February 2012 Archives - SearchIndia.com Blog

Crazy! 56 Indian Restaurants Crowd 4-Mile Oak Tree Road Stretch in Edison/Iselin, NJ

Feb 282012

We bet you haven’t seen anything like this, not even in Incredible India.

Bizarre, indeed.

Curry Holes on Oak Tree Road

On a short, four-mile stretch of Oak Tree Road that runs through the New Jersey towns of Iselin and Edison in Middlesex County, there are now 56 Indian restaurants.

Yes, schmucks. We said 56.

Whaddaya think? That we can’t type or count?

No, we’re not counting the mom-and-pop operations in the area engaged in providing tiffin and dinner services for bachelors and the H1B/L Visa types. If you include them as well, the numbers would probably hit 75 or more.

For this post, we’re counting only those restaurants that have a brick and mortar commercial structure and a clear signboard.

We’ve included even the few Pakistani restaurants in the area because they all serve Indian food (even Indian-Chinese fare).

The only difference is that the Pakistani restaurants serve Beef, which Indians find abhorrent considering their greatly professed love for the Holy Cow and its urine! (Yes, a lot of Indian Hindus to this day take pride in drinking cow’s urine, euphemestically called cow-ca-cola.)

From Abhiruchi Andhra restaurant on Worth St in Iselin to Calcutta Indian-Chinese restaurant at 2090 Oak Tree Rd Edison is a distance of just four miles. No more than 10-minutes by car.

And on this short stretch you can find every kind of Indian food – North Indian and South Indian, Indian-Chinese and Punjabi, Chettinad and Gujarati, Rajasthani and Indian cakes, Kulfi Ice Cream and Chaat, Masala Chai and Madras Coffee, Sugarcane Juice and Lassi you get ‘em all on Oak Tree Road.

If you trip and fall on Oak Tree Road, you’re more than likely to break your head on the threshold of an Indian restaurant. No kidding, fellas.

We bet there’s nothing like this anywhere else in the U.S.

Other desi enclaves in the U.S. like Pioneer Blvd in Artesia, CA or Devon Ave in Chicago can’t hold a candle to Oak Tree Road for the cornucopia of Indian restaurants.

Mostly Dumps

A lot of these curry holes on Oak Tree Road are dumps, no better or no worse than those small Indian restaurants dotting the landscape of India.

But some Oak Tree Road Indian restaurants profess to offer a so-called ‘fine dining’ experiences.

Of course, if you ask us we’ll say “fine dining Indian Restaurants” is a contradiction in terms.

For the words ‘fine’ or ‘finesse’ are not to be found in the Indian dictionary.

The origins of Oak Tree Road’s fame as an Indian restaurant hub are hazy.

Most likely, it all started in the 1980s.

Probably, the first Indian businesses in the area were grocery stores selling Rice, Dal and spices and renting video cassettes of Bollywood films to immigrants.

And as these grocery stores drew people, restaurants sprouted there to cater to the cravings of the Indian clientele for desi food.

When the first Indian restaurant succeeded, other Indians quickly flocked to the area given the herd mentality of our people.

Mostly Indian Faces

Compared to Indian restaurants in other parts of New Jersey, the desi eating joints Oak Tree Road are patronized mostly by South Asians.

The main reason is that the whole Indian strip on Oak Tree Road has a dirty, unkempt look favored only by our people.

Filth may put off Americans but it makes Indians feel so at home.

The only non-Indian faces you’ll see at the Oak Tree Road Indian restaurants are those of ‘Mexican Amigos’ washing dishes or preparing Masala Dosa and Palak Paneer.

Or the White cops handing out traffic tickets in Iselin to Indians for illegal parking.

By the way, a lot of Indian restaurants in New Jersey now employ Mexicans, presumably because they’re cheaper than Indians.

Since Mexicans know as much about Palak Paneer or Navratan Kormas as we do about Quesedillas or Tamales, you can well imagine the quality of food at a lot of Indian restaurants in the area.

Add to that our Indian amateur cooks and now you know what mediocrity means.

Telugu Invasion

While the earlier band of Indian restauranteurs in Edison or Iselin were mostly Gujaratis, Punjabis or other North Indians, things have changed lately.

What’s happening now is the Telugu invasion.

Telugus are those unique specimens from the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh who believe that life begins and ends with Dum Biryani and Avakaya pickle. And the only time Telugus orgasm is when Tollywood crazy Allu Arjun comes on the big screen and yells Champaestanu (I’ll kill you). Really.

A lot of Telugus made their money during the IT boom doing coding work for American corporations. Presumably, some of that software money is now going into the Dum Biryani business.

If you wake any New Jersey Telugu with over $250,000 in assets in the middle of the night you can be sure the first words he’ll ejaculate is Dum Biryani, Dum Biryani!

For Telugus, Dum Biryani is the grand hope of riding the train to El Dorado just as information technology was a decade ago.

Based on our observation, we predict a lot of these Telugus will slit their wrists after losing their money because there’s far too many Dum Biryani restaurants in New Jersey than can be supported by the dum desis.

Many Doomed to Fail

As Indian restaurants have extended their tentacles to other towns in New Jersey, Oak Tree Road’s cachet and appeal for Indians has certainly diminished.

Even during weekends, we just don’t see the large crowds that used to gather on Oak Tree Road Rd between Midddlesex Ave and Correja Ave. in the 1990s and up to 2003-2004.

The current recession has also taken a heavy toll with many Indians returning to Mera Bharat Mahaan after losing their jobs.

The savants at SI do not believe there’s enough business potential for all the 56 Indian restaurants to thrive or even survive.

Several of them are likely to close over the next six months. We suspect a few are already on life-support.

Some have already changed their names in hopes of earning Goddess Lakshmi’s blessings in their new avatar.

Fat chance!

Peering into our crystal ball, we predict at least three Indian vegetarian restaurants and a bunch of non-vegetarian Indian restaurants in the Oak Tree Road area will down their shutters in the not too distant future causing substantial losses for their owners.

Rents are high on Oak Tree Road and labor costs are not cheap considering the only thing every immigrant (legal or illegal) reads after coming to America is How to Sue Your Way to Prosperity and Early Retirement.

No, there’s no guarantee that illegal Latino and Indian immigrants won’t sue.

Indian Restaurants on Oak Tree Road, Iselin

Here’s the list of Indian restaurants on Oak Tree Road and surrounding areas.

* Anjappar Express * Abhiruchi * Dosa Express * Ganesh Dosa House * Bombay Spice * Jalaram
* Bombay Talk II * Khasiyat * Urban Spice * Jassi Sweets * Noor Mahal * Shalimar Foodland
* Shalimar * Bombay Talk * Chowpatty * Raj Bhog * AliBaba * Shalimar Express
* Shahnawaz * Lovely Sweets * Quality Sweets * Rasoi II * Nanking * Sukhadia
* Volga * Country Oven
Flavor Junction Food Court (Kumar Soni Plaza)
* Calcutta Wok * Handi * ChatKaz * Toasty Paprika * Chandni Chowk
* Hyderabadi Biryani/Dosa Treat * Fruit & Flavors

Indian Restaurants on Oak Tree Road, Edison

* Saravanaa Bhavan * Moghul * Ming * Singas Pizza * Mithaas * Moghul Express
* Jhupdi * Paradise Biryani Pointe * Dakshin Express * India Palace * Mirchi * Shezwan
* Karaikudi Chettinad * Swagath * Khushboo * Sankalp * Chopstick * Sher-e-Punjab
* Kwality Ice Cream * Hot Breads * Desi Galaxy * Bombay Spice * Calcutta

If you include Rajdhani and Khyber Grill (on Oak Tree Avenue) as well, the Indian restaurant count goes up to 58.

And that surely is a lot of Dum Biryanis, Baingan Bartas, Palak Paneers, Samosa Chaats and Masala Dosas, enough to pave the New Jersey Turnpike/I95 from Edison to Miami.

The opening of so many Indian restaurants on Oak Tree Road suggests not merely a herd mentality but also points to a poverty of ideas plaguing Indian entrepreneurs now.

Dum Biryani, Samosa Chaat and Tandoori Chicken may lift some Indian boats to prosperity but not all 56 desi boats. No way!

Just this month, six more Indian restaurants opened their doors in the Flavor Junction Food Court at the Kumar Soni Plaza in Iselin.

The $64,000 question now is which of these 56 Indian restaurants will kiss the dust first. Watch this space.

* Pictures of food (above) are from Oak Tree Road Indian Restaurants

Jodi Breakers, TNLHG Box Office – No One Gives a Damn for Madhavan or Ritesh

Bollywood, Box Office 2 Responses »

Feb 282012

South Indian fatso Madhavan and the worst actor in the Milky Way galaxy aka Ritesh Deshmukh have as much box office appeal as a cockroach.

Signing these two buffoons for a movie without other star-power is a sure sign that the producer is a retard. A complete retard.

The Madhavan-Bipasha Basu starrer Jodi Breakers and the Ritesh Deshmukh-Genelia film Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya released this Friday.

And not surprisingly, both kissed the dust immediately.

Media reports indicate the two movies opened to a poor response in India.

In the U.S. too, desis have raised their middle finger to both movies.

To describe the U.S. box office performance of these two films as pitiful would be charitable.

Here’s how badly Jodi Breakers and Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya fared at the U.S. box office compared to a few prominent Bollywood films:

Oscars 2012 – Too Many Indian Nominations!

Hollywood 6 Responses »

Feb 262012

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Important - Does anyone remember how many Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood etc films were nominated for the 84th Oscars. We misplaced our calculator and can’t total up the numbers.

************************************
11:34PM

And now for the Biggest Award of the night.

Tom Cruise presents Best Picture Oscar to The Artist (Producer: Thomas Langmann)

11:30PM ET

Hatrick for Meryl Streep (Iron Lady).

11:18PM ET

Best Actor Oscar goes to Jean Dujardin for The Artist

10:53PM ET

This is a Big one, guys.

Best Director – Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

10:45PM ET

Best Animated Short Film Oscar goes to The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore – William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg

10:42PM ET

Best Documentary – Short Subject goes to Saving Face – Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

10:41PM ET

Best Live Action Short Film – The Shore

10:29PM ET

OMG, Woody Allen Wins!

Best Writing Original Screenplay – Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris. Richly deserved.

We’ve seen Midnight in Paris and loved the film. Gorgeous.

10:25PM

Oooooh, Angelina looks sumptuous!

Best Adapted Screenplay – The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash

10:15PM

Best Music (Original Score) – Ludovic Bource for The Artist.

What a shame, we have yet to see The Artist.

10:00PM ET

And the Best Supporting Actor Oscar goes to 82-year-old Christopher Plummer (Beginners). The oldest actor ever to win an Oscar.

You’re only two years older than me, darling. Where have you been all my life? – Christopher Plummer at the Oscars

9:56PM ET

Another win for Hugo – Best Visual Effects

Is this the 5thor 6th Oscar for Hugo.

9:52PM

Melissa McCarthy is awesome.

Sad, she didn’t win the Best Supporting Actress award Oscar for Bridesmaids.

9:45PM ET

Rango gets Oscar for Animated Feature Film.

We just don’t get animation!

Was Chris Rock funny? Not bad.

9:41PM ET

Aha, Robert Downey is here (with Gwynneth Paltrow).

Hilarious fella!

And the winner for Best Documentary goes to Undefeated – TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay, and Richard Middlemas

9:35PM ET

Nice acrobatic show by Cirque Du Soleil.

9:28PM ET

Hugo picks up one more Oscar – Sound Mixing.

Other wins for Hugo – Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Editing

9:24PM ET

If only the Swedish writer Stieg Larsson were alive! Sad.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo won the Oscar for Best Editing.

9:22PM

Is Oscar host Billy Crystal exciting you folks?

Okayish, that’s what we think.

9:12PM

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer for The Help. Who is SHE?

9:06PM ET

Best Foreign Language Film – And the Oscar goes to Separation from Iran. The first film from Iran to win Best Foreign Language Film.

8:55PM

Hugo has already won two Oscars – Cinematography & Art Direction.

8:41PM ET

Alas, back to the TV.

Damn, they’re not streaming the Oscar Awards. Only the Red Carpet, Back Stage etc.

8:28PM ET

At last, at last an Indian face in the audience – Krishna Bhanji aka Ben ‘Gandhi‘ Kingsley.

8:27PM ET

Oscar 84 host Billy Crystal on a horse, aha.

8:24PM ET

Aaaaangelina!

* 8:17PM ET
Quiz: How long do winners get on the stage for all the Thank Yous – A mere 45-seconds.

* 8:12PM ET

Brangelina – Both looking delicious!

The ABC interviewers are so meh!

* 8:06PM ET

See, see, there’s Brad Pitt.

He seems to have recovered from his fall.

No crutches. Brisk walk.

Yippee. Just saw George Clooney posing for the cameras.

Psst, we just came. But don’t tell anyone.

Sandra Bullock looking so old and haggard!

* 7:49PM ET

Hey, Steven Spielberg is here.

Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy are Producers of the Best Picture Nominee War Horse.

* 7:40PM ET

So far, it’s all blah blah blah Red Carpet.

Say, did we see Sacha Baron Cohen in the most attention-grabbing attire this year?

Oh well, we’ll take another swill of the cheapest Champagne money can buy – Andre Extra Dry California Champagne ($4.99).

Andre Extra Dry California Champagne $4.99

Ah, there’s George Cloooooney.

No, that was a false alarm.

* 7:20PM Eastern Time:

F*ck the TV. F*ck the TV.

For the 84th Oscars, SI is doing something different.

We threw out the Remote for our Samsung LCD TV.

And….we’re wireless streaming the Oscars on a big 27-inch iMac.

The picture quality on the big iMac is amazing.

Why wouldn’t it be superb?

After all, the Resolution on the 27-inch iMac is a remarkable, eye-popping 2560×1440 pixels.

Johnny – SI’s 2nd Favorite Rajinikanth Film

Reviews, Tamil Movies 4 Responses »

Feb 252012

I am a barber by profession, murderer by accident, and today a human because of you.
- A repentant Vidyasagar (Rajinikanth) to Archana (Sridevi) in the Tamil film Johnny (1980)

Considering the abysmal quality of most Tamil movies that are made by schmucks for schmucks, the over three-decades-old Johnny is a darn good film.

And the credit in our not so humble opinion ought to go first to director Mahendran, second to music director Ilayaraja and finally to the Rajinikanths (yes, there are two).

Such is the appeal of the film that 32 years after its debut, some SI blog readers still hanker for the Johnny review.

Fine Music

An embarras de richesse, surely Johnny’s melodious songs will continue to be hummed and listened to long after the key people involved with the movie cease to walk the earth.

We enjoyed all five songs in the film but the tribal dance-song Aasaya Kaathula Thoodi Vittu is the one that gave us the most intense orgasm.

Fired our rocket straight into the stratosphere, this song.

Besides the infinite charm of its music, the picturization and dance too were decent in the Aasaya Kaathula Thoodi Vittu number.

Far too often, even pleasing Tamil songs are badly let down by the crude picturization.

And ever so frequently, graceless apes in human garb with monikers like Jyothika, Trisha and Nayantara make a mockery of the dance form.

Thank God in this instance, the picturization featuring a dance by Subhashini and others in a misty/smoky haze did justice to the music.

Subhashini, by the way, is the less-known sister of yesteryear famous Telugu actress and present-day Congress politician Jayasudha.

We don’t know about you philistines but we can’t get enough of Aasaya Kaathula Thoodi Vitta or the wide-eyed Subhashini (now the plump mother of failed starlet Pooja).

Enn Vanilae is almost as pleasing, except that it has no picturization worth speaking of.

Just Sridevi playing the piano, surrounded by flowers and Rajini listening raptly.

A hauntingly beautiful melody, Enn Vanilae is perhaps one of the finest works of Ilayaraja.

Here, give your ears a treat by clicking on the below image.

In any case, by spending time poring over the review of a three-decades-old Tamil movie you’ve already shown that you are an unproductive putzhead with lots of free time on your hands.

So what’s an extra three minutes!

If you’re looking for a peppy number to rock your cojones, there’s the funny Senorita, I Love You…You Love Me.

This song features the Vidyasagar version of Rajinikanth and the sexy siren from Kerala Deepa aka Unni Mary.

Alas, the picturization is below par.

Story

Johnny’s story is nothing to get too excited about.

We have two Rajinikanths.

The first Rajinikanth is a bespectacled, pipe-smoking barber Vidyasagar who works only by appointment.

The second is the film’s eponymous Johnny, a criminal given to robbing and duping people to settle his father’s debts.

We don’t know much about the backgrounds of the two key characters except that the second is the illegitimate son of a Zamindar (a village landlord).

Given Johnny’s criminal activities it’s not surprising that before long the police is after both Rajinikanths. The barber is under suspicion because the police is unaware, at least initially, that there are two people with similar looks.

Sridevi, who gained fame in the 70s and 80s and the sobriquet Ms.Thunder Thighs, for lavish display of her plump thighs to compensate for lack of looks or acting talent, plays Archana, a famous singer.

Whether Johnny is merely besotted with Archana’s mellifluous voice or the lady herself is not clear.

Deepa is cast opposite the barber and plays a poor maid.

Her character Bhama lends a comic touch by always aspiring for something better, be it sarees or men.

Suruli Rajan, the popular comedian of the 70s era Tamil films, is Johnny’s side-kick.

Two Rajinikanths

99.99% of Indian movies are male-centric and Johnny is no different.

One or the other Rajinikanth is always on the screen.

Unlike present-day Rajinikanth films where he’s often cast in super-hero roles to pander to his superstar image, both Rajinikanths in Johnny play down-to-earth characters.

Hell, the two Rajinikanths in Johnny are seen getting tired after running just a few hundred meters.

Au contraire, today’s Rajinikanth wouldn’t take an extra breath even after vanquishing an entire police force or the military (remember Enthiran?).

While he most certainly doesn’t set the screen on fire with his acting, Rajini is adequate in both roles.

Just when you thought the story is heading into boring territory, Mahendran provides a good twist jolting us.

Besides direction, Mahendran is also responsible for the dialogs and direction.

It’s a shame that Mahendran has been inactive for a long time, thereby allowing the rise of buffoons like A.R.Murugadoss, Venkat Prabhu and Korangusamy oops Linguswamy.

If you ask us, we found the barber Rajinikanth the more interesting of the two.

Shortcomings

Frequent use of slow-motion photography to show Rajinikanth leaping and running betrays a lack of imagination and conveys very little of whatever was intended.

How is it that the two Rajinikanths look so similar. Except for his eyeglasses, hairstyle and mustache, the barber Vidyasagar looks the same as Johnny.

Unfortunately, Sridevi is covered up demurely all the time.

Not giving us even a short glimpse of her luscious ‘thunder-thighs’ was nothing short of treachery on Mahendran’s part.

Of well, at least we got to see her made-for-blowing mouth.

Johnny – SI Recommendation

Deepa looks her sexciting best.

Apparently, the seductive babe is now into evangelical stuff after a decade of dick-raising work in Malayalam and Tamil films. Lucky Jesus!

North America’s best Indian blog SearchIndia.com recommends Johnny.

We bet our last Nickel you’ll be wowed by the music as much as we were.

You can stream Johnny for free on your big-screen TV via the BollyVerse channel on Roku.

Caveat: There are some issues with the picture quality. For about five minutes in the middle of the film, the screen went blank. God knows what we missed!

Read SI’s Other Tamil Movie Reviews:
Mullum Malarum – Rajini Could Act, Once

If You Can’t Afford an iPhone iPhone, You Can Always Get an iPhone Gas Stove

iPhone 2 Responses »

Feb 242012

What do you do when you can’t afford an iPhone?

Not iPorn, silly.

We meant iPhone.

Yes, that thing that lets you swipe your fingers and make the screen go this side and that or do that pinchy-squeezy thing to make Kate Upton’s tatas grow bigger right before your ogling eyes.

Oh yes, the iPhone also lets you make calls as in Hello Slut, You Wearing Anything Down There?

But what if you’re one of those beggars?

Like these two NYC teenagers, you can snatch an iPhone from a 81-year-old man, push him on the subway tracks and screw up your life forever.

Or you can do what the Chinese do.

Well, so what do the Chinese do with their iPhones?

They cook Chowmein, Chop-Suey and Gen Tsao’s Chicken on their green iPhones.

Not those drab Black or White iPhones for the Chinese, they need a green one to make their neighbors go green with envy.

Think we’re kidding?

Here see these iPhone gas stove pictures from China:

iphone gas stove

iphone gas stove (Images courtesy: NetEase via micgadget)

Now if only Steve Jobs were alive he’d have had an apoplectic fit to see his beloved gadget being used to cook Chowmein and Pork Fried Rice!

Poor Maid in India Now Rich Maid in America After Winning Case Against Indian Diplomat

Incredible India 3 Responses »

Feb 232012

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times.

Most Indians in positions of power are exploitative barbaric creatures who ought to be caged and never allowed to see the sunlight or smell the roses.

Following the expose of Indian barbarism in a U.S. Court, Indian diplomat Neena Malhotra and her husband Jogesh Malhotra, an engineer, have been ordered by New York Magistrate Judge Frank Maas to pay $1.46 million for abusing their domestic maid Shanti Gurung (also an Indian).

Neena Malhotra is an Indian Foreign Service officer who served as a Press and Culture Counselor at the Indian Consulate in New York City from 2006-2009.

When she came to New York City in 2006, Neena brought Shanti Gurung from India to serve as her house-maid.

Indian Diplomat Neena Malhotra
(Image Courtesy: IBNLive)

Maid in India Not Maid in America

U.S. Court documents reveal that Shanti Gurung’s complaint of July 1, 2010 alleges that she was essentially kidnapped from India at the age of 17, trafficked to the U.S. and held in involuntary servitude (slavery) for three years.

In the complaint, Shanti Gurung made several charges against Malhotra including non-payment of promised wages, being asked to give Neena Malhotra daily massages, a chore that apparently made Shanti “extremely uncomfortable,” not being provided warm winter clothes, forced to sleep on the floor, served only leftovers or no food etc.

Here’s an excerpt from Judge Frank Maas’ order:

Gurung consequently often “went hungry as there were no leftovers to eat.” …. The Malhotras also deprived her of rice, a staple of her native diet…. One indication of the privation Gurung was subjected to is the fact that her weight dropped from approximately 147 pounds to less than 84 pounds during the approximately forty months that she was employed by the Malhotras. [p.4]

Shanti also complained that her documents were seized, travel was restricted, and she was not permitted to
telephone her family.

In all, Shanti Gurung asserts twenty claims under various federal and state labor and human rights statutes, as well as under state common law.

Thank God, a Maid in America is not the same as Maid in India, where house-maids are frequently subject to inhuman treatment including rape, torture and other forms of brutalization by their employers.

Victory for Maid Shanti Gurung

The legal battle has ended in a big victory for the maid.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas recommended Shanti Gurung be awarded $392,721 for unpaid wages (including liquidated damages), $36,076 in prejudgment interest, $500,000 for emotional distress, and $300,000 in punitive damages, for a total of $1,228,797.

Including legal fees, the Malhotras must pay $1.46 million to Shanti Gurung.

Here are details on the U.S. court’s big award to Shanti Gurung:

Neena Malhotra Must Pay Ex-Maid Shanti Gurung $1.5m - SearchIndia.com Blog

The Malhotras did not contest or respond to Shanti Gurung’s complaint.

Will Shanti Gurung get her Million Dollar Payout?

The million dollar question now, at least for us, is how Shanti Gurung will get her million dollar payout.

Neena Malhotra has been out of the U.S. for nearly three years now.

She’s currently serving as Director of Southern Division in India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

Given her modest Indian government salary, we doubt Neena Malhotra has $1.46 million to hand over to Shanti Gurung.

Like y’all, we too eagerly await the next act in the Shanti Gurung vs Neena Malhotra legal drama.

Indian Govt. Response

Neither Neena Malhotra nor India’s Ministry of External Affairs have issued any comment on the mega award to Shanti Gurung by the U.S. court on February 22, 2012.

But on July 9, 2010 a spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs denied Neena Malhotra had treated Shanti Gurung badly:

In response to questions, Official Spokesperson said that Ministry had seen media reports and looked into the matter. It is understood that Ms. Shanti Gurung, Service Staff of Dr. Neena Malhotra, then Consul at Consulate General of India New York, had disappeared on the eve of latter’s return to India. Consul Neena brought the matter to CGI’s attention immediately which informed concerned US authorities. Media reports have also contained certain allegations against Dr. Malhotra, which do not appear to be in conformity with facts.

Khosla Ka Ghosla – Delicious Comedy

Bollywood 5 Responses »

Feb 232012

(For SI Blog commenter Hari)

To all the schmucks who cry out loud that Indians just don’t have it in them to make good movies, we ask, have you putzheads watched Khosla Ka Ghosla.

Have you?

Speak up, bozos.

Khosla Ka Ghosla – Delightful Comedy

Helmed by a competent director (Dibakar Banerjee), supported by a fine cast of actors (Anupam Kher, Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak, Boman Irani, Navin Nischol, Tara Sharma, Parvin Dabas, Nitesh Pandey) and solidly scripted by a talented writer (Jaideep Sahni), Khosla Ka Ghosla is an excellent entertainer.

It’s been a long time since a Hindi film gave us so much pleasure.

After watching this fine movie the other day (at the repeated urging of a SI commenter), we greatly regretted not seeing it earlier.

Well, as the cliche goes, better late than never.

As anyone of Indian origin can tell you, middle-class folks from that benighted land have three grand ambitions in life – Ensure their son turns out an engineer or doctor, get their daughter married to an engineer or doctor and build a house before retiring from their job.

Each goal is a herculean endeavor and few middle class Indians manage to pull off all three tasks successfully.

Khosla Ka Ghosla centers around the efforts of a middle-class Delhi native on the threshold of retirement to accomplish the third goal – buying a plot, the first step toward building a house.

Buy buying a plot and building a house is easier said than done in Mera Bharat Mahaan.

And that’s where our ‘uncle’ Kamal Kishore Khosla (Anupam Kher) gets trapped in the quicksands of corruption that bedevils the land. Continue reading »

Bangkok City Voorhees – Decent Thai Food

Food 1 Response »

Feb 232012

In our ever persistent zeal to find a spicy exhilarating meal we occasionally explore other cuisines especially Thai and Mexican.

Just like our Indian cuisine, Thai and Mexican cuisines are known for spicy food.

The other day we were early for a movie at Rave Motion Pictures Ritz Center in Voorhees, New Jersey.

So we decided to put the extra time to good use by doing what we do best – eating.

We quickly headed to the Eagle Plaza mall adjacent to the Rave Motion Pictures Ritz Center exploring the restaurant options. Our eyes fell on an Afghani and a Thai cuisine restaurant.

We picked Bangkok City Thai restaurant as we were not so much in a Kebab mood.

Bangkok City Thai Restaurant

As we entered around Noon, Bangkok City was bubbling with activity and there were already seven diners in various stages of their meal.

Greeted by a smiling lone waitress, we were quickly shown to a table.

The same lady got us the water and lunch specials menu.

Bangkok City Thai Lunch Deals

The lunch specials Bangkok City are priced at $7.95 for a regular entree and $8.95 for a special of the day.

Both come with a choice of soup plus an appetizer or salad and an entree accompanied by rice.

Since we are not so much into eating salad on a chilly day, we chose soup plus an appetizer for starters.

Our order included Veggies Roll, Tom Yum Hot and Sour Vegetarian Soup, Panang Vegetarian Red Curry with a special request to make it spicy/hot for the herbivores in our group.

For the carnivores, we ordered Giew Grop for appetizer, Tom Kah Coconut Milk Chicken Soup and Kiew Warn Chicken Green Curry again with a special ‘hot’ request.

Our soups and appetizers were delivered within eight minutes of ordering followed by the entree.

While we were impressed by the quick service, the way our order got botched up at the delivery infuriated us. More on this later.

Bangkok City Thai – Vegetarian Lunch

On the whole our rating for Bangkok City Vegetarian Lunch is Good.

Tom Yum Soup was sour but not obscenely sour and hot temperature wise. It included Tomato, Mushroom and Green Onion slices.

Veggie Roll was crispy as promised and we finished it quickly using the red chilly paste and honey sauce that came with it.

While Tom Yum Soup and Veggies Roll were good, the best item of our Vegetarian Lunch was the Panang Red Curry.

With a medium thick red color sauce, Panang Red Curry was spicy but not so spicy as to bring tears to our eyes.

A mèlange of Tofu, ridged Carrot slices, Broccoli, Cauliflower crowns, Red Pepper, Tomato and Cut Beans, Panang Curry was delicious with small serving size of Jasmine Rice and a slice of Orange.

What added allure to Panang Red Curry was the red chilly and spicy, tangy taste of Vegetables.

Tasty Panang Red Curry with Jasmine Rice

Kiew Warn Chicken Green Curry

Bangkok City Thai – Chicken Lunch

Tom Kah Soup was creamy with Coconut Milk flavor and quite tasty. Besides Chicken pieces, it included Tomato and Green Onion slices.

Giew Grop was crispy as promised by the menu.

Set in a light green color medium thick gravy, Kiew Warn Green Curry with Chicken found favor with us. Continue reading »

Bengali Sweet House Jersey City – Heavenly

Food, Reviews 1 Response »

Feb 232012

If JFK’s inaugural address were to happen today, the lecherous bastard would probably say, Ask not what you can eat at Bengali Sweet House, ask why you won’t.

Bengali Sweet House is the hidden gem in that Indian cesspool known as Newark Ave in Jersey City, NJ.

Given that Indians are weird specimens, be they in Mera Bharat Mahaan or Amreeka, it’s not in the least surprising that Bengali Sweet House in Jersey City should serve not a Bengali meal but Gujarati food.

Only an Indian restaurant sporting the name Bengali Sweet House would venture to offer a Gujarati meal!

But what’s in a name as the bard would say.

So delicious was our Gujarati meal that we swooned.

We swear on Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Trisha Krishnan, Ajith and Sameera Reddy.

Bengali Sweet House Gujarati Lunch Buffet

Bengali Sweet House Jersey City – Vegetarian Lunch Buffet Items

During our visit Bengali Sweet House’s weekend Gujarati lunch buffet ($7.99) included a sumptuous array of vegetarian dishes – Gota for appetizer, Bhindi Masala, Palak Paneer, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Kadi, Dal, Plain Rice and Roti for main course, Green Chutney, Tamarind Sauce, Raita, Pappadum for sides and Mohan Thal for dessert.

In one word, the Bengali Sweet House lunch buffet was “Delicious.”

Appetizers or entrees, dessert or Rotis, the meal was a blessing to our demanding taste buds.

Every single item had a rich flavor, nice aroma, fine taste.

And they were all piping hot and seemed fresh.

Here are the details of our Bengali Gujarati dining adventure: Continue reading »

U.S. Desis Extend Middle Finger to Ekk Deewana Tha, Pitiful at Box Office

Bollywood, Box Office 1 Response »

Feb 222012

South Indian director Gautham Menon’s Bollywood (mis)adventure Ekk Deewana Tha appears to have set a new low for Hindi films at the U.S. box office.

The sucker did, oh, how can we even tell you such a miserably low number, a mere $16,799 in the opening weekend.

The average per screen was a pitiful $646.

Folks, we can’t recollect any other Bollywood film faring so poorly at the U.S. box office.

Here’s how Ekk Deewana Tha fared at the U.S. box office compared to some prominent Bollywood films (scroll all the way down for Ekk Deewana Tha figures):

Ekk Deewana tha Fares Horribly at U.S. Box Office

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February 2012
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Curry Holes on Oak Tree Road

Mostly Dumps

Mostly Indian Faces

Telugu Invasion

Many Doomed to Fail

Indian Restaurants on Oak Tree Road, Iselin

Indian Restaurants on Oak Tree Road, Edison

Important - Does anyone remember how many Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood etc films were nominated for the 84th Oscars. We misplaced our calculator and can’t total up the numbers.

Fine Music

Story

Two Rajinikanths

Shortcomings

Johnny – SI Recommendation

Maid in India Not Maid in America

Victory for Maid Shanti Gurung

Will Shanti Gurung get her Million Dollar Payout?

Indian Govt. Response

Khosla Ka Ghosla – Delightful Comedy

Bangkok City Thai Lunch Deals

Bangkok City Thai – Vegetarian Lunch

Bangkok City Thai – Chicken Lunch

Bengali Sweet House Jersey City – Vegetarian Lunch Buffet Items

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