Mumbai at First Glance

So first to dispel some misconceptions about how I explored this place, I didn't. I worked from about 3:30PM to about 4:00AM every day. Sleep was in precious little supply. The large majority of our exploration occurred within the confines of an air conditioned privately contracted taxi. Yes, it's not the most adventurous way to explore a city you've never been to but guys, it's Monsoon season, it rained about 80% of the time I was here.

Before I made my trip to India, I felt that I needed to do some research so I can understand the true essence of Mumbai. Oh yes folks, that's right, I went straight to the authority. I watched Slumdog Millionaire for the first time. After I watched it, I thought, wow, that's a disturbing view of one of the most populated cities in the world. My impression? Not accurate but not far off the mark.

If you take a look at the below picture, I believe it demonstrates the true spirit of the duality that I've witnessed here while in Mumbai. That skyline is fairly breathtaking. Reminiscent of the New York skyline, but it's also underlined by a series of hutments settled on the coast between the two peninsulas that make up Bandra and Worli. This is considered a very affluent area in Southwest Mumbai.

The contrast in Mumbai is striking. I've never seen such posh grandeur and destitute poverty co-exist so naturally as it does in Mumbai. A very famous Bollywood star, Shah Rukh Khan, lives about two blocks from our hotel in a grand house but about 10 blocks from it, I snapped this picture. What's missing from the shot is that his tent was about 10 yards to the right of the camera angle. This was right up the entrance ramp of a very heavily utilized public highway.

The thing I noticed about Mumbai was that it could be very beautiful if one took a minute to stop gawking at the bad and start appreciating the good. There is a lot of architecture here that seems European but is definitely tinged with Indian culture. The only thing about these buildings is that they are very difficult to maintain. If the buildings are not sheathed in marble, the relentless rain wears down the buildings very quickly. Luckily, bridges don't do that. The Bandra Worli Sea-Link that apparently took tons of money and 5 years to build. Stunning.

What? A post about India? Really!?

An Indian co-worker told me that when I first stepped off the plane in Mumbai, I would -know- I was in India. I just thought she meant it was going to be hot and humid. Nope. That wadn't it. Let me tell you something about the visceral experience that is leaving a climate controlled flying capsule and taking your first step into the Indian sub-continent. It literally, hits you in the face. There is this permeating odor of mildew that shoots through the airport gate and it feels like it permeates into your pores. I was a little shaken up by this and thought, will this be as bad as the horror stories I heard from some people? Then I walk into my hotel and it's arguably one of the classiest places I've ever stayed in.

So far my experience has been quite mixed. Highs include visiting a truly amazing wonder of the world in the Taj Mahal, the various hotels and accommodations I've been able to partake of, meeting my new team at work, and being able to visit a country that I would have never been able to (or inclined to) visit without the benefit of a work recommendation. The lows include thwarting a pickpocketing attempt on me by clamping down on the cell phone in my pocket, a terrorist attack at a location 3 miles from where I was staying, the occasional bout of diarrhea, and the pain of Malarone  (anti-Malaria pills) and it's side-effects.

These are some fairly huge extremes but I've come to understand that this country is the perfect representation of the word duality. It's population, cities, monuments, in fact, the entire culture never seems to be what you expect. If you've ever watched Slumdog Millionaire, the split in the way the main character and his brother act while being raised in the same conditions is an example of that. If you've ever watched a Bollywood film's "item" number then spoke with a reserved yet beautiful Indian hostess, you would never know the two originated from the same culture.

In my next several posts, I am going to try and understand this duality as I feel my way around two of India's largest cities.

Ming Yang - Chinese Restaurant and Pet Shop!?

So here goes, I've been here about 3 times so far and each time has been solid. Would I say it's the best Chinese food I've ever had? No. Is it good? Absolutely. The chef has had to adjust his recipes to account for the tastes of the local populace and that wavers a bit from my personal preferences of traditional Cantonese.

The cuisine served at Ming Yang can be identified as Canto but with lots of Sichuan influence. The ingredients have also been adjusted for local availability. The steamed fish can be had multiple ways but I always prefer the traditional preparation of ginger, scallion, soy sauce and hot oil. Huge note, this is about the only place in all of India that I have been able to find leafy green vegetables that are cooked but still intact.

Here's a tip, use Basmati Rice for fried rice from now on. The extraordinarily long grain, dryness, and separation of the rice makes bangin' fried rice. The Honey Glazed Chicken was honey dipped fried chicken slices with red chilis. Tasty but the chicken was sliced too thin causing it to eat like cracklins'. The below was a honey nut crunch ice cream served on a bed of lychees. Honey glazed cashews in rich and buttery Tahitian vanilla ice cream that melted to create a decadent sauce for the lychees.

Surprisingly, the Dim Sum here was on par if not, better than some of the places I've had in Chinatown and Toronto. That's a huge compliment from me. I am a hardcore dimsum snob and I do not like it when people screw with Dim Sum. Chef David To has made some subtle adjustments to update things into this century yet still retain that classic character. Black sesame seeds and sticky rice on Siu Mai brings some depth to a rather boring mainstay and the thinnest skinned Chicken Wor teep I've ever had can be ordered here. 

I didn't get any pictures because they serve them to you right out of the bamboo steamer but believe me. This was money dim sum.

So one day, my co-worker, Chris and I headed to Ming Yang for a much anticipated dinner. We were seated at a table next to a British lady dining alone. We exchanged greetings but our food arrived so the talking stopped and the eating began. The Brit had to eat by herself with no one to talk to when out of nowhere, the wait staff arrives with two goldfish to keep her company. Tonight I was afforded the same opportunity and named them Shah Jehan and Mumtaz Mahal after my recent trip to Taj Mahal.

Blasts in Mumbai

I just wanted to thank everyone for the well wishes after they heard the news of the explosions in Mumbai. Although one of the bombs was about 3 miles from our hotel, my colleagues and I were at work and we were nowhere near the area.

I have written a more poignant post on this matter but as it does not fit the spirit of this blog so I will forgo it until the end of my trip.

Hidden Master Lost in India Too!?

So, on my first day in Mumbai, I was feeling rather lost and confused when I ran into another Chinese guy while I was getting off the hotel elevator He was in his early 50s and wearing plain clothes. You could instantly tell that both of us were shocked to see another Chinese guy in the hotel so we exchanged the "I wonder if he can understand me" word probes. You know, exchanging pleasantries in several dialects until you realize the guy has no clue what you're saying. Guy was thrilled to see another Canto speaker. He asks me, "Sik jor fahn may ah?" or have you eaten yet? I told him no, I just arrived and he goes, well there's a Chinese restaurant in this hotel. Maybe you can try it for dinner. 

On the left side of the picture, you can see a little pagoda entrance. That was Ming Yang, the restaurant the old dude told me about. I got settled in and went to take my "company allotted dining budget" (funny how sensitive the words expense account are for bankers now) for a spin. I walk into the restaurant, and there's the old dude, but this time, in his full head chef whites. Of course! Sat down to dinner and he hands me his credentials.


He's originally from Hong Kong and was offered an opportunity to head up his own kitchen in Dubai. After working several years there, he had apparently made a name for himself, (of which he still does not know how.) and suddenly an offer came in from the Regency in Mumbai to start up a restaurant here. When the Taj Hotel corporation took over, he stayed on.





Well, if you ever decide to visit Mumbai and want to use your.. allotment... in a place that's worth it, feel free to visit the Taj Land's End Ming Yang restaurant. Apparently, it's a famous spot in the area for Bollywood stargazing too. Oh, and of course, let David know Fat Dragon sent you. If you do visit, seriously, bring the guy some TVB or if you go with a group of three. set up a game of MJ. I'm pretty sure the brotha gets bored. I actually lent him my discs of 花花世界花家姐.


Oh and yes, the food review post is coming.

My Hotel - Taj Land's End

I've actually been working on this post for about 5 days now as I've had to ninja my way around to take pictures. The hotel people are extraordinarily strict about security. A co-worker was chased down and had all his pictures deleted when they noticed him snapping away in the lobby. The policy is that no pictures can be taken of the hotel without an actual person posing in it? Not a very effective policy since I can ask anyone to be in the shot and take the exact same picture. This place is beautiful but they make you x-ray your bag and go through a metal detector every time you walk in from the outside. I think this is fallout from the Taj Palace and Cafe Leopold bombings from several years back. (My hotel is owned by same company as the Taj Palace.)

When you step into the hotel, the first thing you notice is the delicate scent of Jasmine flowers wafting through the entire lobby, although at times it becomes overpowering. The hotel itself is incredible and very much worth visiting if you are ever in Mumbai. The foyer into the elevators on every lobby floor looks like this. Those are not fake flowers and the floor is 100% marble. No cheap ass particle board here, everything is fully hardwood. hehe, hardwood... btw, sorry for the lens smudge here, it's part of the security requirements at work to cover your cell phone camera with tape.

The hotel has a cafe they call the Atrium, serves as a high end cafe, lounge, cigar bar, and restaurant all in one. Food is pretty incredible and the coffee is served to you via French press. Like everything else in the hotel, the prices are prohibitive for anyone that does not have a "dining allotment". Coffee costs about 7 bucks a cup. Potato Wedges, which are the cheapest thing on the food menu, are 7.50 but they're oh so good. Yet, Cuban Cohiba cigars are only 28 bucks. Expensive yes, but not as inflated as the rest.

Check out the lower right hand corner of this picture. What kind of high end hotel would be considered luxury if it didn't have a vintage Louis Vuitton traveling case from the early 1900s showcased in their lobby, along with the ubiquitous Louis Vuitton store that comes with it. None. You ain't shit if you ain't got LV.. bitches. This place doesn't have a gift shop where you can buy a tooth brush or even a frickin' ATM but it's got a fully stocked LV outlet. The priorities of the rich and famous defies logic.

And finally, I'll end this post with the obligatory view from hotel room shot. Beautiful at night. The ocean is behind it but let me tell you something folks, the Arabian Sea? Not exactly glowing turquoise or sparkling sapphire a la Caribbean here. It's more like a maudlin brown or a depression grey. In fact, it's both of those put together, splotched with the occasional pool of black oil floating in it. I ate a lobster caught in those waters, yum! Not smart, but that's a later post.

Dinner and a Movie?

I totally missed out on the first set of food on my flight to London and my experience at Wagamama made me want to smack the cook's mama. So I was now hardcore determined to make sure I get my eat on during the flight to Mumbai. Is airline food really that bad? Not at the front of the plane.

Here I had this Lemon Herb Prawn appetizer served cold. The shrimp was definitely refrigerated for quite a while but still tasted surprisingly briny. Diced pineapples provided acid and sweetness while a touch of mint rounded it all off. Usually I only enjoy mint in only two places, my chewing gum, and my cigarettes, but surprisingly, it worked here. 

The salad was just your average mixed green salad with arugula and some kind of indescribable cheese. Villa Sereni Lemon Spice was decent. Ingredients were oil, soy sauce, preservatives, ginger, "natural lemon spice flavor". Not exactly earth-hugger organic but heavy on salt, helped cut the bitterness of the greens well.

I grab a flatbread from the flight attendant's tray but he continues to extend the tray to me with a creepy ass grin on his face. At this point, I was about to ask if his parents ever told him that it's impolite to stare but I just grabbed a sesame crusted roll to get rid of the guy. As soon as I bit into that flatbread, I knew why he hung back, because he knew how hideously chalky that thing was. The roll was warm and there was butter, all is right with the world there.

Dinner was a Murg Makhani served with Lentils and Basmati rice. I'm no Indian food connoisseur but I'm fairly sure chicken with butter sauce usually comes with sauce, mine didn't. Might have read it wrong because the lentils seemed to have butter in it. Nothing to write home about, except you know, the missing sauce. Don't have a picture though. Another lesson learned, leave a phone charger in your carry-on for 20 hour travel plans.

During dinner I watched Rango. Bad. No should watch. Riveting review I know.