Forking Tasty

M.I.A.J.

I have been computer-less for the last 2 weeks. I have been all over Southern India with a backpack, a camera and a big appetite. Tonight, I returned to Mumbai for a 12 hour stop over before heading back to NYC via London. There is a ton to report on but it is going to take a few days for me to sort through all the curry, flat breads, chai’s and places. Over the next couple weeks, I will share with you what was certainly one of the most interesting food adventures of my life.

To end the trip in true Anello style, I headed to one last street cart for killer kebabs. Straight off the plane from Bangalore, I bypassed my Mumbai hotel and headed for Bademiya. I pushed to the front, ordered up some mutton, chicken tikka and chicken leg kebabs. Minutes later I was rewarded for my aggressiveness with three foil wrapped packs of goodness. I wacked them down right on the street. Delicious.

More India to come. It gets hairy, I promise. But, not how you think.

Snails, Bull Frog and Eel

U. B. C. Coffee, Shanghai China from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

After going to the floating teahouse in Shanghai we were ready for a real meal. It took us a little while to find a Chinese restaurant believe it or not. We almost got pulled down an ally by some locals (very shady place). Thank god we didn’t go because then we would have never found U.B.C. Coffee. They had traditional Chinese foods and very comfortable couches to sit in while we ate. Here is the run down, a caramel tea, Tiger beer, eel, eel hotpot, bullfrog with chili’s, pasta, and the appetizer was snail parmesan. My favorite was the snail parm and the eel. The Bullfrog tasted like chicken and was good as well but the chilis were super hot.

Tea Time in Shanghai

Floating Teahouse, Shanghai China from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Old Shanghai is quite amazing. The buildings really remind you of the ancient time of China. We heard about the floating teahouse in old town and figured we needed to experience tea time. The Tea House is in the middle of this village and is surrounded by water. There are 4 zig zag walkways that lead to the Teahouse. We ordered a bunch of different tea which were refilled about every 5 minutes. As soon as you take a sip or 2 the waitress comes by with hot water and fills you up. They also gave us a bunch of treats to eat with our tea. The video will show the tea and some of the different treats. The experience was great and the teas were something we had never had before. Deeeelicious!

Big Food, Small Price – China

Lunch in Dalian China from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

My first time in China and we sailed to Dalian. This is one of the larger cities in China. It is modern, but also has the local down an ally markets. There was a lot of food to try in the markets but some things were so dirty that I didn’t have the stomach to try it. Lot’s of dust and flies all over the food. I did want to go into a traditional Chinese restaurant and have some lunch and that is just want my friends and I did. Enjoy the video.

Mumbai-Back and Bold

I’m leaving Mumbai today. I’ll say this, I don’t think I won but I certainly evened the score. Sometimes in order to eat a place you have to get dirty first. Mumbai is one of those places where you don’t really know what to eat unless you get out there and see what is going on. Luckily I did a lot f that.

NOTE: This post is not for the faint of heart and has just as much to do about experience as it dos food. Click play knowing this.

Here is the full Mumbai photo set.

McDesgusting

I had no choice during my event build but to eat McDonald’s. Normally I am not a McD’s fan but in India the cow is sacred and so the international icon does not have a Big Mac. (two all beef patties special sauce….you get me, right?) What do they have instead? Ohh, they have the chicken maharaja mac. This is not quite chicken and not quite a “mac”…

Butter Bag

I am not sure if I should be excited or disgusted by this. MMMMMM for the contents as long as the packaging hold up on my long hot bicycle ride home. A pin hole in this bag can be a day changer.

Sustainable London

This is a bit of a dated post as I finally get around to a bunch of experiences that have been half written for the past month or so. This one was my last meal in London from the scout trip I did for the Yodel Studio Project. Jen, Britt and I headed up to Clerkenwell, one of my favorite London hoods, for a sustainable meal at a restaurant that only serves dinner on Thursdays. Delicious and super cool environment as well.

Clerkenwell Kitchen
31 Clerkenwell Close
London, EC1R, United Kingdom
+44 7989 304795

Finally, Local India is Mine

I’m back in India if you have not been keeping up. This time I am determined to out score this country. I am starting in Mumbai because of my latest Yahoo! project.It was insane pulling of this project in India. Things do not work the way they do in the states EVER but India is a special exception. The project went off fantastically but not without a few grey hairs and a bunch of screaming by me. Yes, screaming. Seems to be the way you get Indians in Mumbai to listen to you.

In between yelling and sweating I managed to score a crew meal backstage. Masala chicken with rice and some chutney was the standard issue lunch today. I sat amongst the guys scooping up my grub the same way they were. I savored every last bite, the same way they did. And, I smiled when done, the same way they did.

A few moments later we were back at work. Me yelling at them and them NOT listening to me. Ahh India, I guess we are just going to have to take this one step at a time.

P.I.E. WITH Ayazed

Ayazed was my driver today. He quickly turned into my tour guide and then my lunch partner. He is 39 and dyes his hair black. Normally it would be grey. An early confession from Ayazed. As we traveled from the flower market to the Thief market and then onto Crawford market our chat continued to reveal history about my new friend.

He spent 7 years in Saudi Arabi, speaks Arabic, has 2 kids and held a variety of jobs before becoming a chauffeur 12 years ago. Considering his age he certainly has accomplished a lot in his short years here. We moved the client/driver relationship into a friendship when we sat down together at Noorani and got our fingers dirty with some naan.

Thanks Ayazed for a great day around Mumbai and for trusting in me enough to share your personal stories.

What we ate

mutton afghani
chicken dopiaja
butter naan