Food for Thought

             One of the obsessions of my stay in Brussels was the food. Every morning started with a chocolate waffle or chocolate croissant and coffee. Several warnings from friends had little or no effect. I would put on several kilos during this stay but  would still cherish that indulgence. One of the things that I miss most about Brussels are the chocolate croissants.
             The Belgium fries, the Belgian beer, the mussels the hot chocolate waffles topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries are some of the other local delicacies. Once you have tasted the Belgian fries you can never appreciate the leaner French fries. It is believed that the French fries were never French after all. I was introduced to American soldiers in Belgium during WWI. Since the official language of the Belgian army was French they called it the French fries. 

The chocolate waffle with the toppings

Chocolate Croissant

               To taste the best Belgium fries visit - Place Jourdan, Etterbeek. For the yummiest waffles visit Grand Place. For the beer lovers Delirium is a must. There are more than 3000 beers from all around the world. Unique decor and fully crowded. 

             Some interesting facts about Belgium:
1) It is the birth place of Herge the creator of my favorite cartoon character Tintin. You will see murals of Tintin, Captain Haddock and Snowy in the city center.

Tintin memorabilia

Murals

2) As per legends the hero of this country is a small boy who saved the city from burning down by pissing and extinguishing the fire. In his honor we have the famous statue of the Mannekan Piss placed in Grand Place. 

The Mannekan Piss

 3) This is a place to indulge in all childhood chocolate fantasies. You will find chocolate in every size, shape and flavor. Miniature chocolate Manneken Piss, chocolate fountains are put on display. Leonidas, Godiva and Neuhaus are some of the famous chocolate brands and each has it's outlet in the Grand Place. To buy in bulk better to visit the chocolate factories. My personal favorite is the Leonidas chocolate truffles. Note they are not the best looking one's but as always looks can be deceptive.

World of chocolates

Chocolate Fountain

                  Apart from the local food obsession people were obsessed with the Indian food. Being far away from home, Indian food was something everyone craved. There could be arguments, fights and misunderstandings if you missed out someone from a dinner or lunch invite. Everyone had an Alias to address them. It was a small family out there. You had Daddy, Mommy, Jawan, Kattie, Popo, Papa, Kumbhu, Dada,Sallu, Puri, Yam, Naka, and many more.Being the worst cook in the lot can be a blessing in disguise. I was never expected to cook and invite people for dinner. Surprisingly some of the guys were exceptional cooks. 

Dada: He prepared the lip smacking mutton and chicken curries. But he always needed a team to help with the cutting and cleaning.

Papa: He is an expert in cooking paratha's.He was seriously concerned about my cooking skills and often gave me training's on how to make the make the perfect rotis (Indian bread).

Daddy: He liked to add a ghoda masala (special masala) and peanuts to his dishes although it often lead to an upset tummy.

Then there are some who are completely unaware to the world of cooking. 

Popo: He couldn't distinguish sugar from salt, jeera from dhania etc.

Kumbhu: They helped with the lesser skilled tasks of cleaning of dishes and cutting vegetables. 

                If you ever discussed your dinner plans in advance that could lead to someone crashing your dinner. Food would be the fixation during the complete stay. Eventually everyone would learn to cook in order to survive and the already expert one's would master their skills.