May 8, 2012
Hartal i.e. forced closure of all businesses is the easiest and most irresponsible weapon in the political armory of those who practice that professional in the state. Any political emotion is expressed via downed shutters of shops. It was no surprise that a state-wide 'hartal' was the subtitle of the newspaper headlines screaming the gruesome murder of a local political leader in northern Kerala on Saturday morning.
Coincidentally, it happened to be the day I had chosen to break free of my hospitalization induced "homely" diet of four months. Soon after noon, we went to towards Pettah, hoping against hope that 'Ammachi hotel', next to the railway station, renowned for its fish curry, might have escaped the hartal assault. Hard luck.
Next destination was Ajwa, the biriyani place. It had been a take-out orientated place located near home. Two weeks ago, they made a paradigm shift into 'dine in' business and moved to a location near Panavila. The interior design was certainly done by some school kids enjoying their summer vacation.
Amateur paint job coated the pillars. Five air conditioning units arranged in a row on a wall blasts into the rectangular dining area. As if to make up for the attempted Islamic touch in the reception area's decor, an abundance of red and saffron inside. Pray why have saffron balloons hanging from the ceiling?!The place makes one nostalgic about the cheapest eateries in suburban Mumbai.
But the quality of the food more than makes up for the shoddy interior. Aromatic 'dum' biriyani made a health conscious use of ghee and oil. And biriyani is all there is in the menu, lunch and dinner. Chicken variety comes for a modest Rs. 110 while fish has an avoidable Rs. 190 price tag.
Just as we were anticipating a lethargic afternoon estimated from the massive serving, splendid lime tea came to the rescue. A short glass of clear golden tea with mint is an absolute delight at the end of the indulgence.
Needless to say the biriyani kept me filled till 8pm. Dinner at 'Oriental Spice' restaurant which operates on the floor above 'All Spice' restaurant which operates on the floor above 'Supreme Bakers'. As the name suggests they specialize in Chinese and Thai.
The interior is cozy and classy. But that hasn't managed to shave off from the quality as usually happens in the food business. Hakka noodles and American chop suey were rightly spiced. Weight watchers can skip the dessert and count the walk over to Duetto, the ice cream place, next door as valid exercise and grab an icy delight.
The packed restaurants and waiting areas indicated that the kitchens of the city's homes had also declared a hartal.
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