5 Travel Books to Treasure

Tweet

I recently read this article on Conde Nast Traveller’s website (one of my favourite online travel resources) on books that inspire you to travel. The article listed 16 books, ranging across diverse locations such as Istanbul, Ho Chi Minh, Marrakech, Alaska, Ireland, and my very own Mumbai (Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers). The UK’s Telegraph has also come up with its own list of the 20 best travel books of all time.

Rambling somewhere in The Cotswolds, England

It’s so true; every time you pick up a book you get transported to another land, provided the writing is good! There are some books that are not travel books, strictly speaking; yet, they manage to weave such a vivid picture of the place that they’re set in, that you just want to pack your bags and go. Both the articles got me thinking about some of the travel-related books that I treasure. So here’s my list of Top 5 Travel Books. All of them are non-fiction works. And it’s no coincidence that 4 of them are set in Europe!

Mamagoto - Bandra's New Pan-Asian Restaurant

Tweet

Mamagoto – what a fun word! And fun is what this newly-opened restaurant is all about. Mamagoto apparently means “to play with food”, and the chefs here have experimented with classic pan-Asian dishes & techniques to come up with inventive cooking. The Delhi-based chain recently opened two outposts in Mumbai – one at Bandra (where else?) and the other at Ghatkopar (R City Mall).

The restaurants opened to the public yesterday; however, I had received an invite to go and have a meal earlier. So, on Labour Day, my friend D & I found ourselves at the Bandra outlet for lunch. It’s located on Hill Road, at Gazebo House (next to C’est La Vie). I actually walked past it since there was no signage & the shutters on the windows were down; but now that it’s officially open you can’t miss the glass walls decorated with snarling yellow tigers (don't ask me why!). 

Eternal Sunshine of the Lemon Kind

Tweet

Lemon Curd is the closest that we have to sunshine in a jar, don’t you think? It’s sweet and tart and adds a delicious zing to many desserts. Layer it in a cake or top your breakfast pancakes with it. Or serve it along with scones for a variation on the English Cream Tea. Fill up little tart shells with it or use it as an éclair filling. Or simply slather it on toast! It’s such a versatile spread and it’s very easy to make. I have waxed eloquent about lemons in one of my earlier posts and it’s true – I just can’t get enough of them! I have used Nigel Slater’s recipe to make this lemon curd and as he says “my kitchen came alive with the stinging hit of freshly grated lemons”!

I posted a picture of the lemon curd on Twitter and it got a stamp of approval from the man himself :)