YetiBlog® - Dinner with Aditi Kabhi kabhi Aditi koi apna lagta hai... Nice decor. A simple cafe but nice uhhh jungle style wooden tables and benches. Dark, almost black uneven wooden, looks very sumatran.
Thai and chinese are on the menu, a young Sardarji with a sporty black pugree at the cash counter.
He doesn't really look up at the client, but he's obviously really enjoying the music. The fabric covered bundle of hair on his head is bobbing to the beat of the music. Aditi has de has de has de tu zara... A friend directed that movie and was deeply involved in the creation of the music and had many long meetings with the music director A.R. Rahman. This is Abbas' directorial debut and we're all very proud of him. Besides I like that song, it makes me smile.
It obviously does a lot more to the young Sardarji. Nahi to buss thoda thoda thoda muskura... The soup-du-jour is not Tom Yum, but a quick request to the smiley waiter and 10 minutes later we have two dark uneven sumatran bowls full of some very hot soup fragrant with lemongrass and galangal.
Gautam is right, this is a very very good Tom Yum indeed.
The wooden spoon is a little inconvenient and I decide to lift my bowl closer to my mouth. This is after all, an East Asian restaurant.
The soups are disposed off rather quickly and we're happily chatting away about life, work and our respective partners. We come to the common conclusion that women can often be complicated and difficult.
We will order a bit later, we have time. We pause while talking and absorb the simple ambience. Aditi has de has de has de tu zara...
It has been about 20 minutes since we're here. By my reckoning, this would then be the 3rd or 4th time this song is playing back to back. Instinctively I look towards sporty sardarji. One hand on the mouse, both legs on his high stool, black pugree is bobbing in a funky bollywood headbang.
Well at least he is bobbing to the beat perfectly.
Sardars always get the beat right. It is in their blood. Delhi, Punjab, Mumbai it matters not, give a Sikh a good beat and he is fully set. it is always hilarious to see regular people trying to do the Bhangra in a silly off-beat manner, the only thing we get right is the hands up in the air.
Then comes the Sardar, he jumps in and makes this joyous, concentrated intense face, one loud OYYY or a BRRUUAAAHH and he's off dancing with intensity. To the beat, perfectly. You have got to hand it to them for that. Nahi to buss thoda thoda thoda muskura... But this is not Bhangra. Anyways, it's his restaurant. But it has probably been 7 times already. But.. Let's order, I'm hungry!
We order the main course. The predictable green curry + steamed rice combination. It is magnificent. We're happily chatting away on new topics now. Food, life, movies, Shakti Kapoor and everything else. It is always very refreshing when we're together. I mentally decide that we must do exactly this at least once a month.
Can we have another portion of rice please?
Kuchch peeyega?
One regular coke and one diet coke please. The meal is soon over and the sumatran plates and uneven wooden spoons are taken away. It is now almost time to leave.
The song is over coincidentally at the same time we take a break in the conversation. For about 5 seconds I can hear the echoing sounds of a few people in this rather large atrium. Kabhi kabhi Aditi... I turn towards gautam and I am about to explode. He knows perfectly well what I am about to say. Yeh aadmi thoda paagal hai.
?
Arrey when this guy likes some song he plays it all bloody day. I have been here before and it was some other song, I can't remember. He just puts it on repeat and just bloody plays it ALL day!! Paagal.
We both turn to him. He is now bobbing even harder than he was when we came into his cafe. Paagal, lol.
We pay up and leave. My mouth is burning, I want ice-cream.
We stop at the Basking Robbers cart and I order myself a crunchy something. The Don doesn't want any, so I'm happily licking and munching away like a happy chappy.
Time to now go and see what the movie is all about.
Last edited by Sam Kapasi : 10th July 2008 at 12:17.
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