Today was the last day of company presentations. At NTPC we received a tie and a book of fables. They weren’t exactly the greatest gifts but I guess they’re better than I’ve received from any other power company.
For dinner I went with a bunch of people to a place called Buzz. It was in a mall, where Rob and I both got India cricket jerseys. I got what was called a size Asian XXL, which I now know is slightly smaller than an American XL.
I don’t know if it’s the lack of “real” sports or what, but I’m starting to like cricket. It’s kind of cool learning a new sport, once you get over all the American sports baggage that colors your opinion. Cricket seems to be a good one to learn because there’s a lot new to it. Rather than one pitcher facing a lot of batters like in baseball, one batter usually stands up there and faces a number of different pitchers. The base running dynamic is also really interesting—both men run back and forth together, so communication is supremely important. If one guy runs and the other doesn’t, it’s an automatic out. The length of the game is still a struggle because it’s hard to know where you are. Okay, you’re 323 for 5 in the first innings on the second day and it’s 2:00 in the afternoon. Is that good or bad? I can’t imagine being that involved where you can’t separate yourself from a TV on the first day of a five-day match, but when I sit down and watch I’m usually unwilling to pry myself away for a little while. There’s a lot about cricket I still don’t get, but I figure the jersey will give me instant credibility.
They say India is a land of contradictions, and that was certainly true tonight. Buzz is a bar, but it’s located in a mall. Buzz apparently doesn’t know what refried beans are, but they make the best chimichangas in history.
As I was looking over the menu I saw something very curious. There was an appetizer featuring nachos with cheese, lettuce, and jalapenos, and it was called “frijoles refritos”. The menu was very diverse and included Indian, Chinese, and Mexican foods. Julia had some pork chops that she claimed were excellent, and Rob spent the rest of the night proclaiming the Good News about his chimichanga. At one point he called Amanda, and he got the chef on the phone, who mentioned the chimichanga. I had a bite of the chimichanga in question, and Rob was right to tell as many people as possible about it.
We stayed around at Buzz for a while and enjoyed its slightly stale music selection. Those of us who had eaten at Buzz were joined by a few people who had eaten at TGI Friday’s. Some people partook of the hookah, which I’m now kind of wishing I had done. How many people can say they’ve taken a hit off a hookah in India, and in a shopping mall no less?
The food of the day is the hoisin chicken I had at Buzz. I haven’t done as good a job of promoting it as some people have with their dishes, but the hoisin chicken takes a back seat to nobody.
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