A very ugly friend of mine moved to Tokyo a few weeks ago. Ugly is a scientist but he thinks he's a Bullet-riding Adonis -- for the teensy percentage of women who give him a point or ten for "unconventional looks". I think they're just being kind. Still. This isn't about deriding close but deluded friends out of sushi town. (That happens anyway). This is about food. And the price they pay.
Recently, Adonis (I'm being charitable, hoping karma kicks in), like a self-confessed ET-look alike meets regular-Indian-at-a-disadvantage, did some currency converting that left my jaw further sublaxed. Adonis is a tam bram -- a Tamil Brahmin -- a good south Indian boy who used to date a good Polish girl. Then something happened and that's not my story to tell. He once wrote me a How I Met My Friend-themed guest post to kill time at an airport 2 years ago.
But back to generic CV descriptions of Adonis Muscualris, Ph.D - the boy likes his idli-dosa-sambar-vada, presumably on a banana leaf, but he's no purist. His years in Germany and France and now Japan have ensured as much and altered more than just his accent. The curious factoid though is brought to you by saved google chats and with only minor edits:
[...]
M: and i found a south indian resto nearby
me: vadai everyday for you now?
11:04 M: no no.. just once. goin there saturday with heart-throb of
yesteryear
1 vada = 500 yen
= 5 euros
= 7 USD
= 300 rs
me: who eet ees man
hai hai
are you serious!
M: yes yes hai hai
[...]
M: and i found a south indian resto nearby
me: vadai everyday for you now?
11:04 M: no no.. just once. goin there saturday with heart-throb of
yesteryear
1 vada = 500 yen
= 5 euros
= 7 USD
= 300 rs
me: who eet ees man
hai hai
are you serious!
M: yes yes hai hai
[...]
Its a pity vadas -- even the ones for Rs 300, rather especially the ones for Rs 300! -- as opposed to the ones back home that cost, what, Rs 35? Rs 50? -- make me vomit. (Something about my childhood and the smell of.. I don't know, never mind.) But if cheap food that was a staple and a favourite cost me that much in a country that was making me study overtime, I might need to abandon ship and scurry back to the kitchen at home. Then again, there's a term for this -- aah, cognitive dissonance a.k.a sour grapes. Just a nugget you can now throw about and enhance your cool.
Back to my intention of pimping my uglies, here's the deal. Vada boy has started writing again. And I am very happy about his renewal of blog-a-vows. It's nice to have friends around here. And sometimes I'd rather see pics of this outrageous vadai hot spot in Tokyo than hear his two lines about it on chat. Are you a listenin', M? Write! (so I don't rob your 'necdotes).
8 comments:
Vada? 10 bux per piece. 35 at the outer limit, in a swish place.
have paid 7 USD per idli. sigh. also 20 USD for a decent masala dosa.
i had a butter naan for 8 pounds back in 2000 (the naan was more like pita bread with butter). I promised myself i will never eat desi food abroad, id rather cook a meal than dine at a desi joint abroad.
South indian fast food is difficult to screw up though :D.
Can't eat south indian food at all, and I am in South India, I even order North Indian in Sagaratna. Only dosa i ever like was Mysore Rawa.
Since it's Adonis and Ugly in the same post, I guess the karma's on neutral now :)
And if it wasn't for certain weighty issues, I would eat vadas everyday!
that ET pic does not do justice to the smouldering sensuality of my XL eyes. YOU know what I mean!
The value of Indian food is proportional to the length of time since last Indian-fix and the strangeness of the place it is being served in. First vada after 8 months, in Tokyo, served by a Japanese waitress who calls it "waade", is worth it at 500 yen ;)
Per: Tcha! You've forgotten your Dally- Sarvana Bhavan days.
Catnip: Beyond fathom. Good lord. And an aloo parantha? Sheesh. How CAN you have any savings?!
Incog: You people make me thankful for my limited exposure to desi food outside the country! That pita bread with butter reminds me of a tip my brilliant chef friend gave me for homemade pizzas: you know the lebanese bread you get in the market, the wrap-thing(not pita)? APparently it makes a deadly thin crust base. Better than what's marketed as thin crust base.
P.S: I'm so happy you're sticking to Incognito! No more Anon, yaay! :))
The Mystic: I don't understand you. I'd eat appam and stew every day if I could. Slight blurring of coastal with south-indian apart, I LOVE south Indian! Rasam over beer, idli over pancakes. I mean except for bloody vadas, I'm a chennai hobo!
SP: Adonis-Ugly is an oxymoron minus the oxy. Hehe. I can just see him standing behind you waiting to give me a black eye. :)
Vadas = yuck yuck! Yes, total waste of calories. Now Mysore Pak... *droool*
Haan bhai: Dewd, ET, your profile pic = zuper sexy. Hero no 1 at sunset boulevard. phheet! pheet! (cat call). Waade you say?:D
I like my dosa in a special way, it should not be too thing or too thick, just light and airy, with thick and I mean thick coconut chutney and sambar with normal quantities of water and the only dosa made this way is Mysore Dosa, it also has a thin layer of chilli chutney which makes it yummier. Rest of the south Indian food is a big no no for me! Pass me the Dal Makhni please.
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