Kingdom Of Atuliya: January 2013

Tom Yum Kha ( Veggie Variety ) is my favorite soup. Followed by Minestrone and followed by French onion.

Tom Yum For You

Why is it called Tom Yum is a Long Story.
Tom Thumb on his trip to Thailand got lost in the Pat Pong District. One of the Madame there thought, this was a good piece of show articles along with the dancing girls. While performing, the show girl happened to drop Tom Thumb into the soup of the customer. The soup obviously became yummy and since then it is called the Tom Yum.

Recipe is simple

Tom Yum Paste ; 3 Tsp.( Avl in all supermarkets)
Ginger : Half Thumb
Garlic Cloves : 5 to 6
Corainder leaves : Small Bunch
Mint Leaves : Small Bunch
Lemongrass : 1 to 2 stalks
Mushrooms : 5 to 6
Baby Carrots : 3 to 4
Bean Stalk : Few
Red Raddish: 3 nos, cubed
.Green Chillies : 6 ;
chopped to sizeRed
Chillies : 3; cut to size
Tofu : 3 to 4 cubed
Baby corns : 3 ;cut to size
Shallots : 6 nos.
Lemon : 1 No.
Lemon Leaves : 2 nos,
Soy Sauce : 1 tsp
Chlli Sauce : 1 tspSalt to taste
Coconut milk : 1 cup
Vegetable Stock : 1 Litre
Olive Oil : 4 tsp.

Heat the oil and fry the chopped garlic and followed by ginger, then pour the veggies , except for coriander and mint leaves. Allow the veggies to brown up a little and set it aside.

Boil the veggie stock and add coconut milk. Bring down the temperature and add 3 tsp of Tom Yum Paste. Followed by soy sauce and chilli sauce.

Add the veggies and allow the soup to take all the flavors, then add the coriander and mint leaves and allow it to simmer on low heat for say 5 to 7 minutes. Check the salt and add more , if required. Squeeze the lemon on top and serve hot.

The shallots were fried and Topped Up as my tweak to the original recipe.

This year break got planned in a Super Luxury Resort - Kayumanis in Ubud, Bali.

I was a little confused between Four Seasons or Kayumanis and then finally clicked my credit card on Kayumanis. It is always a little bit of a gamble, when you book a resort based on reviews and internet pictures. Kayumanis does not show up on Tripadvisor as the top 10 resorts in Ubud, so it was still a bigger gamble. Well it is real expensive, but if you are looking for an upscale resort, then this is a good option.

However, the holiday turned out to be a real charm.

Well most of the forest attached resorts are based in Sayan, which is outskirts of Ubud, around 8 to 10 mins drive from the town. Ubud is a nice small town famous for its art, sculpture, writers, painters and rice fields.

This time, I wanted my holiday to be in a forest resort, so the closest you could get was Ubud in Bali. Kayumanis in Bhasa Indonesia means Cinnamon Sticks. Well, that is how the Resort could be well described. Sweet with special Cinnamon flavor. Though, first time , as you drive in, it goes through small lanes and you feel little odd as to where in the narrow lane the resort is located. But finally, you enter to a hidden gem.

Though booked for Single Bedroom villa, got upgraded to a palatial Double Bedroom Villa facing the forest. The villa had its own kitchenette and a large plunge pool with a view of greens stretching to infinity. The single bedroom villas are a little like your own private place, but do not open up to the green forest. Though are quite nicely laid out. My last night was in the single bedroom villa. So, if you are fussy about a magnificent view, then make sure, that you book only the double bedroom villa or request for an upgrade.

You have a car and driver at your disposal to drive you to the town anytime, so the very first night, I stocked my kitchen and tried my usual stunts of cooking.

Besides own cooking, tried the Thai food at Siam Sally and would highly recommend the same to everyone. The food is generally cheap in all the restaurants, given the fierce competition and normally priced between $ 4 to $ 6 per dish. The upscale restaurants are Mosaic, Casa Luna, Lamak, Terazo.

There are variety of Indian restaurants viz, Queens, Sitara, Saraswati and Indian Delite. Sitara and Queen are recommended. Saraswati is oddly located, but is a nice small vegetarian restaurant. Indian Delite is mediocre.

Overall, Kayumanis break was Soul Soaking with a good start to the new year. The bedroom is well laid out with an open air bathroom. The balcony opens to the stretched infinite view of greens. One sees the sun setting down into nowhere from your villa.

Kayumanis served a special breakfast for me , Vegetable Biryani and Pepper Yogurt besides, breads, Croissants , honey and much much more. It also serves a wonderful afternoon tea with lovely assortment of snacks. The supply of water bottles is endless. The room is well stocked with a mini bar and special cookies. Everything topped up each day. All this is included in the room price.

Technically speaking, other then the room charge, you end up paying nothing more. The problem with most other resorts is that you keep signing bills for water bottles to afternoon tea, etc etc. And you have to depend upon the shuttle bus to drop you and bring you back , where as in Kayumanis, you choose your timing of driving down to the town for dinner.

Enjoy here the pictures of my villa at Kayumanis and my cooking.