Monday, September 12, 2005

damnit, what's the address?

I am a big admirer of the Indian press. Whatever the cocktail party circuit has to say about the tragic demise of the Times of India--"Oh my god, the Delhi Times is so vacuous, so devoid of journalistic integrity, that I pull it out of the main paper and read it first thing"--India's journos still believe in ferreting out malfeasance, running a good sting, raking a politician over the coals.

But the entertainment coverage could stand a little improvement.

First off, the TV guides. Is there any newspaper that actually lists what all the channels are showing, from say 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.? I'm not asking for 24 hour vigilance. But I would like to know what's out there. We get three papers--full disclosure: sometimes I think we only get them all so we can cross-reference the TV guides and the restaurant reviews--and still there are gaps. The Express will forget to include HBO's evening lineup. The Asian Age (consistently) will misreport what will be shown. The Hindustan Times will decide that certain channels, for undisclosed reasons, are not worth bothering about. Damnit, there isn't that much to do in Delhi--this is a cry for help--let me at least enjoy TV, even if ESPN insists on showing American football at 2:30 a.m. and repeats of India-Bangladesh cricket from the 1970s during waking hours.

Another thing, the event guides. GIVE US THE ADDRESS. OR AT LEAST THE NAME OF THE PLACES YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. In the past week, I've read a piece about the state houses of various Indian states that supposedly offer their traditional cuisine to the public through their canteens, an article about a cool-sounding (and cheap) Korean restaurant and two blurbs about a restaurant in Kalkaji that will have a special thali for Onam. I want to go to all these places, but I can't because NONE of the articles gave the addresses or phone numbers. Worse, neither the Korean restaurant nor several of the statehouse canteens were even named. That means even if I had an improbable and irrational faith in directory assistance--which hangs up on me nine times out of ten and gives me the wrong number the other one time out of ten--I wouldn't even be able to go through the pain and suffering of trying to find the joints through enquiry.

Can anyone explain this shortcoming? Is it simply that nobody cares? Is it a drunken subeditor, saving space by cutting out the name of the restaurant that is being reviewed?

And another thing: Where is the inexpensive, authentic Korean restaurant in Haus Khas that is frequented by the Korean expat community? Where is Simbly South in Kalkaji? Which state houses, besides Andhra Bhavan, open their canteens to the public, and what are their addresses? Where is the Ethiopian restaurant in the neighborhood of Habitat Centre? OK, that was several things.

7 comments:

shyam said...

Have no clue about the Korean one, can offer a bit of help on the mallu food though. In Kerala House if you know someone staying there, you can have the awesomely excellent grub which only the people staying there can have. Otherwise, the canteen, though not officially open to the public, is quite cool about serving anyone and the food is damn cheap too. During Onam, there is the traditional feast there, they sell coupons for it in advance, open to all and you get the closest to the authentic thing then. If it was not for the place teeming with the bretheren, who I am not fond of at all, I'd have always made it there, every year. It is located neat Jantar Mantar though.

I never use directory assistance, especially with my abysmal verbal communication skills. From a bit of googling I think I found your Korean joint, Kumang: http://www.chowbaby.com/10_2000/features/article.asp?X=616 The details are somewhere towards the middle of the page.

Anonymous said...

Jason
Still looking for this mysterious ethiopian restaurant... will let you know if such a place exists! Really want to go there. What about the really great Korean place in Vasant Vihar? It's supposed to serve good Korean food, but fiery hot! I'm going there to eat this weekend!

Jason Overdorf said...

Where in Vasant Vihar?

Anonymous said...

Vasant Vihar is where Priya Cinema is.... where Tamura is....need I say more?

Jason Overdorf said...

I said where IN Vasant Vihar, not where IS Vasant Vihar. Do you know the address?

Anonymous said...

It's right opposite d block market, the one with the reebok gym, it's in a house... on the first floor. Its a private house, just ask in the market and you will be directed!

Smita Dhall said...

Hey guys, I landed here looking for phone numbers for Simbly South - for Mallu food. The phone numbers are : 55433894, 26217879