A new prayer

As you might have seen in the previous post, we had a religious function yesterday. The deity was still outside today. This morning we heard some prayer like sounds from the living room, and did a little investigating.

It was Jr. doing her imitation of mommy praying in front of god ! She was offering flowers , rose petals etc. and praying. Some of it was genuine, some of it was made up gibberish that sounded like Sanskrit and some of it was actually in ENGLISH !!




Did you notice lines like "god I will wake up in the morning and be a good girl , I will not paduththy(tamlish for make trouble) my mommy !"

We were laughing for almost an hour after this episode. Best part was that she was so engrossed in her prayer that she never caught us taking the two videos !!

Festivities...

Today was Varalakshmi Vratham. Last year I had a post on the same day with photos of Jr. Apparently I was wrong in last years post. The idea behind this function is for women to get all their wishes (Vara-lakshmi = the godess who grants you boons !) But what do I know. I just mentioned what my mom told me.. maybe I did confuse this with the other function (Kaaradaya Nombu where women pray for her husbands long life !)

The best part was that Jr. was wearing her silk skirt (pattu paavaadai) and I caught her dancing in the backyard totally enjoying her new skirt !!

It made me soooo happy to see her like that. Dont know if Varalakshmi granted the Mrs. her boons, Jr. is my boon !

BARR - Annaporna

Last weekend my wife came and said "We have to go to Annapoorna's to eat!". I always thought this restaurant was at least 20-30 miles away in san mateo. apparently they opened an Annapoorna's in Sunnyvale. The restaurant formerly known as Madras Sri Krishna Vilas changed to Annapoorna! We never really ate at the Sri Krishna because the first time we walked in, the prices were exhorbitant, the restaurant was dingy, the guy didnt even say "welcome" or "come in"(considering there was no one else in the restaurant), and it was right opposite Spice Hut, one of our favorite hang outs and therefore it was no contest !

Now Annapoorna's is a well known name. We didnt really find out if it was a branch of the restaurant in India, but we went there anyways. It is located at the corner of Cezanne and El Camino Real (573 E El Camino Real).

It was a grand opening indeed ! The prices were affordable and competitive, a first criteria before we go into any restaurant. That said, the ambience was also much better. The place was well lit and there was a big crowd and the smell was very very inviting.

The food was excellent and so was the service. And for the record, this is the only place where the rava dosa arrived within 10 minutes !

Wait time : 1 minute (seat yourself)
Food wait time from order : 10 minutes for all items including Dosa
Check time : 2 minutes (Visa Mastercard , pay first then eat !)
Average price per person : $9
Rating "I miss my mother in law!".
Service : Excellent

Items sampled : Rava Dosa, Dosa, Malai Kofta, Tandoori Naan, Roti, Mango Lassi, tea

The rava dosa came first (a big surprise) and it was excellent. It was not all too crispy (I like it crispy) and so both the Mrs. and the mother in law had a taste. The sambar and chutney were excellent (Judging by the Andhra Style my guess is that the cook is from Andhra). Please note that most bay area Indian restaurants have started charging a dollar when you order extra sambar, thanks to the export ban on Lentils !! Luckily for us this restaurant had so such charge.

Then came the plain Dosa. The thing that set this place apart was that the dosa was served on butter paper (i dont know what else to call it.. the paper on which you roll pastry). This way the dosas, did not stick to the plate and you dont have to scrape off half the stuff from the plate. A+ for this idea !!

The malai kofta and the soft breads were excelllllent. Very well done. The only disappointment was the Chai. I expected some thing along the lines of home made tea, but it tasted like Tea bag tea! On the whole, it was great food (Although there was no kids menu, Jr. gave the Dosa two thumbs up!). I did not try the Mango Lassi, it was perfect (per wife, mother in law and Jr.).

I guess one of the reasons this place is drawing a crowd is because the previous owners had the place as a pure south Indian Vegetarian restaurant. The current owners have made it both south and north Indian with veg and non-veg items ! From the approving looks of the people on the next table, it looked as though the non-veg is also going to get rave reviews.

Recommendation : Yummmmy !!

ps. do not confuse this review for Annapurna (another All Indian restaurant in Elko drive .. I have not gone to that place yet.. when the time comes, will review that place!)

A budding artist..

My lovely mom, like most moms has the habit of telling stories from my childhood to anyone who will lend her a listening ear!!

One of those stories involves me filling up a 200 page (192 to be exact!) notebook with butterfly's and only butterflys in every size and color when I was four ! I am sure that the modern day psychoanalyst will come up with a nice explanation for why a four year old's first fascination with a sketch pen starts with a butterfly and why he would be so obsessive enough to fill a notebook with a single object ? Maybe I was obsessive compulsive, maybe I was a perfectionist, or who knows what else ? Anyways, I digress so predictably! On with the current topic !

For the last few months we have been wondering why Jr. doesnt like writing as much as reading. I was worried that she probably suffered from pencilophobia or some other such thing. This inspite of assurances from her school that she writes fine !

Last week she drew a flower (after daddy taught her how to draw). The next day she got us a paper from school with at least 50 flowers ! I was reminded of my mom's story and was worried that I would be condemned to repeating the same story that my mom used to say (after doing find="butterfly", replace ="flower").

This morning, Jr. erased that nightmare scenario when she drew "me" ! I was speechless and she kept surprising me with a picture of mom and "funny grandpa" !




It took daddy a few weeks to graduate from butterfly and go on to elephant and another few weeks to capture the rest of the animal kingdom on pen and paper..

I am so relieved that Jr. is doing much better. I am saving the pictures in my little shoe box !!

Those good old days..

The last two weeks have been extremely hot in California. I have not experienced a summer like this in the last 9 years !! Jr. wanted to cool off and we took her to the Cupertino City Center. There is a beautiful water fountain outside the City library where kids are allowed to play. The entire place has a festive atmosphere with parents sitting around the fountain and kids playing in the water..We went pretty late this time (so not many kids!).




This reminded me of the good old days when I was a kid. Grandpa used to walk us (me and my brother) to Nageshwara Rao Park (in Madras) and we used to play in the swing and slide and hang on the bars like monkeys in the belief that it would make us taller !!

Grandpa would buy us roasted nuts (by default my brother would go for peanuts and I would always go for roasted peas..years later I found out that I am allergic to peanuts..somehow, I had avoided peanuts whenever my subconscious felt it was a bad idea)..On our way back, we used to stop by the Ambika Appalm Depot and get snacks to eat the rest of the way. We used to bug him so much to buy us the latest issues of Marvel comics or Champak magazines. We used to go by ourselves or with our street friends or school friends when we were older.

When I watch Jr. play in the water, I just realize that we had as much fun as Jr. if not more, when we were little, because we always had friends and we could go out with our friends and come back home and it was safe..In todays world though, we have to chaperone the kids. I sincerely hope the world becomes a safer place when my kids grow up and I can relax and send them to the park with their friends!!!