lovely lady who has been his biggest support over the years (I could sense the deep love when he spoke of his wife). He also has a son to whom he wanted to give good education and pushed him to do his engineering in computer science.

In middle of all this he wanted to finish his education but that was not happening for him so once his son started college, he reached out to one of his Neighbours to help him learn English. The gentleman was kind enough and thought him the basics of grammar and how to do word association. So while his son studied in college he spent 4 years learning how to speak English.

Now his son has started working and he wants to give him couple of years to settle in before he can retire. He is 53 right now and his dream is to take his wife abroad for a long vacation as he feels that thanks to his good english, he can now take care of her while traveling.

By the time the story got over we had reached my place. But the journey ended with me getting an open invitation to come to his house for a meal and meet his family.

PS: I think he fleeced me for an extra 100 bucks, but what the hell his English and story were worth it.

Kiss and let kiss

Have been planning to write this since I was in my early 20's as could never understand what the outrage was all about.

I have no idea when or why kissing in public became an offense. Maybe at some point it was made a criminal act to help with population control as the authorities must have thought that if people kiss in public next logical step will be them tearing of  their clothes and start making out in public with no self control. Nobody tried to figure out how the countries which are not as modest as us keep their lusty hormones on check in public.

I mean if some poor firangi decided the have a destination wedding in India with the priest saying you may kiss the bride. The next thing would be apna havaldar walking up the aisle and asking for fine or threatening to put the newly weds in jail.

I live in a city like Mumbai where people dont have enough space to breathe and if these space starved couples find sea link to be a good backdrop to express their love...what's the harm. Dont most us have touristy public kiss selfies from the effiel tower. What's acceptable in Paris should not be a crime in india.

In fact I think all moms who stress about their children getting married should lobby to allow public kissing. Simple logic is that their errant and unwilling to settle down kids will start feeling left out in all the PDA and try to sort their love lives out. I can personally vouch on the effectiveness of this point.

Honestly today we as a society are acknowledging the third gender and fighting for gay rights. Compared to that kissing in public is a old story and I say let the poor couples be.

Kiss and let Kiss!!!!!