6 Sri Lankan Foodie Experiences You Shouldn’t Miss

From guided food tours in the city and countryside plantation visits, to enjoying the local flavours at whimsical beachside restaurants and a whole lot more in between, Sri Lanka is undoubtedly a gourmand’s paradise.  Raul Dias brings you 6 unique ways to celebrate one of the best things about the tear drop island—its food!  

By Raul Dias

Hunt Down Local Treats
Compared to its rather diminutive size, you’re in for a treat with the sheer volume of street food you can sample when in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. From the ambient “chop-chop” sound of the ubiquitous kottu rotty available at almost every street corner, to the Dutch colonial influenced rice and meat preparation called lamprais, the culinary landscape of the city is peppered with delectable offerings. A great orientation to them is by signing up with the newly launched Airbnb Experiences’ Epic Local Food Hunt 3.5-hour long tour with food guru Arqam. Ten local delicacies from isso wade (crispy prawn fritters) and egg hoppers to sweets like kalu dodol (cashew and palm sugar fudge) are in store for you. (www.airbnb.co.in/experiences/222313)

Flavours of the East!
Reflective of Colombo’s diverse and decidedly eclectic dining out scene, are a number of international cuisine restaurants that find themselves plonked cheek-by-jowl in a mural-decorated, former industrial alley off the main Park Street. And one such former warehouse-turned-hipster chic café is Monsoon. Here, chefs Ambrim from Malacca in Malaysia and Chef Marilyn from the Kalinga province in the Philippines dish out the regions’ favourite dishes from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam to enormous success, all in a setting that is both cozy and at its whimsical best. Pro tip: dig into the scrumptious Balinese pork belly with sambal matah that is served here and thank us later! (www.monsooncolombo.com)

Dine in Style
A labour of love by Sri Lanka’s culture and arts maven Shanth Fernando, Paradise Road The Gallery Café is an ode to all things black and white from the exquisite table linen to the fine, locally produced crockery and cutlery. Established in 1998, this stylish restaurant dishing out elevated versions of traditional Sri Lankan dishes is housed in the former offices of world-renowned Sri Lankan architect, the late Geoffrey Bawa. Make sure to call for the black pork curry served with saffron rice and the caramalised onion seeni sambol to know what divinity tastes like. But hang on, there’s more on offer for the lover of art. Flanking the café is the iconic Paradise Road Galleries that features monthly rotating exhibitions by established and emerging Lankan artists. (www.paradiseroad.lk)

Get Cooking…
Head up country to the fecund city of Kandy and let Chitra, a government licensed cooking teacher since 1989 be your hands-on guide into the world of home style Sri Lankan cookery. The immersive, 3-hour long Airbnb Experiences’ Flavours of Sri Lanka cooking class is where you will experience the ways of cooking typical Sri Lankan dishes like kiri bhat (savoury rice cake) and parippu (lentils curry) in clay pots, using traditional equipment to heighten your ‘live and learn like a local’ experience. And when you’re done, you get to sit down and enjoy the fruits of your collective labour. (www.airbnb.co.in/experiences/340067)

Cinnamon 101
As one the main contributors that put this tiny island on the world’s spice trade map—with everyone from the Dutch to the Portuguese and lastly the British claiming a piece of the spicy pie with their colonisation—cinnamon is at the fore in Sri Lanka till this very day. Get up close and personal with this fragrant bark and know all there is to know about it by taking the Airbnb Experiences’ 1.5-hour long Cinnamon Permaculture Garden Visit in Beruwala near the historic city of Galle at the very tip of the island’s southern coast. The organic cinnamon plantation and permaculture garden is a one-hectare farm where you will be shown not just how cinnamon grows but also get an introduction to the hundreds of different vegetables, fruits, spices, nuts, timber and Ayurvedic plants that are grown there. (www.airbnb.co.in/experiences/338327) 

  

‘Pun’ Times in Galle!
Still in Galle? Make sure to check out two very interesting places where the puns on offer are as good as the fare they dish out. First, have a light lunch at Tequila Mockingbird housed in the seaside Old Dutch Hospital. This one’s named after the cult-classic cocktail book of the same name, which itself is a pun on the legendary Harper Lee novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Here, you can scarf down a brilliantly made fish burger stuffed with tuna chunks coated in the fiery, local ambultiyal spice paste where the cloves establish their dominance over everything else...in a good way, that is! To cool things off, get yourself a double scoop of the orange zest and pistachio gelatos at Isle of Gelato—housed in a quaint rowhouse along the Old Town’s main Pedlar Street—that’s purported to be Galle’s, nay the country’s, best gelato place.   

(An edited version of this article appeared on 1 October 2018 in Travel + Leisure, India and South Asia http://travelandleisureindia.in/sri-lanka-for-foodies/)

Galle: Where Time Stands Still…

Situated at the very tip of the island of Sri Lanka, the historic city of Galle with its strong colonial influence and easy, laid-back vibe is a great holiday destination, offering a whole host of activities for you to partake in, says Raul Dias who tried out a few on a recent holiday

By Raul Dias

       

Let me be upfront with you. My very first encounter with Galle had left me heartbroken. It was exactly 11 months after the horrific 26^th December 2004 tsunami had all but decimated this once-beautiful city of Sri Lanka that sits at the very southern tip of the island nation. Everywhere I looked, a sea of rubble and reconstruction at a feverish pace assaulted by eyes. The historic Fort area where I was told the “real” Galle was, was unfortunately sealed off to non-residents and thus out of bounds for travellers like myself.
It was then that I made a promise to myself that I’d wait and let Galle rejuvenate before I set foot there once again. Little did I know then that it would be almost 13 years after that I’d be back. And boy, was I in for the surprise of my life or what.

Rise of the Phoenix
August 2018 and the Galle that showed itself to me was a complete volte-face from the one of my memories. Clean, freshly swept streets, whitewashed walls with colourful bougainvillea creeping all over them. Happy, smiling people greeted me everywhere I went. And not a single remnant of the earlier carnage of Mother Nature marred this new facet Galle was showing me. And yes, this time I not only got to ‘see’ the stunning Fort area but live in it as well!
My Airbnb accommodation, the brand new Yara Galle Fort boutique hotel—where my friends and I were the third set of guests to be welcomed into—is a magnificently restored former Dutch Colonial style home. Located in the very heart of the Fort, the hotel, I was told, was first built in the mid-1700s and is a mere 70 meters away from the pristine white painted Dutch Reformed Church.
Speaking of churches, for an area as small (130 acres) as the Fort, it sure had a lot of places of worship. From the Meeran Jumma Mosque opposite the lighthouse and the serene Sri Sudharmalaya Buddhist Temple on Parawa Street to the beautiful Anglican All Saints Church a few yards ahead of the Dutch Church, all exist in perfect harmony with each other.

A Walk Though History
Desirous of a more in-depth historical recounting of Galle that no amount of reading can provide, I signed up for the newly curated Airbnb Experiences’ ‘Galle Fort Walks with a Local’. Conducted by Atheeq, a budding travel photographer and fifth-generation member of a prominent gem trading Galle family, this 1.5 hours-long walk came highly recommended and something I was looking forward to.
And so, after a lunch of a yummy fish burger—made with chunks of tuna marinated in the local, jet black-coloured ambulthiyal spice mix that I enjoyed at the wonderfully ‘punny’ named Tequila Mockingbird Bar and Grill in the Old Hospital Building—we were off on foot to explore Galle with a local and yes, “like a local” as is the idea behind this Experiences initiative by Airbnb!
Here, we were shown places like the still-functioning court house, the town square in front of it and the Fort’s lighthouse that was built only post WWII, showing us that the Fort area kept evolving. The Portuguese, Dutch, and British occupied the Galle Fort at various points during Sri Lanka’s colonial history, and they have each left a unique imprint on its fabric. As we navigated our way through the Fort’s charming alleyways at a leisurely pace, a fascinating blend of local design traditions and European colonial influence became evident in the architectural style of its many interesting structures. Atheeq made sure to keep the walk peppered with interesting facts, stories, and myths, all interwoven by the unique perspective and narrative of a local like himself, who knows this terrain as well as the back of his hand. And as a parting treat, we were taken to Galle’s best gelato shop named Isle of Gelato for some divine treats like the pistachio and orange-cinnamon double scoop that I happily gourmandised.

Surf’s Up!
As one of the world’s leading new surfing hot-spots, with their impressive swells, the waters off the beaches in and around Galle are fast becoming a haven for surfers who flock to them in droves. And so, recognising this is another fun initiative by Airbnb Experiences—learning to surf with surfing guru Oshan Diluk.
Born and raised in beautiful Hikkaduwa a little further up from Galle, Oshan knows the best places around Galle to host successful surf lessons especially for beginners. With over four years of experience as a surfing instructor he provides a whole lot of tips and advice to help you ride your first waves. Interestingly, Oshan also volunteers to teach the local kids in Sri Lanka how to surf and many of his students have progressed and got scholarships to learn advanced level surfing in places like Indonesia, the surfing capital of Asia.
The first part of the 1.5 hours-long lesson takes place at the beach, where one can get an idea on how to find balance and the right posture on the board. Oshan make sure to also spend some time talking about safety rules and surfers’ etiquette. Afterwards you get to hit the water to put that theory into practice.
A hands-on holiday where you do a whole lot more than just ‘site-see’, now that’s Galle for you!
    

FACT FILE
Getting There
There are daily direct flights from most cities in India to Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo on airlines like Srilankan Airlines, Jet Airways, Air India and Spice Jet. Travel within Sri Lanka is easy with many buses, mini vans and car hire companies offering their services. The journey from Colombo to Galle using the super-efficient expressway is a comfortable two-hour drive.

When to Visit
The months from October to February are the best time to travel to Galle, when the region experiences a pleasant climate with plenty of cultural and artistic events taking place in and around the region.

Accommodation
Though Galle has an excellent selection of hotels to choose from to suit all budgets and tastes, why not get more up close and personal with the city and live like a local? Airbnb has an amazing portfolio of vacation homes that you can rent out. Visit www.airbnb.co.in for more information on accommodation options and the new, curated Airbnb Experiences in Galle.

(An edited version of this article appeared in the 31st August 2018 issue of the Afternoon Despatch & Courier newspaper, India on pages 14 and 15 http://www.afternoondc.in/48-hrs/galle-where-time-stands-still/article_230568)

The ‘Other’ Thailand!

From communing with the indigenous hill tribes to learning the nuances of Northern Thai cuisine and a whole lot more in-between, the picturesque city of Chiang Mai nestled in the verdant hills of Lanna, Northern Thailand has a lot to offer and will change your perception of Thailand forever, says Raul Dias

By Raul Dias

        

Let me start with a very honest confession. I’m much more of a city person than one of those travellers who head to the hills to “find” themselves and come back with halcyon tales of dew-covered leaves and other similar idyllic montages. Give me the cacophony of an urbs primus like Bangkok—blaring traffic din, et al—any day, vis-à-vis nature’s serene bounty and I’ll be your best friend.

In Love With Lanna
But all that changed a few weeks ago when I signed up for a trip curated by the newly launched Airbnb Experiences, Chiang Mai to discover a part of Northern Thailand and all it had to offer. And boy, was I convinced about the unhurried way of life or what just after a few days there! From learning about tribal life to trying my hand at weaving to even cooking my own curry, this was one trip that literally ripped me from the cocoon of my city-cushioned comfort zone and plonked me slap bang in the lap of Mother Nature.
With its raw, untapped, natural beauty, Lanna, the Northern region of Thailand is the perfect foil to the brassy commercialism one usually encounters in the more ‘touristy’ South. And the sleepy, mist-shrouded city of Chiang Mai is the perfect introduction to this kind of unhurried travel. Try as hard as you may, but it is virtually impossible to believe that this cozy, artsy town is the second largest in Thailand after the capital, Bangkok.
Culturally rich and mind-numbingly beautiful, Chiang Mai and its surrounding hills are the places to head to for some much-needed down time. Learn the finer nuances of Thai cookery, meet the tribal people, or perhaps marvel at the handicrafts made here, you will find a lot to tempt you with. Enough to give this region a shot on your next Thailand trip? You bet!

Same, Same…Yet Different!
And speaking of food, with a more herbaceous take on the coconut milk-redolent Southern and Central Thai food, the Lanna cuisine is a unique and flavourful one. From typical street fare like the spicy and lemon-y Chiang Mai sausage and yum hed—a spicy mushroom salad—the markets of this town abound with unusual flavours. Other dishes to try here are the light khew wan kai chicken curry and the Northern Thailand version of the ubiquitous somtamthai papaya and prawn salad, all served with sticky black rice that is a specialty of the region.
One of my very first Airbnb Experiences was that of learning to whip up local dishes at Air’s Thai Cooking Class. Here, Chef Chanrat Karatna—or Air as he prefers to be called—helped me discover the secrets of authentic Northern Thai cuisine with a four-hour cooking class in his beautiful open-air kitchen that’s surrounded by a herb garden. Designed in such a way that you get to select the dishes you wish to cook (and yes, eat later!), I chose the aforementioned spicy khew wan kai that Air first demonstrated, post which I got to work. And the result? A very competent curry, I may as well add, bursting with the taste of sweet basil and kaffir lime leaves!

Indigenous Wonders
For a glimpse of the elusive Hmong, Shan and Karen hill tribe people of this region, the weekend handicrafts market in the Chiang Mai town centre is the perfect place. Descending down to the valley from their hilly villages to sell their wares, these colourfully kitted out tribals are as distinct as they are fascinating to look at. With the Mon women sporting large metal-beaded headdresses and the Karen women the high coiled neck pieces, they will break all your preconceived notions (as they did mine) of the typical ‘Thai look’ as it were.
But, as I wanted a more in-depth experiences with the tribes, the mononymous ‘Pat’, my guide du jour picked me up from my accommodation for a long drive into the hills for another Airbnb Experience that I had been looking forward to. The heavily-tattooed, chain-smoking, rockstar-like Pat is a member of the Shan tribe and has lived and worked with ethnic minorities in Northern Thailand all his life. His passion, he told me, is the sustainable development of hill tribes, that includes channeling tourism in a way that benefits them, not harming them.
And so, an hour or so outside Chiang Mai, we got off-road to visit a remote, authentic Karen village where villagers still live in traditional stilt bamboo houses. Once there we not only enjoyed a very traditional lunch of a light herb-redolent chicken curry with stir friend pumpkin leaves—all washed down with home distilled rice whisky—but we also got a wonderful insight into the Karen culture and their fascinating way of life. The enthusiastic villagers were only too happy to share with us everything from their rather complicated fabric weaving techniques and rattan basket making to planting the all-important rice crop and herb foraging.
With a wealth of new-found knowledge of—and not to mention respect for—the rural way of life under my belt, I headed back to the hustle and bustle of the cityscape, not once complaining about the rather bumpy ride en route.
Well, I did say I was a changed person, didn’t I?    

FACT FILE
Getting There
There are daily connecting flights from India to Chiang Mai on airlines like Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways via Bangkok. Travel within the Northern Thailand Lanna region is easy with many buses, mini vans and car hire companies offering their services.

When to Visit
The months from October to February are the best time to travel to Northern Thailand, when the region experiences a pleasant to chilly climate with plenty of cultural and artistic events taking place in Chiang Mai.

Accommodation
Though Chiang Mai has an excellent selection of hotels to choose from to suit all budgets and tastes, why not get more up close and personal with the city and live like a local? Airbnb has an amazing portfolio of vacation homes that you can rent out. Visit www.airbnb.co.in for more information.

(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 5th August 2018 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 http://www.freepressjournal.in/travel/the-other-thailand-visit-to-chiang-mai-could-change-your-perception-of-the-country/1328495)

Go, Goa? ...Gone!

With an impressive selection of super luxurious villas and heritage homes on hire via Airbnb, Goa—India’s ultimate holiday and party destination pulls out all the stops for your next vacation. We bring you a few such decadent digs scattered across the sunshine state.

By Raul Dias

The Figueiredo Heritage Inn, Loutolim
Imagine vacationing in a heritage home that’s older than the Taj Mahal? Yes, The Figueiredo Heritage Inn, located slap bang in the heart of Loutolim, is home to one of the most influential families of Goa—the Figueiredos—for more than 400 years. The house is steeped in history with floor tiles imported from Italy, chandeliers and sconces made from Belgium crystal, porcelain sourced from China and Japan, and leather-upholstered chairs from Portugal. Besides the family suite, this historic house has three bedrooms in the house, each named after illustrious women who lived here—Amalia Double, Georgina Twin, and Elsa Twin. However, the highlights of the property are the garden courtyard, the sun deck, and an envious library that boasts a rare collection of books. Very much still a family home, the Airbnb mansion still houses members of the Figueiredo family. In fact, if you ask nicely, Maria de Lourdes Figueiredo de Albuquerque, the current owner, will even take you on a private tour to give you an insider’s account of the days of the Portuguese rule that ended in 1961. Additionally, a section of the house has been converted into a museum which remains open all week.

Accomodates: 6 people
Price: Starts from Rs. 11,000 per night
Book at: airbnb.co.in/users/show/129688399

The Villa Goa, Assagao
Painstakingly restored to its former glory by its current owner, British expat Mark Bell is The Villa in the bucolic north Goa village of Assagao. This historic 200-year-old Indo - Portuguese mansion that has now been thrown open to travellers seeking a refuge in nature, is spread over one and a half acres of manicured gardens and is divided up into two houses. The statelier The Villa and the pool-side garden bungalow aptly called Villa Jardim (with the word ‘jardim’ meaning garden in Portuguese). Set around the traditional open courtyard, the five bedrooms and dining areas of The Villa Goa honour the rich legacy of their former Portuguese occupants. Here, you can dine by a sonorous fountain in the courtyard as the in-house European chef serves up your favourite dishes. The Airbnb villa also has Gregory Bazire—who has collaborated with several Michelin-starred restaurants across the world— on board on special occasions to offer a memorable dining experience to guests. Follow the garden path to find a small chapel, nestled in greens, where you can have healing massages and spa treatments. Pure, undiluted bliss!

Accomodates: 10 people
Price: Starts from Rs. 60,000 per night
Book at: airbnb.co.in/users/show/2481046

Villa Solitude, Siolim
Like its name suggests, Villa Solitude offers just that—solitude! Far away from the hum-drum of a typical Goan tourist spot, this sky blue painted villa is nestled in the quiet and beautiful village of Siolim in the north of the state, next to the placid River Chapora. The Airbnb villa has four aesthetically designed bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, a spacious living room, and a private swimming pool in the backyard. When you walk out of your bedroom, you will be greeted by cool breeze and swaying palms. While the netted verandah on the first floor is the sweet spot of the property, the balcony on the ground floor is an ideal place to host barbeque get-togethers. Sit back, relax, take that breeze in, and let the charming Villa Solitude work its wonders on your mind and soul. And if you do manage to tear yourselves away from all that blissful tranquillity, you can visit the nearby Chapora Fort or sharpen your bargaining skills at the weekend Saturday Night Market in Arpora.

Accomodates: 8 people
Price: Starts from Rs. 8,500 per night
Book at: airbnb.co.in/users/show/109762085

Candolim Song, Candolim
This century old Portuguese villa renovated by its owners Remun and Simrita Bhutani is a palatial villa that truly lets you experience the susegado or relaxed life of Goa from the comfort of a plush home in Goa’s party zone of Candolim. Though the house has been renovated with luxurious essentials, yet it manages to maintain its rustic charm. From antique artefacts in the living room to vintage beds in the suites, this Airbnb home is peppered with elements reminiscent of the lives of its earlier occupants. There are six ‘bedroom suites’ in the villa, each named after the colour palette used in the rooms —Teal, Aqua, Fuchsia, Amber, Olive, and Grey. The live-in caretaker makes sure your entire experience at the villa is customised according to your interests. From your bed linen to lighting in the rooms, everything around you is as you like it. The large swimming pool is the central character of the villa—that’s surrounded by palms and an outdoor shower—is a popular venue for evening get-togethers over food, drinks, and music—three vital party ingredients every Goan knows all to well!

Accomodates: 12 people
Price: Starts from Rs. 55,000 per night
Book at: airbnb.co.in/users/show/74097495

Summertime, Calangute
Owned by Dutch-Indian couple Hans Tuinman and Sucheta Potnis, Summertime is a plush plantation-style villa that’s set in two acres of landscape gardens on a hilltop in Calangute. Showing off its intimate charm from the moment you walk in, the double height living-dining area has floor to glass ceiling doors that fill the common spaces with light and offer panoramic views of the lush greenery around the property. Located in a quiet, forested area not far from Calangute and Candolim beaches Summertime has three master suites, an infinity pool, a lounge pool, a koi pond, and a waterfall. Wake up to the chirping of birds or watch the koi in the pond from the generous Koi Suite. The Coral Suite which faces the infinity pool and the valley is the most romantic of all the suites. The interiors of this premium Airbnb property are done in shades of reds, pink, and white with a four-poster bed providing the central character of the room. Meanwhile, the twin bed Sunflower Suite uses colourful gudhri (hand-stitched by tribal women of Karnataka) to lend vibrancy to the room. For a bit of fun, why not try your hand at water sports such as scuba diving, snorkelling or perhaps a bit of banana boating for the kids at one of the two surrounding beaches?

Accomodates: 6 people
Price: Starts from Rs. 40,000 per night
Book at: airbnb.co.in/users/show/39672830

Casa Sol, Candolim
Though a recently constructed house, Casa Sol has been built on the lines of a plush old Goan home. This four-bedroom, three-storied luxury Airbnb villa is close enough to all the action of Candolim, but still tucked away enough for those who prefer the slightly quieter life. Perched close to the flowing banks of the river Nerul and surrounded by a thriving woodland, Casa Sol offers great outside spaces to both dine and drink in nature. As the villa comes equipped with its very own caretaker-cum-cook, you will have plenty of time to chill while they rustle up something local—courtesy of the villa’s fully laden kitchen—for you and your guests. As the sun goes down, take a dip in the compact plunge pool with a cocktail in hand and enjoy views of the surrounding paddy fields. For an excursion, your hosts will provide you with a car so that you can drive down to the historic Fort Aguada or perhaps to take in some contemporary art at the Kerkar Art Comples in nearby Calangute.

Accomodates: 8 people
Price: Starts from Rs. 22,500 per night
Book at: airbnb.co.in/users/show/142345091

Zofolt, Assagao
Revelling in its contemporary-meets-boho chic aesthetic, Zoloft in serene Assagao is a beautiful villa with fascinating artwork, plush sofas and rugs, and comfortable arm chairs that evoke the feeling that you are in a home away from home. Created by a team of acclaimed international designers, Zoloft is a stress buster villa for those who want to leave the city behind. The traditional thatched roof, combined with a carpet of green, and a row of palms surrounding the four-bedroom Airbnb villa make it a postcard destination for a vacation in Goa. In each of its four bedrooms you will also notice fun decor—each is colour-coded—with minimalist elements that make the space cosy and warm. Swim in the pool or have sundowners in the garden at twilight; the kitchen staff can prepare meals for you or leave you alone to experience this villa. Traipse down to the lesser-known Gudem Beach for a spot of sun, surf and sand or hit the tried and tested waters of Anjuna and Baga a mere 10 minutes away

Accomodates: 8 people
Price: Starts from Rs. 27,500 per night
Book at: airbnb.co.in/users/show/10597379

Living Goa Like A Local
Tired of seeing and doing the same things in Goa year upon year? Try these alternative activities curated by a few local Goan movers and shakers, so that you don’t just ‘see’ or ‘do’ Goa, but truly ‘live’ Goa!
* Enjoy a four-cuisine meal with Goan food historian and writer Odette Mascarenhas, as she curates a lunch for you that is influenced by Goa’s four main cuisine genres—the Saraswat Brahmin, the colonial Portuguese, the central Hindu Goan and the more common local Catholic food.
* Try your hand at Portuguese style pottery at the pottery workshops conducted by potter Verodina D’Souza at the Bicholim Pilerne Industrial Estate.
* Learn photography and capture the Goan landscape and historic monuments at their rawest best by taking a short course with ace lensman Shantanu Sheorey who now calls Goa home.
* Enjoy an evening of curated live local music on guitar and keyboards with musician Melcon Teixeira at his lovely home. 

(An edited version of this article first appeared in the February 2018 issue of Jetwings Domestic in-flight magazine of Jet Airwayshttp://www.jetairways.com/EN/IN/jetexperience/magazines.aspx) 

Paris Version 2.0

While clichés may not be bad things, it’s time to rid Paris of its touristy tropes and see it from a whole new perspective by partaking in a few rather outré activities and immersive experiences that will redefine the ‘City of Lights’ for you forever!

By Raul Dias

Almost every trip to Paris comes with an invisible checklist of sights and activities that
requires… nay, demands to be shamelessly ticked off. A photo op with Paris’ number one calling
card—the Eiffel Tower—somehow always tops the charts. While a saunter down the très chic
Champs-Élysées comes in a close second. Oh! And let’s not forget sitting down at a curb-side
café literally inhaling a scrumptious pain au chocolat while washing it down with a café au lait.
And while there is certainly nothing wrong with a bit of clichéd indulgence, it would be
sacrilegious to go to Paris and not take a bite of its outré, rather alternative side. From a tour of
the hallowed Louvre with a stand-up comedian to a personalised perfume creating session, we’ve
curated a list of a few off-the- beaten-path activities that will show you a whole other facet to the
gleaming City of Lights:

Laugh Your Way Through the Louvre
Though the words ‘laugh’ and ‘Louvre’ may seem a tad incongruous when used in the same
sentence, Paris-based stand-up comedian Cedrik makes them work very effectively indeed! The
stand-up comic, known only by his mononym, does a very unique tour called ‘Laugh Your Way
Through the Louvre’ that is a part of the newly launched Airbnb Trips initiative. The two-hour
long tour is a laugh-a- minute riot with Cedrik casting a humorous net over the rather somber
exhibits of the world’s greatest museum. Being an art historian and stand-up comic, he will truly
have you cracking up (pun unintended!) in front of the Mona Lisa and giggling in front of Greek
relics. The tour, that includes the museum’s entry fee, ends with a debriefing session over a
steaming mug of hot chocolate in the museum’s café.
Cost: $91 or Rs.5,416 (approx.) per person
Duration: 2 hours
Contact: www.airbnb.co.in

Create Your Own Bespoke French Perfume
Le Studio des Parfums is a modest little perfumery that is housed on a quiet street in Le Marais.
You almost don’t see the space, but the arresting aroma of bergamot, rose and lily of the valley is
enough to pull you into this charming perfumery where your olfactory senses will rejoice. Le
Studio des Parfums is that kind of place where you can treat yourself to the luxury of possessing
a personalised French perfume without burning a hole in your purse. The guys here take their
perfumes very seriously and you will see this the moment you meet your personal ‘scent
counselor’, who, after an initiation into the history of scent, will send you off two hours later
with a personalised fragrance composed from a mix of among 150 different notes. They will
even give the perfume a name.
Cost: EUR 140 or Rs.10,833 (approx.) for a 50ml bottle
Duration: 2 hours
Contact: 23, Rue du Bourg Tibourg, 75004 Paris, +33(0)140299084, info@sdp-paris.com,
www.studiodesparfums-paris.fr

Storm the Eateries of Bastille
As one of Paris’ most trendy areas for eating out, the Bastille is a warren of dive bars and hidden
restaurants that only an insider is privy too. Anto—short for Antonio—is one such person who
takes eating and drinking enthusiasts out on a ‘Storm the Eateries of Bastille’ three-hour tour that
zigzags through Paris’ streets of dives and speakeasies. All this, in the trendy Bastille area, a
short walk away from Le Marais. This restaurant crawl that includes all the food the drink costs
is also a part of the newly launched Airbnb Trips initiative and begins at a scruffy-chic dive bar
called Chez Habibi for drinks and appetizers, stopping at the all red Chinese restaurant Le China
for some lip-smacking cocktails and yummy dimsums. This is followed up with a hearty dinner
of confit duck and roast potatoes at Le Chat Bossu, a traditional French brassier. The crawl
finally ends at Anto’s favourite speakeasy Moonshiner on Rue Sedaine that is a total insider-only
place where you enter from the kitchen doors of a rather nondescript pizza parlour!
Cost: $66 or Rs. 4,000 (approx.) per person
Duration: 3 hours
Contact: www.airbnb.co.in

Secret Sunday Dinner at Jim Haynes’
Often regarded as Paris’ worst kept secret, the Secret Sunday Dinners at salonista and travel
guide book writer Jim Haynes’ home are the stuff legends are made of. Every week for the past
30 years, he has hosted a Sunday buffet-style dinner at his well-appointed atelier, which used to
be a sculpture studio. People can either call or e-mail him to book a spot. As he gets a large
number of requests, Jim operates on a first-come, first-served basis. That being said, he hosts as
many as 60 people per dinner and often twice that many when the weather is nice and the crowd
can overflow into his manicured garden. The food, each week is prepared by a different friend of
his and can be anything from a Macedonian meal to a traditional Ethiopian messob feast. And
yes, in keeping with serendipity, you won’t be told the theme of the dinner in advance!
Cost: Free
Duration: 3 hours (8pm to 11pm)
Contact: Atelier A-2, 83, Rue de la Tombe Issoire 75014 Paris, +33(0)143271767,
Jim_Haynes@wanadoo.fr, www.jim-haynes.com

Play Pétanque With The Locals
Making a dramatic comeback and garnering some serious street cred with les BoBos—as the
Parisian hipsters are called—pétanque or boules, the traditional French game of hitting shiny
silvery balls with each other is no longer a game played by beret-sporting old men. Sign up for a
special pétanque training session with the Localers. The two-hour coaching experience will give
you a crash course in the game’s rules, plus practical sessions. It also includes a free drink and a
brief walking tour of the historical Palais Royal area, that’s crammed with inspiring spaces.
‘Bouled’ over yet?
Cost: EUR 55 or Rs.4,076 (approx.) per person
Duration: 2 hours
Contact: +33(0)183649201, booking@localers.com, www.localers.com




Hang On! There’s More…
 Bed up at Shakespeare and Company: Opened in 1951 by an eccentric American named
George Whitman, this bookstore in Paris’ Rue de la Bûcherie offers up 13 free beds to
sleep in at night that are concealed as book shelves during the day!
 Visit the Museum of Vampires: The ghoulish collection of Jacques Sirgent that includes
everything from vampire coffins and killing kits to Hammer Film collectibles and
Dracula toys finds itself in this museum fashioned to look like a graveyard at 14 Rue
Jules David in the middle of the city’s eastern suburb of Les Lilas.
 Potter around Gustave Eiffel’s secret apartment: Oh, well! One really can’t seem to
escape the Eiffel Tower after all when in Paris. Located on the third level of the tower,
Eiffel’s private apartment is where you can see the famed phonograph machine that
Thomas Edison had himself gifted to Eiffel among other antiques.
 Le Mur des Je t’aime: Also known as the ‘I Love You Wall’, this wall spanning 416
square feet and located at the Jehan-Rictus Square is a tribute to love (well, Paris is the
world’s most romantic city!). Created by artists Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito, the wall
is covered in 612 lava tiles, and features the worlds “I love you” inscribed in 311 different
languages, including all 192 languages of the United Nations.

(An edited version of this article first appeared in the September 2017 issue of Jetwings Domestic in-flight magazine of Jet Airways https://www.jetairways.com/EN/DE/JetExperience/magazines.aspx) 

Foraging for Black Gold!

In perfect harmony with the “ultra-regional and ultra-seasonal” milieu of today’s forage-friendly dining scene, a summer truffle hunt in the hills surrounding Florence, guided by one of Italy’s best truffle hunters and his coffee-quaffing dog is a great primer in harvesting the earth’s ‘black gold’.

Giulio explaining the black truffle foraging process with Eda in the background

By Raul Dias

Perched upon the mist-shrouded hills, a little south of Florence, is a beige limestone home in the tiny village of Bagno a Ripoli. It’s one that’s filled with character and embellished by the patina of time. And that’s not just limited to the dusty bric-a-brac haphazardly strewn about the place. Or to the worn-out furnishings that bestow upon it a craggy, coarse countenance, well-offsetting it from the neighbouring homes on the Via di Terzano with their manicured gardens and staid facades.
Its inhabitants, Eda and Giulio Benuzzi, are a dynamic, truffle hunting duo blessed with unsurmountable amounts of vim and vigour, along with the appropriately heightened olfactory senses one would expect from them. And, as I was soon to discover that cold May morning, they are staunch sticklers for routines as well.
Up at a quarter to six every morning, the coffeed-up twosome set out for their morning walk, all bleary eyed and tousled salt-n-pepper hair, ready to eke out their existence in the undulating hills they both so love. With some of the ‘greatest hits’ of the Renaissance in full view on most days, they have very little to complain about. Vista-wise, that is. But today seems to be an aberration.
The fog is so thick that one can barely see the glistening concave top of Brunelleschi’s Duomo in Florence down below. “Let’s hope the truffle gods aren’t colluding with the weather gods today!” laughs Giulio, as Eda walks stealthily ahead. “She’s upset with me today because I’ve started limiting her coffee intake to a few drops in her bowl, instead of the usual half cup.”

Eda, the Lagotto Romagnolo breed truffle hunting dog

As you might have gathered by now, Eda is Giulio’s six-year-old Lagotto Romagnolo breed of truffle hunting dog, with a predilection for coffee, the occasional sliver of truffle, and on this occasion, moping! As for me, I was at the very early morning start of a four-hour truffle hunt with Giulio—often regarded as one of Florence’s…nay, Italy’s greatest truffle hunters—as part of the recently launched Airbnb Trips initiative that helps pairs travellers like myself with people like Giulio for curated, immersive experiences, for a fee of around Rs 4,500 in this instance. Expensive, yes. But then again, with a kilogram of black truffles selling for as much as Rs 573,000 at gourmet stores the world over, this doesn’t seem like a bad deal at all. Especially, not if you throw in the post-hunt, all-truffle brunch I was promised and greedily looking forward to.  
“Even dogs trained for work, like Eda, can tell you that truffles—or tartufo as we call them in Italian—are an expensive delicacy and love to eat them,” says Giulio, debunking the myth that dogs have an aversion to truffles, which was believed to have been the reason why they have now replaced pigs as truffle sniffing out animals. “It’s just that pigs are extremely unyielding when it comes to trying to retrieve the freshly dug-up truffles from their mouths. In fact, you often come across older truffle hunters with missing fingers that have been bitten off by their pigs. In the case of the Lagotto Romagnolo breed of dogs, being retrievers, they are perfect for foraging and more so the females as they have better concentration powers.” 
And just like that our hunt begins with Eda suddenly picking up a scent and making a dash towards a thickly wooded area behind the house. Rich, as Giulio points out, with lime-saturated, well-drained soil, that he then goes on to pick up and sniff. “This area is known for its black summer truffles called Scorzone whose spores prefer to anchor themselves in soil such as this, where the underlying geology is chalk or limestone. You will find truffles in the shade of oaks, hazelnut, chestnut, elm and poplar trees,” he says, as Eda starts furiously digging the loose soil under a juvenile oak tree that seems to have been recently foraged. “More often than not, newly grown truffles are found in spots where you last foraged. This is because the new truffle spores from the previous ones. But there’s no guaranteeing that. Which is why one can ever grow or cultivate truffles. They are the masters of their own whim and fancy.” 

Handfulls of black gold--truffles! 

As if on cue, Eda’s forepaws make contact with a knobbly, coal-like black truffle that Giulio is quick to dig up with his bare hands, blowing away errant specks of dirt that cling to it. Deceptively heavier in weight than it seems, the truffle’s aroma, or “noble funk” as Giulio prefers to call it permeates the air, with its earthy, musty scent triggering a hitherto absent, sudden hunger in me for it.
This brings things back to the now redundant truffle hunting pigs. Interestingly, when truffles are ripe, I’m told, they produce a chemical almost identical to a type of pheromone found in a male pig’s saliva. And that is also why right up until 1970, sows, more than pigs, were used to hunt the stuff. It’s nuggets of information like this and a whole lot more that’s part of the curriculum one needs to cram in order to obtain the Italian Truffle (hunting) License that Giulio got in 2003. This, four years after he gave up his managerial job in Milan at the famed e Api restaurant on a sudden whim to become a truffle hunter, where knowing what to forage for and when, is of utmost importance.
“These ones are similar to the French Périgord truffle—the most expensive truffle variety along with our very own Italian white specimen called Piedmont or Alba truffles. Though these black ones don’t smell as strong as the Périgord truffle, as we age them for a few days, the aroma does get intensified,” Giulio says, his affection for the elusive fungi irresistibly infectious, as he fishes out a tissue paper that will ensconce our debut truffle find. But there will be many more to come in the following months, as summer truffles start to ripen in May and continue fruiting right up to beginning of September. These then give way to the autumn and winter varieties like Nero Pregiato and Invernale respectively, that can be foraged till the end of January.
Back home at Casa Benuzzi, this time with a neat little cache of five, decent-sized tartufi nestled in the front pocket of Giulio’s fishing vest, both man and beast settle down for some well-earned mangiare time! Sadly, our quintet of ‘black gold’ will have to wait till they mature before eating I’m told, as Giulio deftly slices some cheese from a block.
But, in keeping with the truffle-centric leitmotif of the morning, this is no ordinary cheese that I’m ravenously chowing down upon, a flute of effervescent prosecco at hand. With its Venetian underpinning firmly in place, the pale yellow Sottocenere is a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese to which slices of truffles are added when setting. When close to maturity, the cheese is rubbed with various herbs and spices and then covered with a light layer of ash which is what gives it its rather mellifluous name Sottocenere—which in Italian means “under ash.”

The simple 'cucina rustica' meal enhanced by freshly shaved truffles back at Giulio's home

Suitably al dente spaghetti carbonara made with an unctuous emulsion of heavy cream, egg yolks, pancetta lardons and olive oil (truffle-infused, of course) is what constitutes our pasta course. Quickly anointed with a halo of black truffle shavings that cascade on to the plate, the humble dish made in the ‘cucina rustica’ home-style of Italian cooking is elevated to the gastronomic equivalent of high heaven. Each bite releasing a surge of umami je ne sais quoi.
And it’s that very same, indescribable allure of the truffle that has made it so very prized and sought after for centuries. Truly worth risking bitten off appendages…and yes, brutal, early morning wake up calls for!

Pics Rebecca Marshall

One Truffle at a Time!

·         While the elusive white truffles are mainly found in Northern and Central Italy, especially Piedmont, Tuscany and Marches, one can also find white truffles in Croatia.

·         There are also two types of Asian truffles known as the Chinese Black Truffle and the Mid-Eastern Terfez. The Chinese Black Truffle s also known as the Himalayan truffle and is found in Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and the Szechwan and Yunnan provinces in China. On the other hand, the Terfez Truffle is also known as ‘black kame’ and it is found in the semi-arid regions of North Africa and Middle East, from Morocco to Iraq.

·         Though truffles are best eaten freshly shaved over pasta, risotto or even plain old scrambled eggs, there have been various iterations of the truffle-infused dessert such as a truffle panna cotta and a truffle sundae.

·         A fresh truffle can last for up to two weeks once wrapped in absorbent paper napkins. However, truffles preserved in olive oil can last up to three months.

·         Most bottled varieties of ‘truffle’ oil are merely oils to which a truffle identical flavouring agent such as 2,4-dithiapentane has been added.

·         While people have been eating truffles for almost 4,000 years, it’s value only increased after World War II as truffle groves planted in the 19th century stopped being productive due to soil saturation.

·         On an average, most truffles weigh between 100 to 150 grams a piece, but according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest truffle in the world is a 1.31 kilograms white truffle found by Giancarlo Zigante of Pototoska in 1999 near Buje in Croatia.

·         Probably India’s most expensive truffle-infused dish is the Tagliatelle with Fresh Truffles that’s available at No Vacancy restaurant and bar in Mumbai for Rs 4,450 plus taxes per serving.

(A shorter, differently edited version of this article appeared in the 19th August 2017 issue of the Mint Lounge newspaper, India http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/5RXPNbJuL1IJd2v1x9ARsI/Truffle-hunt-Foraging-for-black-gold.html)

A-N-A-T-O-M-I-Z-E: Black Summer Truffles

By Raul Dias

The enchanted realm that the elusive and expensive black summer truffle inhabits is one that is filled with all the things I am obsessed with. Gamboling through the woods on a nippy morning. Canine company. And that unmatched feeling of serendipity deliciously lurking somewhere near…
So, spurred on by the Scandinavia-driven foraging craze that has ensnared the culinary world, on my recent summer holiday to Italy I donned my hiking boots and set off on a black summer truffle hunt in the fog-saturated hills of Bagno a Ripoli, a little south of Florence. I had signed up for an Airbnb Trips’ immersive truffle hunting experience, guided by one of Italy’s best truffle hunters Giulio Benuzzi and his six-year-old Lagotto Romagnolo breed of truffle sniffing dog called Eda.
Over the course of the next three hours as Eda sniffed, scratched and dug her way through an impressive find of five knobbly black truffles that morning, I got a crash course in all things deliciously truffle or tartufi as they are called in Italian. Being the start of summer truffle hunting season in Italy, May sees the foraging for the Scorzone variety of the black truffle. The dormant spores of which prefer to anchor themselves in limestone-rich soil that this region of Italy is blessed with.
Lesson number one: dogs are the best truffle hunters and this is due to their strong olfactory senses to sniff out the buried truffle. And more so the Lagotto Romagnolo breed who are retrievers by nature. Right up to 1970, sows were used to hunt truffles because truffles apparently, when ripe, produce a chemical almost identical to a type of pheromone found in a male pig’s saliva! But as pigs love to eat truffles, and dogs not so much, the latter’s skills have come to the fore now.
The topography too is very important, as the Scorzone truffle will most often than not be found in the shade of hazelnut, chestnut, elm and poplar trees. But in this case, it was an oak tree beneath which our bounty lay. Interestingly, I also learnt that truffles can’t be farmed or cultivated in any way or form. Newly grown truffles are often found in spots where one last foraged from. This is because the new truffle spores from the previous ones.
No wonder then that a kilogram of black truffles sells for as much as Rs 573,000 at gourmet stores the world over. Thus, making the Scorzone truffle second only to the French Périgord truffle—the world’s most expensive truffle variety along with the Italian white called the Piedmont or Alba truffle. How’s that for extravagant tastes?


(This column first appeared in the 23rd July 2017 issue of The Hindu newspaper's Sunday Magazine section on page 8 http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/black-summer-truffles/article19325638.ece)