Nayan Gowda

Chervil would be my choice.

Went to the Manchester branch last night, and quite frankly wasn't impressed. Serving staff seemed to have perfected not making eye contact, spilling drinks without mopping up and serving across people while they are eating. I was the only meat eater and had S&P Squid, Crystal Layer Pigs Ears and Mrs Spotty's Bean Curd. The Squid was passable, but lacked freshness and punch. The Pigs ears were rather good in their slithery, porky, crunchiness, while the Mapo Dofu wasn't the best rendition I've had (I think I prefer the one at Red n Hot), but definitely better than I can make at home. The three other diners all went for the 18GBP Vegetarian Banquet. Gave me the chance to try the spring onion bread, which was really greasy, under-seasoned and hadn't even been nodded at by a spring onion; the other elements of the banquet were equally forgettable. Going by the other reviews on this thread, I'm putting the whole experience down to a particularly bad night for the kitchen and FoH so will not discount returning. As a slight aside, I thought the wine list a touch odd. Nothing really on there that matched the food. Might give them a call to have a chat about that...

How about a qualification in Gastronomy? A number of universities offer a Masters programme, or there is the granddaddy of them all http://www.unisg.it/welcome_eng.lasso If it's just wine (and spirits), then the WSET qualifications are the way to go.

Thanks for the write-up Thom. I'm planning on going here soon. Any opinion as to the wine list?

Cheers for the heads-up. I'm spending some time with my folks in Glossop; will have a squizz at the end of the month.

Get a can of VB (or Fosters, XXXX etc, if you really must). Take a large sip and top up said can with some later harvest wine. You now have the Aussie classic; Beer and Auslese...

Fresh/cooked tomato sauce when tomatoes are in season. You could get everyone to plant a couple of tomato vines for this (though I have no idea how well tomatoes grow in Seattle).

Adding a bit of (clothes) washing powder to your soaking water improves it's effectiveness dramatically.

I like this post! It provides a wonderful suggestion and explanation as to why/how it applies! I appreciate that they have brought their expertise to the table!-- pun intended I do what I can for my people

An old cheffy trick is to lay the beef on a crepe when enclosing it in the pastry. This absorbs the moisture.

I reckon the non-salting of dried pasta was happening prior to the acknowledgement of low sodium diets. I attended a pasta masterclass with Valentina Harris many moons ago where she mentioned that adding salt to the pasta dough causes an unsightly bloom (presumably due to the absorption of moisture, as Helen says) after a short while, that doesn't disappear on cooking. Not being one for unsightly blooms, I've never tested her assertion.

Lunch today was at Vidyarthi Bhavan in Gandhi Bazaar. (say hello to my folks!) This place is legendary for it's Dosai, but the other South Indian offerings are just as good. Open from 6.30am to 11.30am; then again from 2pm to 6pm. I advise you to go on the dot of when the doors opens, otherwise there will be a wait. The food also always seems better at the start. The dosai are fried in a ridiculous amount of ghee, so this really is not a place for the faint of heart (or those with any other heart issues); but boy are they tasty. They are so rich, that I can only manage one Masala Dosa; so usually supplement with upma (no photo, I'm afraid; it didn't last long...) Off to Chickmagalur for a few days to see a coffee harvest in action; hopefully have a few more reccos on my return.

One of my favourite cheeses. Hope it's nice and ripe!

Thanks Thampik. I'll post as I eat, otherwise I'll forget. Flew in this morning and have already eaten at two places. The Baluchi at The Lalit for lunch. High End, north-Indian, hotel restaurant. Setting is pleasant, but food is definitely geared to the western palate. Prices are high; about 700 rupees for a main without any side dishes. The food is OK, but nothing to write home about. Found the service a little too pushy with the upselling (not sure if this is commonplace in restaurants here now, but will no doubt find out over the next few weeks). Vasudev Adiga's @ Foodline, 8th Block, Jayanagar. Have a soft-spot for all the Adiga's, but this is probably my favourite branch. Good South Indian veg "fast" food and great coffee (my Dad says this is the best Vadai Sambhar around). Open from 7 in the morning to 11 at night so a great place to refuel whatever the time.

I'm heading to Bangalore tomorrow for a few weeks. Any other recommendations of where to eat? And also where to drink? Thanks in advance. Nayan

Just had a look at my Harold McGee, essentially to minimise the greening of the yolks you need to use fresh eggs, cooked as briefly as possible and cooled as quickly as possible. The green colouration is due to the sulphur in the white reacting with the iron in the yolk in an alkaline environment (which the white is), to form ferrous sulphide. I don't know if it is an old wives' tale (or whatever the politically correct term for that is these days), but to ensure the the eggs cool more rapidly, crack the shells before plunging them in the ice bath.

Dress the cooked greens with some Oyster sauce.

Thanks for that Matthew.

Meirelles, That does look rather cool, but do the cubes keep their fizz (an integral part of a G&T for me)

A friend introduced me to Tanqueray and Tonic accented with lime, coriander (cilantro) and green chilli. Works really well!

That first one sounds like they're clearing out a very upmarket fridge. Where is the menu from?

Is this stuff the same as Verjus or Cotto Mosto?

I felt Gordon sold out long ago.

I'm heading for lunch here next week. Will report back.

Pretty sure they don't have whipping cream in Oz so you have to use double cream (unless you want additives). It will be a little heavier than whipping cream.