Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce

Aankh maare o ladka
Is it the sun or did he see someone he doesn't like? Ritesh Deshmukh is caught in Bandra over the weekend. Pic/Shadab Khan

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Basa or Bombil?
Someone had to come out and say it. And what better than an expert saying it. Most of Mumbai's fish-loving junta, this diarist included, will agree that the basa wins hands down in the tasteless category of seafood.

Now, chef Thomas Zacharias (inset) of The Bombay Canteen, a leading flag bearer of local produce, has created a new handle #Skipthe Basa, egging people to eat bombil aka the Bombay duck instead.

He went on to suggest that while the fish might not make for a pretty sight, it makes for a delicious dance of delicate flavours with a nice creamy texture when cooked right. His handle led to a massive show of hands from fans of the desi eel

When the foodie takes the stage
Unless you've been living under a rock, you'd know that Kunal Vijayakar is one of the country's biggest foodies. That he along with partner-in-crime Cyrus Broacha are two of the most funniest faces on television is also common news. Now comes the more interesting, possibly lesser-known discovery. Vijayakar also happens to be an accomplished stage actor.

If you're keen to see this side of him, don't miss his performance as Max in Raell Padamsee's version of The Sound of Music to be staged at the Royal Opera House later this month. We are certainly looking forward to watching the serious switch from gags and wildly wicked takes on some of India's biggest faces, including its politicians. Mayawati's lookalike is our fave. Who's yours?

A dated photo of Brian McFadden (left) beside fellow Westlife members (Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan and Kian Egan [not in frame] in Dublin. PIC/AFP

A little bit of boy band mania
Every generation has had its share of boy band mania. Be it The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, N Sync, or One Direction. For the '90s kids, it was Westlife. Many will remember their songs, Seasons in the Sun and Uptown Girl. India will now see former member, Irish artiste Brian Mcfadden perform as part of his new duo Boyzlife, also featuring Keith Duffy of Boyzone.

What's cooking with chef Vikas?
If there is a way of giving back to one's alma mater, it has to be this. The weekend saw the inauguration of what had been the dream project of Michelin-star celebrity chef Vikas Khanna for close to 10 years. In the premises of Manipal's Welcome Group Graduate School of Hotel Administration now stands India's first Culinary and Kitchen Arts Museum.

A repository of over 10,000 objects and collectibles from kitchens across regions, religions and cultures, it boasts of hundreds of pans, plates, a 100-year-old ladle used to serve food at temples, old seed sprinklers, ancient samovars, a variety of tea strainers, ice-cream churners, French and Turkish dinnerware and silverware, and even measuring cups and weights dating back to more than 1,000 years. The museum itself is in the shape of a giant pot. The happy chef launched his 30th book, Patra - Heritage of the Indian Kitchen, on the occasion.

The young chief guest
It's frames like these that warm the heart and also give bookstore buffs like us some relief. Parliamentarian and author Shashi Tharoor posted a reassuring image of him and a little reader at the opening of a bookstore in Travancore.

The MP invited a little boy who was there to share the honour of cutting the ribbon. He wrote: "Got a little boy to cut the ribbon with me in the hope that he would be as excited to enter a bookstore as I was at his age." Nice touch.

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