When Tiffa Goes Outside The Box: Little India And All Its Mini-Glories. :D:D:D:D

- May 31, 2011, Tuesday.

- Little India, Little India, how I missed you so. My friends want to see you too, so I said, "why not, let's go!!"

- For months, my friend Tiffany had been telling me of how she wanted to visit Little India, since she wanted to have a little adventure with food and cultures. Knowing that Little India was "my turf," she asked me, and my neighbor Charmaine, to tour her around "my turf."

- After scheduling our trip numerous times, we were finally able to meet today. Charmaine and I went to Tiffa's house, and Tiffa's driver drove us to nearby Little India. We first "walked past" the Khalsa Dewan Sikh Temple, and proceeded to the groceries.

- We bought samosas and Indian sweets in Little India. While going around the largest Indian grocery among the three, I was explaining many many things to Tiffa, since it was the first time she's gotten up close with Indian sweets. As I was explaining the samosas to Tiffa, an Indian customer overheard me use some Hindi terms. He approached me, and told me that he was happy that I knew their language and their culture. Apparently, he was so amused that he even told his friend about me. :)) :)) :)) :))

- We visited Talwar's Indian grocery next, but wasn't able to buy anything. In Simron's, Charmaine bought Indian Maggie once again, because the ones she bought before was accidentally eaten by her helper at home. Hahahaha. Charmaine told us that her helper might have suffered eating the Indian Maggi, thinking it was regular "Pinoy" Maggi, because Indian Maggi flavors are almost always hot and spicy.

- Lunch was up next, and we had no other choice but to eat in Assad Cafe - the only Indian restaurant there. Just before lunch, I ran back to Talwar's, after getting change, and bought Tiffa a small gift. Like before, I gave her the money envelope, the "Indian counterpart" of the Chinese angpao, with a 1 Rupee coin stuck to the envelope for "wealth."

- I was happy to see that aside from the present I gave her, Tiffa seemed to have enjoyed our lunch a lot. We had Kashmiri Fish, Chicken Biryani, Naan (one of the flat breads of India,) and Paneer Masala (cottage cheese with green peas and Indian gravy.) We drank regular sweet lassi. :D:D:D:D Aside from these, we also ate the samosas and the Indian sweets we bought from the Minimart.

- After lunch, we rode a trike to the Hindu Temple in Mahatma Gandhi Street. During a phone call to the temple this morning, Ate Narcing, the secretary, told me that Mr. Dumri was not in the temple anymore. I have no idea why, and I forgot to ask her when I saw her in the temple.

- We arrived at the temple around 2:30, and toured Tiffa inside and outside the prayer hall. Charmaine had been to the temple many times now, so she decided to rest, while I showed and explained all the gods to Tiffa. It was easier to explain stuff to her because Tiffa knows a lot about mythologies and world religions.

- We left the temple around 3pm, and strolled back to the "Little India proper," and waited for her driver. Tiffa was kind enough to bring Charmaine and me home. Along the way, Tiffa was asking me about the whereabouts of Koreatown, or if that ever existed here in Manila. Charmaine and I looked at each other, and had a Bananas in Pajamas moment. Next stop, most probably, will be Koreatown with Tiffa. :D:D:D:D