Sunday brunch at Yauatcha, Bangalore

A Michelin-starred restaurant from London,Yauatcha is a dimsum tea house, located at #1 MG Road Mall,Bangalore...

The ambiance is of an old Chinese tea house with a modern feel... 

The lighting and seating embody the atmosphere of a congenially vibrant “chatter shop”. 

The bar is well stocked...

There is a vast selection of tea...

And a lot of colorful beverages to chose from...

Our dimsum marathon started with Truffled edamame dumplings...

The ginger sauce and pickled cucumber and carrots helps to reset the taste buds between tasting the yummy dimsums...

They are served hot and steaming as soon as they are ready...

Har Gau...

Crispy Turnip cake...

Pairs well with Yellow Submarine...

Crispy veg cheung fun. I particularly liked how it is soft on the outside and crispy inside...

Chicken wrapped in Pokchoi leaf. This was one of the best...

Baked Chicken Puff. The mild sweetness was new to my palate. Hope I will like it next time...

Prawn Crystal Dumpling...

Vegetable Chive Dumpling. This was the most beautiful...

Pork and Prawn Shui Ma...

Sesame Balls...

Veg Peking Dumpling...

Veg Shanghai Dumpling...

Crispy Duck Rolls...

Wagyu Prawn Puff...

The main course started with Braised Pork Belly...

It paired well with Mantao sweet buns...

Stir fried Tender loin...

Wraped chicken in pepper...

Golden fried vegetable puff. Very innovative...

Spicy vegetable fired rice...

Stir fried vegetables...

Vegetable Chilly Black Bean Clay Pot...

The Desserts were beautifully crafted. Mango Mousse was my favorite...

Raspberry Delice...

Religieuse...

Assorted Macarons...

Everything about this place is so appealing. The service, the ambiance and the food is fantastic.

The colors of summer in Bangalore

Indian Idols

Idol of Shiva at Ettumanoor Mahadevar Temple...

Shiva is a popular Hindu deity. He is one of the five primary forms of God, believed as "the Destroyer" or "the Transformer" among the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. The main iconographical attributes of Shiva are the third eye on his forehead, a snake around his neck, the crescent moon adorning, the holy river Ganga flowing from his matted hair.

Idol of Subramaniya at Kidangoor Subramaniya Swamy Temple...

Subramaniya is the Hindu god of war, victory, wisdom and love. He is the son of Shiva and brother of Ganesha. He is depicted with his weapon – Vel, the Divine Spear or Lance that he carries and his mount the peacock. His peacock mount symbolizes his destruction of the ego.

I could find one peacock sculpture on the temple flag pole too...

Millipede

When the rains come, the Millipedes (Atta in Malayalam language) get really active in Kerala...

They look more threatening than they actually are. Here are some trivia I got from wikipedia:

• Millipedes do not bite, and their defensive secretions are mostly harmless to humans – usually causing only minor discoloration on the skin – but the secretions of some tropical species may cause pain, itching and occasionally cracked skin.
• Many species also emit various foul-smelling liquid secretions through microscopic ozopores, along the sides of their bodies as a secondary defence. These secretions may include alkaloids, benzoquinones, phenols, terpenoids, and/or hydrogen cyanide, among many others.
• Some can result in home invasions, crop damage, train delays, or even train crashes and derailments.
• Some of the larger millipedes are popular as pets.
• Millipedes also appear in folklore and traditional medicine around the world. In the Yoruba culture of Nigeria, millipedes are used in pregnancy and business rituals, and crushed millipedes are used to treat fever, whitlow, and convulsion in children.
• In Zambia, smashed millipede pulp is used to treat wounds, and in the Bafia people of Cameroon millipede juice is used to treat earaches.
• In certain Himalayan Bhotiya tribes, dry millipede smoke is used to treat hemorrhoids.
• Native people in Malyasia use millipede secretions in poison-tipped arrows.
• The only reported usage of millipedes as food by humans comes from the Bobo people of Burkina Faso, who consume boiled, dried millipedes in tomato sauce.

Addicted to mangoes!

Even the birds love them...

Ceylon Pak

Ceylon Pak is one of the rare species in the Areca genus found in the humid tropical regions of Kerala and Southeast Asia. 

Several species of Areca nuts, known for their bitter and tangy taste, raw or dried, are routinely used for chewing, especially in combination with the leaves of betel, and dried leaves of tobacco.

A visit to Kumarakom Backwaters

Recently I visited the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary situated on the banks of Vembanad Lake. It has 2.5 KM of well laid out paths for moving around within the sanctuary...

A rubber plantation was developed into this bird sanctuary by an Englishman. You can still see the decades old rubber trees from the erstwhile Baker's Estate...

I saw this boat and made up my mind to take a boat ride on my return from the walk...

 I learnt that some of the migratory birds come here from the Himalayas, and a few from far away Siberia. As this is not the migratory season, I was looking forward to sighting some native birds. This Black Crowned Night Heron with bloodshot eyes looked sloshed... 

A fisherman seemed to have caught something good... 

The Kerala backwaters are a chain of saltwater lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast. I set out on this boat to explore the Vembanad lake...

Thought this Heron was waiting for her lover who has gone fishing... 

She looked pretty with that blue and yellow bill... 

There were some lovely green reflections...

Here's a pond Heron... Are there only Herons around here? 

The vastness and the calm. So serene...

Just when I thought I will get to see only Herons, I see a Cormorant posing like a Heroine...

There's more variety, a Black Drongo...

The kettuvallams (Kerala houseboats) are one of the main tourist attractions. They were traditionally used as grain barges, to transport the rice harvested in the fertile fields alongside the backwaters. Converted to accommodate tourists, the houseboats have become air-conditioned floating cottages with all modern amenities... 

I was zooming my lens at the shells on the bank of the lake when I noticed this kid looking at me...

This White-breasted Kingfisher just made my day... 

It was a very satisfying three hours spent at the Kumarakom backwaters...

Caterpillar

The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly.

--Richard Bach

A walk in the green

 I have been clicking less pictures during my current stay in Kerala. This place is irresistible with greenery everywhere.  But Kerala has left me deeply dissatisfied because of the almost nonexistent sidewalks for pedestrians.

Yesterday, I finally gathered some courage and went for my first morning walk. Walking along the main road was terrifying. The vehicles were racing just inches away from me. 

The small roads are even more terrifying with just enough roadway for two vehicles to cross each other without hitting.

There were photo opportunities all along...

Finally, this river side made all the risk pretty worthwhile...

Our second baby

 We have a new member in our family - a baby boy. The baby arrived yesterday (April 11, 2014) at 10 AM.

Beginning of a beautiful relationship

I found this pair of Brahminy Starling (Sturnia pagodarum) birds at Baramati. 

It is usually seen in pairs or small flocks in open habitats on the plains of the Indian Subcontinent.

Like most starlings, the Brahminy Starling is omnivorous, eating fruit and insects.