Reflections

We Bengalis may not be No 1 in many fields, but as is universally known, there are 3 things we delight ourselves in- food, education, reading. What can be better when it comes to reading about food? When you talk about food and creativity, I can think of 2 kinds of creations: one where you cook food and create a culinary delight and the other which I am expert at is to read of and about food and in my mind conjure, concoct, experiment and almost taste the visual delight. Thus, in order to be interesting, a cook book must cater to both these types of clientele. Further in today’s world of culinary explosions, both on TV as well as restaurants inclusive of all kinds of world cuisine, the reader of cook books needs cosmopolitan recipes, rather than sticking to regional delicacies only(not that I am against them). Taylors University teaches Hospitality and its library has a wide range of food related books, right from choosing wines to world cuisine. However, I was quite surprised ...

The fourth installment of Dr Madhumita Sen's account of a visit to Beijing. Next stop, lunch. We climb the grand curving marble staircase, decorated at each landing with magnificent lacquer-work, and come up to the first floor, which is a large open dining area, already busy with diners. Large round tables are filled with delectable food, and suddenly we are really hungry. We are led to a separate enclosure and sit around a round table big enough to seat 10 people. We unload our gear and relax. Plates of food start to arrive, and Alice comes with a small bottle of rice wine and tiny china wine glasses. This is a traditional wine, reserved for special occasions, and is the strongest wine in China. At 56% alcohol, it is probably the strongest in the world! We pour the wine and click ‘cheers.’ After all, we have climbed the Great Wall, a childhood dream fulfilled! The wine burns down my throat like very strong whiskey ... got to sip it slo-o-owly. A word about the food in China....