My favorite eateries @NTU

NTU as has been quoted 'must be the the "foodiest university"' consists of about 25 food courts /eateries with each food court serving various cuisines of the world. I can't really decide as to which is the best as there are too many good ones.Out of the 25, I have visited just around 6 and established my comfort zone. As open as I am to experiments, unlike most Indians (obsessing about whether the item is vegetarian, and I don't blame them, everyone has certain choices and constraints), still, there are some food items, I like to best stay away from. E.g. the half-boiled eggs, chestnut drinks, Durian ice creams, fish ball soup and Sotong/squids. Most big food courts have several Chinese Stalls and one Indian, Malay, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and drinks/fruits/dessert stall. My usual hangouts are:

1) Canteen 11, next to my hostel, where the Tekka centre serves tasty and oily North-Indian food. The saag puree is to die for, but they are increasing the prices exponentially lately. There's also a sought after waffle stall and a popular juice shop serving all kinds of drinks, dessert and side dishes. Sultan Gate seems tempting, serving Arabic Cuisine (maybe I'll try it today).

2)Food Connections: Located near the Lee Wee Nam Library, it is extremely popular and crowded during lunch hours. My favorites are the Western Food Stall, Indian Food Stall, Nasi Padang and Indonesian Food Stall. People try to avoid the Vegetarian Food Stall a lot though. We get pretty reasonable beverages, desserts and cold drinks at the center of the court.

Baked Rice

3)The New World Cafe: I am not prejudiced against any cuisine, in fact, I love experimentation (with food alone :P) but fear that I'll end up ordering the wrong things of other cuisines. So I stick to the Indian stall here, Komalas which serves scrumptious South Indian treats like Dosas, Idlis, Iddiappams, Uttapams, Thalis and North Indian Breads, Thalis and curries. The Mysore Masala Dosa is by far my favorite dish at NTU.

Kway Teao

4) Koufu @South Spine: This is one of the biggest courts. Of the various stalls, I've tried the Indian (mainly South Indian style of cooking, but great tasting), Dim Sums (ok-ish), Desserts and Drinks (fulfilling), BBQ chicken salad in the salad and pizza shop (thumbs up) and noodles in a shop I forgot the name of (delicious and cheap).

Koufu

Besides these, I've tried the Pao in Canteen 2 and vegetarian Chinese in Canteen 14 (average). If you are a fast-food/brand freak you can make regular visits to McDonald's, Subway, Canadian Pizza and Starbucks. Besides there are several other canteens and cafes you could try- Nanyang Executive Cafe, Sakae Sushi, Mr Bean, etc. Whatever it is, you'll never go hungry if you're living the life at NTU. This is just the beginning for me.

Images: Internet Sources

6 food tips for the single graduate

This is for all my batch mates who freshly graduated. Most of you have already started working, some are going to or are already pursuing their Masters' degree, like me, and some have opted for some coaching for further studies. Well, be it work load, study pressure, laziness, attempt to save money or just absence of a mess like we had in college or mommy at home, people tend to neglect their health by either overeating or starving themselves by skipping meals. Here are 6 tips which may prevent that from happening to some extent.

1) Avoid instant noodles: My friend Meghna a.k.a. Maggie mostly survived on Maggie throughout 4 years of college. It's a miracle that she's still alive. Instant noodles may instantly cook but there is nothing instant about what follows. Each time you consume instant noodles, it takes 2 days to clear out the wax from your system. And nobody lived any longer by eating loads of MSG. Once or maximum twice a week is the limit.

2) Eat breakfast like a king: Wake up a bit earlier than you do. Keep your options open. Toast and eggs, Semolina or Suji, Cereals, Sandwiches are quick fixes. Skipping breakfast may affect your efficiency and nobody wants to work on projects with a rumbling stomach.

3) Buy that fruit: I adore fruits, in fact, I'm obsessed with them. And I don't even need to tell you why YOU should eat them. So, instead of playing so much 'Fruit Ninja' on your smartphones, buy some real fruit and demolish it. Do this at least 5 times a week. Those fruit juices in tetra-packs are full of nothing but sugar, artificial color and preservatives.

4) Oats: Remember that story where a poor girl found a magic pot which cooked porridge whenever she said "Cook little pot, cook." and overflowed the village with porridge. Sorry to say, you are going to have to do your own cooking, unlike that girl. However, you can customize your oats as to what kind of porridge you desire. Oats is a bland mix meant for the "Bimaar" you may say. But you can perk your sweet porridge up with fruits and nuts as you do with your cereals or you can cook your salty porridge with loads of spices, vegetables and even minced chicken or egg.

5) Make dinner at home: You will have the whole weekend to gorge on junk/rich food. As for lunch, you will obviously experiment with it in and around your office/institute premises. But try making yourself a simple and light dinner at home on weekdays. Cook some pasta or boil some daal and roast some vegetables to go with your rice. For the lazy days, you always have those soup packets and ready-made mixes. But make sure those lazy days are few. Always keep some basic Indian spices such as turmeric, cumin and chili powder handy.

Indian Spices

6)Stressed is desserts spelled backwards: Occasionally indulge! Ice-creams, pastries, cheesecakes, pies and custards- splurge on them at times. Oh how I miss those Indian desserts already: Rasmalai, Halwa, Kheer, Bengali Sweets and much more.