Chapter 7: From Cravings to Consolations

From Cravings to Consolations

Attention seeking pre-blog photo

Most of my food thoughts during that day were about how to control my food intake or whether I should take up a diet challenge and complete it. I really need to shed some recently gained weight and I've been lousy with my workouts. Inspiration, motivation, and new beginnings only last for a week or so for me, or so I've found. Trying to get that inspiration to come more than once a week is my goal for now.

Anyway, by evening something or the other made me think about Andhra food and fellows, once those cravings come, they transform to an avalanche in no time. I had planned to go to an Andhra restaurant which I had found during my extensive research on another craving day, but couldn't, owing to the fact that I was broke at the time. Conveniently, this restaurant is just about 2 kilometers away from where I stay. Godavari is its name.

Godavari,
Ah, the mighty river,
Ever so calm and clear,
Memories endear.

Godavari,
The name soothes my ear,
Many tastes I hold dear,
Were born here.

Godavari,
This poem to thine ear,
If more than you can bear,
I shall stop here.

So, after work, I went in search of Godavari. Looked all around the complex where google maps directed me but couldn't find it. Then I realized that the restaurant is located independently, across the complex. It was a beautiful building, but there was no soul to be found anywhere within or outside. It was closed. Regardless, I went to the door and knocked. That's when I spotted a notice stuck outside saying that the restaurant was closed since the 2nd of July. I was sad, deeply. When I checked their Facebook page, I found that there had been a fire incident there and they and trying to reopen as soon as possible. That got my hopes up.

Now what? I looked around the complex and found a Vietnamese restaurant, a Portuguese Bar, and something called Happy Dim Sum Bakery. Happiness and Dim Sum. I could use both of them. Walked in without further ado.

The menu was promptly given to me by the lady there and I had to mark the items I wanted and give it back. Looking at the prices, I was confused and asked, "Is this for just one dim sum or one serving?". "One serving, you get four pieces," replied the lady, with a thick Chinese accent. That's awfully cheap, I thought.

Le Menu

Went through the menu quickly and ordered Steamed Shrimp and Pan-fried Pork dim sums. As an experiment, ordered Beef Tripe (for those who don't know, tripe is the edible stomach lining from certain ruminant farm animals). For dessert, Mango Pudding. While I waited, the lady got me a kettle of hot tea.

In about ten minutes, the dishes began to arrive. I particularly loved the round, wooden boxes within which the shrimp and tripe came. Unable to hold my excitement, I picked up a piece of tripe, dipped in the clear, ginger sauce that it came with, and ate it. Felt a little rubbery but I indeed like it. Finished the whole thing enjoying it, relishing the sauce as well. I was always apprehensive about trying stuff other than the meat part of an animal, but now I make an effort to get over those mostly-childhood inhibitions. Maybe one day I'll conquer liver even; always made me pukish, that one.

Beef Tripe and Shrimp Dim Sum

Pan-fried Pork Dim Sum

The shrimp dim sum was very pleasing to the eye, I would like to learn to make them in that sort of perfection some time. Tasted decent too. The pan-fried pork dim sum was a really tasty and oily indulgence.

Heaven in a bowl

The mango pudding was the actual star of the evening - an absolute delight it was! It had the right balance of sweetness to it. Savored the whole thing with a tiny plastic spoon slowly, scoop by scoop. Made sure that the bowl was spotless, at the end of it. Paid the bill which came to around $10 including taxes, thanked and complimented the lady, and left in happiness.

Thus ends the tale of my craving and consolation for that day, last week. There have been some more since then. It's an ongoing, never-ending saga, really. My life of foodventures.