India

We’ve lived the majority of our lives in Asia so naturally, it’s the region of the world we’re most familiar with. Southeast Asia is our …

Delhi is one of the most important cities in India, having served as a vital political, commercial, and cultural hub throughout its long history. It’s one of the oldest cities in the world and is believed to have been continuously inhabited since the 6th century BCE.

Chicken tikka masala is a heavenly dish made with boneless chunks of roasted marinated chicken swimming in a delicious creamy curry. Though it’s clearly an Indian-influenced dish, its exact origins are unknown.

The word “breathtaking” is often used to describe picturesque places and scenery, but rarely is it meant in a literal sense. At the Taj Mahal, I literally felt my breath leave my body when I walked through the south gate and laid eyes on this majestically beautiful building for the very first time.

Kolkata is a city of revolutionaries and intellectuals. It’s regarded as the cultural capital of India, having spawned generations of artists, poets, writers, film producers, and Nobel Prize winners.

Mumbai is home to some of the world’s grandest Victorian Gothic architecture and an equally impressive Art Deco heritage. I never expected this, but Mumbai has the second largest collection of Art Deco buildings in the world, behind only Miami.

Apart from being a gastronomic trip, I expected this to be a spiritual journey as well. Many people, friends of mine included, describe it as a life-changing experience. Life-changing indeed it was, for reasons I never would have expected. And it all started here in Kolkata.

As always, I do a fair amount of research before a trip but there’s only so much Google can tell you. Insider knowledge, especially when it comes to food, is always best, which is why I think it’s so important to experience a new city with a local. Shailesh, a third-generation resident, was about to give me my first real taste of Mumbai.

It had become a dream of mine to enjoy authentic curry in northern India, which is why this stop at Delhi was the one I was most excited about on this three-city India food tour with A Chef’s Tour.