Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Restaurant Review - Arusuvai Arasu, Chennai.

This joint by the king of delicacies (Arusuvai Arasu) Mr. Natrajan. He is thus also called Arusuvai Natrajan. It is located in East Coast Road in Chennai and recently a branch in G N Chetty Road has started.


Sri Arusuvai Natrajan has been caterer to many Indian marriages for very many years and this venture is by one of the best man in the industry.

Arusuvau Arasu is a pure veg south Indian restaurant. It has all traditional south Indian menu including a-la-carte and meals. Recently they have also introduced chat items. But I would consider south Indian cuisine to be their forte. The one at ECR has better ambience than the one at G N Chetty Road because of sea breeze, more area and location.

The pluses of this hotel would be good food quality, minuses would be some items being bit costly.

This is one good place of food I would recommend to south Indian cuisine lovers.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Funny Video 3 - Stupid people and funny bloopers!!!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Restaurant Review - A2B Restaurant, Adyar Ananda Bhavan, Chennai.

Ananda Bhavan or Adyar Ananda Bhavan as it is known famously is a chain of restaurants which opened initially in Adyar and expanded in areas like Mylapore and T Nagar.


This started as a sweets and snacks shop but diversified into a restaurant chain called A2B Restaurant. This is a multi-cuisine restaurant. I would consider this to be the cheapest and best in Chennai. But then non-availability of some items especially in Mylapore joint makes one feel bad. The one in L B Road, Adyar is much better with some new items like kambu cholam dosai and ragi dosai and specialities like bread pakoda and chat items. I love the bread pakoda available there. It consists of bread coated with groundnut flour, fried in oil and stuffed with masala and paneer. Paneer in bread pakoda makes this really special. Apart from this, I also love chat items like bhel puri, sev puri, dahi papdi etc and special chat items like special tokri chat and katori chat. I would recommend people to taste the special delicacies at L B Road branch. Veechu parotta is really superb. It may not be available on all days, but is very tasty.

The quality of specialities here are very good and food is really available at reasonable price. But do not expect much in terms of ambience in mylapore branch. L B Road branch has better ambience.

I would suggest people to visit this place for lunch and evening snacks.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Restaurant Review - Murugan Idly Shop, Chennai.

Murugan Idly shop, Chennai.

Started as a humble idly shop in Madurai, this expanded really as a south Indian high quality restaurant in Madurai and Chennai. In Chennai, it is located in Besant Nagar and T Nagar.

(Murugan Idli Shop at G N Chetty Road, T Nagar).

The speciality with this is the tradition it has maintained. It serves distinct south Indian traditional cuisine including tamarind rice (pulianchaadam), chakkara pongal, ven pongal. Apart from this there are usual iteme like idly, dosa, vada, uttapam etc. Take it from me, you cannot get all of these traditional delicacies together in any other joint.

There is one lunch (mini meal) available for around INR 50 which contains Tamarind rice, sambar rice, curd rice, sidedishes and appalam. The one at North Usman road in T Nagar also has a separate floor for unlimited south Indian meals.

But you may find big time crowd during lunch hours as there are lots of companies located nearby. Service may get slow during that time.

All in all, I would rate this restaurant from good to very good.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Interesting read - 'Solar tsunami' may hit Earth anytime: Scientists

The Earth could be hit by a 'solar tsunami' anytime now as an unusually complex magnetic eruption on the Sun has flung a large cloud of electrically charged particles towards our planet, scientists have warned.

Several satellites, including NASA's new Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), recorded on Sunday a small solar flare erupting above sunspot 1092, the size of the Earth.

The satellites also recorded a large filament of cool gas stretching across the Sun's northern hemisphere also exploded into space.

The explosion, called a coronal mass ejection, was aimed directly towards Earth, which then sent a 'solar tsunami' racing 93 million miles across space. When the violent cloud hits, which could be anytime now, it could spark aurorae in the skies around the poles and pose a threat to satellites, although not a severe one, it said.

Despite being separated by hundreds of thousands of kilometres, the two events may be linked, said astronomers who studied the images from SDO that hint at a shock wave travelling from the flare into the filament.

"These are two distinct phenomena but they are obviously related," said Len Culhane, a solar physicist at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London.

Experts said the wave of supercharged gas will likely reach the Earth on Tuesday, when it will buffet the natural magnetic shield protecting Earth.

It is likely to spark spectacular displays of the aurora or northern and southern lights.

"This eruption is directed right at us," said Leon Golub, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics.

"It's the first major Earth-directed eruption in quite some time," Golub was quoted as saying by the Telegraph.

Scientists recently discussed the implications of volatile space weather at the Space Weather Enterprise Forum. One of the biggest concerns is the potential for a major blackout.

Daniel Baker, Space Scientist, University of Colorado-Boulder says, " One of the that things we really saw the major impacts would be on the power grid. That a major storm could cause immense damage. It could cause major blackouts that could last for weeks, possibly months or even years."

In August 2003 a computer malfunction played a major role in the US's worst blackout putting 50 million people in the dark, including all of New York City.

The effects of a solar storm on the power grid are still unknown, but researchers are trying to assure they are prepared for the worst case scenarios.

Richard Fisher, head of NASA's Heliophysics Division says, "Hours is okay, you can get along. A few people stuck in elevators, a few people on heart-lung machine, it's very important for them. As you go into days our water supplies are impacted. And that's an essence of life. So it's potentially a devastating blow. But we think it's an unlikely blow."

NASA recently warned that Britain could face widespread power blackouts as well and be left without critical communication signals for long periods of time, after the earth is hit by a once-in-a-generation 'space storm'.

Earlier scientists had said that they believed the Earth would be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes "from a deep slumber" sometime around 2013.

It remains unclear, however, how much damage this latest eruption will cause the world's communication tools.

Dr Lucie Green, of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Surrey, who followed the flare-ups using Japan's orbiting Hinode telescope, said this was a very rare event.

"Not one, but two almost simultaneous eruptions from different locations on the Sun were launched toward the Earth.

"These eruptions occur when immense magnetic structures in the solar atmosphere lose their stability and can no longer be held down by the Sun's huge gravitational pull. Just like a coiled spring suddenly being released, they erupt into space."

"This means we have a very good chance of seeing major and prolonged effects, such as the northern lights at low latitudes."

So how should individuals prepare for solar storms?

Richard Fisher says, "I think a little bit of extra water, a couple of flashlights, and a transistor radio are a few good things to have."

Scientists are preparing, too.

(Source: NDTV)

Monday, August 2, 2010

Travelogue - Madurai and Kodaikanal: Part 3.

Just on the way back from Berijam lake, we saw a very good view point. It is called the Coaker's walk. It 's truly a walker's paradise as the name suggests. We were simply spell bound with some of the most beautiful views. Just check this out.....




























We wrapped up our trip to Madurai and Kodaikanal with a visit to Silver cascade falls:

View from a view point:





This is a view of the surroundings from the same viewpoint:












And here is the close-up:









A view of God Vishnu (the protector god in the Hindu mythology).


So, it was a superb trip to one of the most sacred pilgrimages and the most famous and beautiful hill stations. Kodaikanal also seems to have got commercialized like Ooty but if you want to enjoy the nature's bounty then "be lost" in to one of those view points or walks along the mountains.