BITES

Umami, loosely translated as 8220;deliciousness8221; in Japanese, is slowly be-coming a household word. It8217;s the fifth taste, the fifth dimension of gastronomy 8212;a cross between the taste of mushrooms and wasabi. Although well-known, till now it was difficult to cre-ate in the kitchen. You couldn8217;t just say 8220;I8217;ll have something umami for din-ner8221; and your mom would rustle something up in a jiffy. Now you can ask for anything umami thanks to a cookbook authored by David and Anna Kasabian and printed by Universe Publishing. The book be-gins with a detailed discus-sion on umami. Then there are recipes 8211; from the authors8217; themselves as well as from celebrated chefs.

Bewakoof! How could you miss the restaurant chain? Believe it or not, in Jharkhand, there is a chain of restaurants named 8216;Shree Bewakoof8217; Mr Fool, 8216;Maha Bewakoof8217; Big Fool, 8216;Sabse Bada Be-wakoof8217; The Biggest Fool and 8216;Bewakoof No 1.8217; And they do brisk business. The story began in 2000 when one Gopi Ram opened a food joint called Hotel Be-wakoof, ridiculing the peo-ple who called him a fool. The restaurant became an overnight success. The rest is history, as bewakoofs say.

It8217;s a dog8217;s world indeed. Gone are the days when your favourite pet8217;s lunch could8217;ve been taken care of with a gooey mix of milk and bread. This is the age of fine dining 8211; even for dogs. Over the last few years big companies and small ones alike have be-gun to produce gourmet food for dogs. Last month, Nestle came up with a new line, Beneful Prepared Meals, which featured eight entrees in flavours includ-ing roasted chicken with pasta, beef and turkey medley and roasted pork with wild rice. Another company, Merrick Pet Care of Texas, offers pets a Thanksgiving meal with turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans and apples. A 10oz pack would cost 1.59 about Rs 70.

An Indian restaurant sits on the 8216;Top of Europe8217; 8211; Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. At 3,471m above sea level, Jungfrau-joch has the highest railway station in Europe as well as the highest post office. Add to this the highest Indian eatery in Europe. The restaurant, named Bolly-wood, can seat 120 people and is open from mid April to mid September.