Tea with friends at Lloyds Tea House

It is almost like Lloyds tea house is the place where we meet to bid adieu to Friends moving away to a new country.. This time we met at the newly opened Lloyds tea house on TTK road.. 

I was the 1st to reach.. Soon gave in to hunger pangs and ordered Pasta alfredo and the Franconian peppermint tea.. Both of which arrived hot and were perfect for my cold.. The pasta was good but felt it was tad mushy.. The tea on the other hand was just divine, with a splash of honey.. 

This is quite a nice place- cozy and cute, and just as they had in their outlet here too they have a simple selection of eats and an extensive Tea menu.. 

This Lloyds Tea House is located on # 406, TTK Road, Alwarpet.
Adj to Kaya skin clinic..
Contact 9840331215

Flavours of Bangkok- Part I- Pad Thai noodles

There we were all set to bid adieu to Bangkok and head back to Chennai. With about two hours left for our flight, we wandered about the airport- the stores, the big brands and that is when we spotted the restaurant with a board that said "Asian, Thai and Japanese cuisine". With hunger bells ringing away in our tummies we walked in and ordered food.

I ordered Pad Thai noodles in red curry sauce while my friend ordered rice and Thai green curry with prawns..

The Pad Thai noodles we get here in India is quite different from what we had in Bangkok- it had far less spice and was served with a side of fresh Chinese sprouts and a lime wedge.

The noodles was good and we slurped it up within minutes.

The one thing I have always enjoyed during my trips is exploring the local cuisine and in Bangkok we were I heaven- I Love Thai food.. :))

Lunch for one: Chappati with egg curry

Starting this new series on the blog.. Ever since I began living alone, it has been a fun journey in all aspects,  including cooking..

I have been coming up with my own recipes and combinations that I thought I should share them here..

Today I made chappati and egg curry along with a small portion of raita as well for Lunch.

Chappati
The same old method of mixing wheat flour with water, rolling it out into rotis and cooking it on the tawa..

Egg curry
Egg- 1 whole (boiled)
Onion + garlic+ tomato= 1 cup (saute and ground to a paste)
Cumin & coriander powder- 1tsp each
Garam masala-1/2 tsp
Salt- to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Water-1/4 cup

In a pan add all ingredients but the egg. Cook them into a nice gravy till it starts oozing out oil..and now add the egg- either as a whole or cut in half.

Raita
Tomato & onion- 1/2 each- chopped finely
Curd-1/2 cup
Salt- to taste

Voila, lunch was ready in less than half an hour!!

Breakfast at Annapoorna, Karaikudi

After an overnight bus journey and  quick nap we sure were hungry.. We managed to get a cup of coffee in the hotel we stayed at before venturing out to explore the town.

When we enquired about good place for veg breakfast the one name that was suggested by many was "Annapoorna Hotel" which was about 2kms from our hotel.

We walked into the place, took seat in an empty table and waited for someone to take our order. The place was basic- there was a room near the entrance which had breads, biscuits and all the flavoured powders(Horlicks, boost etc) and then there was a room of sorts where the manager sat with a table behind him filled with bottled water and various aerated drinks.

Ah finally the waiter came over- we ordered a Mini tiffin and a pepper dosa(recommended by the waiter).. The pepper dosa was a big dosa with liberal black pepper powder paste applied on the inside. It was accompanied with sambar and two kinds of chutneys. The dosa was amazing and got spicy as we reached the center of the dosa.. But since it was black pepper we dint find it too hot.

The mini tiffin arrived soon after- there was a mini masala dosa, small plate with mini idlies dunked in sambar with liberal splash of ghee, two pooris with potato masala, one idiyappam with coconut milk and finally a spoonful of sweet( wheat halwa).. It was more than filling and all this was for Rs60/-.

We enjoyed the food and went on to finish the meal with a hot beverage. I ordered coffee while friend chose panam kalkandu paal (palm sugar milk).. The total bill came upto Rs170/-..
With our tummies happy we set out to explore the town..